The University of Dayton Archives and Special Collections
was established in 1973 for the purpose of preserving the University's history. The
Collection includes materials dating from 1850, when St. Mary's Institute was founded as a
grammar school for boys, to the University's present status as a well known Catholic and
Marianist institution of higher learning.
The collection contains materials relating to the
University's organizational history. Besides the official documents of the University, it
includes faculty publications, theses, and dissertations. A major aspect of the Collection
encompasses student life at the University, such as student government, student
publications, and intercollegiate sports.
Most of the special collections housed with the University
Archives are materials related to University of Dayton alumni. They include the
Congressional papers of Charles W. Whalen (1966-1978), an alumnus and former faculty
member; the Pflaum Collections which consists of the publications of the Pflaum Publishing
Co. of Dayton; the collection of Karl West Flaster, a librettist and poet, donated by his
son who graduated from the University. Also included is the Urban Schurr Collection, which
contains materials relating to the performing arts, locally as well as nationally and
internationally. This collection consists of playbills, photographs, scrapbooks and
memorabilia.
Other special collections are: the Michael Polanyi papers;
the Dime Novel Club Reprints Collection, and the Catholic Civil Liberties Union Papers.
The University of Dayton Archives and Special Collections
is open to the University community and the public; however, access to materials
pertaining to the organizational history of the University may require the permission of
the founding office. Access and use of some of the special collections require the
permission of the donor.
