Our Mission

Special Collections collects, organizes, describes, preserves, and maintains unique intellectual and cultural heritage materials and promotes the use of these resources by the University community, scholars, and the public. 

Our goal is to advance scholarship and further the educational, research, and service missions of the university.

Special Collections welcomes all members of the University community, researchers from other institutions, and members of the local community during business hours, or by appointment. Staff assistance and picture I.D. are required.

Using Our Collections  |  Collections Policy

Latest News / Selection of the Month

  • Teaching Learning Academy visits Special Collections - News item
    The Teaching Learning Academy (TLA) visited Special Collections this week, two sessions on Wednesday, April 18 and another two sessions on Thursday, April 29.  TLA is interested in the question, "How can we engage and connect multiple voices to strengthen Western as a 21st-century liberal arts university?" To investigate the history of the liberal arts at Western, TLA members examined several exhibits from the Campus History Collection in Special Collections, including the Annual...
More from News

  • The Educator - Selection of the month
    The Educator is a distinctive portrayal in oils of Charles H. Fisher (1880-1964), president of Western from 1924 to 1939. Measuring about 40 x 32 in., the portrait shows Fisher at age 65, several years after his contentious dismissal from the college.