Amherst College Commencement Collection
Scope and Contents
The Amherst College Commencement Collection, 1822 to date, includes materials such as Amherst College commencement programs, news articles, speeches, class week programs and schedules of events, tickets for events held during class week and commencement, poems and student addresses. The material in this collection dates from the institution's first commencement ceremony in 1822 when it was known as the "Collegiate Charity Institution." Commencement material is added to the collection annually.
Dates
- Creation: 1822-
Creator
- Amherst College (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
There is no restriction on access to the Amherst College Commencement Collection for research use. Particularly fragile items may be restricted for preservation purposes.
Conditions Governing Use
Requests for permission to publish material from the papers should be directed to the Archives and Special Collections.
Biographical / Historical
Commencement 2023 was the first year the National Anthem was not played during the ceremony.
Extent
14.5 Linear feet (14 records storage boxes, 1 archives box)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Commencement programs, news articles, speeches, class week programs and schedules of events, tickets for events held during class week and commencement, poems, student addresses and other items relating to commencements. Arranged chronologically.
Arrangement
This collection is organized into one series:
- Series 1: Commencement Materials (chronological), 1822-
The series is arranged chronologically by commencement year and then by type of material within each year. At the end of the collection are a number of undated folders or folders that contain more general information about commencement.
Accruals
Additions are regularly made to the collection.
Processing Information
This collection is made up of materials from a variety of sources. It has been assembled and organized over the past several years and continues to grow annually.
NOTE: In January 1996, Commencement materials which had formerly been dispersed in other collections were brought to this collection. The arrangement was modified slightly to correspond to the specific components of Commencement and to facilitate the addition of materials formerly dispersed or newly acquired.
The chronological/alphabetical arrangement is retained, except that the Commencement category for each year begins with a "Commencement-General File" for collecting ephemera (e.g. menus, concert programs, isolated correspondence) which cannot be assigned to any of the specific categories, as follows: Baccalaureate; Class Day; Commencement - General File; Commencement Program; News Articles; Publications (officially issued, e.g. 1836).
Subject
- Amherst College (Organization)
Genre / Form
Topical
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Daria D'Arienzo, Annie Rutledge, Andrea Smith, Karen Bollwerk, Ann Sharp
- Date
- 2003
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Sponsor
- Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Repository Details
Part of the Amherst College Archives and Special Collections Repository
Amherst College Archives & Special Collections
Robert Frost Library
61 Quadrangle Drive
Amherst MA 01002-5000
(413) 542-2299
archives@amherst.edu