The Beulah Culbertson Archives and Special Collections at the Fant Memorial Library currently holds over 700 linear feet of records including university office files, photographs, scrapbooks, social club memorabilia, framed artwork, and many other types of historical records. Materials in Archives and Special Collections are not available for borrowing, but visitors may consult records in the Archives by scheduling an appointment.
Collection Inventories (PDF)
Note: PDF inventories can be opened with Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Types of records in the archives:
Leadership Records
Academic Departments
Non-academic/Academic Support Departments
Student Groups
Donated Papers
Special Format Collections
Leadership Records
The archives has records from presidents Frazer (1891-1898) through Miller (2018-), as well as a small collection of records from boards of trustees and the prior manifestations of the university, the Columbus Female Institute (1847-1884) and the Mississippi Industrial Institute and College (1884-1920).
- Robert Frazer Presidential Record Group (1891-1898)
- John Clayton Fant Presidential Record Group (1920-1929)
- R. E. L. Sutherland Presidential Record Group (1930-1932)
- Burney Lynch Parkinson Presidential Record Group (1932-1952)
- Charles Pinckney Hogarth Presidential Record Group (1952-1977)
- James Walter Strobel Presidential Record Group (1977-1988)
- Clyda Stokes Rent Presidential Record Group (1989-2001)
- James B. Borsig Presidential Record Group (2012-2018)
- Nora R. Miller Presidential Record Group (2018-)
- Board of Trustees Record Group
- Columbus Female Institute Record Group (1847-1884)
- Industrial Institute and College Record Group (1884-1920)
Academic Departments
These are the faculty and administrative records of departments that instruct classes.
- History Department Record Group
- English Department Record Group
- College of Business and Professional Studies Record Group
- Demonstration School Record Group
- Fine and Performing Arts Record Group
- Home Economics Department Record Group
- Journalism Department Record Group
- Physical Education and Hygiene Department Record Group
- Science Department Record Group
- Speech and Communication Department Record Group
Non-Academic/Academic Support Departments
Departments on campus that do not instruct classes fall into this category. This includes Finance and Administration, Food Service, Fant Library, the Provost's Office, and others.
- Administration Record Group
- Alumni Affairs Record Group
- Archives and Museum Record Group
- Campus Publications Collection
- Dean of Arts and Sciences Record Group
- Dean of Students Record Group
- Executive Vice President Record Group
- Fant Memorial Library Record Group
- Finance and Administration Record Group
- Food Service Record Group
- Office of Student Life Record Group
- University Relations Record Group
Student Groups
These collections pertain to the various student-led groups on campus that are affiliated with the university.
- Student Government Association Record Group
- Student Clubs, Organizations and Activities Collection
- Blacklist Social Club
- Countess Social Club
- D'Belles Social Club
- Delta Kappa Gamma
- Highlanders Social Club
- Honors Societies (various)
- Jesters Social Club
- Lancers Social Club
- Las Amigas Social Club
- Les Joyeaux Social Club
- Lockhearts Social Club
- Lyceum
- Phi Beta Kappa
- Pi Tau Chi
- Reveler Social Club
- Rogue Social Club
- Rosette Social Club
- Sigma Tau Delta
- Silhouette Social Club
Donated Papers
The archives has received numerous donations from individual students, staff, faculty, and alumni over the years, as well as their family. Records from student and alumni groups, such the Revelers, Student Christian Association, and organizations outside of The W, such as the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science and the American Association of University Women, also fall under this category.
- Alumni Donations Collections
- American Association of University Women (AAUW) Collection
- Dera Dry Parkinson Collection
- Dorothy Bush Collection
- Ellard-Murphree-Pilgreen-Smith Family Papers Collection
- Emma Ody Pohl Collection
- Eugenia Summer Collection
- George Eliot Memorabilia Collection
- Helen Perry Hopkins Collection
- LGBT+ Alumni Oral History Project
- Lucille Watkins Ellison Collection
- Marie Charlotte Stark Collection
- Mary Elizabeth Bickerstaff Payne Collection
- Mississippi Home Economics Association (MHEA) Collection
- Mississippi Governor's School Collection
- Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science (MSMS) Collection
- Mississippi University for Women Foundation Collection
- Peyton Family Papers Collection
- Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Development Association Collection
Special Format Collections
A few media types that require special care and housing have been pulled from the collections and grouped together for ease of consultation and due to frequent lack of provenance information.
