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Alumni Association of Augustana College records

 Collection
Identifier: MSS 207

Scope and Contents

The Alumni Association of Augustana College records, 1860-1999 and undated, has been arranged into three series.

Organizational records (1860-1976 and undated) includes general correspondence, secretary's files, proceedings of organizational meetings and annual meetings, and meeting minutes. Also included are annual financial reports, membership lists, and attendance lists for the Alumni Banquet.

Promotional records (1892-2013 and undated) includes invitations and programs from Alumni Association events; newspaper clippings; and publications of the Association. Much of the material relates to fundraising.

The Notable Alumni (1912-1923) series includes publications and information about two alumni: J. E. W. Wallin and Anton D. Udden. These items were likely collected by L. E. Jones, as they were published around the time of his tenure as Secretary.

Dates

  • Creation: 1860-2013 and undated

Creator

Language of Materials

English and Swedish

Conditions Governing Access

There are no restrictions on the use of this collection.

Conditions Governing Use

Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from Augustana College Special Collections and the copyright holder.

Historical Note

The Augustana College Alumni Association was formed in 1877 by the first graduating class of Augustana. The main objectives of the group differed slightly with each iteration of the constitution but generally included continuing "the pleasant relations formed" while at Augustana and promoting the interests of the institution. Membership is open to all alumni and former faculty of Augustana College. While the early activities of the association were separate from the administration of Augustana College and Theological Seminary, evidence of an administrator within the offices of the College appears in the 1928-1929 Catalog, where Fridolf Oscar Hanson is listed as Financial and Alumni Secretary (pg. 5). This position within the administration grew to Director of Alumni and Public Relations as listed in the 1938-1939 Bulletin. As of 2016, the group still exists, and the Office of Advancement provides support to the Alumni Association.

Activities of the Association included publication of The Alumnus, a monthly "educational magazine for young people" that made its debut in September 1892. The magazine had many different titles through the years: The Alumnus (1892-1894), Augustana Journal (1894-1906), Young Lutheran's Companion (1911-1949, 1952-1962), and Augustana Lutheran (1950-1951). Apart from the various magazines, the Alumni Association also published its first alumni registry under the name Who's Who Among the Alumni in 1922. The Association used Who's Who in America as its model for this volume, and entries for Augustana alumni that appeared in Who's Who in America were copied verbatim into the book. The Alumni Association also plans annual special events for alumni, including Homecoming, Alumni Weekend, and an Alumni Banquet, and helps organize reunions.

L. E. Jones, who was secretary of the association from 1918 until 1926, appears to have collected most of the materials in this collection. He saved clippings about Alumni Association events as well as articles chronicling lives of various alumni. In addition, Jones was on staff at the Augustana Observer as Alumni editor. He wrote articles for the paper, which are included in the collection.

Extent

2.4 Cubic Feet (/ 7 boxes)

Abstract

The Augustana College Alumni Association was formed in 1877 by the first graduating class of Augustana. The main objectives of the group differed slightly with each iteration of the constitution but generally included continuing "the pleasant relations formed" while at Augustana and promoting the interests of the institution. The Alumni Association of Augustana College records, 1860-2013 and undated, contains meeting minutes, organizational records, promotional materials, and research material on notable alumni.

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Meeting minutes andscrapbook received from Nancy Johnson March 1994.

Related Materials

MSS 37 Augustana College Office of Alumni Relations records

Processing Information

Processed by Mary Ellen McKee, 1975. Revised by Emily Hughes Dominick, 2007, Rebecca Hopman, 2011, Kelsey O'Connell, 2011, and Atticus Garrison, February 2016. Updated in 2022.

Subject

Title
Alumni Association of Augustana College records, 1886-1999 and undated.
Status
Completed
Author
Atticus Garrison
Date
February 2016
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Part of the Augustana College Special Collections Repository

Contact:
639 38th Street
Thomas Tredway Library
Rock Island Illinois 61201 United States