We at the Stephan Archives are excited to announce that all student records now reside in one place. With 718 boxes, the student records are by far our largest collection. This is the culmination of a multi-year project made possible by a generous donation from Dr. John Stephan L. ’59.

The project began in 2008 with the relocation of the records from the basement of McPherson. The goal of the project was to house all student records in one climate-controlled and secure area, but the Archives’ storage space as of 2009 proved inadequate. The records were temporarily split into two groups: one housed at Bunn Library and the other in the attic of one of the student houses. After another generous donation from Dr. Stephan, the Archives’ storage space in Bunn Library was renovated, and compact shelving, a dedicated HVAC system, and multiple security measures were installed. With a suitable environment and shelf space to house all records in one place, the process of physically combining all the records could begin. Records that were subjected to the less than ideal conditions of the house attic were combined with records from the basement of the Mackenzie Administration Building damaged during Hurricane Irene and were sent offsite for cleaning and rehousing to prepare them for cohabitation with clean records already held in compact storage. The final batch of records underwent cleaning in the summer of 2013. They were returned safely in September, marking a successful end to the quest to bring all of the student records together in one accessible place.

The next step of the student records project has already begun. We have enlisted parent volunteers and students to help with entering important data such as alumni names and record/folder numbers, which currently can only be found in a card catalog, into the Archives’ digital catalog. Moving this data from analog to digital will great improve the staff’s ability to retrieve records and track records that have been pulled for use.

The student records are open for research use but restrictions apply. Student records are restricted to administrative users for 80 years following the student’s class date and with the death of the student, except by permission of the Registrar. Under FERPA, students are permitted access to their own records. If you are an alumnus and would like to see your student record, please contact the Archivist.