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In Memoriam: Herbert E. Striner

It is with deep sadness, we recognize the passing of Herbert E. Striner, former Dean of the Kogod School of Business (1975-1981) and the College of Continuing Education (1969-1973).

Former Kogod Dean Herb Striner in 1988

Herb Striner earned his A.B. and M.A. degrees in economics from Rutgers University and his Ph.D in economics from Syracuse University. During World War II, he served in the China-Burma-India Theater of War as an infantry officer in the U.S. Army.

Striner worked for both the Federal Government and the private sector including the Brookings Institution, The Johns Hopkins University, the National Planning Association, the Stanford University Research Institute and the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. He specialized in manpower and productivity problems and served as a productivity consultant to corporations as well as the U.S., Australian, Canadian and Italian governments including serving on the U.S. delegation to a NATO conference in Portugal on manpower policies in 1969. Striner published over 90 articles and 5 books.

Exterior of the southeast side of the Washington National Cathedral (1977)

An avid photographer and painter, Striner donated his collection of more than 8,000 negatives, prints, and slides to AU in 2007. His passion for photography began during World War II, when he was an infantry officer and was given his first camera. Striner said of this donation: “What I am most hoping for with this gift is that those whose interests in the history of the years spanned by the work, 1945–99, from whatever perspective—artistic or otherwise—will gain insights and a broadening of horizons that will contribute to their lives, as well as the lives of others.” Striner’s collection captures images ranging from international settings to local architecture to nature scenes, and is available online in our Digital Research Archive.

Fun Facts about Orientation

The Student Government’s Orientation Board organized a variety of activities including concerts, movies, trips, and barbecues for freshman orientation from the 1940s through 1980.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the Residence Hall Association provided free ice cream during orientation.
Freshman scooping ice cream at orientation in 1981
Summer orientation has been offered regularly since 1980 with the launch of SORC (Summer Orientation Registration Conference). Renamed SOAR (Summer Orientation Advisement and Registration) in 1987, it is now called Eagle Summit. This two day program provides incoming students with an introduction to campus.
AU’s student newspaper has produced special orientation issues as well as guides to living in Washington, DC.
The week before classes begin has been called Welcome Week since 1994. One of the regular features of Welcome Week is a performance by the political satire troupe, the Capitol Steps.
Capitol Steps performing in the Woods-Brown Amphitheater
Since 1991, the Freshman Service Experience provides opportunities for community service and an orientation to American University and Washington, D.C. More than 10,000 students have participated in the program since its inception. Students originally worked at local non-profits for four days on the week before the start of classes. The program is currently two days.
Freshman working at a non-profit in 2002 (Source: Talon)

New Archives and Special Collections Subject Guide

Check out the new Archives and Special Collections subject guide. It sorts our holdings into 11 subject areas and lists the relevant collections. Whenever there is a digital component or an online guide to the collection, there is a link to those resources. We will be updating the guide on a regular basis to incorporate new collections and new digital resources.

American University Library Launches New Digital Collections Platform

We are pleased to announce the launch of the AU Digital Research Archive. The Digital Research Archive includes all of our digital collections as well as all of the content from AU’s institutional repository.

Our new repository platform offers improved search capability. You can now search across all of our collections or within an individual collection. You can limit your results by using the facets provided. You can sort results by the name of the creator, the date the item was created, the local identifier or the title.

The Digital Research Archive is divided into collections and sub-collections to facilitate browsing. The upper level consists of the following collections: Schools and Colleges: Including Syllabi and University Library, Special Collections, Student Research, and University Archives. The Schools and College Collection is further sub-divided by school or format. All department or school newsletters and magazines are within their school. University wide publications can be found in the University Archives collection. The University Archives collection also contains historic documents and photographs. All graduate and undergraduate research papers (including capstones, theses, and dissertations) are located in the student research collection.

We have also added several new collections including the Jack Child Slide and Stamp Collections and American University: The Formative Years.

Celebrating AU Alumni: Lee Marrs

Special Collections recently acquired a copy of Lee Marrs’ The Further Fattening Adventures of Pudge, Girl Blimp. No. 1. Published by Berkeley based Last Gasp-Eco Funnies in 1973, this is the first of three comics featuring Pudge, an obese virgin from Normal, Illinois, who hitchhikes to San Francisco in her quest to get laid. This collection includes “Pudge in the Case of the Venereal Virgin,” “Pudge in Who Was Dat Self I Saw You With?,” “Pudge in the Fat Rip-Off,” and “Pudge Takes a Trip.”

Cover of First Issue of Pudge Girl Blimp

Lee Marrs graduated from AU with a degree in Fine Art in 1967. She drew comics on social and political themes for AU’s student newspaper, The Eagle. Marrs was one of the original contributors to the Wimmen’s Commix anthology. She started her own animation and computer graphics company in 1972. Marrs has written and drawn both underground and mainstream comics. She worked as an artist on Prince Valiant and author on Wonder Woman.

Summer Programs – Archival History made at American University

American University’s role in the history of archival education is often forgotten. For over twenty-five years, American University co-hosted an Archives Institute along with the National Archives and Records Administration, the Library of Congress and the Maryland State Archives (formerly called the Maryland Hall of Records).

The first course was offered in the summer of 1945. Over the course of three weeks, students listened to lectures on archival theory and practice from archivists at the host institutions. They toured all three facilities and undertook a variety of projects including rehousing, compiling preliminary inventories, cataloging and appraisal.

Brochure for First Archives Institute

The Institute’s directors included Ernst Posner and T.R. Schellenberg, early leaders in the field of archival theory. American University’s Archivist, Helen Chatfield, was also on the roster of distinguished lecturers.

American University continues this tradition of summer programs today with offerings from the European Public Affairs and Advocacy Institute, the Nuclear Studies Institute, and the Public Affairs and Advocacy Institute in addition to internships and study-abroad courses.

Campus Growth and Construction

American University’s campus has had four distinct growth periods 1920-1925, 1954-1969, 1985-1987, 2003-present.

Leading up to the opening of the College of Liberal Arts in 1925, AU built a women’s residence hall, library, gymnasium, power plant, and a home for the University President.

The next major construction period began in the mid-1950s and lasted through 1970. During this time the design and feel of AU’s campus was finalized with a central quad surrounded by academic buildings with dormitories and additional academic buildings on the perimeter.

Wooden boxes protect trees during construction of Ward Circle Building

During the 1980s, AU acquired its Tenley Campus and the property adjacent to its recreational center as well as building a new dormitory, Centennial Hall, and Bender Arena.

Demolition of Clendenen Gymnasium (1985)

Since the early 2000s, AU has been modernizing its campus with the construction of the Katzen Art Center, the new School of International Service, its first LEED certified building, and the re-purposing of the Tenley Campus for the Law School and the conversion of the Nebraska Avenue parking lot into much needed dormitory and academic space.

On a side note, a variety of temporary buildings were constructed during World War I and World War II by the War Department. Some of those buildings remained standing until the 2000s.

Currently on Display: Artists Books from the Watkins Collection

In honor of the 70^th anniversary of the establishment of American University’s Watkins Memorial Collection, AU Special Collections will showcase three artists’ books from that collection in its third floor exhibit cases from Memorial Day though mid-August. Please stop by to check out these eye catching works.

Some Poems of Jules LaForgue with images by Patrick Caulfield from the Watkins Collection of Artists Books

Commencement Ceremonies

Commencement ceremonies are the culmination of a student’s academic career. This momentous day is shared with family and friends. It is also an opportunity to hear from figures of national importance on topics ranging from career advice to world affairs. AU’s location in Washington, DC makes it possible to for campus to welcome a variety of national and world leaders. Over the years AU students have heard from artists, journalists, judges, politicians and scientists including Marian Anderson, Walter Cronkite, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Jay Gould, President John F. Kennedy, and Elie Wiesel.

John F. Kennedy (1963)

Stephen Jay Gould (1991)

Elie Wiesel (1992)

Until Bender Arena was built, AU held its commencement ceremonies in a variety of campus and off-campus locations including DAR Constitution Hall and the Washington Hebrew Congregation. Starting next academic year, AU will be re-instituting winter commencement. AU held two ceremonies from 1976 through 2003.

May Day at AU in the 1930s and 1940s

One of American University’s earliest traditions was May Day. Based loosely on the English folk celebration, AU students elected a queen, held a pageant, and organized a program of dances. In 1932, the organizers selected an Elizabethan theme.

May Day 1932

In 1937 and 1938, a group of men organized their own “Mock May Day” celebration. May Day celebrations were combined with the spring play in 1942 and campus day in 1946. May Day went out of fashion in the 1950s when AU students began electing class queens as well as fraternity “sweethearts.”