Alumni Association of Augustana College records

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.