Library Guides: EDHE 660/780: History of Higher Education: Home

Archives Contact Information

For assistance with archival resources, contact

Dr. Leigh McWhite (Political Papers Archivist & Associate Professor).

Email: slmcwhit@olemiss.edu

Phone: 662-915-1850

Campus Newspaper

Issues of The Mississippian between 1911 and 1968 are available on microfilm – ask the main library reference desk for assistance locating the reels and using the microfilm reader.
Issues of The Daily Mississippian between 1968 and 2001 are available on microfilm – ask the main library reference desk for assistance locating the reels and using the microfilm reader.
Special Collections has bound volumes of The Daily Mississippian between 2001 and 2010.
The Daily Mississippian issues between 2010 and the present are available online at https://issuu.com/dailymississippian.

The Prospect of Civil Rights during the 1950s:

The Supreme Court handed down the Brown v. Board of Education decision on 17 May 1954. Examine reaction in the weeks that followed in the Daily Mississippian, the Oxford Eagle, and other Mississippi newspapers. Look not only for articles, but also editorials and letters to the editor.

1962 Integration Crisis:

Check out the weeks surrounding the riot on 30 September – 1 October not only in the Daily Mississippian and the Oxford Eagle but also in the Jackson Clarion-Ledger, the Jackson Daily News, and other hometown papers across the state.

Black Student Protests of the 1970s & 1980s:

Look at the Daily Mississippian during the following periods: 25 February – 1 May 1970; 13-18 April 1983.

Confederate Symbol Controversy:

One of the longest running dialogues in the South on confederate symbols takes place in the pages of the Daily Mississippian. Look for articles, editorials, cartoons, and letters during the following active periods: 8-11 March 1976; 2 October – 6 December 1979; 2 September – 27 October 1982; 11-28 April 1983; 25 February – 7 April 1993; 19 August – October 1994; 26 September – 29 October 1997.

Civil Rights Commemoration:

Check out anniversary coverage of the events of 30 September – 1 October 1962 by examining those dates in the Daily Mississippian for 1972, 1982, 1992, 2002, and 2012.

Women at UM:

Pick a random year like 1933 and review several issues of the Daily Mississippian for articles and depictions of women on campus, then compare to issues from 1943, 1953, 1963, and so forth.

Digital Collections

Yearbooks. All editions of the UM yearbook Ole Miss from the first one in 1897 to 2013 as well as an 1861 Classbook.
Frederick Robert Bernard Collection. Includes correspondence by Bernard while a student at UM in 1873.
Black Power at Ole Miss. Material from a 2020 commemoration of the arrest of 90 African American UM students in 1970 following a peaceful protest in Fulton Chapel. Includes oral histories, photographs, documentary, staged reading, and a bibliography of press coverage.
Edward C. Boynton Collection. Includes glass plate negatives of UM campus and people dating from 1856 to 1861.
Chancellor Inaugurations at the University of Mississippi. Selected archival documents related to the history of 20th and 21st century inaugural events for the university's chief executive officer.
Civil War Archive. Includes material from the Richard C. Bridges Collection (A student at UM in 1861, Richard C. Bridges became a Confederate soldier in the 11th Mississippi Infantry Regiment, Company A known as the University Greys) and the Gage Family Collection (includes the Civil War correspondence of Jeremiah Sanders Gage, a member of the University Greys and a student at UM).
Civil Rights Archive. Includes the papers of the John Crews Collection (material related to African American students at UM from 1970 to 1973, including papers of the Faculty Committee on Black Student Affairs which John Crews chaired).
Cofield Collection. Includes photographs of Oxford, Lafayette County, and university.
James E. Edmonds Collection. Includes correspondence by Edmonds as a UM student from 1896 to 1900.
Elijah Fleming Tintype Collection. Collection of 21 tintypes of UM faculty and students circa 1859.
Gunter Photograph Collection. Photographs of buildings and athletics on UM campus between 1910 and 1930.
Integration of the University of Mississippi. Correspondence, newspapers, newsletters, scrapbooks, and photographs documenting James H. Meredith's integration of the University of Mississippi in 1962 and the violent riot that erupted on the night of September 30th.
Robert F. Kennedy Speech Collection. Recording of speech by Robert F. Kennedy on UM campus in 1966.
Ed Meek Collection. Photographs and publications dating from 1962 to 1980s by Ed Meek who worked in UM public relations in various capacities for over thirty-seven years.
James Meredith Collection. Correspondence received by James Meredith in the fall of 1962 from those who supported and those who opposed his efforts to integrate the University of Mississippi.
Mississippi Cities and Counties Postcards. Postcard images of locales, including UM, dating from 1914 to 1980
Sidna Brower Mitchell Collection. Photographs and a scrapbook from the editor of the UM campus newspaper during the 1962 integration of the university.
Open Doors Collection. Oral histories recorded in 2002 to document the 40th anniversary of UM's integration in 1962 and the experiences of individuals present at the time.
John E. Phay Collection. Includes images of UM from the 1940s and 1950s; under “Narrow Your Search By” click on “School” and choose “University of Mississippi”)
Presidential Debate Collection. Photographs documenting campus activities on 26 September 2008 when UM hosted the first presidential debate between Democratic nominee Barack Obama and Republican nominee John McCain, as well as recordings of debate-related programs on campus that semester and a documentary about the debate produced by the university's Media & Documentary Projects.
Queer Mississippi Oral History Project. An ongoing oral history project that began in 2018 regarding LGBTQ people and activism in and around Oxford, Mississippi.

Ann Rayburn Paper Americana Collection Postcards. Vintage postcards, including images of UM campus
James W. Silver Collection. Selection of items from the physical collection, including news clippings and pamphlets documenting the controversy over UM History Professor James Silver's support for ending segregation as well Silver's correspondence with others.
University of Mississippi Board of Trustees. Ledgers with the handwritten minutes of the UM Board of Trustees dating from 1845 to 1897.
University of Mississippi Publications Collection. Includes various publications created at UM including the 1849-1909 Historical Catalogue of the University of Mississippi, various sorority documents, and magazines from 1902 and 1907.
Western Union Telegram Collection. Telegrams sent to and from the Western Union telegram office in Oxford, Mississippi during August-October 1962 when James Meredith enrolled as the first African American at the University of Mississippi.

Locating Material within the Archives & Special Collections

If you are a doctoral student looking for primary sources for your research paper beyond the digital collections referenced on this page, consider conducting the following searches to locate potentially useful material among the physical collections of the Archives & Special Collections:

Go to the Subject Guides page for a list of all subject guides. Focusing on a specific theme, subject guides provide brief descriptions and links to related collections and other material. Most relevant for this class are the University of Mississippi Subject Guide, the University of Mississippi page of the Antebellum Subject Guide, and the University of Mississippi page of the Secret Societies & Fraternal Organizations Subject Guide. There is also an Education Subject Guide which includes material on higher education in general, not just at the University of Mississippi.
Go the Archives & Special Collection home page and enter keyword terms into the custom Google search box after selecting "Finding Aids." This search will provide you with a list of all collection finding aids which include your keyword terms.
Conduct a library catalog advanced keyword search. Limit the "Location" to "Special Collections." Consider using the "Within" box to refine your search by years.
Ask an Archivist for assistance!!!

Visiting the Archives & Special Collections Spring 2024

The Archives & Special Collections is open Monday through Friday (except on certain holidays) from 9am to 4pm.
Researchers must complete the online Researcher Registration form which includes a description of the department's rules and protocols.
Researchers must wear a mask at all times in Special Collections.
Researchers are urged to email archivesdept@olemiss.edu a list of request collections and/or cataloged publications that they wish to review in advance of their on-site visit.

BE AWARE THAT SPECIAL COLLECTIONS WILL BE CLOSED for repairs May 11th through June 9th.

Citing Collection Material

While researching, keep track of the location of material that you intend to reference in your research paper. Remember that you are providing bread crumbs for readers (or your professor) to retrace your steps and find that specific item. The following information is essential:

Title or brief description of item
Name of collection
Box number and folder number (or identifier if using a digital collection)
Name of archival repository
Name of institution

The following information is based on Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6^th ed.), 2009. See pages 212-214.

Basic format for archival material on references page:

Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of material. [Description of material]. Name of collection (call number, Box number, and/or Folder number). Name and location of repository/archive.

Use (n.d.) for the date if no date can be found.
Use (ca. Year) if an approximate date is reasonable, such as (ca. 1962).
Use [Author, A. A.?] if no author is indicated, but there is reasonable certainty about the author, such as [Smith, J.?].
Move either the title, headline, or the description to the first position if there is no author or no title on the object.

Samples:

Smith, J. (1962, October 3). [Letter to James Meredith]. James Meredith Collection (Box 5, Folder 7), Department of Archives and Special Collections, University of Mississippi, Oxford.

[Handwritten financial ledger for Albin Plantation in Adams County, Mississippi]. (1878-1883). Andrew Brown Lumber Collection (Box 55, Folder 32), Department of Archives and Special Collections, University of Mississippi, Oxford.

EDHE 660/780: History of Higher Education: Home