About

The University Archive collects, preserves, and makes available official and historical records of the University of North Texas. This includes photographs, university publications, institutional records from departments on campus, University Presidents’ papers, faculty papers, yearbooks, artifacts, and other materials of enduring value from the founding of the college through present day.

Stories from the rich history of the University of North Texas told through the lens of our archival collections can be found in our 125 Year Archival Retrospective blog posts

As the university grows and evolves, so does the archive with the help of records transfers from campus departments and donations from current and former students, faculty, and staff. Please see the Contribute to the University Archive section of this page for more information on what materials the archive accepts and how to donate.

Notable Collections

• The University Photography Collection – thousands of digitized photos from the earliest days of the university through recent years
• The University Memory Collection – digital materials documenting the campus experience contributed by students, alumni, staff, and other community members
• North Texas Newspapers – digitized student newspapers from the first Campus Chat in 1916 through modern day
• North Texas Yearbooks – digitized yearbooks from the first published in 1906 until publication ceased in 2007
• The Multicultural Center Records – materials documenting efforts of the Multicultural Center to promote and document diversity and inclusion on campus beginning in the 1970s
• Pride Alliance Records – communications, publications, and resources created by the LGBTQ organization on campus
• Student Demonstration Poster Collection – posters created by students in 2016 and 2017 in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. Collecting posters and other materials from this and other movements and protests is an ongoing project.
• The Center for Media Production Collection – hundreds of digitized photos and videos produced on campus from 1980 to 2009 supporting classroom instruction, advertising, distributive learning, and promotion of the university
• Faculty Papers – including the Gloria Contreras Papers, the Joseph Kean Gwynn Silvey Papers, the Rafael Toledo Papers, and the Gene Shuford Papers, among others

Using the University Archive

All are welcome to use the materials in the University Archive. To access materials in person, please follow the same procedures for using Special Collections materials in person.

Inventories of collections in the University Archive can be found by searching the Special Collections Finding Aids or browsing findings aids under the “University Archive” category. Many collections contain digital content that can be viewed in the UNT Digital Library and the Portal to Texas History, and some collections consist of entirely digital content.

With reference questions or for assistance locating materials in the University Archive, please contact Special Collections.

Contribute to the University Archive

Institutional Records:

As mandated by the Board of Regents, institutional records of enduring value should be transferred to the University Archive according to the Records Retention Schedule. We encourage UNT faculty and staff to become familiar with the schedule. A few examples of records that should be transferred to the archives are: department publications, photographs, broadcasts, reports, and biographical records (such as faculty vitas). When records are identified for transfer to the archive, please follow the university’s final disposition procedures.

Cultural Records:

The University Archive is also actively working to build collections that document campus culture and the student experience. Current students, alumni, and other community members are strongly encouraged to contribute to this effort by donating physical and digital materials.

Here are the ways current students, alumni, faculty and staff, and other community members can contribute cultural materials to the archive:

1. Donate Physical Materials . . .

like records from student clubs and organizations, scrapbooks and photos, letters, flyers from campus events, a/v materials, artifacts, or anything else you’ve kept that documents an aspect of UNT history or represents your experience at UNT.

2. Submit Digital Materials through the Keeper Web App. . .

whether they’re from last week or years ago. Your digital photos, videos, sound recordings, and other files represent our campus culture and will be useful to researchers in the near and distant future. Submissions through Keeper are described by archivists and made available online in the UNT Digital Library and the Portal to Texas History as part of the University Memory Collection.

3. Suggest Websites and Webpages to be Archived . . .

because some information only exists online, and websites disappear. By nominating URLs to be archived, you can ensure web resources relevant to campus culture, students, and student groups (including social media) are preserved in their current state. URLs can be nominated for archiving through this online tool.

For questions or to arrange a donation, please contact Special Collections.