Collections Descriptions

Alexander (David) Collection

John David Alexander (1932-2010) was the seventh president of Pomona College. Alexander attended Southwestern at Memphis (now Rhodes College), graduating in 1953, Phi Beta Kappa with honors in Greek. He then went on to study at the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Selected as a Rhodes Scholar, he was awarded a doctorate in theology from Christ Church, Oxford, in 1957. Under Alexander's leadership, Pomona College experienced a period of unprecedented growth and development. The Alexander Collection includes correspondence, campus and academic planning documents, trustee files, and President's Office files from Alexander's tenure (1969-1991) as well as from previous Pomona College presidents and administrators from 1892 to 1969.    

Please consult the Archives for more information.  

Hansch (Corwin) Papers

Corwin Hansch (1918-2011) taught chemistry at Pomona from 1946 until his retirement in 1988, continuing to conduct research in the Chemistry Department until 2010. After arriving at Pomona, Hansch began research on the correlation of biological activity with chemical structure, leading to the development of QSAR (Quantitative Structure Activity Relationships) that laid the foundation for computer-assisted molecular design and lead to rational drug design. His papers consist of articles, correspondence, research planning documents, and molecular imaging slides.

Jones (Harold Hemenway) Collection

Harold Hemenway Jones (1900-1986) graduated from Pomona in 1922.  His collection contains an album illustrated with pastel drawings and containing photographs of the Student Army Training Corps, campus events, and College trips to the local mountains; loose photographs; correspondence from classmates; and ephemera from College performances and events. 

Ken Smith Nu Alpha Phi Collection

Founded in 1922, Nu Alpha Phi is Pomona College's oldest surviving fraternity. Originally an all male organization, Nu Alpha Phi opened its membership to women in 1977. The collection contains memorabilia, such as photographs, scrapbooks, and banners; copies of the Oak Leaf newsletter; member correspondence; biographical files; fraternity histories and reminiscences; and planning documents regarding Nu Alpha Phi events, scholarships, and programs.

Lund (Iolene) Collection

Iolene Lazelle Lund (1908-2005) graduated from Pomona in 1929.  Her papers contain ephemera from College performances and events, correspondence relating to her involvement in the Alumni Association, campus photographs, and newspaper clippings about College individuals and events.

Marston (George) Correspondence Collection

George White Marston (1850-1946) served a critically important role in the founding of Pomona College.  A San Diego businessman and philanthropist, Marston was one of the College's founding trustees, serving until his death in 1946.  He provided funding for a number of significant campus building projects, including Smiley Hall, Frary Hall, Mudd-Blaisdell Hall, and Marston Quadrangle. This collection includes correspondence between Marston and Pomona College presidents James Blaisdell, Charles Edmunds, and E. Wilson Lyon.

Pomona College Artifact Collection

The collection contains artifacts created by Pomona College and its students, including Pomona College and class year fabric patches, jewelry, College building and honorary plaques, and College and class year memorabilia dating from 1902-1958.

Pomona College Audiovisual Collection

This collection contains audio and video recordings of college events and performances, lectures, and oral histories. Included are films documenting college life, sporting events, commencements, and musical and theatrical productions dating from the 1930s to 2013.

Pomona College Books and Publications

This collection is comprised of publications by and about the college and its student body. The collection includes runs of College publications, such as course catalogs, student handbooks, alumni directories, diaries and histories, issues of the Pomona College Magazine, Metate yearbook, and the Pomona College Bulletin. Student produced newspapers and magazines include The Student Life, The Sagehen, and short lived titles in creative writing, the sciences, and other fields.

Pomona College Scrapbook and Photo Album Collection

This growing collection of scrapbooks and photo albums created by alumni, faculty, and staff, includes photographs and memorabilia documenting campus life from the 1890s to the 1960s. Most of the scrapbooks and photo albums in this collection were created by individuals to document their own experience at Pomona, but several scrapbooks in the collection were created by students to document the events and activities of a particular class year.

Pomona College Textiles Collection

The Pomona College Textiles Collection contains clothing and textiles, such as class pennants, varsity and class sweaters, dinks, and class year patches dating from 1917 to 1955.

President's Office Papers

This collection is comprised of President's Office files from 1887 to 1990. Included are academic department reports, Board of Trustee subcommittee minutes, event and conference planning documents, administrative planning documents, and scholarship and grant files.   

Please consult the Archives for more information.

Sheirich (Richard) Papers

Richard Sheirich (1927-2011) taught German language, literature, and culture at Pomona College from 1965 until his retirement in 1996.  His courses ranged from early Germanic literature to the Cold War and reunification.  His research focused primarily on Viennese poet, novelist, and playwright Richard Beer-Hofmann, producing a number of articles as well as an edition of Beer-Hofmann's correspondence, Der Briefwechsel mit Paula, 1896-1937. The collection consists of manuscripts; planning documents regarding his grant-funded program, German across the Curriculum; teaching notes; materials from the Oldenborg Center and the Modern Languages department, and correspondence.

Sontag (Frederick) Papers

Frederick Sontag (1924-2009) was the Robert C. Denison Professor of Philosophy, teaching at Pomona from 1952 to 2009, and a minister in the United Church of Christ. His research focused on existentialism, metaphysics, the philosophy of religion, and the Unification Church. His papers include manuscripts of his articles, sermons, and other writings; professional and personal correspondence; teaching notes; and materials relating to his involvement with the Department of Philosophy, Kappa Delta fraternity, and the College rugby team.

Women's Union Collection

Founded in 1983 by Feminists Against Repression, the Women's Union (WU) was created to enable students to reclaim feminism against traditional stereotypes. Since its founding, the WU has hosted lectures, community engagement events, conducted campus surveys, and created student edited publications. The collection contains photographs, student artwork, copies of The Re-View newsletter, correspondence, and planning documents regarding WU events and programs.

Youkstetter (Frank) Collection

Frank Youkstetter (1912-2011) graduated from Pomona in 1933. This collection contains Glee Club and Music Department programs, newspaper clippings, and photographs from 1929 to 1933.

This is only a partial list of our collections.  Please contact the Archives for more information.