Collection on Student Life at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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Scope and Contents of the Collection
The collection contains materials that document student life on the MIT campus, including notebooks and papers, news clippings, magazines, student publications, photographs, brochures and programs, and other memorabilia.
List of Donors and/or Collectors
- Class of 1885
- Thomas W. Fry
- Class of 1896
- Walter H. James
- Henry A. Waterman
- Class of 1899
- William A. Kinsman
- Class of 1907
- Edwin C. Richardson
- Class of 1908
- William C. Kerr
- Class of 1913
- Everett St. John
- Raymond B. Haynes
- Class of 1915
- George W. Simons
- Class of 1916
- Henry B. Shepard
- Class of 1917
- John M. DeBell
- Jay Jacob Sindler
- Class of 1920
- Edward G. Zahn
- Class of 1922
- Douglas M. Burckett
- Ram Prasad (ScD)
- 1924
- Felix Stapleton
- Class of 1926
- Leon J Goldberg (SB 1926, SM 1927)
- Class of 1927
- Laurence B. Cheney
- Albert Paul Kauzmann
- Class of 1928
- Ralph Jope
- Class of 1929
- John Wayne Courter (SM 1929)
- Albert Eigenbrot (SB 1929, SM 1931)
- Eben N. Wells
- Class of 1931
- Otto C. Kohler
- Class of 1933
- Donald W. Brookfield
- Richard B. Smith
- Class of 1935
- G. Donald Fenton
- Class of 1936
- Robert Burns Woodward (SB 1936, PhD 1937)
- Class of 1937
- Winthrop Comley
- Robert Morton
- Class of 1939
- Basil Parkhurst Gray
- Jerome Gross
- Class of 1940
- Martin R. (Richard) Erickson
- David E. Swenson
- Class of 1941
- Edmund Sidney Rittner
- Harold A. Ricards, Jr. (SM 1941)
- Class of 1946
- William J. Rapoport
- Class of 1948
- Albert E. Bowen, Jr.
- Class of 1954
- Carolyn Cohen (PhD 1954)
- Class of 1961
- Robert Nagro
- Class of 1970
- Michael Kay
- Class of 1971
- Robert D. (Dale) Zellers
- William (Bill) C. Birthisel
This collection is assembled by the staff of the Institute Archives from material donated throughout the years by MIT Alumni, staff, and friends of the Institute.
Dates
- Creation: 1876 - 2017
Creator
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Libraries. Department of Distinctive Collections (Collector, Organization)
Access note
This collection is open.
Digital Access Note
Some parts of this collection are available online. Links to specific online digital items are found within their entry in this finding aid.
Conditions Governing Use
Access to collections in the Department of Distinctive Collections is not authorization to publish. Please see the MIT Libraries Permissions Policy for permission information. Copyright of some items in this collection may be held by respective creators, not by the donor of the collection or MIT.
Historical note
Since its founding in 1861, Massachusetts Institute of Technology has been known for the caliber of its student body. The first students were enrolled at MIT in 1865 and graduated in 1868. MIT was first located in Back Bay Boston with a limited campus and no housing. In June 1916 the campus, including new dormitories, moved to Cambridge. Clubs and activities have occurred on both campuses.
This collection, assembled from donated materials by the staff of the Institute Archives, offers a glimpse of the social backdrop that has been as much a part of the knowledge gained by MIT students as the lessons learned in the classroom. It does not ignore the importance of academics at MIT; collection materials include items created for courses by students – be they senior theses, exam diagrams, or course notes.
While the whole of the diversity represented in MIT students' lives is difficult to document, these records show how student life has evolved at MIT and how student life retains some similarities through the years – from the effects of war on student activities and protests, to Spring Weekend festivities and entering class photos.
Extent
11.75 Cubic Feet (13 manuscript boxes, 4 half manuscript boxes, 1 tall legal manuscript box, 14 flat boxes, 1 oversize folder)
1.22 Gigabytes (223 digital files)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement of the collection
The collection is organized into three series: Series 1, Student Life Items (items collected by or about students); Series 2, Student Notes, Papers, and Theses; and Series 3, Posters. Series 1 and Series 3 contain oversized items, which are housed in separate boxes or map case drawers as noted.
Series 1 and 2 are arranged chronologically by the donor’s MIT class year or, in cases where the donor was not an MIT alumnus, by the date of the material itself. Series 3 is arranged generally by topic, since a majority of the series’ materials are undated.
Source of Acquisition
The Department of Distinctive Collections (formerly the Institute Archives and Special Collections) received items in the collection from various MIT alumni and alumnae, families, friends, and affiliates and assembled them into one collection
Separated Materials
In 2023 November, the following materials were moved from this collection into MC-0766 Student Notes:
Robert S. Harper student notes (2011-073)
Calvin N. Mooers student notes (2010-076)
Reginald A. Krystyniak student papers (2013-059)
John Fredericks student papers (2017-076)
Randall Richardson course notes (2019-012)
Sanitation and Hydraulic engineering student notebook (2006-021)
Philip S. Morse student paper (2006-041)
Frederick Fox, Jr. graduate thesis (2006-042)
Wiliam M. Beaman student paper (2006-044)
James A. Guttridge student paper (2006-026)
George L. Hosmer student paper (2006-027)
Harry F. Sawtelle student thesis (2006-028)
John B. Stouder student thesis (2006-029)
Francis H. Watts student thesis (2006-030)
John H. Larrabee student paper (2006-037)
William F Steffens student notebook (2006-018)
Warren M. Archibald student paper (2006-035)
Fred L. H. Kimball, Clancey M. Lewis, Lester A. Newell student thesis (2006-036)
James H. Richardson student paper (2006-039)
“Report on the Cheever Ore Bed, at Port Henry, New York” student paper (2006-040)
Class of 1887 student papers (2006-043)
Eben L. Chapman student paper (2006-038)
Hiram E. Beebe volume (2011-061)
Charles L. Crosier student thesis and research notes (2024-023)
In 2023 November, the following item was moved from this collection into MC-0220 George V. McLauthlin Student Notes:
George V. Mclauthlin laboratory notebook (2006-019).
In 2023 November, the following folder was moved from this collection into AC-0093 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Examinations:
Schuyler Hazard exam papers (2006-020)
Processing Information note
Needs review - especially the series S&Cs.
Processing Information
An autograph album in this collection was inititally designated as a separate collection, George F. Dunn autograph album (MC-0312). In October 2015, the autograph album was merged into the Collection on Student Life at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MC-0618).
Additionally, Series 1, Box 10 of this collection was inititally designated as a separate collection, Felix Stapleton student memorabilia (MC-0568). In April 2012, the former MC-0586 was merged into the Collection on Student Life at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MC-0618).
- Title
- Guide to the Collection on Student Life at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Date
- 2007
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Revision Statements
- 2018-09-13: Edited by Rachel Van Unen to reflect the addition of accessions 2019-016 and 2019-017
Repository Details
Part of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Libraries. Department of Distinctive Collections Repository
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Libraries
Building 14N-118
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge MA 02139-4307 US
distinctive-collections@mit.edu
