Virginia Tech History Resources: Organizations
Researching VT organizations and groups
If you are looking for information about specific organizations and groups for students, staff, and faculty at the university, here are several places that you should check out. See also the page on this guide for the Corps of Cadets.
Record Groups
Record groups may include posters, flyers, photos, organizational records, and more. Materials are divided into assigned Record Groups based on the organization or group and designated by the prefix, RG. Materials relating to Faculty and Staff Organizations are identified as RG 30/x, while record groups in RG 6, Division of Operations and Administration may also contain related staff groups, Items of Student Organizations and Publications are designated RG 31/x. whereas record groups in RG 8, Student Affairs may also contain related student groups.
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Record Groups in the University ArchivesThis list includes the major overview of the University Archives' Record Groups. Record Groups are the official records of the university held by Special Collections and University Archives. This includes official records, newspaper clippings, and printed material. There are two versions, a spreadsheet for sorting and filtering and a document that includes a page per RG number.
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Record Group Vertical FilesThe Record Group Vertical Files contain newspaper clippings, pamphlets, brochures, posters, flyers, and more related to departments, schools, colleges, and administrative offices in the university, including press releases, courses, buildings, public events, and more.
Online Histories and Exhibits
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"Students and Alumni" page on the University's Virginia Tech History WebsiteThis website contains an overview of the history of the student body, awards, governance, organizations, alumni, and more.
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"Faculty and Staff" page on the Virginia Tech History websiteThis page includes a general overview of the faculty and staff body, awards, and Faculty Senate and Staff Senate.
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Virginia Tech Governance Minutes Archives (Archived)This exhibit is a list of minutes of university administrative groups, some of which were digitized and maintained by Special Collections and University Archives and some were maintained by the group itself. (Some of the links may be broken as this is archived on Archive-It.org and dates to 2013.)
Student organizations and groups
In addition to the above resources, here are some specific materials relating to student groups and organizations.
Collections
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Virginia Tech Union Scrapbooks, Ms2013-018Established in 1969, the Virginia Tech Union is a student organization that provides entertainment and educational opportunities to the university community. The collection of scrapbooks that document the campus events organized by the Virginia Tech Union during the academic years from 1969 to 2009.
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Records of the Virginia Tech Black Organizations Council, RG 08/02/06eThis collection contains a variety of material documenting the Virginia Tech Black Organizations Council, including operational records, information about member organizations, and documentation of organizational events. It also includes some material about other campus organizations such as the Jewish Student Union, Student Budget Board, and Asian American Student Union.
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Records of the Virginia Tech Chapter of Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences (MANRRS), RG 31/2/23This collection documents the VT student chapter of MANNRS. Materials include scrapbooks, photographs, correspondence, rosters, meeting minutes, and general information about the organization.
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Records of the Virginia Tech Amateur Radio Association, RG 31/14/9The collection documents the history of the Virginia Tech Amateur Radio Association since its founding in 1913 to encourage an understanding of and an interest in amateur radio, to provide a station for the uses of club members, and to provide emergency and public service communications. The collection consists of certificates, logs, membership lists, correspondence, publications, violations, registration forms, yearly recollections, and copies of radio licenses. There are also photographs and negatives, including items removed from a scrapbook.
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Records of the Appalachian Student Organizing Committee, RG 31/14/10The Appalachian Student Organizing Committee (or Appalachian Student Committee) was an approved student organization at the Virginia Tech in the early 1970s. The collection deals with various topics, including strip mining and land use issues, poverty, health care and free clinics, coal mining and coal miners, strikes, local political races, issues at Virginia Tech, the Vietnam War, and other national and international issues. Materials include correspondence, clippings files, small-press and local publications on Appalachian issues, petitions, and notes and drafts.
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Records of HokiePRIDE, RG 31/14/15The HokiePRIDE records include materials from the HokiePRIDE student group including items from all of its named iterations: Lambda Horizions; Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Alliance; and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Alliance, including officer papers, office records, event planning information, resource pamphlets and directories, and copies of budgetary requests and accounting records.
Publications
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The Bugle yearbookSpecial Collections and University Archives has every Bugle yearbook from 1895 (the first year published) in our collections.
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The Bugle PDFs
Digitized copies of the university's yearbook, The Bugle, starting in 1895 in PDF format from Special Collections and University Archives on VTechWorks. -
The Tin HornSpecial Collections and University Archives has every edition of the Tin Horn, dated 1925, 1929, 1930, and 1931. Female students began attending the university full-time in 1920, but they were not included in the Bugle yearbook regularly until 1940. Because they were not included, the female students published their own yearbook, the Tin Horn, in 1925, 1929, 1930, and 1931.
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The Tin Horn PDFs
Digitized copies of the Tin Horn in PDF format from Special Collections and University Archives on VTechWorks. The Tin Horn was a yearbook published by women students in 1925, 1929, 1930, and 1931. -
Student Organization publicationsAssorted publications by and about student organizations, including rosters, newsletters, histories, and handbooks
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Office of Student Organizations publicationsAssorted publications from the Virginia Tech Office of Student Organizations, including newsletters and directories
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Office of Leadership and Student Organization Programs publicationsAssorted publications by the Office of Leadership and Student Organization Programs, including newsletters, handbooks, lists of organizations, and Greek recruitment
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Virginia Tech Greek life publictaionsAssorted publications about Greek life at Virginia Tech, including rush and recruitment guides, newsletters, and handbooks
Additional resources
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Student Organizations websiteCurrent information about and resources for registered student organizations, from Student Affairs
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GobblerConnectWebsite for student organizations and events
Faculty and staff organizations
In addition to the resources at the top of the page, here are materials specifically related to faculty and staff organizations and groups.
Collections
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Records of the Faculty Senate, RG 30/3This collection documents the work of the Faculty Senate from 1966 until 1990, including minutes, correspondence, constitutions and by-laws, and reports from the Senate president, committees, subcommittees, university commissions, and the Student Government Association. The Faculty Senate was founded in 1969 in order to "articulate faculty views on campus policies and procedures."
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Records of the American Association of University Women (AAUW), Virginia Tech Chapter, RG 30/5aThis collection consists of official records and periodicals from the AAUW, Virginia Tech Chapter and the National AAUW including minutes, administrative records, state and national convention programs, awards and scholarships, publications, and other materials concerning community outreach from 1926-2008.
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Records of the Virginia Tech Women's Network, RG 30/7This collection includes information from the Women's Network at Virginia Tech from about 1973-1991. It includes letters, meeting minutes, reports, and more related to the operation of the organization as well as materials from different task forces and causes the Women's Network was backing. The Virginia Tech Women's Network was founded in 1977 within the College of Education, as a branch of the Virginia Women's Network. The goal of the group was to provide support for the university's professional women as well as advocate for an equal voice for women in the university.
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Virginia Tech Faculty Women's Club Records, Ms1997-014This organization was founded in 1965 as a social group to promote fellowship among women associated with Virginia Tech. The club later became the Virginia Tech Women's Club to include a wider range of women at the university. The records include correspondence, financial records, officers' job descriptions, newsletters, information about scholarships, cookbook sales, nursery operations, as well as annual scrapbooks of activities illustrated with photographs and newspaper clippings.
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Lucy Lee Lancaster Papers, Ms1990-069Lucy Lee Lancaster was one of the first women admitted to Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute (popularly known as VPI), graduating in 1925. After earning an MLS from Columbia University, she worked at the VPI Library for her career. The papers contain biographical materials, family papers, genealogy research, correspondence with family, friends, and business contacts, membership materials from local and regional organizations (including university groups), and travel memorabilia from her numerous national and international trips.
Publications
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Spectrum : news for faculty, staff and graduate studentsCall Number: LD5655.A3 V49Publication Date: 1990-2004VT newsletter for faculty, staff, and grad students, which is housed in Special Collections and University Archives
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Women's network newsCall Number: LD5655.A3 W66Publication Date: 1983-1989Issues held in Special Collections and University Archives
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Publications from the American Association of University Women (AAUW)Includes newsletters and yearbooks
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Publications for the Virginia Tech Faculty Women's ClubIncludes yearbooks and cookbooks from the VT Faculty Women's Club (now VT Women's Club)
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Publications related to the VT Faculty SenateIncludes editions of the Constitution and By-Laws
Additional resources
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VT Staff Senate websiteOfficial website for the VT Staff Senate, which contains the constitution, by-laws, meeting minutes, and other documents for the organization.
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VT Faculty Senate websiteOfficial website for the VT Faculty Senate, which includes the constitution, by-laws, meeting minutes, and documents for the committees.
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Virginia Tech Women's Club websiteOfficial website for the VT Women's Club, formerly the VT Faculty Women's Club, which includes information about the organization's history, scholarships, events, and interest groups.
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VT Women Connect websiteOfficial website for the VT Women Connect, a network for professional women at the university
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VT Chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP)Official website of the AAUP VT chapter, which includes current information about events and actions and current by-laws, among other things.
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Land & Labor Acknowledgement
We thank the American Indian & Indigenous Community Center for providing this statement:
Virginia Tech acknowledges that we live and work on the Tutelo / Monacan People’s homeland and we recognize their continued relationships with their lands and waterways. We further acknowledge that legislation and practices like the Morrill Act (1862) enabled the commonwealth of Virginia to finance and found Virginia Tech through the forced removal of Native Nations from their lands, both locally and in western territories.
We understand that honoring Native Peoples without explicit material commitments falls short of our institutional responsibilities. Through sustained, transparent, and meaningful engagement with the Tutelo / Monacan Peoples, and other Native Nations, we commit to changing the trajectory of Virginia Tech's history by increasing Indigenous student, staff, and faculty recruitment and retention, diversifying course offerings, and meeting the growing needs of all Virginia tribes and supporting their sovereignty.
We must also recognize that enslaved Black people generated revenue and resources used to establish Virginia Tech and were prohibited from attending until 1953. Through InclusiveVT, the institutional and individual commitment to Ut Prosim (that I may serve) in the spirit of community, diversity, and excellence, we commit to advancing a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive community.