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Oregon State University History in the Special Collections and Archives Research Center

From the collections of the Special Collections and Archives Research Center

Student Club and Organization Records

Student Club and Organization Records, 1931-2008 (RG 276)
The Student Club and Organization Records document the approval and recognition of more than 900 student clubs and organizations at Oregon State University.  While the records include materials from the 1930s-1960s, the bulk of the materials pertain to student organizations active in the 1970s-2000s.

The full range and variety of student organizations are represented in these records and include those whose focus is an academic or degree program; ethnic or cultural community; or local, state, or national politics. Service organizations, fraternities and sororities, honor societies, and student chapters of professional organizations are documented in the collection. Student organizations were established by and for graduate students, women, ethnic minorities, and international students, and are included in these materials. Many religious and spiritual organizations are included as well as organizations that address social movements and concerns locally, regionally, and internationally. Student government, media, and publications are documented in the records. Sports and recreation clubs for women and men are included in the files, as are clubs that were established as a way for students with similar hobbies/interests to interact socially.

The Records include annual review forms, budgets and financial reports, constitutions and by-laws, member rosters and officer lists, event registration forms, and related documentation and correspondence.  Information about the number of members and the name of the faculty advisor are included for many of the organizations.  The files for some organizations include brochures, manuals, posters, and other materials documenting the organization’s activities and programs.

Materials in the collection represent students of different races and ethnicities, disciplines, and hobbies/interests, and also include chapters and branches of national service organizations and honor society.

Examples of clubs and organizations represented in the records include:

  • Student Chapter of the OSU National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (Box 1, Folder 1)

  • ​American Indian Science and Engineering Society (Box 1, Folder 9)

  • Dragon Army: The Ender's Game Alliance (Box 3, Folder 8)

  • Liberation Support Coalition (Box 5, Folder 14)

  • Winter Recreation Club (Box 8, Folder 21)

Student Leadership and Involvement Records, 1964-2015 (RG 232)

These records document the administration of Student Leadership and Involvement (SLI) and its predecessor, the Student Activities Center.  These organizations provide support services to student organizations through leadership training programs, event planning assistance, financial advising, and management of the annual student organization registration process.  The administrative role that SLI fills was first established in 1957 as the Student Activities Center as a part of the Memorial Union.  This collection includes 194 photographs, 4 VHS videotapes, 8 sound recordings and 653 Mbytes of born-digital materials.

Student Clubs

Feronian Literary Society and Mask and Dagger Club Records, 1910-1917 (RG 042)
These records document the administration and activities of the Feronian Literary Society from 1910 to 1912 and the Mask and Dagger Club from 1912 to 1917. The Feronian Literary Society was established in 1897 for women students at Oregon Agricultural College. The records consist of one series: Constitution, By-laws, and Minutes, 1910-1917.

Oregon State University Mountain Club Records, 1947-1975 (MSS MountainClub)
The Oregon State University Mountain Club Records document the mountaineering, skiing, and mountain rescue activities of this student organization. The collection contains scrapbooks, minutes, issues of the club's newsletter, correspondence, and photographs.

Sorosis Literary Society Records, 1895-1912 (RG 046)
The Sorosis Literary Society Records document the activities of this organization of women students at Oregon Agricultural College. The society's programs included dramatic and comedy performances, recitation, and vocal and instrumental music.

Mike Club Scrapbook and Sound Recordings, 1947-1964 (MSS Mike)
The Mike Club Scrapbook and Sound Recordings document the Club's activities and programs, including radio and television broadcasts produced by Oregon State students. The collection includes a scrapbook and audio recordings.

Sigma Xi Records, 1932-2001 (MSS SigmaXi)
The Sigma Xi Records document the activities and programs of the Oregon State University chapter of this scientific research society and include summaries of the status of scientific research at Oregon State University in the 1930s and 1960s. The records include correspondence and clippings regarding the organization's activities and members as well as petitions to the national organization.

Websterian Literary Society Records, 1892-1894 (RG 047)
The Websterian Literary Society Records document the activities of this co-educational organization for Oregon Agricultural College students. Several membership lists are included throughout the records.

Cauthorn Club Records, 1893-1940 (RG 101)
The Cauthorn Club Records include financial records documenting room and board paid by men residents of the original Cauthorn Hall for the periods 1893-1896 and 1908-1909 and a rollbook and scrapbook documenting the members and activities of the Cauthorn Club from the late 1920s until 1940.

Hesperian Lyceum Records, 1891-1893 (RG 065)
The Hesperian Lyceum Society Records consist of the minutes of meetings of the society and a membership roll with attendance registered. The minutes document the programs of the organization. The Hesperian Lyceum Society was established in 1891 at Oregon Agricultural College as a literary society for men and women. 

Oregon State University Dames Club Records, 1927-1973 (MSS Dames)
The Oregon State Dames Club Records document the membership and activities of this organization of the wives and mothers of Oregon State students. The Records include constitutions, correspondence, a history of the club prepared by Fern Roche, National Association of University Dames yearbooks, meeting minutes, financial records, and scrapbooks. The scrapbooks include information about scholarships awarded by the organization, lists of members and officers, publicity and ephemera, and yearly summaries of activities.

*Phrateres Gamma Chapter Scrapbooks, 1930-1962 (MSS Phrateres)
The Phrateres Gamma Chapter Scrapbooks were assembled by Oregon State chapter members and document the membership and activities of the organization, which began as a social and service organization for independent women students who were not members of a sorority. The collection consists of 10 scrapbooks that include clippings, constitutions, newsletters of the national organization, ephemera, and photographs. 

Home Economics Club Records, 1924-1974 (MSS HomeEcClub)
The Home Economics Club Records document the membership and activities of the organization for home economics students at Oregon State. The records include constitutions, correspondence, event brochures and flyers, financial records, handbooks, meeting minutes, memberships lists, newsletters, newspaper clippings, presidents' notebooks, reports, and scrapbooks.

*Triad Club Records, 1925-2006 (MSS TriadClub)
The Triad Club Records document the activities and operation of this organization of Oregon State University faculty established in 1926 to further "fellowship, cooperation, and service" among faculty, students, and the citizens of Corvallis. The records include membership lists, minutes, scrapbooks, photographs, and anniversary publications.

Oregon State University Women's Club Records, 1970-1980 (MSS OSUWomensClub)
The Oregon State University Women's Club Records document the activities of this organization of Portland (Or.) women who graduated from Oregon Agricultural College in the 1910s and 1920s. The collection includes by-laws, a 1980 history of the organization, minutes, treasurer's reports, and yearbooks for 1976/1977 and 1979/1980.

*Henry C. Gilbert Photograph Collection, 1905-1917 (P 158)
The Henry C. Gilbert Photograph Collection consists of scenic postcards and photos from around the Pacific Northwest and Canada, as well as images of activities taking place on the Oregon Agricultural College campus. The membership and functions of the Oxford Club (Box 01) at OAC are a particular focus of the collection's campus images. This collection has been digitized and made available online.

Irwin Betzel Papers, 1911-1920 (MSS Betzel)
The Irwin Betzel Papers are comprised of materials assembled and generated by Betzel during his tenure as an Oregon Agricultural College student (1911-1915), OAC Instructor of Pharmacy (1915-1918), and practicing pharmacist (circa 1920). The collection includes two scrapbooks and a photograph album containing photographs, newsclippings, programs, brochures, dance cards, grade reports, certificates, patches, ribbons, and other ephemera documenting Betzel's involvement in the Oxford Club (Box 01, Folder 01; Box 02, Folder 01, Box 03, Folder 01), the OAC Cadets, theater productions, and various Class of 1915 social activities.

Sydney Trask Photograph Collection, 1871-1932 (P 096)
The Sydney Trask Photograph Collection consists of images created and assembled by Trask and includes many notable images of Oregon Agricultural College buildings, campus views, classrooms, and laboratories during the 1890s thru 1910s. Images documenting instruction in engineering, home economics, industrial arts, photography, and agriculture as well as student activities and clubs including the Camera Club (Box 01, Folder 04), band, military reviews, and literary societies (Box 01, Folder 04) are part of the collection. 

Honor Societies

*Xi Sigma Pi Records, 1923-1953  (MSS XiSigmaPi)
The Xi Sigma Pi Records document the activities of the honorary society for forestry at Oregon State College. The Xi Sigma Pi Records consists of meeting minutes, bylaws, membership rosters, financial records, and the ritual and order of initiation.

Alpha Epsilon Oregon Upsilon Chapter Records, 1975-1995  (MSS AlphaEpsilon)
The records of the Oregon Upsilon chapter of Alpha Epsilon, an honor society for biological and agricultural engineers, consist of consititutions, correspondence, membership rosters, treasurer's reports, and a certificate documenting the establishment and membership of the chapter at Oregon State University. An addition to the Alpha Epsilon Oregon Upsilon Chapter Records (Accession 2011:076) includes a scrapbook containing lists of initiates and officers as well as letters regarding the chartering of the chapter.

Alpha Lambda Delta - Oregon State University Chapter Records, 1933-1999 (MSS AlphaLambda Delta)
T
he Alpha Lambda Delta - Oregon State University Chapter Records document the members and activities of the OSU chapter of the Alpha Lambda Delta national honor society, which was founded to support the academic work of women college students, focusing especially on scholastic achievements during the first year of college. The collection includes a scrapbook, meeting minutes, initiation records, annual reports, merchandise order forms, newsletters, handbooks, an organizational history, correspondence, and other administrative documents.

Gamma Sigma Delta Records, 1909-2010 (RG 020)
The Oregon Agricultural College chapter of Gamma Sigma Delta (originally called Delta Theta Sigma) was established in 1908; it has been called the first honorary society at the university. These records document the administration, membership, and activities of this honorary agricultural society.

*Alpha Zeta Oregon State Chapter Records, 1918-1983 (MSS AlphaZeta)
The Alpha Zeta Oregon State Chapter Records document the membership, governance, and programs of the agricultural honor society at Oregon State University. The records include certificates, constitutions and bylaws, correspondence, event brochures, a history of the organization, ledgers, manuals, meeting minutes, membership lists, newsletters, newspaper clippings, photographs, posters, and a trophy. 

*Eta Sigma Gamma Alpha Tau Chapter Records, 1974-2001 (MSS EtaSigma)
The Eta Sigma Gamma Alpha Tau Chapter Records document the establishment and activities of the Oregon State University chapter of the Eta Sigma Gamma honorary society for health education. The records include annual reports, brochures, bylaws, the chapter charter, certificates, correspondence, financial records, flyers, forms, handbooks, meeting agendas, membership lists, newspaper clippings, a plaque, photographs, publications, and artifacts used in initiation ceremonies.

*Omicron Nu Records, 1919-2010 (MSS OmicronNu)
The materials contained in the Omicron Nu Records (Accession 2010:053) document the chapter's annual initiation ceremonies, membership management, awards distribution, participation in national conclave meetings, accounting activity, and the sponsorship of a forum on student rights.

*Phi Kappa Phi -  OSU Chapter Records, 1914-2002 (MSS PhiKappaPhi) 
These records were generated by the OSU Chapter of the Honorary Society of Phi Kappa Phi and document the origins and development of the group, the yearly process of the selection of pledges and members, sponsorship of the Biology Colloquium lecture series, and the awarding of fellowships and scholarships by the chapter. Established in 1897, the Honorary Society of Phi Kappa Phi was founded to honor academic achievement through offering membership in the Society to the top ten high percent of a college senior class. 

*Eta Sigma Gamma Alpha Tau Chapter Records, 1974-2001 (MSS EtaSigma)
The Eta Sigma Gamma Alpha Tau Chapter Records consist of materials created and assembled by the Oregon State University chapter (Alpha Tau) of this honorary society for health education and document the establishment of the chapter and its activities during the 1980s and 1990s. The records include annual reports, brochures, bylaws, the chapter charter, certificates, correspondence, financial records, flyers, forms, handbooks, meeting agendas, membership lists, newspaper clippings, a plaque, photographs, publications, and artifacts used in initiation ceremonies. 

*Talons Records, 1936-1990 (MSS Talons)
Talons is a service-oriented honorary society for sophomore women founded at Oregon State College in 1933. This collection includes minutes of general and executive committee meetings, lists of officers and members, application forms, scrapbooks, and information about projects such as the dance for senior citizens and cookie sales. 

*Sphinx Society Records, 1949-2006 (MSS Sphinx)
Formed in 1909 as a honorary society open only to senior male students, the Sphinx Society operated largely as a secret organization until it's disbanding in 1969. The collection consists of correspondence, an historical essay, a membership list, a large wooden plaque with metal plates emblazoned with members' names, membership rosters and procedural information.

*Phrateres Gamma Chapter Scrapbooks, 1930-1962 (MSS Phrateres)
The Phrateres Gamma Chapter Scrapbooks were assembled by Oregon State chapter members and document the membership and activities of the organization, which began as a social and service organization for independent women students who were not members of a sorority. The collection consists of 10 scrapbooks that include clippings, constitutions, newsletters of the national organization, ephemera, and photographs. 

Sigma Delta Chi Oregon State Chapter Records (MSS SigmaDeltaChi)
The Sigma Delta Chi Oregon State Chapter Records document the membership and activities of the student chapter of the national professional fraternity in journalism, which was established at Oregon State University in 1920. The records include correspondence, membership rosters, reports, publications, and a constitution.

Theta Sigma Phi Records, 1921-1980 (MSS ThetaSigmaPhi)
The Theta Sigma Phi Records consist of materials - including a scrapbook - that document the Alpha Eta chapter of Theta Sigma Phi, a women's professional journalism society. The collection includes minute books (1921-1955), financial and membership records, publications, newspaper clippings, annual banquet records (1944-1973), and photographs. Also included is a scrapbook of clippings (1927-1967) about Theta Sigma Phi activities and members.

Mortar Board Scrapbooks, 1938-1982 (MSS MortarBoard)
The Mortar Board Scrapbooks document the members and activities of the Oregon State chapter of this senior women's honorary society.  The scrapbooks include clippings, photographs, ephemera, and some organizational records such as newsletters and minutes. 

Robert E. McDole Papers (MSS McDole)
The Robert E. McDole Papers consist of materials created or assembled by McDole during his undergraduate student years at Oregon State College, as a graduate student in soil science at the University of Idaho, and in the course of his work as a soil scientist for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the University of Idaho. Materials from McDole's undergraduate student years at Oregon State College also include records of the Oregon Chapter of the Alpha Zeta agricultural honorary society at Oregon State.

*J. Kenneth Munford Collection, 1866-2000 (MSS Munford)
The J. Kenneth Munford Collection consists of a variety of materials assembled and created by Munford as a student, teacher, writer and editor, and local historian. 
Series 10, 11, and 12 (Boxes 2, 13, and 14) consist of materials related to Munford's membership in Phi Kappa Phi, an honor society established to recognize and encourage superior scholarship regardless of academic discipline.

*Access to Collections

*All collections listed in this guide are open for research. Some collections, however, are not yet fully processed, arranged, or described; the titles of these collections have been marked with an asterisk, i.e., *Avery Lodge Records, 1966-2014.