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Author: Christa Cleeton

  • Dear Mr. Mudd: What Information Do You Have about Michelle Obama’s Time at Princeton?

    By Christa Cleeton with April C. Armstrong *14 and Dan Linke Dear Mr. Mudd, What do you have in your collections about Michelle Obama? There is not that much information available, but we do have some material. Michelle Obama–then named Michelle LaVaughn Robinson–graduated from Princeton University with the Class of 1985. The University Archives holds…

  • “Just friends; friends, that’s what matters in life:” the President and the Secretary of State

    By Daniel J. Linke Curator of Public Policy Papers   The Mudd Manuscript Library notes the passing of former President George H. W. Bush, who, though a Yale alum, is represented within our collections via the papers of his long-time friend and political ally, James A. Baker III ’52. Baker, among other roles, served as…

  • An American University: An Audio Portrait of Princeton in 1946

    By: Abbie Minard ’20 Abbie Minard ’20 is a history concentrator with a primary interest in early American history. On campus, she is a research associate at the Papers of Thomas Jefferson, music director and a DJ at WPRB, artistic director of the TapCats (tap dancing group), and a member of the Princeton Laptop Orchestra.…

  • The History of the Princeton University Senior Thesis

    The senior thesis has been a requirement of all undergraduate students at Princeton University since 1926. During a Faculty Meeting on February 19th, 1923, the Committee on the Course of Study submitted a report for a new study plan known as the “Four Course Plan.” The four course plan called for an extensive reading program for…

  • Behind the Scenes: Early Princeton University Trustee Minutes in High Resolution

    The Princeton University Archives at the Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library is continually working to make more materials available in a digital format for ease of use and access. A large scale project of both photographing and scanning the Trustee Minutes of the University has been an ongoing task. Currently, the Board of Trustees Minutes. Volumes…

  • Which came first? The Tiger or his stripes?

    Dear Mr. Mudd, What is the origin of the Princeton Tiger? Which came first the tiger or his stripes? In 1992 the Office of Communications produced a photo essay concerning this very topic! The answer is that Princeton adopted the stripes long before the actual tiger! Here is an excerpt from that essay: On October…

  • “The Wa” as it was.

    On August 27th, 1974, Princeton University’s then News Bureau, announced that Princeton’s First Wawa had opened at 140 University Place at the old Doten Garage and Studebaker dealership. Following the closing of the garage the space was used as a warehouse for the University dorm and food services. Renovations were made to adapt the space…

  • Is or was there a Princeton Law School? Not really!

    A question that is frequently asked of us here at the archives is whether or not there was ever a “Law School.” The answer to that is, not really! Initial attempts to create a law school at the College of New Jersey (as Princeton University was then known) were unsuccessful. The College trustees appointed a…

  • Princeton University Records Management Launches New Website

    Princeton University Records Management has a new look (and a new online address)! The new records management website replaces the records management guidelines website created in 2007. Those who visit the original website will be redirected to the new website, which includes new records management policies and retention schedules as well as information on a wide range…

  • Lost and Found: Segregation and the South

    By Dan Linke and Brenda Tindal A recently donated film long thought lost has been digitized and is now viewable online.  “Segregation and the South,” a film produced in 1957 by the Fund for the Republic, reported on race issues in the South since the 1954 Supreme Court decision in the Brown v. Board of…