We are pleased to announce the completion of nine digital collections at
the University of Massachusetts Amherst as part of the Five College
Archives Digital Access Project. This three-year cooperative project,
funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and now in its final year, seeks
to digitize and make available on the Web a variety of archival and
manuscript materials from the Five Colleges pertaining to the history of
women's higher education.  More information about the project and the
participating institutions is available at http://clio.fivecolleges.edu.

The nine new collections now available online, comprising a total of 7,400
items, document the development of women's higher education at the
University of Massachusetts (founded in 1863 as Massachusetts Agricultural
College).  As the only public land grand institution in the Five College
consortium -- the rest being private liberal arts colleges, two of them
all-female -- its philosophy of education for women differed significantly
from that of the other members.  Although since its founding, female
students were never explicitly denied the opportunity to study at
Massachusetts, women did not begin to enroll there until the turn of the
century; the first to graduate were in the class of 1905.  Only in the
administration of President Kenyon L. Butterfield (1906-1924) were
facilities and a curriculum especially designed for "women's work," with
an early emphasis on training in agricultural and rural home life.

The following collections are available on the Project Web site
(http://clio.fivecolleges.edu/umass):

1. Oral Histories, 1976      [111 items]
Transcripts of six oral history interviews conducted in 1976 that
primarily concern the experience of female students at Massachusetts.

2. President Kenyon L. Butterfield - Selected records related to women's
education at Massachusetts, 1906-1924      [269 items]

3. Student Handbooks, 1890-1950      [5,030 items]
Handbooks issued annually to all students, containing general information
about the College campus and facilities, work opportunities, faculty,
clubs and organizations, publications, and social activities.

4. Student Affairs - Records of Dean of Women Helen Curtis, 1902-1993
(bulk 1940-1973)     [588 items]

5. Student Affairs - Advisory Council of Women. Records, 1921-1964
[842 items]

6. Student Affairs - Women in Agriculture.  Records, 1917-1958
[194 items]

7. Faculty Papers: Hicks, Adeline.  Papers, 1917-1987      [87 items]
                   Skinner, Edna L.  Papers, 1930-1997     [9 items]
(Hicks established the physical education program for women; Skinner was
Professor of Home Economics and later Dean)

8. Women's Student Government Association - Handbooks for Women, 1929-1941
[209 items]
Similar to the Student Handbooks issued annually to all students at the
College, but including specific regulations governing women's residential
housing and general personal conduct as well as information about female
student clubs and organizations.

9. University Photograph Collections:     [37 items]
        Group 120/2: Hicks, Adeline
        Group 130: Women Students
        Group 160: Athletic Department - Modern Dance Program

We invite you to visit the project Web site, browse or search these new
collections and see the ways in which they complement other digital
collections already available from Mount Holyoke, Smith, Amherst and
Hampshire Colleges.  Feedback is always welcome.

.....................................................................
Peter Nelson                                    pnelson@mtholyoke.edu
Five College Archives Digital Access Project
c/o Mount Holyoke College Archives       http://clio.fivecolleges.edu
South Hadley, MA 01075                                 (413) 538-3020
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