Archives: Trent University Records in the Archives

Trent University historical records are held in the Archives.

These include:

Various open University-related historical records such as photographs, reports, student newspapers, university calendars, faculty papers, theses, architectural drawings, posters, drawings, works of art, publicity materials, annual reports, Senate minutes, etc.; many of these are housed in the Northway Reading Room.

• "Trent Through the Years", an online interactive timeline of significant events related to Trent; includes digitized copies of some important documents
• many newspaper articles relating to the University dating from 1958 to 2005
• magazine, journal and periodical articles about Trent University, 1963 to the present
• Trent publications including Alumnus,Trent Report, Focus Trent, and Fortnightly (we have compiled an index to the earliest years of Fortnightly, Vol. 1-7, 1970-1977)  
• the student newspaper Arthur: several issues of Arthur have been digitized and are available online
• a list of over 12,000 photographs of the University, some of which are digitized and linked to from the list -  plus hundreds of slides
• university calendars (several years are also available online)
• course outlines (some early courses may be missing)
• convocation programs, 1968-current
• convocation ceremonies on tape, 1968-2008 (a few years are missing); these tapes are available in their original formats and may need to be converted in order to be viewed or listened to
• university architectural drawings
• a summary and explanation of building names
• works of art portraying the University site
• a compilation of the first 50 years of Trent's administrative history, which delineates positions and incumbents from 1964 to approximately 2014 as well as recipients of Trent honorary degrees and Trent award winners
• a chronology of events, derived from archival correspondence and committee minutes, surrounding the creation of the Trent Crest and the subsequent design of printed and graphic material
• University-generated publicity material
• a list of Major Reports pertaining to the University; these reports are available in the Archives Reading Room
• Trent Masters and PhD theses as well as selected Trent Honours theses
• Posters and broadsides of Trent University, its programs and events
• records from the offices of Trent senior administration, faculty, staff and student organizations; these are regularly deposited in the Archives for permanent preservation under varying access agreements (see Record Groups below)
• private papers donated by Trent faculty members and others
• research related to the Trent Nature Areas

See also: 

• Trent University's Fiftieth Anniversary site. This site includes information surrounding the celebrations plus the online timeline "Trent Through the Years"
• on-line exhibit pertaining to Trent's architecture and Master Planning Architect Ron Thom: "Precambrian Sublime : Ron Thom and Modernism : Bauhaus in the New World"
• slide presentation on Ron Thom and Modern architecture: Iconic Modernism
• a Trent student Legacy project and initiative, 2015: Trent Heritage Collection: The Legacy of Ron Thom's Influence at Trent
• CHEX TV’s televised “Flashback” show regarding an exhibit curated by University Archivist Bernadine Dodge in 1989 at Peterborough Museum and Archives on the occasion of Trent's 25th anniversary: segment includes an interview with the Archivist and highlights parts of the exhibit including selected designer chairs chosen by Ron Thom for the University in 1964. Click here to watch the segment which was re-televised on October 18, 2012 as lead-up to Trent's 50th anniversary:
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=y3bMvMULTf4#! .
• on-line exhibit featuring early photographs of Trent: Trent in the 1960s
• on-line digital images of the first Student Register, September, 1964; and the first Trent Calendar, 1964-1965 
• link to the Trent University Art Collection Web page

Various restricted historical University administrative records:

Trent University Archives houses the non-current historical administrative records of the University. These records are used to re-create the history of Trent and life at the University. They are kept as Record Groups and each individual group reflects a university administrative unit, e.g. the President, Lady Eaton College, Department of Communications, Academic Skills, Department of Anthropology, etc. Each unit transfers its non-current historical records to the Archives. 

Also retained in the Archives are the minutes of the Board of Governors, Senate, Academic Development Committee, Faculty Board and various other committees involved in the governance of the University.

Trent University institutional records are controlled and access to them is only with permission of the University Archivist. Generally, these restricted records are made available to members of the Board of Governors, the President, the Chair or Head of the creating administrative unit and any delegated and authorized Trent University employee requiring access to fulfill his/her responsibilities. Notification of authorization for these delegated persons to access the institutional records must be forwarded to the University Archivist. Once such authorization has been received, access to the records identified in the authorization will be given.

Access to the Trent University's non-current historical records by all other researchers is through the University's Access and Privacy Office. A written application is required citing records required, purpose of research, and giving a commitment to confidentiality. Once the application is approved and given to the University Archivist, individuals will have access to the records outlined in the approval.