Democracy's University: The History and The Historian University Archives exhibit
James Hansen in his office at the History Department in the 1970s. Photo originally appeared in Comment on Oct. 19, 1972.
January 9, 2008
January 9 - February 1
Archives and Special Collections
Room 202 of Morgan Library
Open Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
"Much of our past is contained only in the memories of old-timers who were here when history was being made."
--James Hansen, CSU historian and author of Democracy's University: A History of CSU.
Committee formed in 1972 to document CSU history
It was the fall semester of 1972. Colorado State University had recently commemorated the centennial of its creation as an institution in 1870 when the Colorado Territorial Legislature designated Fort Collins as the location of the state's future land-grant college.
A special committee, chaired by CSU Academic Vice-president Charles O. Neidt, was assigned the task of creating a comprehensive history of the university. Besides Neidt, members of the history project committee were: Dr. William E. Morgan, president emeritus; Charles L. Terrell, secretary of the State Board of Agriculture; Dr. Harry Rosenberg, chair of the History Department; Dr. LeMoyne Anderson, director of libraries; and James Bennett, director of university communications. The project would be funded by the newly created CSU Foundation.
University Archives born
It would be a formidable undertaking by Dr. James Hansen. The writing of a comprehensive history would be a challenge enough, but Hansen's work was complicated by the fact that in 1972 the university had no centralized institutional archives. The records he needed as primary source materials were stored in offices scattered across campus, if they had been preserved at all.
With his graduate research assistant and a borrowed pickup truck, Hansen spent the next year gathering and organizing documents that recorded CSU's history and CSU Archives gradually came into existence. Today, the University Archive is a thriving part of the library, preserving and making available the records, photographs, documents, and personal histories that tell the story of CSU.
Timeline of photographs and ephemera
This exhibit documents Hansen's work in creating his most recent book, Democracy's University, a sequel to his earlier work Democracy's College in the Centennial State: A History of CSU. A timeline of photographs and ephemera from the University Archives, the exhibit highlights notable events in the history of CSU as they parallel Dr. Hansen's tenure at the University.
Beginning with the burning of Old Main in 1970 and ending with the 1997 flood, significant events such as Andy Warhol's visit to campus and the first Black History class taught by Dr. Hansen are illustrated with unique images and items from the Archives.
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Copies of Dr. James Hansen's Democracy's University are now available at the CSU Bookstore. Limited edition, signed copies of Dr. Hansen's Democracy's College are available from the University Archive with a $250 donation. Contact the Archive for more information at (970) 491-1844.
Contact: Linda Meyer
Email: Linda.Meyer@colostate.edu
Phone Number: (970) 491-1844
