Purdue University. Archives and Special Collections

Dates

• Existence: 1978 - present
• Usage: 2005 - present

Parallel Names

• Purdue University. Special Collections

Historical Information

Archives and Special Collections (ASC) was designated as a separate unit, called Special Collections, in 1978. Prior to 1978, archival collections were scattered across the Purdue campus, stored in offices, closets, and other locations. A small amount of materials, including the papers of founder John Purdue, were stored in boxes and filing cabinets on the second floor of Stewart Center, in the stacks of the general library.

In 1967, the History Department and Library submitted a formal proposal asking for the means for protecting and preserving Purdue’s Archives by moving them to a more suitable location. In 1978, the Archives began as a consolidated unit when room 370 became available in Stewart Center. At that time, Keith Dowden was named Assistant Director for Special Collections and began his work in that capacity. Dowden had already worked for the libraries for approximately 30 years in other capacities. In 1982, the Hicks Undergraduate Library opened, and the Bookstall (informal reading space with popular fiction) was moved from Room 279 of Stewart Center to the Undergraduate Library. With the Bookstall’s former space available, the Archives were moved from the third floor of Stewart Center to Room 279 of Stewart Center, sometime between 1982 and 1986. In 1986, Keith Dowden retired, and Helen Schroyer took over management of Special Collections. Schroyer retired in 1996, and was succeeded by Katherine Markee, Special Collections Librarian and Interim Head of Special Collections.

In 2003, Sammie Morris was hired as an archivist. She was the Libraries’ first professionally trained employee in archives and special collections. The size of the staff at that time was 3 FTE: Morris, Markee, and 2 half-time archival assistants. In 2004, following the hire of Jim Mullins, the new Dean of Libraries, ASC began to grow and develop rapidly, benefiting from additional staffing and space resources. In 2005, Morris became Acting Head of Archives and Special Collections. In 2006, Morris and Katherine Markee established the Oral History Program, and Markee was named the Libraries’ first Oral History Librarian. In 2007 Morris became Head of Archives and Special Collections.

From 2006-2009, Morris led the ASC staff in planning for a newly renovated facility. Collections were moved in 2008-2009 and on January 12, 2009, ASC moved from the second floor to a new space on the fourth floor of Stewart Center and was officially renamed the Virginia Kelly Karnes Archives and Special Collections Research Center. The new facility offered increased storage and office space, a processing workroom, instruction center, reading room, advanced security, and environmental systems designed to protect and preserve the collections. At the opening ceremony for the new Archives and Special Collections facility, President France Córdova shared a resolution she signed at the request of Dean Mullins, charging the University Archives and Special Collections with responsibility for collecting and preserving Purdue’s historical record.

Neal Harmeyer, former ASC Associative Dead and Digital Archivist, replaced Sammie Morris as the new Assistant Dean, Archives and Special Collections and Head in 2025.



ASC has four main collecting areas/archives including the following:

The Purdue University Archives contains collections relating to the history of Purdue University, and materials created by the University’s faculty, staff, and alumni. Although it is not clear when Purdue’s archival materials were first collected, it is known that major manuscript collections were acquired as early as 1940, when George Putnam donated his wife Amelia Earhart’s papers to Purdue. Morris was the first trained archivist to oversee this collecting area. In 2013, Lauren White was hired as the Project Archivist for University Records. White oversaw the University Record Project. The project was a university-wide drive to identify records from all academic units on the West Lafayette campus that have lasting historical value for the departments and units of the University. In 2017, Adiana Harmeyer was hired as the Archivist for University History.

In 2004, the Betsy Gordon Foundation approached Purdue Libraries on behalf of David Nichols, Professor of Pharmacology, about the possibility of establishing an archive for researchers on the therapeutic use of psychoactive drugs. In 2006 the Betsy Gordon Psychoactive Substances Research Collection was established as a special collecting area for the Purdue Archives and Special Collections. In 2018, Stephanie Schmitz became the new Betsy Gordon Psychoactive Substances Research Archivist for the newly created and endowed position.



The Purdue University Archives and Special Collections established the Women's Archives in 2006 after receiving a generous donation from Susan Bulkeley Butler, a 1965 alumna of the Krannert School of Management and first female partner of Anderson Consulting (now Accenture). Butler’s decision to contribute to the development of a women's archives came after seeing University Archivist Sammie Morris speak about the importance of documenting the accomplishments of Purdue women and their absence from the Purdue Archives' collections. Due to the extensive task of developing a new archive, the Women’s Archives Development Council, comprised of alumnae and donors, was established in 2010 to assist in identifying and preserving the history of women in Purdue and Indiana history and raising funds to endow an archivist position. In 2012, Purdue University President France A. Córdova provided funding to endow this position. This support enabled the Archives to hire an archivist dedicated exclusively to the Women’s Archives and completed the charge of the Women’s Archives Development Council. Stephanie Schmitz was the first person in this role, and in 2019 Schmitz took on full time responsibility for the Psychoactive Substances collection and Katey Watson was hired as the second Cordova Women’s Archivist.

In 2007-2008, Morris worked with Dean Mullins to write a successful proposal to Neil Armstrong to acquire his papers. In 2010-2011, astronaut alumni Neil Armstrong and Eugene Cernan helped start what would later become known as the Barron Hilton Flight and Space Exploration Archives by successfully acquiring funding from the Hilton Foundation to endow this new collecting focus area and endow an archivist position to oversee and grow the collections. Tracy Grimm was the first Hilton Flight and Space Archivist. In 2024, Jo Otremba replaced Grimm as the second Flight and Space Archivist.

Found in 10 Collections and/or Records: