Richter Library’s Nathan and Sophia Gumenick Family Lobby in 2003
Some patrons may find swiping their ‘Cane Card to enter the Richter Library is a nuisance, but the turnstiles are there to provide improved security for patrons and our collections.
A few days ago a colleague in the library asked me when they were installed in the library, so I researched our digital resources and found out that the date was November 18, 1972. Please go to the link below to read the August 26, 1974, Veritas article “Library Attendance.”
Also, please see the interesting internal document below, which is meeting minutes dated May 24, 1972, recommending the installation of a card-operated turnstile ASAP.
Richter’s Public Service Heads met on May 24, 1972 and made a recommendation to install a turnstile for security.
We started a new Tweet campaign today to welcome the first-year freshmen, transfer students, and new faculty and staff with interesting historical facts and images of the University of Miami.
The last academic year was the busiest but most memorable year for the University Archives. What do you think were the top 5 accomplishments for the UA? Please read the brochure we just created “University Archives Academic Year 2015-16 Highlites” below. You could also download the document from here.
Highlights p. 1Highlights p. 2Highlights p. 3Highlights p.4
This historic picture was donated to us by a colleague at the University Communications.
We just received this historic picture of the rock superstar Coldplay. It’s great to see the members all wearing UM T-shirts and they autographed the picture for President Shalala. The poster also tells that their sold-out performance was a part of the ground opening celebrations of the Convocation Center of the University of Miami, which has been known as Bank United Center since 2005.
By sheer luck I discovered a thesis on UM history written in 1943 at our offsite storage facility a few weeks ago. All the UM theses and dissertations published since 1943 (Richter holds over 9,100 of such publications) should be discoverable online, but I assume this title was misplaced far away from the rest of the Theses and Dissertations Collection and was not recataloged electronically in later years.
(*click here to see the collection record for the thesis.)
The title of the long-forgotten thesis is “A History of the University of Miami: a Thesis Presented to Dr. Harold E. Briggs, Professor of History, University of Miami, May 1943” written by William E. Hallman. Please see the title page and the table of contents below. This is a rare, wonderful new addition to the archival collection on UM history, because it was written only after 18 yeas the university was founded and it was written from a student’s perspective.
Page 1 of the Hallman thesisPage 2 of the Hallman thesisP. 3 of the Hallman thesis
So, my next question is who was William E. Hallman? I was able to find his senior portrait in 1943 Ibis as well as his name in the September 1943 commencement program. His name appeared 11 times in The Miami Hurricane from 1940 to 1943, as he was active as the President of YMCA and a member of the History Honor Society. I would love to have this publication digitized and make it accessible online, if we could identify the family of the author for permission.
Hallman’s senior picture was found in the 1943 Ibis yearbook.Hallman received a B.A. in September 1943
I also would like to share with you the picture of Dr. Briggs below found in 1945 Ibis. His name appeared as Professor of History for the first time in 1936 Ibis, he was promoted to Head of Department of History and Sociology in the 1943 Ibis, and he became Dean of the College of Liberal Arts according to 1945 Ibis yearbook. (Nice career move!)
Dr. Briggs was listed as Dean of the College of Liberal Arts in the 1945 Ibis.
Please contact us to read the thesis at the Special Collections and University Archives Reading Room on the 8th floor of Otto G. Richter Library. Please click here for further information on UM theses and dissertations.
University of Miami Archives -- Let's Archive It 