Special Collections & Archives

Detailed inventories to each of the following record groups are available. Please contact the repository for additional information. Click here for the Archives Accessibility Policy.

I. Board of Trustees

Image detailsThe records of the Board of Trustees range from 1824 to the present and include minutes, dockets, committee files, papers of secretaries and members, honorary degree files, reports, and correspondence. One of the earliest documents in the College Archives is found in this record group---a leather-bound volume containing the minutes of the December 27, 1824 meeting when it was resolved by a group of Easton citizens to establish Lafayette College.

II. President’s Office

Image detailsThe terms of the college’s past presidents are documented through the general correspondence and office files, reports, council and committee files, and addresses found in this record group. Information on the office’s involvement with the accreditation process, ceremonies and special events, affiliated academic organizations, the Presbyterian Church, and student and faculty affairs is recorded as well.

III. Provost and Academic Deans Offices

Image detailsOffice files of the Provost and Academic Deans record the day-to-day administration of the academic life of the College. Deanships at Lafayette evolved throughout the 20th century and have included deans of the faculty, college, studies, and academic/enrollment services. Records of the various deans document the work of the registrar, admissions, and financial aid offices, as well as faculty concerns, student discipline, career planning, and academic advising. The Provost’s office was established in 1967 and assumed much of the academic administrative affairs of the college, including the curriculum, libraries, research, grants, and accreditation.

IV. Dean of Students

Image detailsThe records of the Dean of Students provide information on campus life and student affairs at Lafayette, primarily during the latter half of the 20th century. Student organizations and events are documented, as well as the operations of the physical education and athletics departments and the activities of the chaplain’s office and the College Church.

V. Development and Alumni Affairs

Image detailsFiles of this record group document the College’s relations with alumni, fundraising campaign efforts, and publicity. Alumni chapters, organizations, and committees of recent years are represented here, as well as information on deceased alumni. Development files detail the major campaigns of the 20th century. Publicity records from the Public Information and Community Relations Office (PICRO), the Public Information Office (PIO), and the Sports Information Office include press releases, correspondence, subject files, clippings, and statistics involving the College’s social, cultural, and sporting events. Individual sports teams from the 1960s through the 1990s are documented in great detail. Extensive biographical files pertaining to Lafayette faculty, staff, administrators, and trustees are available as well.

VI. Fiscal Affairs

Image detailsFiscal Affairs records date from the College’s inception in the first half of the 19th century through the latter half of the 20th century and primarily originate from the Treasurer’s Office. Files include budgets, statements, reports, ledgers and correspondence pertaining to the College’s endowment, expenses, loans, income, financial aid program, scholarships, taxes, insurance, and retirement plans.

VII. Department of Buildings and Grounds

Image detailsGeneral correspondence, subject files, and individual building records from this office document the construction, maintenance, and renovation of both campus facilities and off campus properties and primarily date from the 20th century. Files include plans, constructions bids, contracts, agreements, and specifications.

VIII. Faculty and Academic Departments

Image detailsThis record group includes faculty meeting minutes, faculty committee files, departmental correspondence and subject files, and the records of the now defunct Education Department. Faculty meeting minutes dating from the 1840s to the present offer a comprehensive history of the educational functions of the College from the faculty’s perspective. Other early records of note include professor’s reports to the faculty dating from the 19th century.

IX. Student Activities

Image detailsThese files document a wide range of student academic research, class work, papers and projects from the beginning of the 20th century to the present. Some of the earliest records include sketchbooks with mechanical drawings, notebooks syllabi, exams, and labs. More recent files document Technology Clinic courses.

X. Auxiliary Services

Image detailsA wide variety of professional, social, administrative organizations associated with Lafayette College are documented in this record group, including the Women’s Auxiliary, American Association of University Professors (AAUP), Faculty Club, College Store, Friends of Skillman Library, Health Center, and Presbyterian Historical Society. Records include the correspondence, reports, minutes, and membership files of many of these organizations as well as account books and budget information.

XI. Human Resources

Employee benefits information---record group closed.

XII. record group removed

XIII. Alumni Association, before 1967

Image detailsThe College’s earliest alumni organizations and events are documented in this record group. Minutes, financial records, correspondence, and event files record the work of alumni committees and chapters from the mid-19th century to its reorganization in 1967. Information on alumni driven fundraising, scholarships, and publications is available here, as well as details regarding early reunions, Founder’s Day celebrations, chapter socials, and Alumni College events.