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History of The Ohio State University
Archives Part I: Origins Although the OSU Archives serves as the official memory of OSU, its history is not as old as the university itself. The Ohio State University began as the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College, the land grant university of Ohio, in 1870. More than ninety years passed before the Archives became a department and professionally staffed in 1965. Fortunately, the Archives contains documents from the beginning of OSU to the present. Several reasons led to beginning of the Archives but chief among them was the dedication of James Pollard (1894-1979). A journalist, Pollard first joined OSU to head its newly established University News Bureau in 1923. In 1933, he joined OSU’s School of Journalism. Writing histories of OSU became his special interest. Pollard wrote several histories of OSU and a biography of President William Oxley Thompson. In his writing and research, Pollard found many files in the basement and vaults of the Administration Building, now Bricker Hall. He needed the records for his writing and worked to bring about better care and organization of the University’s inactive records. In 1959 Pollard had the title of University Historian and University Archivist. However, the OSU Alumni Magazine concluded that “The future of the University Archives is somewhat uncertain.” In 1965 at Pollard’s retirement, OSU hired Bruce Harding, archivist of the Michigan Historical Commission, to develop the University Archives in September. With Harding, OSU had its first professional archivist. Certainly, OSU needed better management of its inactive records and needed to prepare for its Centennial in 1970, an occasion that would require historical records and displays. In writing about the history of the OSU Archives, one can turn in two directions. First is to write chronologically about the development of collections, facilities, services, and staffing. James Pollard did this in writing his histories of OSU and relied on annual reports. In fact, the annual reports of the Archives are many and informative. Another approach is to look at the history of the OSU Archives and to define turning points-- those pivotal events or actions in history that had great results for understanding the present and for shaping the future. This essay will identify and discuss seven turning points and end with some concerns about the future. Go to Part II. Turning Points
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University Archivists
James Pollard
Bruce Harding
William Vollmar (1969-1978)
Raimund Goerler (1978-present)
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