Category: Research Highlights

New Resources for LGTBQ Special Collections

The University of Oregon Special Collections and University Archives holds a number of fascinating collections focused on LGBTQ history at the UO and throughout Oregon.

students

 

Creating Change: Forty Years of LGBTQ Activism at The University of Oregon is a new digital exhibit that celebrates the long history of LGTBQ activism at the University of Oregon. First staged as a physical exhibit at the Eugene Airport (Mahlon Sweet Field), its transitioned into a digital exhibit in time for the 25th anniversary of the formation of the Standing Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Concerns at the University of Oregon.

 

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The Fourth Estate: A History of the Earliest Student Publications at the University of Oregon

Early staff of the Oregon Daily Emerald (UA REF 3, Box 92, Folder 24)
Early staff of the Oregon Daily Emerald (UA REF 3, Box 92, Folder 24)

For the first fifteen years of the University of Oregon’s existence, the campus was without any student publications. During this nascent phase of the university’s development, though, the framework that would eventually lead to the proliferation of student newsletters, newspapers, and magazines was erected. The early formation of literary societies was critical in catalyzing the rise of student publications, and the early publications set a precedent for independent journalism for more than a century. Today’s post illuminates the early efforts of students to bring news and commentary to print, focusing on the first publications created by the UO student body.

 

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When was Oregon football born?

1894_first_UO_football_game

We received an interesting research question recently that we wanted to highlight based upon the impending Rose Bowl game. A local astrologer in Eugene wanted to know the exact date and time when Oregon football was “born”. Hoping to utilize this information to predict the outcome of the upcoming Rose Bowl and the College Football Playoff fate of the Ducks, she was seeking the time of the opening kickoff in Oregon’s first football game. The intriguing question sent us into the stacks to find out more about this historic event that had great significance for the future of campus life in Eugene.

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Colonel John Leader, The Man Who Prepared Oregon for World War I

UARef3_b0073_f0010-page-001An interesting question about a seminal figure on the University of Oregon campus in the early 20th century came in last week. We received an email from a researcher in Patrickswell Town, County Limerick, Ireland that sought more information about Colonel John Leader, the man who formed the ROTC program on the University of Oregon campus and played an integral role in preparing Oregon for World War I. Below is a paraphrased summary of the request:

 

We have a building which we have been advised belongs to the family of  Lieutenant-Colonel John Leader 16th (Service – Pioneer) Battalion. We are trying to protect this building for future generations and have it claimed as a listed building before some friendly local developer decides to tear it down and build some modern apartment block or something worse!! We’re hoping to use this building as the local community hall that would serve the good of the local village, young and old alike, but I’m not very good at searching the net I’m afraid.

If you could provide some background or pictures on Lieutenant-Colonel John Leader, that would be just amazing and all I can offer is a heartfelt thank you and possibly an invite to the opening of the centre once we secure the building as a listed building and have it restored to its natural beauty. I cannot offer much more by way of begging… Our little village is tiny in size — 3 pubs, 3 food stores and petrol stations, 2 hair dressers, 1 chemist, 1 school, 1 local GAA hall, and a very much needed building that reminds us all where we came from.

 

This inquiry led us to investigate deeper in the stacks. What we learned was the story of a remarkable man who lived a remarkable life.

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New Notable Collections

 

We are pleased to announce some new notable collections and materials that we received over the past nine months. These reflect the breadth and depth of our collections and illustrates our commitment to acquire a diverse range of materials, which support all types of research from K-12 education to international scholarship.

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