Hall of Champions: Spring 2018 Sesquicentennial Profiles

Minnesota State Mankato is celebrating its 150th anniversary. Starting in 2017 the 18-month Sesquicentennial celebration will culminate on Oct. 7, 2018—a date that marks the 150-year anniversary of the day that the first actual classes were held.  This is the second post in a series of three posts about the Brock Otto Hall of Champions Sesquicentennial Profiles.  The first installment about the Fall 2017 Sesquicentennial Profiles is here.

During the Sesquicentennial the Brock Otto Hall of Champions exhibit located in the Taylor Center will have a series of rotating posters profiling notable Minnesota State University, Mankato individuals.  Profiles currently on display include Clarence L. Crawford, Jane Earley, Herb Whitmore, Georgene Brock and Marie Bruce.

Image:  Clarence L. Crawford poster

Clarence L. Crawford served as President of the Mankato State Teachers College and Mankato State College from 1946-1965.  Crawford led the college in a time of significant change.  Student enrollment grew with the end of World War II and the GI Bill.  In 1946 there were 1,017 students and by 1965 the number of students had grown to around 11,392.  Academic programs expanded with the awarding of the first Bachelor of Arts degree in 1947 and the authorization of the Masters of Science degree in 1953.  In 1957 the Teachers College became Mankato State College. The physical campus expanded from the original campus to two campuses, one downtown (lower campus) and one on the hilltop (upper campus).  This expansion also meant new construction.  The college went from five buildings in 1946 to 17 buildings on lower and upper campus by 1965.  President Crawford resigned in 1965 to teach at Florida Atlantic University.  

Learn more about Minnesota State Mankato's  Presidential history at https://www.mnsu.edu/president/history.html. 

Image:  Jane F. Earley poster

Jane F. Earley, Dean Emerita of the College of Arts and Humanities, first joined Mankato State College as an English professor in 1969. Earley became assistant dean of the School of Arts and Science in 1974, associate dean in 1975, and dean of the new College of Arts and Humanities in 1977. During Earley’s time at Minnesota State University Mankato, she was the university’s first female dean.

Earley’s accomplishments include the successful donation drive that raised funds for Andreas     Theatre, built in 2000. In 2004 the Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences honored her for her long years of service as a leader and mentor of college deans across the country. She retired in 2009 after 40 years at Minnesota State Mankato and is considered one of the nation’s longest-serving arts and humanities deans.

In 2011, the Performing Arts Center was dedicated and renamed the Earley Center for Performing Arts.  The center is home to the departments of Theatre & Dance and Music, the Ted Paul Theatre and  Andreas Theatre, as well as the Elias J. Halling Recital Hall.   

Learn more about the College of Arts and Humanities at http://www.mnsu.edu/carts/.  

Image:  Georgene Brock poster

Georgene Brock served as the Director of Women’s Athletics for 33 years from 1965-1998 leading the women's athletic program from intramural status to the formation of 12 intercollegiate teams.  Brock came to Mankato State College in 1964 as a faculty member running women’s intramurals and teaching physical education.  She coached women's bowling from 1964-1969, volleyball from 1967-1980 in which she led two teams to national competition, and women's tennis from 1970-1983.   

Retiring in 1998, Brock was inducted into the Maverick Hall of Fame in 1986, the North Central Conference Hall of Fame in 1996, the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Hall of Fame in 2001, and from her home state, the Tempe (Arizona) Union High School Hall of Fame in 1989.  

Learn more about the Mavericks Hall of Fame at http://msumavericks.com/hof.aspx.

Image:  Herb Whitmore poster

In 1954, Herb Whitmore enrolled at Mankato State Teachers College and became the first African-American player on the basketball team.    He also played on the tennis team and graduated in 1960 with a physical education degree.  He would go on to get his masters’ degree from Michigan State and become a teacher.  In addition, he coached tennis, football, and track before retiring in 1992.  Today, he volunteers teaching special needs students.     

Learn more about Minnesota State Mankato's Mavericks at http://msumavericks.com/. 

Image:  Marie Bruce poster

Marie Bruce, identified as the “First Lady of Mankato State” by former Mankato State University, President, Margaret Preska, came to Mankato State Teachers College in 1956 as Dean of Women.  In charge of freshman orientation, her reputation for making new students, from freshmen to veterans as well as non-traditional, feel at home on campus was remarkable.  Miss Bruce organized social programs such as Snow Week, the Charity Carnival, the Mother-Daughter Tea as well as four sororities in the late 1950s and 1960s.  

Following her retirement in 1971, Miss Bruce continued an active career of voluntary service to Mankato State University.  The Student Activities Center in the Centennial Student Union was named in Marie Bruce’s honor in 1981.

Today, the Marie Bruce Outstanding Fraternity Man and Sorority Woman award is presented annually to the fraternity man and sorority woman who most embody the characteristics of what it means to be Greek at Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Learn more about Student Activities at http://www.mnsu.edu/activities/.  

Book Handling: Things Found in Books

We have pretty much seen it all.

Things get left in books and we do the best we can to find them.

Things like...photos of pets, family and friends, love letters, paperclips, sticky notes, receipts, doodles, old homework assignments, toilet paper, coupons, membership cards, condoms, lottery tickets, duct tape, playing cards, sugar packets, newspaper clippings, candy and gum wrappers, money, scotch tape, price tags, handwritten notes, phone numbers, squished bugs, drivers licenses, candy, flowers, glue, art projects, jewelry, stickers, Q-tips, phone numbers, origami...

and SO MUCH MORE...

A small sample of things we have found in the books at Memorial Library.
Photo courtesy of J.Myers who worked with the Circulation department to collect things found in books for 1 full year. 

Though we can get a chuckle out of some of the things people leave behind in library books, it is important to remember that many things can damage books if left inside for too long. For instance, office tapes and glues chemically change and damage the paper inside books, paperclips rust and tear paper, acidic papers and sticky notes cause a nasty chemical reaction to occur. Three-dimensional objects and wet items can warp the pages while leftover food and squished bugs can cause their own problems. Eventually the book may begin to deteriorate. All this can bring a book to its untimely end!

An ironic comic strip found as a bookmark in a returned library book. Photo courtesy of J. Myers.

The truth is that bookmarks are not exactly things people have on hand most of the time. If a person picks up a book and reads then gets a little distracted, his or her natural inclination will be to put the smallest closest object inside the book to keep track of where he or she left off.

So, Here’s What You Can Do to Help!:
1. Use a bookmark – Ask the Library and we will gladly give you some!
2. Can't find a bookmark? No problem! Grab some plain white printing paper - most are acid-free!
3. Please avoid dog-earring, use of sticky notes and paperclips!
4. Please do not write or highlight in books.
5. Do not attempt to mend or repair a book, especially with office tapes and glues. This will damage the book even more. We have a Preservation department who will be happy to do it!
6. And, most importantly, take out your “bookmark” before returning a book to the library. This tiny action can make all the difference for others to enjoy this same book in the many years to come!

The smallest changes can make the biggest differences. 

Comment below if you have ever found something interesting inside a book!

Jamie Dalbey is a Preservation and Government Documents Technician at Minnesota State University, Mankato. 

New Materials Added to Various Collections!

Additions to the College of Education collection, the University Photograph collection, and the Mankato, Minnesota Young Women's Christian Association collection were recently completed.


College of Education. Collection, 1886-Ongoing. MSU Archives Collection 23. http://lib.mnsu.edu/archives/fa/msu/msu23.html

The College of Education is a collection of different reports, as well as meeting minutes, bulletins, and miscellaneous reports generated by the College of Education. This collection also encompasses all the name changes the College of Education had through the years.

The bulk of the recent addition to this collection are the Licensure Records and Practice Teaching Reports from 1967 through 1997.


University Photograph Collection. Photographs, 1868-Ongoing. MSU Archives Collection 309. http://lib.mnsu.edu/archives/fa/msu/msu309.html

The University Photograph Collection consists of photographs taken on behalf of Minnesota State University, Mankato and its predecessor institutions. These photographs are pictures of students, faculty, buildings, sculptures on campus and the occasional regional location.

A detailed inventory was recently completed for this ever-growing collection. The collection was also divided into three series: Digitized, Semi-digitized, and Undigitized.

Explore ARCH: University Archives Digital Collections, https://arch.lib.mnsu.edu/, to see photographs, college newspapers and university publications!


Mankato, Minnesota Young Women's Christian Association. Papers, 1922 - 1976. SMHC Manuscript Collection 1284. http://lib.mnsu.edu/archives/fa/smhc/smhc1284.html

This collection consists of items pertaining to the Mankato, Minnesota Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA). Included in the collection are scrapbooks, financial records, meeting minutes, newspaper clippings, photographs, and other miscellaneous items relating to the YWCA and its various programs.

The bulk of the recent addition to this collection include photographs and Cray Mansion materials as well as a sub-series covering the YWCA and its involvement with Mankato Area Healthy Youth (MAHY) and Youth Voice.


Visit the Minnesota State Mankato’s University Archives!
Are you interested in viewing any of these collections? Contact us with any questions or to set an appointment for your visit: http://lib.mnsu.edu/archives/info/contact.html.

New Collections: November 2017

We’re highlighting a few of the newly processed collections!

College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, 1961-Ongoing. MSU Archives Collection 29. http://lib.mnsu.edu/archives/fa/msu/msu29.html

The College of Social and Behavioral Sciences collection consists of meeting minutes, correspondence, publications, and program review documents from the college and its constituent departments. The collection is divided into two series: College Files and Subject Files.


School Progress. Collection, 1919-1971. MSU Archives Collection 128.
http://lib.mnsu.edu/archives/fa/msu/msu128.html

The School Progress Collection is a series of pamphlets sent to current and prospective Mankato State College students from 1919-1971. These informational pamphlets describe the school, sports, classes offered, teachers, and campus life. There are numerous formats of pamphlets in the collection and they all cover different topics.


King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968. Speech in Mankato, Minnesota, 12 November 1961. SMHC Manuscript Collection 259.
http://lib.mnsu.edu/archives/fa/smhc/smhc259.html

Martin Luther King, Jr. visited Mankato, Minnesota on Sunday,12 November 1961 as part of the Third Annual Lectureship for the Wesley Foundation, a Mankato State College religious student organization. He gave two speeches at Century Methodist Church, “The Good Neighbor,” and a speech at Mankato High School, “Facing the Challenge of a New Age.” The Martin Luther King, Jr. speech in Mankato collection consists of an audio recording and transcript of the speech given by King at Mankato High School. Also included are newspaper clippings related to his Mankato visit and research into his visit.


Visit the Minnesota State Mankato’s University Archives! Are you interested in viewing the two collections mentioned above? Contact us with any questions or to set an appointment for your visit.