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Northern Arizona University Photographs (PARTIALLY PROCESSED) 1898-2010

NAU.ARC.PH

Historical Note

Northern Arizona Normal School [NANS] opened its doors on September 11, 1899 with twenty-three students, one professor, and two copies of Webster's International Dictionary bound in sheepskin. NANS first president, Almon Nicholas Taylor, later assisted by Ms. Frances Bury, had scoured the countryside in horse and buggy seeking students to fill the classrooms of the single school building (now known as Old Main). From the students they recruited, four women made up the first graduating class of 1901 and received lifetime teaching certificates for the Arizona Territory.

In 1925, the school celebrated its new status as Northern Arizona State Teachers College-- a four-year institution with the power to grant the bachelor of education degree. On July 1, 1929, NASTC became Arizona State Teachers College [ASTC] at Flagstaff. The College and Flagstaff were not immune to the effects of the Great Depression. The only bank in town closed its doors in June 1932. ASTC President Grady Gammage recognized, however, that higher education was a "depression industry," one that fared well in hard times. The College provided jobs for more than 400 students. Some students found creative solutions to financial problems. Elsie McCauley bartered sacks of potatoes for tuition; Rolf Larson's Holstein cow, Codera, underwrote his education. Many significant events occurred during these hard times. In 1937, graduate work at ASTC became possible with the addition of the master of arts in education degree. In 1939, Ida Mae Fredericks became the first Hopi to receive a college degree. Interestingly enough, enrollment at ASTC actually rose during the Depression, from 321 students during the 1929-1930 academic year to 535 by 1940. The bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941 and subsequent entry of the United States into World War II precipitated a large drop in enrollment as college-age men entered the armed services. By the 1944-1945 academic year, just 161 students attended class on the Flagstaff campus. Yet ASTC made many contributions toward the war effort. The College served as a site for the Navy's V-12 training program, one of 150 schools selected from among 1600 contenders. The Campus Civilian Defense Program maintained an aircraft spotting post, one of only 84 such posts in the United States. To demonstrate its dedication to rationing programs, ASTC banned all gas-powered vehicles, and those with rubber tires, from the Homecoming Parade in 1942. With the end of the war in 1945, the College again changed names, albeit subtly. The name became simply Arizona State College [ASC] at Flagstaff, because the institution now offered several other degrees besides teaching, most notably in the arts and sciences. Enrollment soon surpassed prewar levels with world-wise, returning veterans adding an interesting twist to campus life.

In the 1950s, Arizona State College entered a period of exceptional growth. Students could earn an education specialist degree as well as masters in the arts and sciences. Much of the expansion can be attributed to Dr. J. Lawrence Walkup, who has the distinction of serving the longest term as President (December 21, 1957 to June 30, 1979). The road to university status began with the creation of the Forestry program in 1958 and increased research activities. Pleased with the array of quality academic programs and ever-growing student body, the Arizona Board of Regents recommended that ASC become Northern Arizona University effective May 1, 1966. In 1968, NAU received authorization to offer Doctorates of Philosophy and Education. The first doctoral candidates were graduated in 1973. Dr. Platt Cline, noted Flagstaff historian, has characterized NAU as an institution that survived against the odds, one that continually skirmished with a skeptical legislature and competed with sister colleges in southern Arizona. He rightly credits strong leadership, the devotion of former students and faculty, and community support for the school's success. Today, NAU's enrollment ranks in the top 4 percent of schools and colleges in the nation. Empowered by the Arizona Board of Regents to provide educational opportunities statewide, NAU now serves approximately 20,000 students. Internationally known, NAU has established partnerships with colleges and universities throughout the world, enhancing its comprehensive academic programs. Under the leadership of its thirteenth president, Dr. Clara M. Lovett, NAU is positioning itself to meet the challenges of a global society and the needs of its students as it moves toward the twenty-first century and beyond.

Scope and Content

Photographs in this collection pertain to the history of Northern Arizona University (1898-2010) and portray the following information: views of campus; individual buildings; administration, faculty & staff; students; classes; activities; homecoming; sports; music & drama; training school and student teaching; clubs/organizations; registration; alumni; Arizona Boy's State; awards, scholarships, grants, gifts, graduation, ceremonies, & donations, and miscellanous images (mostly off-campus).

Arrangement

Restrictions

Conditions Governing Access

As of February 2022, SCA student assistant Zaidi Babcock is currently reprocessing materials in the Northern Arizona University Photographs to improve retrievability and prepare for future processing of the partially processed photographs.

Researchers interested in accessing and using materials from the Northern Arizona University Photographs are encouraged to contact SCA staff at least three weeks in advance in order to request access.

Conditions Governing Use

It is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish from the owner of the copyright (the institution, the creator of the record, the author or his/her transferees, heirs, legates, or literary executors). The user agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Arizona Board of Regents for Northern Arizona University, its officers, employees, and agents from and against all claims made by any person asserting that he or she is an owner of copyright.

Please note that photographs created by non-NAU photographers may still be under copyright by their creator. Please contact the department with any questions: Special.Collections@nau.edu.

Administrative Information

Digital Material Available

SCA staff have digitized selected photographs from the Northern Arizona University photographs (NAU.ARC.PH). Digitized and born-digital materials from the Northern Arizona University photographs are available through the Colorado Plateau Digital Collections. Select "NAU Archives" to search or browse for NAU photographs based on subject, year, etc.

Click here to view all digitized materials from the Northern Arizona University Photographs.

Preferred Citation

[Title or brief description of item or file]. Arizona University Photographs, NAU.ARC.[ ]. Box [ ], Folder [ ]. Northern Arizona University. Cline Library. Special Collections and Archives. Flagstaff, Arizona.

Acquisition Information

NAU photographs are acquired from myriad departments across campus on regular intervals. Other photographs may have been donated by external donors or alumni.

Processing Information

Special Collections staff initially identified and catalogued individual photographs in the Northern Arizona University Photographs in the summer of 1974, producing a lengthy typewritten inventory of all NAU photos held by the department at that time. Staff utilized yearbooks, newspapers, and college catalogs to identify and date photos, though many photos could not be accurately dated. Staff also created subgroups of photographs based on their content (e.g. Views of Campus, Views of Individual Buildings, etc.). These subgroups form part of the call numbers for NAU photographs.

In 2015, Jonathan Pringle translated part of the original typewritten inventory to an Encoded Archival Description (EAD) finding aid using oXygen XML Editor.

In 2020, Sean Evans and Sam(antha) Meier decided to intellectually re-organize photographs in the Northern Arizona University Photographs according to the "subject group" by which they were originally categorized to assist in making partially processed photographs available more quickly. Please see the Arrangement note for more information.

Around the same time, Sam Meier and Sean Evans began re-organizing and labeling boxes of partially processed photographs in the Northern Arizona University Photographs, putting existing files of materials into chronological order. SCA student assistant Zaidi Babcock continued organizing files chronologically in fall 2021 and spring 2022.

Throughout 2020 and 2021, Sean Evans translated more of the typewritten inventory to an Encoded Archival Description (EAD) finding aid using ArchivesSpace. Evans also linked item-level information to digitized photographs in the Colorado Plateau Digital Collections. However, much of the typewritten finding aid has yet to be translated. Please contact the department at Special.Collections@nau.edu to learn more about other NAU photographs or see Other Finding Aid for more information.

As of November 2021, roughly 40 bankers boxes of NAU photographs have been partially processed. These materials will be added to the finding aid at a later date, due to the difficulty of assigning accurate item-level call numbers. Please see Arrangement note for further information on the call number system.

In February 2022, Sam Meier added file-level information about partially processed photographs in Groups 2 and 3 based on an inventory created by SCA student assistant Zaidi Babcock.

As of February 2022, SCA student assistant Zaidi Babcock is currently reprocessing materials in the Northern Arizona University Photographs to improve retrievability and prepare for future processing of the partially processed photographs. Please see the Conditions Governing Access note for more information.

Other Finding Aid

A detailed typewritten inventory of the Northern Arizona University photographs circa 1974 is available upon request. Please contact the department at Special.Collections@nau.edu to learn more.

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