Harold B. Lee Library

Associated Students of Brigham Young University Histories, 1922-1986 (UA 1081)

July 1, 2009

Student government at Brigham Young University began in 1909. It was refined in 1924 with the acceptance of a new constitution. The new constitution established an organization that included a president, first vice-president, second vice-president, secretary-historian, editors of two publications (Y News and Banyan), and a cheermaster. A student council that included university administrators was also part of the governing structure. The organization was know as the Student Body until 1933 when the title Associated Students of Brigham Young University (ASBYU) was first used. The student body organization would be known ASBYU until 1988 when a new constitution was implemented under the direction of President Jeffrey R. Holland and the name was changed to the Brigham Young University Student Service Association (BYUSA) to better reflect the organization’s new service oriented role.

One of the officers in ASBYU was the secretary-historian who was tasked with documenting as many of the activities of the student body as possible. The results of the efforts of the numerous individuals who held this office can be found in UA 1081 Associated Students of Brigham Young University histories, 1922-1986. Comprised of 94 bound volumes, this collection contains meeting minutes, photocopies of newspaper articles, correspondence, brochures, pamphlets, and other miscellaneous items that were deemed to have a historical nature. This rich collection allows researchers to gain a better understanding of the variety of activities available to students and how students interacted with the university administration through their governance organization.

If you would like to know more about this collection and others that document student life at Brigham Young University, contact the University Archivist at gordon_daines@byu.edu or (801) 422-5821.

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The President’s Home

June 24, 2009

Sometime in 1909 or 1910 a Brigham Young University faculty member named Henry Peterson built a home on Temple Hill. In 1923 this home came into the possession of Brigham Young University and in 1927 the Brigham Young University Board of Trustees decided that it was an ideal location for the home of the university’s president. The home underwent extensive renovation in 1928 and upon completion of the renovation work Franklin S. Harris became the first university president to occupy the home.

It quickly became know as the President’s Residence and served every president from Harris through Jeffrey R. Holland.

In 1990 the residence became the location of the University Visitor’s Center and served this function until 2008 when it became the home of the Office of Graduate Studies. There are several collections in the University Archives that document the history of the President’s Residence. They include:

• UA 827 Brigham Young University Campus Building photographs, 1882-1983.  This collection contains photographs of various campus buildings including the President’s Residence.  To access the finding aid for this collection, click here.
• UA 1260 Brigham Young University Physical Plant Dept. President’s Home plans and landscape design, ca. 1930-1998.  This collection contains copies of the landscape architecture plans for the President’s Home from the early 1930s and the 1960s as well as copies of the “as-built drawings” for the Visitor’s Center.  the President’s Home became the Visitor’s Center in 1990.
• UA 1264 Brigham Young University Archives Oral Histories about the President’s Home, 2006.  This collection contains two oral history interviews about the President’s Home. The interviews are with Matt Holland, faculty member and son of BYU President Jeffrey Holland, and Ronald Clark, the director of Public Affairs and Guest Relations.

If you would like to know more about the President’s Residence, please contact the University Archivist at (801) 422-5821 or gordon_daines@byu.edu.

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Timpanogos Hike

May 27, 2009

One of the most popular summer activities for BYU students is hiking Mount Timpanogos.  Mount Timpanogos is the second tallest mountain in the Wasatch range and is located off of the Alpine Loop which can be accessed through either American Fork Canyon or Provo Canyon.  Not many students realize that hiking Mount Timpanogos has been a popular student activity since the early 1900s.  The annual Timpanogos Hike was established in 1912 by Eugene Roberts, an early BYU athletic coach, with the express intent of encouraging physical activity amongst university students.

The first hikers hauled bedding and tents up Provo Canyon to Aspen Grove and camped overnight before summitting the nearly 12,000 foot mountain.  They then spent another night at Aspen Grove and then hiked back to Provo. The Timpanogos Hike drew sixty five students the second year of its existence and quickly became a popular student activity.

By the 1960s the annual hike drew thousands of participants.  In 1970 the Forest Service asked the university to discontinue the organized hike due to severe erosion of the mountainside caused by the increasing number of hikers.  Students still continued to hike Mountain Timpanogos as individuals and this continues to be a popular student activity today.  There are a number of collections in the University Archives that document the annual Timpanogos Hike.  They include:

• UA 48 Timpanogos Hike programs, 1922-1940.  This collection contains various printed programs handed out as part of the hike.
• UA 562 Eugene L. Robert papers, 1912-1972.  This collection documents Eugene L. Roberts’ life and includes information on the Timpanogos Hike from 1912 to 1914.  To access the finding aid for this collection, click here.
• UA 563 Brigham Young University Department of Recreation records, 1914-1968.  This collection includes a series that documents the Timpanogos Hike from 1923 to 1970.  To access the finding aid for this collection, click here.
• 378.2 Sm6834 1955 Smith, William H. The annual Mount Timpanogos hike : its origin, background, and development. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University, 1955.  This thesis describes the history of the Timpanogos hike up until 1955.

If you would like to know more about the Timpanogos Hike, please contact the University Archivist at (801) 422-5821 or gordon_daines@byu.edu.

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Centennial History Collection

May 20, 2009

Early in 1972 in preparation for Brigham Young University’s centennial birthday in 1975 a project designed to produce a comprehensive history of the university was initiated.  Former president Ernest L. Wilkinson was asked to head the project team and pulled together a group of capable editors to participate in the project.

They compiled extensive research files and worked laboriously to complete the desired history.  Ultimately two products were produced by the Centennial History project team.  The first was a four volume history entitled Brigham Young University: The First One Hundred Years and the second was a one volume abridgement of the first entitled Brigham Young University: A School of Destiny.

In 1978 the materials created by the project team were deposited in the University Archives.  The collection was processed and given the title “Brigham Young University Centennial History Project papers, 1972-1976″.  It was also assigned the call number UA 566.  This rich collection contains administrative files relating to the management of the project, drafts of the various chapters found in the books, and, most importantly, a chronological file of the research materials compiled to write the history of the university.  These research materials include photocopies of meeting minutes, newspapers, correspondence, and other sources related to the university’s early history.  The collection is an important source for studying the history of Brigham Young University up through 1975.  To access the finding aid for this collection click here.

This collection is open to public research and may be accessed in the Reading Room of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections (1130 HBLL) on the Brigham Young University campus.  If you would like to know more about the Centennial history collection, please contact the University Archivist at (801) 422-5821 or gordon_daines@byu.edu.

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Go Cougars

May 14, 2009

Brigham Young University selected the cougar as its mascot in 1923. Eugene L. Roberts, a coach and faculty member, suggested the cougar because it is native to Utah and it exemplified the traits that he hoped athletes competing for Brigham Young University would have. These traits included strength, agility, grace, quickness, and beauty. In 1925 an alumnus of Brigham Young University notified Roberts that he had captured a mother cougar and three of her kittens. He wanted to know if the university would be interested in obtaining the kittens. Two of the kittens were brought to campus to serve as mascots. They were named Cleo and Tarbo.

The young cougar kittens were soon adopted by George K. Lewis as personal pets and quickly became fixtures on campus during the 1925-1926 school year.

The cougar kittens were kept on the south side of Temple Hill until 1930 when Tarbo died and Cleo was sent to a zoo in Salt Lake City. The school has not owned cougars since then, although live cougars were sometimes brought to campus for special occasions. The current mascot, Cosmo Cougar, made his deput in the 1950s.

A number of collections are available for those interested in learning more about the cougar mascots of Brigham Young University.  They include:

• UA 62 Brigham Young University Dept. of Athletics records, 1925-1928.  This collection includes typescript news release and a program announcing the acquisition of two cougar kittens to become mascots; it also includes their disposition and names.
• UA 1312 Alexander Wadley reminiscences, 2006.  This collection consists of two reminiscences. The first discusses the Block Y and various activities associated with it. The second discusses life at Brigham Young University in the 1930s and describes the different buildings on campus as well as student life. It also includes a discussion of the first cougar mascots.
• UA 869 Brigham Young University single photo file, ca. 1890s-1980s.  This collection of campus photographs includes images of Cleo and Tarbo as well as early versions of Cosmo Cougar.

These collections are available for research in the Perry Special Collections (1130 HBLL).  If you would like to learn more information about the mascot of Brigham Young University, please contact the University Archivist at (801) 422-5821 or gordon_daines@byu.edu .

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Becoming a University

May 7, 2009

Brigham Young University is a private university that seeks to develop students of faith, intellect and character who have the skills and the desire to continue learning and to serve others throughout their lives.  It traces its mission to the deed of trust used to establish the Brigham Young Academy in 1875.  Brigham Young founded the school with a clear vision of what he hoped to accomplish.  He envisioned the school as a place where every subject was to be taught bathed in the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  He also envisioned a school that would help students develop practical skills that they could use to make a living with.  The early Academy was essentially an elementary school that emphasized teacher training.  Students were placed in graded departments based on their educational level and previous schooling.  The Academy was divided into the Primary Department, the Preparatory Department, the Intermediate Department, and the Kindergarten Department.

By 1899 a Collegiate Department, which offered college level courses, and a Commercial Department, which provided post-secondary vocational training, were added to the Academy.  In 1903 Benjamin Cluff, Jr. convinced the Board of Trustees to change the name of the school to Brigham Young University.  This change formally occurred on October 15th, 1903.  Although the name had been changed, Brigham Young University still had a long way to go before being recognized as a college or a university.

The next major steps to becoming a university occurred under the direction of Franklin S. Harris. In 1922 Harris began a reorganization of the academic structure of Brigham Young University.  He created five colleges (College of Education, College of Arts and Sciences, College of Commerce and Business Administration, College of Applied Sciences, and College of Fine Arts), the Graduate Division, the Research Division, and the Extension Division.  He also encouraged the Board of Trustees to authorize the construction of a library building which was completed in 1925.In 1923 Brigham Young University was formally accredited as a college by the Northwest Association of Secondary and Higher Schools and in 1928 accreditation was achieved with the Association of American Universities.

Brigham Young University graduates would now have their degrees honored by graduate schools across the country.  The university had finally officially entered the fraternity of colleges and universities.

If you would like to learn about the sources available for studying the history of Brigham Young University , please contact the University Archivist at (801) 422-5821 or gordon_daines@byu.edu.

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The Faculty of Brigham Young University

April 30, 2009

Brigham Young University is a remarkable place.  It is a place of quiet reverence and boisterous enthusiasm.  It is a place of competitive athletics and exceptional scholarship.  It is a place of gifted musicians and capable engineers.  It is a place of blending for the sacred and the secular.  It is a place of students and teachers.  It is of the teachers that I will write today.  The faculty at Brigham Young University bears a unique burden in that they are expected to model what it means to be disciple-scholars to the students they interact with.  They are responsible for showing through their lives that it is possible to harmonize gospel teachings and secular knowledge.  And to a remarkable degree they are highly successful.  Students at this university are able to witness how their teachers have woven the strands of the sacred and the secular together in their lives to become more than the sum of those parts.  They are blessed to gain an understanding that the gospel of Jesus Christ truly enables exceptional scholarship.

The Brigham Young University Archives is home to several collections that enable us to better understand the impact that faculty members have on the students that pass through this university. They include:

• UA 909 Faculty Biographical Files, [1900-ca. 2000]. This collection contains biographical information on faculty members as well as members of the university administration and the board of trustees.  The files contain information on the individuals’ family, professional and church activities.  The majority of this information was gathered prior to 1990.  Click here to see the finding aid for this collection.
• UA 776 Autobiographical Sketches file, 1998-2005. This collection contains biographical sketch forms for faculty and administrators.  These forms include information on their education, employment, family, hobbies, and professional, civic and church service.
• University Archives oral history collection. This collection consists of oral histories done with faculty members.  The list of oral histories can be obtained by going to the Lee Library catalog and running a call number search using the search term “UA OH.”  The library was be set to “HBLL Special Collections” and the shelving scheme must be set to “alpha-numeric class scheme.”  This search will pull back a list of oral histories done with faculty.  Click here to access the Lee Library call number search.

If you would like to learn more about the sources available on the faculty at Brigham Young University , please contact the University Archivist at (801) 422-5821 or gordon_daines@byu.edu .

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Commencement addresses and programs

April 23, 2009

Every year in April and August Brigham Young University holds commencement ceremonies to honor those students graduating from the institution.  These ceremonies are a time of reflection on the personal achievements of thousands of young people and a look to their future.

The Brigham Young University Archives is home to two collections that document this important experience.  They are:

• UA 862 Brigham Young University Commencement Addresses, 1930-2006. This collection contains speeches delivered at the commencement ceremonies at Brigham Young University.  It is arranged chronologically and is not comprehensive.
• UA 1008 Brigham Young University Commencement Exercises programs, 1890-. This collection contains the commencement exercises programs.  The programs list the graduates and the degree they received as well as who the speakers were.  Click here to see the finding aid for this collection.

To discover what else the Lee Library has about commencement at Brigham Young University you can run an alphabetic search in the library catalog under the Find Books link for “Brigham Young University Commencement” or you can contact the University Archivist at (801) 422-5821 or gordon_daines@byu.edu .

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Building Dedication files

April 9, 2009

One of the remarkable things about Brigham Young University is its attempt to integrate academic excellence with spiritual development. This dual purpose is reflected in the built environment of the campus. Each of the campus buildings is used for sacred worship services on Sunday and the Marriott Center is the site of spiritual devotionals every Tuesday. Each building is dedicated to the dual purpose of enhancing the mind and the spirit. The Building Dedication files (UA 877) contains flyers, programs, invitations, speeches, dedicatory prayers, and other memorabilia associated with the dedications of various campus buildings. Although not comprehensive in its coverage, this collection allows researchers to gain a better understanding of the role that the physical environment plays in Brigham Young University’s efforts to integrate the sacred and the secular.  To access the finding aid for this collection click here.

The Building Dedication files are available for research in the Perry Special Collections (1130 HBLL) and are an important resource for understanding  Brigham Young University’s built environment and the important role it plays in the integration of the sacred and the secular.  If you would like to learn more information about this collection, please contact the University Archivist at (801) 422-5821 or gordon_daines@byu.edu .

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1000 Views of 100 Years

April 2, 2009

Brigham Young University has a rich and varied history. We are fortunate that much of that history has been caught in photographs.  As part of the centennial celebrations in 1975 the university commissioned Edwin Butterworth, Jr. to compile a pictorial history of the first one hundred years of Brigham Young University.  These images capture life at the university and allow us a visual glimpse at what life was like at Brigham Young University between 1875 and 1975.  Here is a sample of the images from Brigham Young University:  1000 Views of 100 Years.

These images are but a sample of those contained in 1000 Views of 100 Years. The rest of images can be seen in one of three ways:

• The book Brigham Young University: 1000 Views of 100 Years by Edwin Butterworth, Jr.  The call number is LD 571 .B672 B87 and it is available in the Harold B. Lee Library and the Perry Special Collections.
• The archival collection “Photographs used in 1000 views of 100 years, [ca. 1875-1975}”.  The call number is UAP 2 and the collection is available in the Perry Special Collections.
• The Campus Photographs digital collection.  Click here to access the collection.

The materials related to 1000 Views of 100 Years are available for research in the Perry Special Collections (1130 HBLL) and are an important visual resource for understanding the first 100 years of Brigham Young University’s history.  If you would like to learn more about the sources available for studying the early history of the university, please contact the University Archivist at (801) 422-5821 or gordon_daines@byu.edu .

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