An excerpt from the 1969 Houstonian yearbook, preserved in the UH Archives, shows Lynn Eusan making history as UH’s first black Homecoming queen. | Photo courtesy of UH Archives.
Located on the second floor of the MD Anderson Library, right past the stairs, the UH Archives stores exclusive historical collections that offer a glimpse into the University’s past.
From the early editions of The Cougar to yearbooks, scrapbooks and architecture records, the Archives recounts the story of how UH and its student community have grown and blossomed over the last 100 years.
What are the UH Archives?
The UH Archives documents the history of the University since its founding in 1927 through administrative and department records, faculty papers, the records of alumni and student organizations, as well as University publications, including budgets, official reports, the student newspaper and Houstonian yearbooks.
University archivist Mary Manning oversees the preservation of special collections, assists scholars in their research and works with donors to acquire new materials.
Manning ensures that the archives physically protect the collections.
“It’s really temperature, humidity and light that’s the biggest factor,” Manning said.
Katy Allred, one of the archivists, works primarily on organizing historical collections so they can be easily accessed by researchers.
“When collections come in, sometimes they’re organized and sometimes it’s a stack of papers thrown in a box,” Allred said.
A glimpse inside the collections
The Archives offer more than University records. They are an inside look at how student life has changed over the years.
Among these materials are student scrapbooks that date back to 1927, when UH was still known as Houston Junior College. The scrapbooks were put together by the students, composed of photographs, newspaper clippings and other materials, documenting students’ experiences over the years.
“Now that they’re digitized, anyone with an internet connection can browse them at their leisure,” Manning said.
With UH celebrating Homecoming week, the archives recount the underdog story at one of the University’s historic Homecoming moments.
In 1968, Lynn Eusan made history by becoming not only UH’s first black Homecoming queen, but at any predominantly white university in the Southern United States.
Eusan was also a civil rights activist and a member of AABL, the Afro-Americans for Black Liberation.
How to get involved
Getting involved in the Archives allows students to grow and research with exclusive materials.
Students can browse through the UH Libraries Special Collections website and select specific materials to examine in person.
The archives have rules set in place in order to protect these valuable materials, but Manning emphasized that the collections are meant to be explored.
“We have all of these rules, but we don’t want to be gatekeepers,” Manning said. “We want you to use our collections.”
Students interested in further information can learn more at https://libraries.uh.edu/special-collections/uh-archives.
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