The University Archives collects papers of faculty who have demonstrated significant contributions to their respective field. Historically, this has largely documented the achievements of white, male faculty. We now strive to bring about greater representation and welcome the papers of historically underrepresented faculty members.

The University Archives holds subject files on most historical faculty members. These "Biographical Vertical Files" contain news clippings, journal articles, curriculum vitae, and individual notices of publications and honors. If there is a specific faculty member you would like more information on, this is a good resource to begin with.

We also hold collections of Faculty Research Papers donated by the faculty members themselves, including:

Cathy F. Bowen papers (10037): The collection documents the professional accomplishments of an African American woman and Penn State faculty member in the College of Agricultural Sciences. The materials themselves document Bowen's efforts to expose and engage students from historically underrepresented communities to food and agricultural sciences.

Mary E. Godfrey papers (06447): Mary E. Godfrey was the first full-time African American faculty member hired at Penn State. She served for 22 years, teaching courses in elementary and secondary art education, supervision, the history of art education, and introduction to crafts. She researched the design of art classrooms, studying Pennsylvania art education laboratories, art rooms, and facilities for junior high schools. Her artwork was exhibited in both Pennsylvania and Virginia. Godfrey retired 1 July 1979, and died 30 April 2007.

Cyril E. Griffith papers (00406): Cyril E. Griffith was appointed an assistant professor of history at The Pennsylvania State University in 1970. He became an associate professor in 1976 and taught African history at Penn State for 26 years, retiring as an associate professor emeritus in 1993. He served as director of the Black Studies Program from 1975 to 1979. This collection includes correspondence, reports, papers, articles, newsletters, bibliographies, rough copies and revised chapters of publications, research materials, biographical material on various subjects, course materials, interviews, and oral histories.

James B. Stewart papers (09640): This collection consists of the personal papers of James B. Stewart, Professor Emeritus of Labor and Employment Relations, African and American Studies, and Management and Organization. Stewart's former administrative assignments include Vice Provost for Educational Equity, Vice Provost of Underrepresented Groups, and Director of the Black Studies Program.

Guion Bluford with Bryce Jordan (19xx), Photographic vertical files, Portraits (01212), box 26

Alumni Collections

The University Archives will selectively acquire the papers of Penn State alumni who achieved success and/or had a larger impact on society. Among these collections are several documenting the post-Penn State achievements of Black alumni. Such collections do not typically focus on individual experiences while at Penn State, though some collections might include small amounts of such material. Some notable collections are listed below, but materials documenting the achievements of Penn State Black alumni may be found throughout our collections.

• Charles L. Blockson Collection of African Americana and the African Diaspora : A 1956 graduate of Penn State, Blockson is a historican and curator of African American history. He co-founded the Afro-American Historical and Cultural Museum in Philadelphia in 1976, served on the Pennsylvania State Historical and Record Advisory Board, and directed the Black History Advisory Board in the 1980s. He donated his large private collection of African-American history materials to Temple University in 1984, and served as curator of the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection. In 2006 he established the Charles L. Blockson Collection of African-Americana and the African Diaspora at Penn State, a large collection of published and manuscript materials.
• Guion S. Bluford, Jr. papers (09559) : A 1964 graduate in aerospace engineering, Bluford was part of four NASA space shuttle flights between 1983 and 1992, and was the first African American astronaut in space. In 2021, Penn State dedicated the Guion S. Bluford Building at its University Park campus. The collection contains materials beginning with his initial selection as an astronaut through his four shuttle missions and ending with his community work and recognitions. It includes manuals on the proper use of space shuttle components for each of the shuttles Bluford flew on, mission logs and debriefs, official NASA publications summarizing the missions, and images from space, in space, of launches, of PR events and the like. Intermingled are hundreds of personal photographs from Bluford's experiences during media tours and post-flight events as well as newspaper clippings and aviation publications discussing his role in the missions.
• V.P. Franklin papers (10035) : A 1969 graduate in history, Franklin is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History and Education at the University of California, Riverside, and from 2001 to 2018, served as the editor of The Journal of African American History, the leading scholarly publication on African American life and history. His papers include professional correspondence, research notes and files, authored articles, conference speeches and presentations, materials related to book publications, as well as lecture notes and course syllabi and related documentation. His 2021 book about youth activism during in Civil Rights movement, The Young Crusaders, is also available in the Penn State Libraries. An oral history with V. P. Franklin is available as part of the Penn State Black Alumni oral history project.
• Bridges Turner papers (00297) : Bridges Alfred Turner, doctorate in industrial education (1941), was dean of the School of Technology at Texas Southern University for twenty-one years, officially retiring in 1980. Turner was also the Director of Minority Manpower Resources Project, a program started in 1963 under a contract between Texas Southern University and the NASA-Manned Spacecraft center (renamed Johnson Spacecraft Center) with the purpose to assist NASA in finding black engineers. Turner received the Jones Distinguished Service Award in 1981 for outstanding achievement in the minority engineering education effort and was named an alumni Fellow at Penn State in 1985. This collection contains materials documenting the Minority Manpower Resources Project (MMRP), and correspondence during the 1980s. Also included are documents related to Turner’s alumni visit in April 1985 to Penn State.

The Penn State Alumni Association has published two pamphlets celebrating distinguished Black alumni, including Penn State's Award Winning Black Alumni (2008), and Symbols of our Best (1989).