RU Archives

September Library Displays

Michael created two displays- both housed in the same large library display case, because of two events this month.

Constitution Day- Who was the first President of the United States? That's right, it was John Hanson, who served from 1781-1782. George Washington didn't hold the office until 1789. So why does everyone call Washington the first president? The first government the U.S. had was under the Articles of Confederation, a weak central government that lasted from 1781-1789. Deciding that the government that existed under the Articles was unworkable, a Constitutional Convention was held in 1787 that wrote the Constitution. Not everyone thought a strong central government was a good idea, however. The Federalists wanted it, and the Anti-Federalists did not. I assembled a collection of books containing the papers, letters and diaries of the major people involved.You can read them in the library or check them out.

Banned Books Week- Every year, the American Library Association promotes Banned Book Week, to draw attention to the books that are removed (or threatened with removal) from libraries because someone disapproves of the contents. In creating this display, I used a list of banned books compiled by the University of California.I used the information from their site to create bookmarks which give the censorship history of every book in the display.

Banned Book week is September 27-October 4.

Constitution Day is September 17.

Temporary New Home for Archives

The Archives has a temporary new home on the second floor of the Herman Crown Center.  The reference area for the Archives is in what used to be the Private Dining Room.  Although a little off the beaten path, the Archives is open for business by appointment.  Please contact University Archivist Laura Mills at x2280. 

The Advisory Board

by Michael Gabriel

Whenever I read through an old Roosevelt University Bulletin before 1969, I see a section listing the members of the Advisory Board. What's the Advisory Board and why should I care, you ask? Well, despite the fact that none of them ever held a job at R.U., and many of them never set foot in the building, the institution might not exist without them.

Back in 1945, when the institution was still in the planning stages, it was intended that the place be called "Thomas Jefferson College." When F.D.R. died, the decision was made (to my mind, the best marketing decision the administration has ever had) to change the name to Roosevelt College, to honor the beloved late president.

This was a wonderful idea because it got Eleanor Roosevelt, probably the most famous and popular woman in the world, involved with the new college. She visited R.U. a number of times, generating large amounts of favorable press with each visit. This fact, coupled with the fact that R.U. was created as an act of support for civil rights, caused a number of other famous people to add their support to the cause.

Some of these people are still well known today:  Pearl S. Buck, Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, Albert Einstein, Marshall Field, and  Adali Stevenson.

These people were collectively listed as "The Advisory Board" , a body separate from the "Board of Trustees", which actually governed the college. The Advisory Board's purpose was to add name recognition to the fledgling college and assist in raising funds. As the years went by, some dropped out or died, and were replaced by new volunteers. The Advisory Board continued as an institution until 1968.