This collection contains 52 oral histories, nearly all done between the mid 1970s and 1990, featuring St. Cloud State alums, long-time faculty, and top administrators, such as Presidents Budd, Wick, Graham, and McDonald. Done mostly by retired History faculty member Cal Gower, topics discussed in the oral histories include individual experiences and changes at St. Cloud State from the early 20th century, until the 1980s, as well as family background and life before and after time at St. Cloud State. Five additional interviews were done by Tom Steman in 2016, 2017, and 2019.

Some oral histories contain release forms from the interviewee and are noted.

Cal Gower conducted the interviews unless where noted.

The collection is in two series.

Series 1: Transcripts and other material

This series contains the final oral history transcripts for each interview, signed release forms, if they existed, as well as other material given by the interviewee (photos, newspaper clippings, ephemera).

Series 2: Tapes

This series contains the audio tapes from each oral history, ranging from one cassette tape to two.

The field studies, theses, creative works, and starred papers are completed to fulfill the requirements to receive a master's degree.

After the state of Minnesota passed law in April 1953 to allow for "fifth year" courses or graduate classes at state colleges, St. Cloud State first offered graduate work in the summer of 1953. The first master's degrees were awarded in May 1954.

The records are organized in three series.

Series 1: Publications

This series contains manuals for the preparation of St. Cloud State field studies, theses, creative works and starred papers,  as well as abstracts of field studies, theses, creative works, and starred papers.  The abstracts are especially helpful as they give a short summary of work itself.

Series 2: Microfilm

This series contains microfilm of St. Cloud State field studies, theses, creative works and starred papers. Though not sure of the date range, it is believed that it goes back to the late 1950s.  This series also contains a nearly complete index to the microfilm. Microfilm copies are no longer created.

Series 3: Microfiche

This series contains microfiche of St. Cloud State field studies, theses, creative works and starred papers. Though not sure of the date range, it is believed that it goes back at least 1957.

There are bound copies of all St. Cloud State field studies, theses, creative works and starred papers, in the theses section of Miller Center.  In addition, these works are cataloged individually in the online catalog.

The copies of the St. Cloud State field studies, theses, creative works and starred papers are meant as a back up to the bound copies in the theses section of Miller Center.  The copies in this collection are only consulted when the paper copy is lost or stolen.

As of November 2015, the master theses were not printed and put on the library shelves with a microfiche copy given to University Archives. All master theses are now published on St. Cloud State's institutional repository at http://repository.stcloudstate.edu/.

The abstracts are also available alongside the theses in the theses section of Miller Center.

This collection contains undergraduate, graduate, summer, extension and evening class schedules from 1943 to 2010.  The schedules document which classes were offered at what time, who taught the course, and where the class was held.  Depending on the year, information about adding and dropping, advising, building abbreviations, final examination schedule, and registration times are included.

The summer publications are a combination of classes as well as information found in the course catalogs. Those dated before 1960 are in a separate collection. That collection also contains the summer publications after 1960 that are in this collection.

The 262 letters and 1 poem included in this collection were written by Sinclair Lewis to Marcella Powers between 1939 and 1947. Lewis met Powers in August 1939 when they were both acting in Eugene O’Neill’s play Ah Wilderness! at the Provincetown Theater in Cape Cod. Lewis and Powers began a relationship despite the 36 year age difference between them.

In these letters, Lewis discusses a wide variety of topics - his career, his writing, and his feelings for Powers. During the time of their relationship, Lewis traveled quite a bit throughout the United States giving lectures. He also spent time working in Los Angeles in the motion picture industry and lived in Excelsior and Duluth in Minnesota where he spent much time writing. Lewis also wrote about his social life, including the people that he met, the games of chess that he played, and the books that he read. Many of the letters are very long while others are quite short, with some including cartoons drawn by Lewis.

The letters end in September 1947, shortly after Powers marriage to Michael Amrine. Lewis tells Powers that she will no longer receive an allowance from him, but that if she were ever in need of help that he would be there for her. When Lewis passed away in 1951, Powers was listed in his will.

This collection contains records from the Department of English at St. Cloud State University. Items in this collection date from 1960 to the 2000s, the majority of which are from the early 1960s to the late 1980s. This collection contains various administrative records, brochures, and publications.

These records are arranged in two series:

Series 1: Administrative Records

This series contains a variety of administrative records. Information relating to personnel, committee and department minutes, budgets, course lists, enrollment, and department publications and projects are found here. There is also information on the Write Place and its predecessors.

Series 2: Publications and Conferences on Sinclair Lewis

Divided into two sub-series, this series contains records relating to St. Cloud State Department of English publications and conferences relating to the Nobel Prize-winning author Sinclair Lewis. Most of the series relates to the 1985 Sinclair Lewis Centennial Conference, hosted by St. Cloud State University in honor of the 100th anniversary of Lewis's birth. Also included are programs of conferences held in honor of Lewis and his friend and confidant, Ida K. Compton, in 2005 and 2007, copies of the Sinclair Lewis Newsletter from the late 1960s through mid-1970s, and cassette tapes of the 1971 radio production: Sinclair Lewis's Minnesota: A State of Mind.

There are eleven boxes in this collection which contain records about the Center for Information Media at St. Cloud State University. The records date from 1957 to 2008. Additions to the series may be ongoing.

The records in this collection are arranged into ten series, which are as follows:

Series 1: Correspondence, 1971-1990

This series has correspondence and interoffice memorandums from the Center of Information Media.

Series 2: Curriculum, 1957-1990

By far the largest series out of the group, the Curriculum series contains information on the different programs that the Center for Information Media has offered in the past, from certification and licensure courses to graduate programs.  This series includes course schedules, syllabi, and information on enrollment.

Series 3: Finances, 1965-1981

This series includes information on CIM’s budget, grants, and the Luther Brown Scholarship Program.

Series 4: Minutes, 1964-2006

Faculty meeting minutes make up the bulk of this series.

Series 5: Multimedia, 1965-1977

The Center for Information Media created multi-media for some of its earlier events, including a reel-to-reel from a conference in 1965 to an audio cassette recording of Luther Brown’s retirement party in 1977.

Series 6: Photographs, 1972-1973

This series includes black and white photo albums of CIM graduates and graduation ceremonies from the early 1970s.

Series 7: Publications, 1962-2008

The Center for Information Media publishes its own newsletter which can be found in this series.  Newsletters dating from 2002-2008 can also be viewed on the Center’s website: http://www.stcloudstate.edu/cim/news.asp.

Series 9: Staffing, 1965-2000

Included in this series are memorandums regarding job descriptions and information on staffing.

Series 10: University of North Dakota Joint Program, 1968-1982

For a brief period, St. Cloud State University had a joint library/audio-visual program with the University of North Dakota.

Established in 1964, the records of the Center for Economic Education, span from 1963, a year before its creation, until 2018. The materials here include administrative records, alumni and faculty publications, and materials from the Winter Institute.

Series 1: Administration

This series has administrative records. These records include annual reports, funding reports, program reviews, general overviews of the program, and workshop information.

Series 2: Publications

This series contains publications written by the Center for Economic Education alumni and faculty such as economic reports and teaching tools for grades K-12.

Series 3: Winter Institute

This series contains a range of information about the Winter Institute that was held from 1963-2018. Materials include program brochures, flyers, and miscellaneous materials dating from 1969 to 2018.

Also included here are VHS tapes dating from 1987 to 1997. These tapes were recorded of the keynote speaker, panel sessions, or other events at the Winter Institute. No release forms were provided so the tapes can only be viewed in Archives.

The Winter Institute has offered high-quality educational programming with renowned speakers and thought provoking ideas. In addition, there were accessible economic education sessions for a general audience as well as targeted economic education sessions for K-12 educators.

This series contains academic transcripts of St. Cloud State students who attended the university between the 1870s and 1940.

Information about each student that attended and/or graduated from St. Cloud State University include the classes they attended, the term the class was taken, and the grade received.  If the student graduated, a pledge was signed to teach in public schools in Minnesota. The transcript provides information where and when the student taught.

In addition, the transcripts are a wealth of biographical information about the student.  Information includes: when and to what class admitted, age when admitted, graduation date, residence, birthplace, high school attended, last school attended, and name, occupation, and nationality of parents.

Contained in two boxes, these records document the Epsilon Theta chapter of the Phi Delta Kappa honorary fraternity. Focusing mainly on the late 1980s and early 1990s, the records contain material related to membership, such as lists as well documentation related to being nominated and initiated in the organization. Other significant materials are the chapter newsletters dating back to 1961.

This collection contains records of Institutional Effectiveness. Founded in the late 1930s, the main task of this office was to "organize and conduct research studies to provide information and data, serving as a basis for University decision making..." The bulk of the records here serve that purpose, gathering and presenting information about St. Cloud State students, faculty, curriculum, and facilities.

Series 1: Administrative Records

This series contains annual reports, history of Institutional Effectiveness, and faculty rosters.  The faculty rosters are significant as they list biographical information about St. Cloud State faculty, including salary.  There are additional faculty rosters in Series 2 on microfiche.

Series 2: Reports

This series has a wide variety of reports, nearly all related to St. Cloud State.  Many of the reports are related to students, including enrollment, ACT profiles of incoming freshmen, grade distribution, and faculty-student ratios.  Other reports are arranged by topic and are listed individually to facilitate access.

Other significant records include those that give a snapshot of St. Cloud State University. This includes the Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS), 1966-1980, to the federal government's Department of Education. HEGIS reported on student enrollment, campus facilities devoted to instruction, finances of the university, and degrees awarded. The summary of academic data, dating from 1982 to 2003, compiled information at the department, college and university level about students and student enrollment, including year, gender and major, faculty and staff, credits generated, and class size.

Microfiche is included in this series, likely reports run from the office's database. By academic term, these records report on student enrollment, faculty, instructional load, courses offered and their history, ethnic and racial background of students, students martial status, and transfers to St. Cloud State.

University Archives does have digital records taken from this office's website but are not included in this finding aid.