The JKM Library Blog

The Chatham University Archives & Special Collections is pleased to present “Europe `72: The Chatham Choir Tour Scrapbook” in the lobby of the JKM Library. The exhibit features materials documenting the Chatham Choir’s tour of Europe in 1972 with the Hamilton College Choir. Preserved in a scrapbook held by the Chatham Archives, the exhibit materials include a tour itinerary and photographs of choir activities ranging from sleeping in an airplane to performing in a 15th century church and sightseeing. Of particular interest in the exhibit is a selection of audio from the Chatham Choir tour performance in Lucca, Italy on June 12, 1972. Those unable to visit the exhibit at the JKM Library are encouraged to explore the online exhibit, created by a Chatham undergraduate student, which describes the tour in great detail. A recording of the performance in Lucca, Italy, preserved through support from the Council of Independent Colleges, is accessible through the exhibit. 

August 30, 2022

September 2021

The JKM Library is excited to be working with CAB and the University Archives on an event this coming October 14th for National Dessert Day. The event will include fall and Halloween themed dessert snacks, the screening of short film “Chatham University Ghost Stories,” directed by student Tess Weaver, the telling of a recent ghostly encounter on campus, and readings from award-winning local horror authors. The University Archives will also have items from Chatham’s past that connect back to popular ghost stories on campus.
The event is from 7:00pm-9:00pm on Thursday, October 14th in the Carriage House. Registration is not required.
Below is the lineup for the evening. Keep scrolling to read bios and find links to our guest authors.

• 7:00pm- Welcome, mingle, view the archive materials
• 7:20pm- Nelson Pyles
• 7:40pm- Sara Tantlinger
• 8:00pm- Video of ghost stories
• 8:15pm- An Occurrence at Thomson House (told by Jocelyn Codner) 
• 8:20pm- Douglas Gwilym
• 8:40pm- Michael A. Arnzen

Sara Tantlinger is the author of the Bram Stoker Award-winning The Devil’s Dreamland: Poetry Inspired by H.H. Holmes, and the Stokernominated works To Be Devoured, Cradleland of Parasites, and Not All Monsters. Along with being a mentor for the HWA Mentorship Program, she is also a co-organizer for the HWA Pittsburgh Chapter. She embraces all things macabre and can be found lurking in graveyards or on Twitter @SaraTantlinger, at saratantlinger.com and on Instagram @inkychaotics.
Nelson Pyles is the critically acclaimed author of the novels Spiders in the Daffodils and Demons, Dolls, & Milkshakes, a collection of short works entitled Everything Here is a Nightmare, as well as multiple short stories in various anthologies. His work has appeared alongside Harlan Ellison, F Paul Wilson, Tim Waggoner, Michael Arnzen, Jonathan Maberry, and Jack Ketchum. His next collection of short stories All These Steps Lead Down will be available in 2022
Nelson is the creator of The Wicked Library, a horror fiction podcast, where he also served as host for seasons 1-5, and collaborated as Executive Producer for seasons 6-10. He has also been a contributing writer to the popular audio-drama podcast, The Lift. Nelson is also an audiobook narrator and stunt vocalist for the progressive rock band, Novus.
Douglas Gwilym is a writer and editor who has also been known to compose a weird-fiction rock opera or two. If you aren’t lucky enough to have caught him performing his stories and music at venues around Pittsburgh, you can find him at douglasgwilym.bandcamp.com or follow him on twitter at @douglasgwilym. Check out his Amazon page. Befriend him on facebook.
Michael Arnzen is the four-time Bram Stoker Award-winning author of the novels Grave Markings and Play Dead. Arnzen teaches fulltime in the MFA in Writing Popular Fiction program at Seton Hill University, in Greensburg, PA. Known particularly for his experiments in minimalist horror, in such books as 100 Jolts and The Gorelets Omnibus, he invites readers to subscribe to his newsletter at gorelets.com, where they can get free short-shorts delivered to their inbox when they least expect them.

September 2021

The Chatham University Archives & Special Collections is pleased to present “Eden Hall Farm: A Visual History from the Chatham Archives” in the lobby of the JKM Library.
A presentation of compelling images accompanied by contextualizing ephemera, the video surveys the founding, the purpose, and the experience of Eden Hall Farm guests before the site was donated to Chatham in 2007. Students, faculty, and staff can expect to see familiar Eden Hall Farm landmarks, like the Lodge, as they were
enjoyed by farm guests in the 1930s through the 1960s. During those years, the farm was a vacation and retreat center for female employees of the H. J. Heinz Company.
Following a brief introduction describing the impetus for founding Eden Hall Farm, the video presents photographs of farm guests alongside textual snippets from a brochure about the farm produced in the 1940s. All materials in the video are part of the Eden Hall Farm Collection, which is housed in the Chatham University Archives
and includes records ranging from guest books and paintings to land deeds and ephemera.

January 2021

The 1960s is recognized as a pivotal era in American history, when activists in the Civil Rights Movement worked to remove barriers to equality in the voting booth, the workplace, in banking, and more. But, how involved were Chatham students in these efforts? Some might recall that Chatham students joined the marches from Selma to Montgomery in 1965 and organized a campus visit by John Lewis in 1964, but when did they begin to participate in the movement? Using the recently digitized Chatham Student Newspapers Collection from the University Archives, we can explore how a student-initiated exchange program with Hampton University, a historically black college in Virginia, created opportunities for students to better understand racism in American culture and to engage more closely in efforts to dismantle Jim Crow segregation laws in the early 1960s. In March of 1961, the Chatham student newspaper (then called The Arrow) ran a front-page article about a seminar to be held at Hampton University (then known as Hampton Institute) on “African Nations in the World Community,” an event that invited interested students and faculty from other schools to attend[1]. Chatham students Dina Ebel `63, Helen Moed `63, and Janet Greenlee accepted the invitation and, upon their return, remarked that they were impressed by the “generosity shown by the students at Hampton” and “their keen interest in international affairs, even with a problem of their own race.”[2] The three students were highlighted in an article in The Arrow by Stephanie Cooperman `63 as a counterpoint to a sense of general apathy that she felt was affecting the Chatham student population. Cooperman wrote that more opportunities like the seminar at Hampton Institute would help to engage students in the world beyond the campus. She wrote, “Why not allow more of us to learn from actual experience the pain and courage it takes to live as a minority? Why not institute an exchange program, perhaps a week’s duration, with a Southern Negro college?”[3] Ebel, Moed, and Greenlee likewise supported the exchange program idea and wrote, “We had the opportunity and we want others to share our experience. You can’t just talk and write about it; you must live it.”[4]   “[6] By the spring of 1962, an exchange program between Hampton Institute and Chatham College was in place. Those who were unable to travel to Hampton were invited to serve as hostesses for the Hampton Institute guests. This was the first such exchange program at Chatham and a variety of campus events, including dorm parties, a student-faculty tea, and a “folk sing at the Snack Bar” were planned to welcome the visiting students. The Hampton guests were encouraged to attend classes, student governance meetings, and on- and off-campus events of their choice.[5] Phyllis Fox`64, one of the five Chatham students to visit Hampton Institute in 1962, wrote in The Arrow that she hoped the program would “help bridge the wide gap of misunderstanding between beings of the same species.” Using poetry to express her thoughts, Fox wrote: “Every face has known joy and pain; Every face is wet with the same rain; The face is only the mask of life That hides the real human strife. A person is not a face, but a spirit and a mind So what matter if his skin is of a different kind?”[7] Winter of 1963 saw the HamptonChatham exchange program promoted in the student newspaper with an article describing it as an opportunity for “discussions on segregation with students who had led or participated in sit-downs and other integration movements in the South” and for insight into “one of the foremost problems of today, that of racial relations.”[8] After visiting Hampton Institute that year, Carol Sheldon `66 wrote about participating in a protest and learning about segregated lunch counters and employment discrimination. She wrote, “There is a certain unity about a group of fifty Negroes and three whites who walk into downtown discrimination-ridden Hampton on a Sunday afternoon; perhaps we were partners in fear, since many of us had not picketed anything before and were slightly apprehensive.”[9] Articles in the student newspaper about the program document a range of responses, with students expressing interest in extending the exchange for a whole semester and also insinuating that the Hampton visitors were given a less than welcome reception on campus.[10] Philip A. Silk, an Assistant Minister from the First Unitarian Church, submitted a letter to the editor to The Arrow in which he describes the potential for the exchange program to create “intelligent follow-up projects as aiding groups such as the NAACP or the Urban League.” He continues, “But it can also lead to a feeling that you have done your part, having proved your liberalism in this brief event.”[11] At the start of the 1963-1964 year, The Arrow announced plans to host a bi-monthly exchange column with the Hampton Institute newspaper[12] and efforts to help organize an exchange program between Hampton and a nearby men’s school, Washington and Jefferson College.[13] The exchange that occurred in the spring of 1965 seems to be the last. Following the exchange that year, Leslie Tarr `68 reported that there was little discussion of civil rights on Hampton Institute campus because the administration “frowned” on student engagement in civil rights demonstrations.[14] That administrators discouraged student participation in civil rights demonstrations is surprising, especially considering that Hampton Institute President Dr. Moron arranged, in 1957, an on-campus position for civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks after her demonstration sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott and she was fired from her job.[15] Tarr also said that Hampton Institute students agree that “It’s the parents who are causing the trouble, and there’s hope for our generation.”[16] Illustration from The Arrow published on 4/9/1965 [18] Though it is unclear from the student newspapers exactly why the exchange program ended, it seems that Chatham students remained interested in discussing racism and civil rights issues with members of the Hampton Institute community. In 1966, the Chatham chapter of the National Student Association organized a week-long Civil Rights Forum with an aim to “broaden the exchange of ideas between Chatham students and students of other campuses.” Panelists included students from Hampton Institute, Howard University, Tuskegee Institute and Central State University as well as speakers from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).[17] By exploring the newly digitized student newspaper collection, a more vivid picture of the early 1960s on Chatham campus emerges. However, lots of questions—like why the exchange program ended and how the participants continued to engage in efforts to dismantle race-based discrimination— remain unanswered. This period in Chatham history evokes enduring questions that are critical to the fight for equality, including questions of authenticity and performativeness that circulate within contemporary anti-racist efforts. Though materials in the Chatham University Archives can’t answer all of these questions, they present an opportunity to examine how activism on campus has—and has not—changed over the years. The Chatham University Archives welcomes questions about using the collections; more information can be found at library.chatham.edu/archives. 
Notes 
1. “Hampton Institute Holds Conference on Africa,” The Arrow (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), March 17, 1961, https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/ 
2. Dina Ebel, Helen Moed, and Janet Greenlee, letter to the editor, The Arrow (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), May 12, 1961 on 05/12/1961, https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/ 
3. Stephanie Cooperman, “Student Slams Do-Nothings,” The Arrow (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), April 28, 1961, https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/ 
4. Ebel, Moed, and Greenlee, letter to the editor, https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/ 
5. “Chatham Welcomes Eight from Hampton,” The Arrow (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), April 13, 1962, https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/ 
6. Stephanie Cooperman, “Chatham Arts On Integration,” The Arrow (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), February 16, 1962, https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/ 
7. Phyllis Fox, “People Are People From Va. To Pa.,” The Arrow (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), April 27, 1962, https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/ 
8. “Hampton, Chatham Trade Students for Weekend,” The Arrow (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), February 22, 1963, https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/ 
9. Carol Sheldon, “Chathamites at Hampton,” The Arrow (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), April 12, 1963, https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/ 
10. “NSA Board Requests Reply From You,” The Arrow (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania),May 10, 1963, https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/ 
11. Philip A. Silk, letter to the editor, The Arrow (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), March 9, 1962, https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/ 
12. “Arrow States Policy,” The Arrow (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), September 27, 1963, https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/ 
13. “Seven to Travel to Hampton, Va.,” The Arrow (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), March 13, 1964, https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/ 
14. “Five Students Visit Hampton College On Annual 4-Day Exchange Program,” The Arrow (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), April 9, 1965, https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/ 
15. William Harvey , “Hampton University and Mrs. Rosa Parks: A Little Known History Fact.” Hampton University Website. Hampton University. Accessed January 28, 2021. www.hamptonu.edu/news/hm/2013_0 
16. “Five Students Visit Hampton College,” https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/ 
17. “NSA to Sponsor Forum on Rights,” The Arrow (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), February 4, 1966, https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/ 
18. “Five Students Visit Hampton College,” https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/ 
 

July 2020

The passing of civil rights leader and Congressman John Lewis on July 17, 2020 draws thoughts to the unparalleled impact he has had on this nation and to the brief moments he shared with the Chatham community during his visit to campus in 1964. At the time, Lewis was the National Chairman of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). His visit to campus was a student-initiated event, arranged by the Student Peace Union (SPU), a group organized in 1961-62 and led by Chatham student and activist Linda Watts. John Lewis at meeting of American Society of Newspaper Editors in 1964. John Lewis’ visit was the climax of an SPU lecture series, which also included talks with President of the Pennsylvania NAACP Henry Smith, Chairman of the Committee to Abolish the House Un-American Activities Committee Frank Wilkinson, and member of The Freedom Singers Charles “Chico” Neblett. A Guest Editorial in the student newspaper promoted Lewis’ visit as being “a landmark in the 1963-64 calendar at Chatham.” During his stay in Pittsburgh, Lewis also spoke at Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh, Duquesne University, the annual Americans for Democratic Action dinner, the Tri-State Conference of Hillel, and the Central Baptist Church. According to local newspapers, Lewis’s visit aimed to recruit volunteers to increase voter registration among Black members of the Mississippi community. Student newspaper article printed in advance of John Lewis’ campus visit. In anticipation of Lewis’ visit to campus, the student newspaper printed excerpts from a speech he delivered at the 1963 March on Washington. These excerpts reflect Lewis’ views on impact of police brutality, voter suppression, and the need for sustained activism. The full article can be viewed in the February 29, 1964 issue of the student newspaper accessible here. Though the collections of the Chatham Archives do not contain photographs of John Lewis on campus, the student newspaper includes articles that describe the event and also offer analysis of the campus climate. One article, titled “`Time for Waiting is Past,’ Says John Lewis from SNCC” recounts the main tenets of his speech, which included acknowledgement of the work of college students and a rebuttal to anti-communist critics of the civil rights movement. The full article can be viewed here. Student newspaper article describing John Lews’ speech on Chatham campus. Another article in this issue raises a few questions about the reception Lewis received on campus. In a column titled “Thru the Keyhole,” student Diane Brutout reports that there were some “[r]umblings around campus” that were “critical of SPU’s [Student Peace Union] all-out publicity campaign for Lewis.” According to Brutout’s reporting, some students complained that the multitude of posters promoting Lewis’ lecture “implied a false consensus among Chatham Students about SNCC.” The full article can be accessed here. Column in the March 6, 1964 issue of The Arrow. Brutout, later a Chatham Trustee whose lifelong dedication to civil rights included focused work supporting women in the workplace, described the work of Lewis and SNCC as restoring law in the American South by encouraging voter registration. She quoted Lewis’ speech, “Last week 500 people stood in line all day long in one Mississippi county in order to register. In that period of time, seven people were given the test.” The test Lewis refers to is the voter application and literacy tests that were used to deny Blacks the right to vote prior to the passage of the Voting Rights Act. An example Mississippi voter application is shown below. Directing her comments at those students who were dissatisfied with Lewis’ visit, Brutout writes, “When only 20,000 out of a potential 400,000 Negros can vote in Mississippi, it is time to press for a revitalization of the earlier mentioned consensus.” In closing, Brutout sharply chides her classmates by stating, “The most many Chatham students have done is to open a forum for the articulation of valid grievances.” We don’t have an opinion piece in the student newspaper to explain the “rumblings” any further, so we don’t know (from the newspaper at least) why there was disagreement. Could it have been because Lewis was considered to be a radical member of the civil rights movement and some Chatham students preferred a more moderate approach? Could the rumblings have resulted from an absence of enthusiasm for the civil rights movement? Something entirely different? What resources could one use to get a fuller picture of the climate and what might one discover about the history of the civil rights movement on college campus through that research? In looking at the climate on Chatham’s campus in the mid-sixties and student engagement in the civil rights movement, we can note the work of Linda Watts, chair of the Student Peace Union. During the summer prior to Lewis’ visit to campus, Watts worked on behalf of SNCC in the Fayette County, Tennessee voter registration drive. In 1965, Linda Watts and classmate Susan Schnapf `67 traveled to Selma, Alabama to participate in the marches across the Edmond Pettis Bridge on Tuesday, March 9, 1965. Read Watts and Schnapf’s first-hand accounts of the march here. Watts served as the contact for the Pittsburgh chapter of the Friends of SNCC and remained active the Pittsburgh social justice movement, protesting race discrimination by craft unions. John Lewis’ speech at Chatham in 1964 and the vigorous activism he inspired among Chatham students serve as single point in a monumental career that is without parallel. 

July 2020

Did you know that archival collections could be used for more than just historical research, or even that learning about the history of a place through their archives could be fun? At the Chatham University Archives & Special Collections, we know that sometimes learning about and celebrating history is made better by doing so in a nontraditional fashion. So, in order to facilitate that, we’ve created an entire guide full of all the fun things we could think of to celebrate Chatham history! The guide itself, at present, contains virtual puzzles, coloring sheet downloads, Zoom meeting backgrounds, and BuzzFeed quizzes, and we’re adding new things all the time. All of the materials on the guide feature either photos from our collections, or information that we learned by looking at the primary sources in our collections. Links are provided to where those collections are housed virtually whenever possible. You can access the guide itself here. We hope you enjoy exploring and playing on the guide. If you have any questions, or even a suggestion for something to add to the guide, feel free to contact the archives using contact info on the Archives home page. 

March 30, 2020

Since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the WHO on March 11th, 2020, life in America has changed significantly. The impact has been felt locally in many ways, with many people working from home and practicing social distancing. In this environment, the online access provided through the Chatham University Archives becomes an even greater research tool. The Chatham University Archives has many collections—including many publications created by the university—available to the public on the Web (library.chatham.edu/archives or click here) and we’re happy to share some guidance on searching these materials. What Do We Have? An Overview: This screenshot shows where you can access the collections on the Archives page – the particular collections I will highlight below are circled in red. Commencement Programs This collection contains documentation of commencement exercises held at Chatham University between 1870 and the present, including both undergraduate and graduate degree conferral ceremonies (Access the collection here) Chatham College: The First Ninety Years A book published in 1960 by Chatham history professor and historian Laberta Dysart, detailing Chatham’s history until that point. (Access the collection here) Yearbooks (1915-2010) This collection contains scanned images of Chatham’s yearbooks from 1915-2010 – a great source of information for campus life and events, as well as information about former Chatham students. (Access the collection here) Course Catalogs Scanned images and digital archives of course catalogs from 1870-2019 – this would be great for anyone interested in what courses Chatham offered historically. (Access the collections by clicking on the date range you’re looking for: 1870-1991, 2006-2014, 2016-2019) Alumnae Directories (select volumes) Contact information for Chatham alumnae – a great resource if you’re wanting to find out if someone went to Chatham, but better for genealogical research because the most recent one available online is from 1956. (Access the collection here) Alumnae Recorder Alumnae newsletters sent out to Chatham alumnae, detailing news from classmates and other pertinent information for Chatham alumnae to know. (Access the collection here) Minor Bird Previous issues of Chatham University’s undergraduate literary magazine (Access the collection here) Student Handbooks Selected volumes of the handbooks given to students at the start of every school year, detailing rules and regulations. Some of them even have interesting tidbits of Chatham history and folklore, like ghost stories! (Access the collection here) Student Newspapers Student newspapers dating as far back as the late 1800s. These are a fantastic source of information for not only what was going on at Chatham at the time, but on occasion the greater Pittsburgh area and the world. The newspapers also contain advertisements from local Pittsburgh businesses, enabling a researcher to learn about some historic Pittsburgh businesses. (Access the collection by clicking on the date range you’re looking for: 1895-1903, 1903-1921, 1921-1923, 1923-1934, 1934-1939, 1939-1948, 1949-2018) The Dilworthian Earlier in Chatham’s history, back when it was Pennsylvania Female College and Pennsylvania College for Women, there was a school called Dilworth Hall that was considered a feeder school for the college. The Dilworthian is their quarterly publication, like a student newspaper, written by their students (who could be considered high school students). (Access the collection here) How can I access these materials? All these materials are either held on one of two online platforms, the Internet Archive or Artstor. Coming very soon, we will have video tutorials giving a more detailed overview of how to use each of these. For now, though, here is a helpful tip to get started. Materials on the Internet Archive are keyword searchable using the search box that has a black background and says “Search inside.” Using the search box with a white background will search all the items in the Internet Archive, rather than the yearbook, course catalog, or student newspaper you selected. It is also important to think about the terms or keywords to enter into the search box. A good rule of thumb for the search bar is the mantra “less is more.” For example, rather than searching “sledding on campus,” try “sledding” or “sled.” Keep in mind that search results will be drawn from the text in the volume, not the pictures. So, a picture of students sledding on campus will only be returned from a search for “sled” if there is a caption (or other text) that has the word “sled.” For searching names, the simplicity principle also applies. Try searching an individual’s last name, rather than the first and last names together. This way, the search returns will show listings for “Jane Smith” as well as for “Smith, Jane.” Also, if you’re looking up a name, make sure you have the correct spelling – the search function shows no mercy for spelling errors! The above image shows what happens when search results appear. You’ll see the search term that was used in the green circle. The blue arrows (one of which is circled in yellow) show where that term appears in the document. If you hover your cursor over a blue arrow, a box like the one circled in orange will appear – it gives you a slight preview of how the search term is used on that page. When you click on a blue arrow and arrive on the specified page, the search term will also be highlighted in purple – areas where this is present in the image are also highlighted with orange circles. We hope that this resource overview will help you as you continue to conduct research using the primary source documents. We’re developing a video series to provide additional guidance on using archival resources in remote research. Check out the first in the series below and check out our Youtube channel for all the latest. If you have any questions, feel free to use the chat box on the library’s home page to speak to the reference librarian on duty or contact Archivist and Public Services Librarian Molly Tighe directly at mtighe1@chatham.edu. 

March 2020

In the midst of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, members of the Chatham community are responding to the current threat and are comforted by an understanding that our current situation is temporary. This broad perspective is supported by the history of public health emergencies and the realization that this is not the first time that Chatham has responded to a global influenza pandemic through proactive distancing measures. Similar closures occurred in the fall of 1918. Illustration of Pennsylvania College for Women (now Chatham U) campus around 1918-1920 The 1918 influenza pandemic, the most severe pandemic in modern history, reached into all corners of the world. Over 17 million people worldwide and 675,000 in the United States lost their lives due to the virus and one third of the world’s population become infected. Pittsburgh, where widespread economic disparity had many workers living in crowded boarding houses, was one of the hardest hit cities in the country with a mortality rate twice the national average during the worst days of the pandemic. PCW (now Chatham U) President John C. Acheson On October 4, 1918, PA State Commissioner of Health Dr. B. F. Boyer ordered that every place of public amusement (poolrooms, dance halls, theaters, saloons) be closed and a city-wide quarantine for Pittsburgh was announced the next day. Reports from across the country appeared in the local papers detailing the closings of colleges and Universities, sporting and entertainment event cancellations, and a rapid increase in the number of influenza victims in much the same manner as we’ve seen in recent weeks. The Pennsylvania College for Women (PCW, now Chatham University) suspended classes amid this environment of rapid infection spread. Despite the impact the 1918 pandemic had on the city population, campus publications from the time spare little space for discussion of the school’s closing or the epidemic itself. College President Acheson, in reporting to the Alumnae Association in the Alumnae Recorder May 1919 issue, simply states “Early in the session we were compelled to close the college for one month on account of the influenza epidemic” before providing an overview of enrollment, plans for campus expansion, and the 50th  anniversary celebration planned for 1920. The Alumnae Association, in their report, mentions that their regular fall meeting was held in November instead of October and that “the postponement being due to the influenza epidemic and the consequent prohibition of public meetings.” Sue Riddle Paine, member of the class of 1894, is mentioned for her time spent “nursing in the slums during the influenza epidemic.” The first post-pandemic issue of the Alumnae Recorder is otherwise filled with updates about alumnae activities including employment, war work, and family along with discussion of the anniversary celebration and student clubs. Pennsylvania College for Women (now Chatham University) Class of 1919 Student publications of the era, such as the student newspaper and yearbook, similarly include little mention of the pandemic. Where it is mentioned, the tone is markedly different from discussions about the COVID-19 pandemic occurring today. For example, the Fall 1918 Sorosis student newspaper includes an editorial titled “Vacation” that describes one student’s dismay at being required to continue her studies while the school was closed. She writes, Usually vacations are times of great rejoicing looked forward to for weeks ahead, and planned for with all the ingenuity possible. And so, the surprising announcement which came so unexpectedly, so entirely without warning on that Tuesday morning, “College closes today for an indefinite period” was greeted with great enthusiasm by many. The aforementioned enthusiasm received a chill, however, when the enthusiasts went to classes and heard such heartless assignments as “Finish first book in Economics” or, in International Law, “Prepare next six chapters and know important international conferences up to date.” In other words, “Keep studying and you’ll not have time to entertain influenza germs. The piece continues with a discussion about how all students should maintain their focus on coursework so that planned Christmas and Easter vacations will not be cancelled. The 1919 yearbook’s “Senior Class History” includes the remark that “The first semester was broken up by the enforced flu vacation, so things had to be done in double-quick time.” Again here, the author refers to the closure of the school to combat the spread of the virus as a “vacation.” “Influenza Song” printed in 1919 & 1920 yearbook Historians contend that we must consider records and primary sources within the context of their creation and, from that context, to gather a broader sense of the perspective being presented. Considered within the context of the public health disaster of the 1918 pandemic, what can be learned from the statements of the PCW president, alumnae, and students? Does the treatment of the pandemic in these printed sources indicate carelessness or disregard in the face of so many deaths? Or, could other events have shaded the statements we see in these sources? Consider the calendar printed in the 1919 yearbook shown below. The influenza pandemic is mentioned alongside a variety of activities relating to World War I. Calendar printed in 1919 & 1920 Yearbook These and other records in the University Archives describe the Social Work program at Chatham, which was the first of its kind in the country. How might the war work and the emphasis on social work explain the minimal discussion of the influenza? Examining primary sources can raise lots of questions and can inspire avenues of research that span across repositories, document types, and record formats. In continuing to explore the local impact of the 1918 influenza pandemic, what other sources could be helpful? How might one explore the differences between the 1918 pandemic and the 2020 pandemic on campus and in the region? What other questions might come up in the process? Curious for more? Here are a few links the include discussion of the 1918 pandemic: Pennsylvania College for Women 1919 & 1920 yearbook     Sorosis student newspaper, 1918-1921     Alumae Recorder, 1916 – 1923     National Museum of Health and Medicine Virtual Exhibit, “Closing in on a Killer: Scientists Unlock Clues to the Spanish Influenza Virus”     Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission, 1918 Influenza Epidemic Records     Online lecture about how steel corporations impacted death rate in Pennsylvania during the 1918 pandemic by Jim Higgins, via National Museum of Industrial History     Online lecture about the 1918 pandemic titled “Pittsburgh: Steel City, Industry, and the 1918 Influenza Pandemic” by Jim Higgins, via National Museum of Industrial history     “When the Spanish Flu Swept In, Pittsburgh Failed the Test,” Bill O’Toole, Pittsburgh Quarterly     “Records reveal 1918 influenza’s devastating impact on a tiny Pittsburgh community,” The Digs, Post-Gazette     “Pittsburgh didn’t confront the 1918 epidemic in time,” Brian O’Neill, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, 3/19/20     

February 2020

Archival footage on display in the JKM Library As part of an ongoing, rotating showcase of recently digitized media in the lobby of the JKM Library, the Chatham University Archives & Special Collections is pleased to present “Issues for the 90s: A Conversation with the President.” This film features Dr. Rebecca Stafford, President of Chatham from 1983 until 1990, discussing a proposal for coeducation brought forth to the college community in 1990. The footage was reformatted through support from the Council of Independent Colleges.
Members of the Chatham community and the public are welcome to enjoy the presentation.
The film digs into the questions and concerns alumnae had in the 1990s about the coeducation proposal, enrollment issues, and the future of Chatham College (now University). According to the footage, coeducation was being considered because of concern about enrollment projections and a desire to sustain the institution. Dr. Stafford mentions that growth in adult education at women’s colleges, like the Gateway Program at Chatham, served to increase enrollment numbers overall but did not provide a sustainable model over the long term. Rather, she concluded, Chatham needed to develop a plan to attract more residential students.  Moreover, it is illuminating to learn that coeducation had been considered several times over the course of Chatham’s history. The footage of Dr. Stafford was recorded in February of 1990, a full twenty-five years before Chatham’s undergraduate programs became coed. The Coeducation Debate Collection (click here for the finding aid) includes records of the first formal consideration of coeducation at Chatham in the late 1960s and petitions from faculty, students, and alumnae when the issue was raised in 1990. In the footage on view, Dr. Stafford mentions that Board of Trustees discussed coeducation when changing the school’s name from The Pennsylvania College for Women to Chatham in the 1950s. She notes the trustees were concerned that Chatham must “have a name that doesn’t have `women’ in it."

Board of Trustee Minutes from 1954 discussing coeducation.
The “Issues for the 90s: A Conversation with the President” is on view in the JKM Library lobby for the enjoyment of members of the public and the Chatham
community. Those interested in exploring the history of coeducation at Chatham are encouraged to explore the film and related material in the Chatham University Archives and Special Collections.
By Janelle Moore, Archives Assistant, and Molly Tighe, Archivist & Public Services Librarian

February 2019

Walking around the JKM Library, you may have noticed a curious video running on a loop in the JKM Library near the Popular Books table. Or perhaps, you’ve only heard about the interesting video and are worried about missing out? Fear not! We’re happy to share the clips of the video so that off-campus community members, alums, and the general public can enjoy it as much as students, staff, and patrons who frequent the JKM Library. Ready? Archival Film on View in the JKM Library The video is one of several that the University Archives & Special Collections digitized recently as part of its preservation program. The Archives works with local specialists equipped with film ovens (used to warm decaying film before running it through players) and all sorts of reformatting equipment to create preservation- quality, digital versions of footage on obsolete formats. The Archives is continually working to make more material available and we have plans to preserve more archival films in the coming months. Stay tuned! Part 1 of the film features footage of the 1936 Commencement ceremony, the oldest known footage in the Archives. Running just over two minutes and with no sound, the footage shows graduates filing into the ceremony area between Laughlin and Buhl Halls. At the time, Laughlin was a library and Buhl had yet to be expanded to the size we know today. The film shows the college glee club performing under the direction of Earl B. Collins, audience members watching from the windows in Buhl Hall, and a view of the audience seated above the ceremony area. The program from the 1936 commencement that lists the names of the graduates, the commencement speaker, and other details from the day can be viewed as part of Chatham’s Commencement Programs online collection. Click here for the 1936 Commencement program. The second half of the film, which runs just under one minute, is a bit of a mystery. The footage appears to show Arthur Braun, then President of the Board of Trustees, as well as Dean Mary Marks. However, the rest of the individuals are—as yet—unidentified. Any ideas? Additional audio and video material from the Chatham University Archives is accessible online from the Historical Film Collection (click here) and the Historical Audio Collection (click here). Researchers and those interested in seeing additional material are encouraged to reach out to the Chatham University Archives here. Even more material is available for viewing pleasure on the Archives Facebook (@chathamarchives) and Instagram (@chathamarchives), where we’re posting as part of the 150th anniversary of Chatham’s founding with #150Throwbacks. 

April 2018

In conjunction with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s upcoming performance of Silent Spring, a symphonic tone poem created to honor the 50th anniversary of the publication of the seminal Rachel Carson book, the Chatham University Archives is presenting an exhibit titled Nature & Nurture: The Rachel Carson Legacy in Pittsburgh. On view in Heinz Hall from April 6 through April 22, the exhibition presents highlights from the collections of the University Archives that explore the roots of Rachel Carson’s interest in science and writing and the legacy of celebrating her achievements though music.
Chatham Archives exhibit Nature & Nurture: The Rachel Carson Legacy in Pittsburgh at Heinz Hall
Widely recognized for The Sea Around Us, Silent Spring, and countless articles that brought attention to the detrimental effects of widespread pesticide use, Rachel Carson’s connection to music isn’t frequently discussed. However, music played a major role in Rachel’s upbringing, as her mother taught piano lessons to local children in the family home and many days were spent setting Mother Goose rhymes to music.
Nature & Nurture exhibit essay in Pittsburgh Symphony Concert Program
Rachel remained a classical music fan throughout her lifetime, even writing liner notes for the National Symphony Orchestra’s recording of Claude Debussy’s Le Mer and speaking at an orchestra benefit luncheon. As a student at Chatham (then Pennsylvania Female College), Rachel evoked the sound of piano music in her literary club award winning essay, Broken Lamps. This essay is available online through the University Archives at this link.
Nature & Nurture exhibit from University Archives in Heinz Hall
The exhibition, Nature & Nurture: The Rachel Carson Legacy in Pittsburgh, spans Rachel Carson’s experience as a student and a few of the local, musical events that have honored her work as an environmental pioneer. The display includes photographs, programs, and documents from the 1995 Opus: Earth symphony concert to benefit the Rachel Carson Institute and the World Wildlife Fund.

Opus: Earth Program Cover Of particular note is a score to Silent Spring inscribed “in honor of Rachel Carson to her Alma Mater Chatham University” by the composer, Steven Stucky. The score was presented during an on-campus discussion of his piece and the legacy of Rachel Carson in 2011.
Score for “Silent Spring” inscribed to Chatham by composer Steven Stucky

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is generously offering discount codes for students, staff, faculty, and alums. Contact Student Affairs for more information. You won’t want to miss the special pre-concert lecture by Dr. Patricia DeMarco, former head of the Rachel Carson Institute and our region’s foremost Rachel Carson scholar.

Dr. DeMarco’s lecture will occur on Friday, April 20, 2018.
Can make the event? Check out the finding aid for the Collection on Rachel Carson or contact the Chatham University Archives & Special Collections to learn more about Rachel Carson `29 and her local legacy.

January 2018

The Chatham University Archives invites you to explore Chatham Leadership: The Presidency of Cora Helen Coolidge, an exploration of a president whose ceaseless dedication to women’s education steered Chatham through one of its most tumultuous chapters. Presented as an extension of Chatham Leadership: A Presidential Timeline, this exhibit aims to convey both the impact Coolidge had on Chatham as well as the profound and indelible impression she had on the lives of students from her era. The exhibit is on view in the lounge of the Women’s Institute in Braun Hall, and we encourage your to stop by and explore the legacy of President Coolidge. Pennsylvania College for Women President Cora Helen Coolidge Cora Helen Coolidge was born on December 6, 1866 in Westminster, Massachusetts to Ellen Drusilla Coolidge and Frederick Spaulding Coolidge. Her father, distantly related to Calvin Coolidge, was the first democratic congressman from Massachusetts. Her brother, Marcus Allen Coolidge, was mayor of Fitchburg, Massachusetts prior to his election to the U.S. Senate. A learned family, the Coolidges frequently discussed the works and philosophies of Thoreau, Emerson, and other transcendentalists during supper, and Cora was made to read the Bible, English literature, history, and politics. Miss Coolidge’s father, Frederick Spaulding Coolidge. C.M. Bell, photographer. Hon. F.S. Coolidge , 1891. [between January and January 1894] Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/ Upon graduating from the Cushing Academy in 1887, Coolidge attended Smith College, a private women’s liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts, where she received a Bachelor of Laws. During the following summers, Coolidge took classes at the University of Chicago and the University of Gottingen in Germany. Portrait of Miss Coolidge, 1897 Fitchburg Historical Society Fitchburg, Massachusetts www.fitchburghistoricalsociety.org Coolidge came to the Pennsylvania College for Women (PCW, and now Chatham University) in 1906 as President Henry Drennan Lindsay’s hand-picked successor to Miss Elizabeth Eastman, the former dean of the college. At the time of her hiring, Coolidge had developed the reputation as a strong public lecturer on the subject of English literature and the adept and personable vice-principal of the Cushing Academy, her alma mater, in Ashburnham, Massachusetts. After arriving in Pittsburgh, Coolidge continued giving public lectures about women’s education and her two favorite authors—Robert Browning and Robert Louis Stevenson—to clubs, church groups, and other educators. Coolidge was active in several of these clubs and groups, including the American Association of University Women, Pittsburgh Colony of New England Women, Twentieth Century Club, Women’s City Club, and Monday Luncheon Club (click here to learn about the Monday Luncheon Club through records held at the Heinz History Center). In 1908, Coolidge founded the College Club, an association of female graduates to socialize and pursue common interests in education, science, and humanities. Luncheon at P.C.W. for Jane Addams, 1908 (Addams second from left, Coolidge third from right) Following the sudden death of President Lindsay from pneumonia in 1914, Coolidge was chosen to serve as the acting president of the college prior to Dr. John Carey Acheson’s election in 1915. Coolidge served as dean until she was appointed in 1917 to be President of the National Committee of the Bureau of Occupations, a war-time committee engaged under governmental authority to find jobs for women. Before accepting the position, Coolidge was awarded a Doctor of Literature by PCW. In addition to her wartime work with the Bureau of Occupations, Coolidge was highly active executive secretary of a Red Cross branch that included Fitchburg, Massachusetts and ten other towns. World War I Volunteer Clerical Corps., Fitchburg, Massachusetts, 1918 Fitchburg Historical Society, Fitchburg, Massachusetts www.fitchburghistoricalsociety.org After the resignation of Dr. Acheson as president of PCW in 1922, Coolidge was asked by the Board of Trustees to assume the position of president. Acutely aware of the college’s precarious financial position, Coolidge proclaimed, “I’ll come back to Pennsylvania College for Women if you mean business, but I won’t come back to bury it.” Reasonably satisfied with the seriousness of the board’s attitude, Coolidge accepted the position with the intent of solving the college’s financial woes by establishing an endowment of one million dollars. Additionally, Coolidge sought to raise five hundred thousand dollars for equipment and buildings and to boost the reputation of the college to match those of nation’s best universities. A clipping of an interview published in 1922, the day after Miss Cora Helen Coolidge arrived in Pittsburgh to become president of the Pennsylvania College for Women. To realize her ambitions, Coolidge spearheaded an intensive fundraising campaign. Along with courting wealthy philanthropists within the city of Pittsburgh, the college conducted a thorough search to locate five hundred Pittsburgh-area alumnae and an additional twelve hundred former students living in thirty-six states and six foreign countries. In cities in which five or more alumnae were living, fundraising dinners were held. The largest fundraising dinner, held at the William Penn Hotel in Pittsburgh, was attended by over 1,000 guests, including Madame Louise Homer, the daughter of Dr. William T. Beatty, one of the founders of the college in 1869. A proposal for the distribution of the one-million-dollar endowment. Although the original goal of the one-million-dollar endowment fund was not met, the profile of the college rose appreciably, and enough funds were generated to expand Woodland Hall and construct the Buhl Hall of Science, the James Laughlin Memorial Library, and a heating plant. President Coolidge and three great-great grandchildren of James Laughlin (Left-to-right: Elizabeth Laughlin, Henrietta Laughlin, and Mary Laughlin) break ground on the James Laughlin Memorial Library in spring 1931. A drawn map of the Pennsylvania College for Women’s campus before the construction of Buhl Hall and the James Laughlin Memorial Library. During her time as president, Coolidge engendered a feeling of warmth and intimacy between the office of the presidency and the student body. Her home atop Woodland Road was open to all students who wished to discuss with Coolidge any conceivable subject related to the college, academics, or their personal lives. To further establish familial bonds, Coolidge frequently hosted meetings and parties within her home, open to any member of the college community. In the final months of her presidency, Coolidge retreated from public life as she slowly succumbed to a long-term illness. On March 12, 1933, Miss Cora Helen Coolidge died with her brother by her bedside. Coolidge bequeathed $5,000 and 316 of her books to the PCW, and $1,000 to support scholarships at Smith College, Cushing Academy, and the Smith College Club of Fitchburg, Massachusetts. A program for the memorial services held on April 30, 1933, in honor of Miss Coolidge. As PCW grew through the years, changing its name to Chatham in the 1950s, the influence of Cora Helen Coolidge was never forgotten. When the main academic building of her era, Berry Hall, was replaced with a new academic quad , the new humanities hall was named in her honor. Detail of Program for the dedication of Braun, Falk, Coolidge Halls, May 2, 1954. Cora Helen Coolidge’s impact on Chatham University and the Pittsburgh region cannot be overstated. Her guiding hand led the Pennsylvania College to create the country’s first college program on social work and her steady perseverance allowed the school to grow during one of the nation’s most economically trying times. As we continue to welcome Chatham’s newest President, Dr. David Finegold, and reflect on the past leaders who’ve shaped the development of this community, the achievements of Cora Helen Coolidge remain a timeless inspiration. For more information on Cora Helen Coolidge or other leaders in Chatham history, we encourage you to reach out to the Chatham University Archives & Special Collections in the JKM Library.  

November 2017

Some may wonder what the Euripides and Indigenous Heritage Month have in common. Others might ask what Chatham’s University Archives, which collects and preserves the history of the university, could have to help to connect the Athenian tragedian and campus-wide Indigenous Heritage events. Well, look no further than the Drama Department records from 1992 when students and faculty member Patricia Montley performed an adaptation of Euripides Trojan Woman set in Central America as Cortes seizes control of the Aztec empire. Publicity Photo, 1992 Chatham Theatre According to Dr. Motley’s program notes, a Euripedes’ The Trojan Woman is one of the most frequently performed of all the classical tragedies, particularly for audiences affected by war and in eras when war is celebrated. The decision to set the play in Central America in 1992, the 500-year anniversary of Columbus’ journey to the “New World,” allowed for reflection on “the foolishness of waging aggressive war and the transience of military might.” Program Cover for 1992 The Trojan Women Production The Trojan Women, Notes from the Adapter/Director, part 1 The Trojan Women, Notes from the Adapter/Director, part 2 It is fair to surmise that Chatham students, a generally politically-minded group, were quite aware of the impact of war, aggression, and gender-based power dynamics at play. The 1992 yearbook for includes four pages of reflection on current affairs, which included the US invasion of Iraq, an attempt to topple Gorbachev, and the appointment of Clarence Thomas to the US Supreme court. Click here and here to see the yearbook feature. Publicity Photo, 1992 Chatham Theatre The production included the performance of musical works by the Native Flute Ensemble and by Brooke Medicine Eagle. It was dedicated to Phyllis Ferguson, Drama Department faculty member from 1943 to 1970. Ms. Ferguson (left) in 1953 with students and Broadway actor Arnold Moss  

October 2017

The Chatham University Archives invites you to explore Chatham Leadership: A Presidential Timeline, a chronology and account of the remarkable individuals who
have shaped Chatham and made it the institution it is today.
President Spencer Inauguration, 1935
Founded in 1869 by Reverend William Trimble Beatty and supporters from the Shadyside Presbyterian Church, the Pennsylvania Female College actualized the growing
sentiment of the times that women—and therefore society—benefited intellectually, socially, and morally from a liberal arts education that had commonly been limited to men.
Rather than offering courses in needlework, china painting, and English, as other women’s schools in Pittsburgh had throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the
Pennsylvania Female College offered courses in astronomy, chemistry, Greek, and other rigorous subjects that prepared women for professional careers.
Over the next 148 years, the school changed names, first to Pennsylvania College for Women then to Chatham College (now Chatham University), and welcomed
generations of students, faculty, and leaders dedicated to creating a productive and conscientious society through liberal arts education. The 21st century brought the Falk
School of Sustainability, Eden Hall Campus, undergraduate coeducation, and Chatham’s 16th President, Dr. David Finegold.
Buckets and Blossoms, 2017
The Chatham University Archives and the JKM Library congratulate Dr. Finegold on his inauguration as he joins a historic lineage of Chatham leaders. We welcome
the Chatham community to take a look back to the history of our school and the men and women who have served as its leader. Explore this lineage below and through
materials on display in the lobby of the JKM Library.
Reverend James Black
1870 – 1875
Reverend James Black, born April 27, 1826, was selected by the Board of Trustees to be the first president of the Pennsylvania Female College. Although his work prior
to his presidency had primarily been the instruction of men, his two years of teaching at the coeducational University of Iowa had shown him “that our daughters are as
capable of instruction as our sons.” Noted for his stirring oratory, Reverend Black led a daily devotional every morning before classes began.
Reverend Thomas Strong
1875 – 1878
In addition to his presidential responsibilities, Reverend Thomas Strong taught classes in moral philosophy, aesthetics, literature, and history, and was considered a gifted
teacher by his students. In 1876, Strong helped to establish the Alumnae Association of the college, which worked to promote the interests of the college and foster
fellowship among its members.
Helen E. Pelletreau
1878 – 1881 (Acting)
1881 – 1894
The “sweetly austere” Helen E. Pelletreau served as the third president of the Pennsylvania Female College, guiding it through a financially tumultuous period which saw
drastic reductions in the salaries of all employees. Although there was doubt as to whether the college would survive, Miss Pelletreau remained committed to instilling her
educational theory in a shrinking student body. Of equal importance to college scholarship, she contended, were high ideals of living, kindly thoughtfulness, and courtesy.
R. Jennie DeVore
1894 – 1900
As the Pennsylvania College for Women continued to endure financial instability, Miss R. Jennie DeVore placed her hopes in a rigorous curriculum that would position
the college among the “best institutions.” Convinced that an honorable college should have a campus to match its lofty academics, Miss DeVore oversaw additions to
Berry Hall and construction of the Music Hall, which became recognizable features of the campus skyline for the next fifty years.
Chalmers Martin
1900 – 1903
Recognizing the “free-elective” trend among institutions of higher learning, Chalmers Martin introduced a revised curriculum designating two-fifths of courses as
electives. This was welcome news to students who felt that required subjects monopolized too much time and restricted intellectual exploration.
Dr. Samuel Martin
1903 – 1906
“Samuel Martin,” Hankey Center &
C. Elizabeth Boyd ’33 Archives,
accessed October 4, 2017,
http://exhibits.wilson.edu/items/show/87.
To maintain the high educational standards established by Miss DeVore, the Pennsylvania College for Women accumulated an alarming amount of debt which, by 1904,
threatened the existence of the college. Knowing student fees would be insufficient in covering ever-increasing expenditures, Dr. Samuel Martin called upon trustees,
alumnae, and others who believed in the mission of the college for financial support, and was met with an overwhelming response. By January 1, 1906, the college raised
$200,000, enough to eliminate the debt and establish a $120,000 endowment fund.
Dr. Henry Drennan Lindsay
1906 – 1914
Under Dr. Henry Drennan Lindsay’s eight-year tenure as president, the Pennsylvania College for Women greatly increased the size of the student body, diversified the
curriculum, and facilitated the creation and growth of on-campus arts programming. Dr. Lindsay served as president until his sudden death from pneumonia in 1914.
Dr. John Carey Acheson
1915 – 1922
In his first year as president, Dr. John Carey Acheson sought to radically modernize the Pennsylvania College for Women, proposing that the campus move from its
location on Murray Hill to the property of Ross Farms, near Aspinwall. Dr. Acheson remained committed to his plan until his resignation in 1922, but annual budget
deficits and the First World War continuously stymied his vision.
Cora Helen Coolidge
1922 – 1933
Miss Cora Helen Coolidge, a former instructor and dean at the Pennsylvania College for Women, was elected as president during a time of considerable financial
difficulties. Convincing all groups of the college that an endowment of one million dollars would be necessary to ensure the survival and growth of PCW, Miss Coolidge
spearheaded an intensive fundraising campaign. Although the original goal of one million dollars was not met, the profile of the college had risen appreciably.
Mary Helen Marks
1933 – 1935 (Acting)
When illness forced Miss Cora Helen Coolidge to resign from her position as president in 1932, the longtime dean of the college, Miss Mary Helen Marks, was elected as
acting president. The years of the Great Depression proved difficult for the Pennsylvania College for Women, but Miss Marks was commended by the editorial staff of the
student-run Arrow for “efficiently and graciously” carrying out her presidential duties and for being an example of cheerfulness throughout one of the most precarious
periods of the college’s existence.
Dr. Herbert Lincoln Spencer
1935 – 1945
Dr. Herbert Lincoln Spencer was esteemed by civic and educational organizations throughout the Pittsburgh area for his enthusiasm and affability, traits considered
indispensable by the Board of Trustees during the challenging years of the Great Depression and World War II. To help ease the financial burden of the college, and to
contribute to national defense efforts, Dr. Spencer permitted the campus to be used for the instruction of men in local defense industries and fifty non-student women
employed by the Glenn Martin Bomber Plant.
Dr. Paul Russell Anderson
1945 – 1960
Dr. Herbert Lincoln Spencer’s handpicked successor, Dr. Paul Russell Anderson, was enthusiastically elected by the Board of Trustees to lead the reconversion to peacetime order following World War II. During Dr. Anderson’s presidency, a new and modernized curriculum was conceived and several new buildings, including Braun, Falk,
and Coolidge Halls, were constructed to accommodate the growing student body.
Dr. Edward Eddy
1960 – 1977
As societal tensions mounted on campuses across the United States, Dr. Edward Eddy proclaimed in the 1965 Chatham College yearbook that “A college graduate today
ought to be among the most dissatisfied people in the world.” Graduates who lost a passionate desire for change, he continued, “deny all that your alma matter
represents.”
Dr. Alberta Arthurs
1977 – 1982
A sluggish economy, transformative technologies, and an increasingly complex society created new opportunities for Chatham College and for Dr. Alberta Arthurs,
Chatham’s 14th
president. To meet these new demands, Dr. Arthurs advocated for new academic offerings and adjustments to library and technological resources that
would prepare graduates for a rapidly changing decade.
Claire Guthrie Gastañaga
1982 – 1983 (Acting)
Claire Guthrie (now Guthrie Gastañaga) was appointed as acting president amid rumors that Chatham College would be closing. During this pivotal year in the college’s
history, Guthrie Gastañaga oversaw the introduction of a new core curriculum that would allow career-minded students to contend in a competitive job market. Guthrie
Gastañaga is now executive director of the ACLU of Virginia.
Dr. Rebecca Stafford
1983 – 1990
Under the leadership of Dr. Rebecca Stafford, Chatham College introduced the Information Science, Human Services Administration, and International Business majors to
entice career-minded students. During this period of rapid modernization, Chatham College also implemented a more rigorous curriculum and adopted a motion to
consider coeducation.
Louise Brown
1991 – 1992
A Trustee and alumna of the Class of `67, Louise Brown brought 15 years of city government experience to her interim presidency.
Dr. Esther Barazzone
1992 – 2016
Under the leadership of Dr. Esther Barazzone, our longest tenured president to date, Chatham gained university status, began admitting men as undergraduate students,
and received international recognition in the field of sustainability. “Dr. B” also prioritized a multicultural education experience to prepare graduates for an economically
and technologically connected world, the result of which was the creation of the Global Focus program.
Dr. David Finegold
2016 –
A renowned scholar and educational innovator, Dr. David Feingold has authored or co-authored seven books and monographs, including BioIndustry Ethics and
Corporate Boards: New Strategies for Adding Value at the Top. Dr. Finegold has dedicated his career to education reform, the design of high-performance organizations,
and extensive research on education and skill-creation systems around the world.
Before signing off, we couldn’t resist sharing a few extra pictures of former Chatham presidents. We’ve many more in the Chatham University Archives, so stop by to
learn more about Chatham history.
 

August 2017

Have you ever noticed that a few of the group study rooms in the JKM Library are named? Have you ever wondered why or whom they are named for? The Chatham University Archives & Special Collections is thrilled to help solve these questions with our new exhibit, A Room with a View to Chatham History, which explores the lives of the individuals who’ve been honored with a room named in their honor at the JKM Library. History on view in the Elliott Room, JKM Library With this exhibit, on view in each of the named study rooms, we invite you to explore the legacies of Dr. Mary A. McGuire, Dr. Mable A. Elliot, Dr. Edgar M. Foltin, Laberta Dysart, and Arthur L. Davis. Each of these Chatham professors made significant contributions to their field of expertise and contributed to the development of Chatham as we know it today. Dr. Mable Elliot and the Elliot Room One of the most notable professors honored as the namesake for a study room is Dr. Mable A. Elliot, Professor of Sociology from 1949 until 1965 (Room 201). Dr. Elliot earned three degrees from Northwestern University (bachelor of arts, master of arts, and doctor of philosophy). Appointed as an adviser to the U.N. Commission on Social and Economic Affairs, Dr. Elliot was also the first women elected president of the Society for the Study of Social Problems (click here for more info). Dr. Elliot was described as both a feminist and a pacifist, and her criticism of U.S. criminal policies and anti-war activism led to the creation of an FBI file which was maintained for over 30 years. Interested in learning more about Dr. Elliot? Biography of Dr. Elliot in the JKM Library book collection Take a look at the book Mabel Agnes Elliott: Pioneering Feminist, Pacifist Sociologist in the JKM Library collection (click here to find it in the library catalog). Laberta Dysart and the Laberta Dysart Study Room Some members of the Chatham Community may be familiar with Laberta Dysart, namesake for Room 202, as author of the first history of Chatham, Chatham College: The First Ninety Years (available online through the University Archives here), but her contribution to Chatham does not stop there. A professor of history at Chatham from 1926 until 1958, she was active in Chatham’s Colloquium Club and in the local chapter of the American Association of University Professors. The University Archive’s Laberta Dysart Collection, click here for the collection finding aid, contains a variety of records documenting her impact on the university, including an article from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about her retirement, an award honoring her service to Chatham, and the eulogy delivered by a former student and longtime friend, Eleanor Bartberger Dearborn `31, at a campus memorial held in her honor. Pittsburgh Post Gazette article in honor of Labaerta Dysart’s retirement. Chatham College Centennial Award given to Laberta Dysart Eulogy for Laberta Dysart written by Eleanor Barbeger Dearborn ’31 The Chatham University Archives welcomes further research on these individuals, on the history of campus, and how the Chatham community continues to shape the environment. Stop by the library to view A Room with a View to Chatham History or contact the University Archives at x1212 or M.Tighe@chatham.edu for more information.  

May 2017

The JKM Library and the Archives & Special Collections are pleased to present Chatham Summers with the University Archives, a media exhibition highlighting the rich documentation in our photographic collections. Items on view document life at Chatham during the summer and feature images of campus sports, events, and more. Lantern Slide Depicting PCW Tennis, c. 1905 The exhibit includes visual material from Chatham’s earliest years and from more recent years. 1888 Sketch of Students Wearing Sun Protection Though things may seem a bit quieter around campus than during the fall and spring semesters, these images reveal that Chatham students have always pursued a wide variety of activities, regardless of the heat, humidity, or era. We’ve included a few of our favorites in this post, but stop by the JKM Library to view the exhibit in its entirety! Taking a Spin Around Campus, c. 1952-1953 Diving Practice, c. 1950s Chatham vs. Robert Morris, 1980 Not around campus? Additional records from Chatham history, including yearbooks, newspapers, photographs, and other records are accessible online at the web site for the University Archives & Special Collections. Or, stop by the Archives Reading Room to learn more about Chatham history. 

February 21, 2017

Did you know that Chatham’s literary magazine Minor Bird has flown through a few different iterations since it was first hatched in 1929? Was your interest in the graphics used for the Minor Bird piqued by the new exhibit, Objects of Study: Selections from the Artifact Collections of the
Chatham University Archives, on view at the Women’s Institute? Did you happen to see a few eyecatching illustrations of Minor Bird covers from the 1950s and 1960s in the JKM Library Newsletter and wonder if there are any more compelling visuals? Yes? Then you are in luck!
We, the staff of the Chatham University Archives, selected a handful of our very favorite Minor Bird covers and we’re thrilled to share them with you here. And, if your appetite for Minor Bird is still not quenched, you can flip through fifteen years’ worth of literary explorations by Chatham
students online through the Internet Archive!
The Minor Bird first appeared as a simple, line drawing in 1929. This logo was used until 1939.
Minor Bird front cover, June 1936
The line drawing also appeared at the top of each page.
Minor Bird, Spring 1929
After a brief stint under the umbrella of the student newspaper, the Minor Bird emerged in 1949 with
a very different look.
Minor Bird front cover, Spring 1949
Several variations on the 1949 theme were used, including this Minor Bird cover from 1950.
Minor Bird front cover, Spring 1950
Lots of change happened in the 1950s and the Minor Bird logo was no exception.
Minor Bird front cover, Spring 1951
Minor Bird front cover, Spring 1952
Minor Bird front cover, January 1955
The Minor Bird covers from the 1960’s are particularly evocative of this expressive era.
Minor Bird front cover, Winter 1967
Minor Bird front cover, Spring 1969
Minor Bird front cover, Fall 1969
Minor Bird rear cover, Fall 1969
The Chatham University Archives include numerous publications by the Chatham community, including additional issues of the Minor Bird, the Sorosis, and Faces & Places. Stop by the University Archives or contact Molly Tighe, Archivist and Public Services Librarian, for more information.

December 2016

Have you ever wondered what kind of stuff we keep in the University Archives? Been curious if there is anything other than letters, photos, and newspapers being saved as part of the record of the university? Now is your chance to find out! A new exhibit, Objects of Study: Selections from the Artifact Collections at the Chatham University Archives, is on view in the lounge of the Women’s Institute. Stop by the exhibit to explore the role played by artifacts and objects in documenting the history of the university and to discover some truly remarkable stories about campus, Chatham alums, and more. One of our favorite items on view is a copper coffer that was retrieved from the cornerstone of the old Dilworth Hall when it was demolished in 1953. “Dilworth Hall demolished? But, what’s that building just up the hill from the Carriage House?” you might ask. That’s actually Dilworth Hall II! The first Dilworth Hall, Dilworth Hall I, was attached to Berry Hall I. Here’s a picture of both halls as they appeared in a 1906 issue of Sorosis, the student magazine of the day: View of Dilworth Hall I and Berry Hall I at PCW in 1906 Both Dilworth Hall I and Berry Hall I were demolished in 1953 to make way for the upgraded academic buildings we still use today: Braun, Falk, and Coolidge. Here’s a couple photos of the demolition: View of Demolition of Berry Hall I and Dilworth Hall I at PCW in 1953 View of Berry Hall I and Dilworth Hall I during demolition with Chapel steeple visible in background I bet you are wondering what was found inside the copper coffer, right? Check out this article from The Pittsburgh Press (another relic from a bygone era) and read about the discovery. Newspaper clipping about PCW time capsule discovery The exhibit, Objects of Study: Selections from the Artifact Collections at the Chatham University Archives , features little known bits of history about Berry Hall I, The Minor Bird, and campus dining. Intrigued? Here’s some pics to help wet your whistle: Alumnae Napkin Rings at from University Archives History of The Minor Bird Logo Check out the copper coffer and other relics from the history of our university in the Women’s Institute or stop by the University Archives in the JKM Library to further explore our history. 

March 2016

In celebration of Women’s History Month, the University Archives presents selections from our collection that highlight Chatham’s unwavering commitment to encouraging civic engagement in all levels of the political system. This exhibition, Celebrating Women’s History: Chatham Women in Politics, demonstrates student civic engagement tracing back to the earliest days of the Suffragette movement, when students paraded through downtown Pittsburgh in support of women’s right to vote. Pennsylvania College for Women float, 1907 Materials on exhibit illustrate a wide variety of activities, including rallies supporting equal access to education and student involvement in all levels of the political process. The exhibit illustrates the continuity of the civic engagement among the student body and the university’s unwavering commitment to foster civic engagement as a core value. We welcome you to explore Celebrating Women’s History: Chatham Women in Politics at the JKM Library and in the lounge of the Women’s Institute. See below for some of our favorite archival records on this topic, plus a few that we just couldn’t squeeze into the display cases! Still hungry for more Chatham history? Click here for more information about the collections in the Chatham University Archives & Special Collections. Clippings documenting Chatham’s “Women and the War” Conference During World War II, Chatham hosted an conference titled, “Women and the War” to discuss the role of women in the war effort. Student volunteers update a poster showing the contributions of Faculty, Seniors, Juniors, Sophomores, and Freshmen to the Fund to fight war and communism. Chatham students worked tirelessly to support the war effort, both at home and on the front lines. World War II veterans return to campus to continue their studies. In the 1950s, Chatham students turned their attention to increasing voter turnout, both on campus and within the broader community. Students from Harrisburg cast their absentee ballots. Student-lead efforts to increase voter turnout continue to this day. In 1997, Chatham students collaborated with students from the University of Pittsburgh in a program to increase voter registration in the local community. Two-page spread from the 1997 Cornerstone about voter registration efforts. In the 1960s, Chatham women joined in the rising chorus of American students speaking out on issues of civil rights and the war in Vietnam. After the Greensburg Four protested racial segregation at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in North Carolina, students from all over the south joined the sit-in. In Pittsburgh, Chatham students protested outside the downtown Pittsburgh Woolworth, carrying signs reading “Chatham students protest civil rights violation,” and “Chatham students protest Woolworth lunch counter segregation.” Click here to view a picture of this protest captured by legendary Pittsburgh photographer Teenie Harris housed at the Carnegie Museum of Art. Read more about the 1960 protest in this clipping from the Chatham student newspaper. Article appearing in “The Arrow” on April 8, 1960 about Chatham student protest of lunch counter segregation All across the country, college students voiced concerns about equality, civil liberties, and civil rights. The university hosted a conference focusing on campus unrest in 1968, allowing college and university presidents, faculty, students and administrators to discuss and understand the changing political climate. Brochure for conference on campus unrest held at Chatham in 1968 As the 1970s drew near, Chatham students became very engaged in discussion of the Vietnam War and continued to the support civil rights issues. Chatham students protest the Vietnam War on Fifth Avenue Chatham rally about Attica Prison riots Material from Strike Information Central demonstrating student unrest Editorial appearing in Chatham’s “The Arrow” in 1970 Student civic engagement continued through the 1980s, when Chatham women participated in demonstrations in Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C. One student attended a meeting at the White House with student leaders and President Jimmy Carter. Bonnie McElvery, Student Government President, with President Jimmy Carter at the White House Chatham students at a Pro-Choice rally in Washinton, D.C. in 1989 In 1995, Chatham students organized a rally in support of Vice President Al Gore’s campaign to preserve federal funding for student loans. The rally was attended by over 2500 students from local colleges and universities and at least one University President. Can you spot the University President in the pictures from the event below? Images from 1995 rally to preserve federal funding for student loans Over the years, Chatham has invited activists, heads of state, members of Congress, and other office holders to engage with students on local, national, and international political issues. Fliers for some of Chatham’s visiting speakers Curious about Patricia Schroeder? Here’s more information about her career and her visit to Chatham. Brochure from Patricia Schroeder visit to Chatham in 2004 Wondering if Catherine Baker Knoll, who spoke at Chatham as the Treasurer for Pennsylvania, held any other public office in the years that followed? Her records are open for research at the Detre Library and Archives at the Heinz History Center in downtown Pittsburgh. Click here for the finding aid to her papers. Remember, the Chatham University Archives can help you locate primary source records at other archival repositories. Of course, we’re all looking forward to the 2016 commencement speaker, Chatham’s own Muriel Bowser. Muriel Bowser graduated from Chatham in 1994 and was the eighth Mayor of Washington, D.C. Chatham Alumna Muriel Bowser As much as we’ve shown through Celebrating Women’s History: Chatham Women in Politics, we have so much more material in the University Archives that documents Chatham’s unwavering commitment to encouraging civic engagement among students. We’d be thrilled to show you more from our collections on this or any other area of Chatham history. 

February 2016

Have you ever wonder how Chatham got its name or why it was changed from Pennsylvania College for Women? If so, you might want to check out the article on the topic in latest Library Newsletter <click here>, which tells the tale of how the school came to cosider a name change, the various names considered, and the reception of
the name at the time.
You’ll also want to take a gander at the images collected below. These selections from the collections of the University Archives illustrate how the school spread the word on the new name and all the events that surrounded this pivotal moment in university history. PCW officials chose to name the college after Lord Chatham in recognition of his passion for education and democratic ideals. On November 5, 1955, the school newspaper led with a bold headline announcing the name change from Pennsylvania College for Women to Chatham College.
David Lawrence, then-mayor of Pittsburgh, stands with Jane Stocker Burfoot from Chatham College’s Class of 1957. Together they are celebrating PCW having changed its name to Chatham College.
Students commemorate the name change by holding a Chatham College banner over the institution’s former PCW-marked entryway. The school produced this small brochure to promote awareness of the new name. The image above is the front cover. The brochure outlines the reasons for the name change and the reason for the selection of the name Chatham.
The brochure closes with an expression of Chatham’s continuing dedication to providing quality education.
A mailing card distributed to alumni around the time the college changed its name.
The front cover of the dedication dinner program, which took place two weeks after PCW changed its name to Chatham College.
…And just the day before, former US President Dwight D. Eisenhower commended President Anderson and the Chatham community on the college’s huge accomplishment!
We’ve got room for just one more picture…
This booklet was distributed to the Chatham community and alumni shortly after the institution changed its name. It contains personal remarks from then-President Paul
Anderson, Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees George Lockhart, and Chairman of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development Arthur Van Buskirk on the role of the school in the intellectual and cultural life of the region.
Hungry for more history? Come see us during University Archives Office Hours on Mondays from 1:00 – 5:00 and Thursdays from 1:30 – 3:30 or by appointment. We’d love to share with you more about the name change to Chatham or any other aspect of university history you’re curious about!
 

January 2016

You’re probably familiar with the Song Contest as one of the longest-running and most cherished of all the Chatham traditions, but have you heard any of the vintage recordings of these tunes in the University Archives? You’ll have a chance this weekend as Chatham’s Archivist Molly Tighe joins the hosts of WESA’s Rhythm Sweet &
Hot for a chat and a spin around the vinyl grooves cut by PCW singers all the way back in 1947.
During this week’s live broadcast, which airs from 6:00 until 8:00 pm on 90.5 FM, Molly will chat with hosts and hepcats Mike Plaskett and Dale Abraham about a recently discovered recording of the Class of 1947 singing classic Song Contest tunes We Sing Hi-Ho, Charm Girl of PCW and PCW Progress. Since these swingy tunes
are sure to make you slap-happy and to blow your wig (21st century translation= become very excited), we decided to dig around in the University Archives and pull out some Song Contest treasures to get everyone prepped and ready for the big show.
First, a little bit of history. Chatham’s Song Contest dates back to 1921, when a competition between the classes was enjoyed so much that it became one of the most hotly anticipated traditions of every school year.
Competitive Sing in the June 1921 issue of Sorosis
Read the full June 1921 issue of The Sorosis here: http://tinyurl.com/jl896qc
For many years the Song Contest was held in combination with Color Day and together the two traditions generated a whirl of class spirit. The two events would occur during the fall semester after the first-year students had successfully completed their first round of exams and had sufficiently settled into college life (including learning all the favorite school songs!).
Selected pages from the 1927-1928 Student Handbook including mention of Color Day, Song
Contest, and song lyrics.
In 1928, song lyrics and music were compiled by the Song Book Committee into a song book.
Copy of the Chatham Song Book from the University Archives and Photo of the 1959 Song
Contest Leaders
The rules for the contest were a little different back then. Each class was responsible for presenting three songs: one with original lyrics and music, one with original lyrics set to an existing tune, and one song selected by the judges just prior to the contest.
Chatham Song Contest, 1957
According to an article in The Arrow on November 22, 1944, each class would practice their songs daily, sometimes sending a secret operative to spy on the other classes to try to discover the competing classes’ performance plans. On the day of the contest…
…there was a mad checker game struggle for the right seats for the right voices. After everything was under control except Bertha Butterfly in our stomachs, we sat through a hymn, through the announcement of the Freshman Commission, through Hail to PCW, the presentation of the colors and the reception of the new
Freshman. All the time we wondered- whether our class Rachmaninoff had remembered to fetch along her music. (Read the whole article here: http://tinyurl.com/homkedn)
Awaiting results of the Song Contest, 1959
In the early years, the winning class was awarded a five pound box of candy.
Song Contest Winners, 1959
Later, the candy box was replaced with a silver cup.
Song Contest, 1980s
There’s no mention of recording any Chatham songs until 1946, when a contributor to the student newspaper implored her classmates to join forces to document their musical history. She writes, “Without old college songs to sing while in the shower, PCW graduates can probably hold their job competently or cheer hubby after his hard
day at the office, but it might be nice to have something specific to help them reminisce once in a while.”
Editorial in a 1946 issue of The Arrow
Chatham University Archives maintains a healthy collection of LP recordings of Song Contest, no song recordings predate the late-1950s. We couldn’t be sure if this 1946 editorial had spurred any action- until now!
LP covers of Song Contest recordings
A recently unearthed 1947 recording was produced at George Heid Productions & Transcription Services in downtown Pittsburgh and features the same three songs performed at the Senior Dinner for the Class of 1947. Could it be that the 1946 editorial inspired the creation of this recording? Could it be that the students took a trip
downtown on a streetcar to cut record of the winning songs from the Song Contest? Could it be that this is one of those very recordings? We think so!
The recording, which you can hear when you tune your radio dial to WESA 90.5 from 6:00 until 8:00 pm this Saturday night, may very well be our earliest recording of a campus tradition that spans decades and even continues through to today (Click here for a video of the 2014 song contest). We hope you’ll tune in!
Can’t wait for the show? Want to prepare for a sing-along? Here’s the music and lyrics to a couple classic Chatham tunes.
We Sing Hi-O, words and music by members of the Class of 1929
Chatham Charm Girl
Still hungry for more? Come by the University Archives in the JKM Library on Monday from 1-5 or Thursday from 1:30-3:30 to chat with Chatham Archivist Molly
Tighe about the Song Contest or any of your favorite Chatham traditions!
 

October  2015

The Ghosts of Chatham
As Halloween approaches, again comes the time of year for trick-or-treating, gorging on candy, and costume parties. It’s also the time of year that we are especially
conscious of spooky things. Among various ghoulies like black cats, vampires, and witches, the most popular creatures of the night that dominate our imagination around Halloween are ghosts. It’s a great time for telling ghost stories, everyone knows at least one, and even Chatham has several that have been passed around over the years.
Here is some history on “our” Chatham ghosts.
PCW students gathered on the lawn of Berry Hall I in 1914.
Source: Chatham University Archives & Special Collections
The Ghost of Berry Hall
There are two versions of the Berry Hall Ghost (also known as the PCW Ghost) story, but they both are equally disturbing. The first version was published in the Chatham newspaper, The Arrow in 1926.
Back before the existence of Woodland, Laughlin, and even Dilworth Hall, the Berry family lived in the Berry mansion. George Berry was a member of the first Board of
Trustees, and at the time his home was said to be the largest private residence in Allegheny County.
One night the nanny was sitting in the house’s tower with the family baby. There was a storm, and lightning struck the tower. The nanny screamed with fright, and
jumped, dropping the baby. As the story goes, the baby rolled down the stairs and died. The departed baby was said to return occasionally, floating around and crying.
Supposedly it used to visit the girls in what was then Room O, directly beneath the tower.
A view of the Berry Hall I tower.
Source: Chatham University Archives & Special Collections
The second version of this story was actually part of the first year handbook in 1948. In this sanitized version, the nursery was in the tower, and the nanny heard a scream, only to find the infant missing from his crib. The infant was never found, and the tower was locked and boarded up. In this version, the ghost is a prankster, putting splinters in chairs to rip nylons, draining the soda machine, and clanging the radiators. There is even a joke about him playing a dirge on the organ. While creepy, this later tale is almost funny, and it’s interesting to see how the tale evolved from chilling to entertaining over the 20 year period.
Other Chatham Ghosts
Some of the other Chatham ghosts seem to have their grounding in location rather than fright. It is still a popular tale today that Andrew Mellon roams the Mellon
building. The previous Laughlin House also was known for its resident ghost. As another story goes, one night a man had a flat tire in front of the Spencer House, and as he stopped heard the voice of an old woman screaming his name.
Portrait of Michael Late Benedum overlooking Benedum Hall.
Source: Chatham University Archives & Special Collections
One of the more popular stories took place at Benedum Hall. The Benedum’s oldest son, Claude, was killed in World War I. Claude was thought to haunt the home, and
then when it became a dormitory, pestered the girls living in the dorm. Some of his hijinks include turning the water off and on in what used to be his bathroom, curtains moving with no wind, and doors slamming open and closed. Typical ghost fare. One story even goes that a group of students were working on tutorials on the history of Benedum Hall when the marble table they sat at collapsed beneath them.
Students conversing in one of the Benedum Hall dorm rooms.
Source: Chatham University Archives & Special Collections
It’s unclear which of these stories have basis in truth, and which were made up to scare incoming first years. Nonetheless, the stories of ghosts on campus continue, so if you experience something a little spooky over the next few weeks, don’t worry. It’s just our longstanding residents, coming out for a visit.
Benedum Hall Gardens and Fountain.
Source: Chatham University Archives & Special Collections
 

August 2014

March 2014

April 2012

December 2011

This collection has since been migrated from Flickr to Jstor *

Ever wonder what it would be like to be a student at Chatham during the 1800s or travel back in time to walk
through downtown Pittsburgh? Well now you can! Come down memory lane and view images from the Arthur G. Smith Collection, 
hosted on the Chatham University Archives Flickr page.

With help from undergraduate intern, Blair Abraham, over 200 slides from the Smith Collection were digitized
this semester. Arthur Smith was a professor in Chatham’s history department from 1963-1993 and author of the
popular local history title, Pittsburgh Then and Now, first published in 1990. Many of the more modern images
available in the Archives Flickr collection were photographed by Smith himself. Subjects include major
Pittsburgh skyscrapers, campus buildings and landscapes, and other examples of local architecture

October 2011 

Now on display on the Library’s first floor art wall is an exhibition of selected archival photographs and newspaper articles highlighting life at Chatham during the years of the Vietnam War. All of the materials were culled from the Chatham University Archives and specifically emphasize student and faculty opinions on U.S. involvement in Vietnam. The title of the display, “The Age of Protest”: Chatham During the Vietnam Era, comes from the 1966 commencement address of Robert S. McNamara, who served as Secretary of Defense from 1961-1968. McNamara, a major player in the escalation of the war, was the father of Kathleen McNamara Spears, who graduated from Chatham in 1966, the year her father was invited to speak at graduation and receive an honorary degree. Also included in the exhibition are images of student protests, campus peace groups, and evidence of student involvement in demonstrations for women’s liberation and civil rights. While prepared for the upcoming Alumni Reunion Weekend, the display will remain on view throughout the Fall semester.  

June 2011

Interested in Chatham history? If so, you’ll want to check out Chatham’s new Internet Archive page. This
collection contains publications from the University Archives, including the long-running alumni magazine,
campus literary magazines, select issues of the student newspaper, yearbooks, course catalogs, and a history of
the institution’s first ninety years.
This exciting project was made possible through the LYRASIS Mass Digitization Collaborative—a Sloan
Foundation grant-subsidized program that has made digitization easy and affordable for libraries and cultural
institutions across the country. Chatham received additional support from the Archives Cummins Fund.
Through the Collaborative’s partnership with the Internet Archive, all items were scanned from cover-to-cover
and in full color. The archive can be viewed through a variety of formats—page through a book choosing the
“read online” option, download the PDF, or search the full text version.
If you have any questions about this project or the Archives in general, please contact the archivist, Rachel
Grove Rohrbaugh at 412-365-1212 or rrohrbaugh@chatham.edu.