Research Guides: WRI110 Archival Rhetorics / WRI111 Voices from the Forest: A Matter of Religion

Primary Sources - University Publications

The Howler (yearbook)
Call Number: LD5721 .W557 H6
Publication Date: 1903-2019
Link leads to digitized Howler yearbooks; also available in print in SCA.
Old Gold and Black (newspaper)
Call Number: LH1.W4 O64
Publication Date: 1916-2018
Link leads to digitized student newspaper; also available in print in SC&A.

OGB Highlights (keyword search OGB for many more results):

"Baptist Convention Condemns College Dances" (November 14, 1941)
"State Convention's Dancing Ban, Committees Bring Hot Reaction" (November 25, 1957)
"Trustees Rule Against Reynolds, Disprove Dancing on Campus" (May 1, 1961)
"Baptists Defeat Proposal by Narrow Margin" (November 18, 1963)
"Baptists Approve Compromise Finally" (November 16, 1979)
"Baptists Change Role at WFU" (November 14, 1986)

Other items digitized in the University Publications Collection include student handbooks (1906-2011), The Student literary magazine (1882-2015), Wake Forest Magazine (1928-2022), and more.

Winston-Salem Journal (newspaper)
Call Number: microfilm ZnoW73
Publication Date: 1897-current
Archived issues of the local Winston-Salem newspaper on microfilm. Microfilm reels and readers located in the library on Wilson 1.

Primary Sources - University Records

President's Office, Harold Wayland Tribble
Call Number: RG1.10
Link leads to finding aid for the print collection. Harold Tribble was president of Wake Forest from 1950 to 1967.
Irving E. Carlyle Papers
Call Number: MS175
Link leads to finding aid; collection has not been digitized. Irving Carlyle was a WFU alum (1917) and lawyer who was active in NC politics. He served on the WFU Board of Trustees 1946-1962, including five terms as Chair. His papers include materials on WFU's relationship with the Baptist State Convention and on integration issues in NC schools. See "Collection Inventory" to keyword search "Baptist" materials.
Office of the Chaplain. Edgar Douglas Christman and Jean Sholar Christman Papers
Link leads to finding aid; collection has not been digitized. Edgar Douglas Christman was a Wake Forest University alumnus (1950, 1953 LS). He held various roles at Wake from 1955-2003, including the long-time role of University Chaplain. Christman helped to integrate the campus in 1962 with the arrival of Edward Reynolds and ushered in changes when the school shifted away from the Baptist Church in 1986. He was Chaplain when Wendy Scott and Susan Parker requested to hold their union ceremony at Wait Chapel, and therefore materials in this collection reference related controversy. Highlights: Baptist Convention changes (1982-1985; Box 25), Same-sex ceremony materials (Box 2, 18, 21, 27), Jewish ministry materials (Box 9), Ed Reynolds as alumnus correspondences 1970-1994 (Box 4).
Office of the Chaplain. Tim Auman Records
Link leads to finding aid; collection is not digitized. Office of Chaplain documents from 2006-2019. See "Collection Inventory" for references to Christian Campus Ministry, Jewish Life newsletters, and Muslim Life events.

University Archives Photograph Collection
Call Number: RG10.1
Link leads to digitized collection (not all photos have been digitized). The finding aid for the entire collection is available here: https://wakespace.lib.wfu.edu/handle/10339/39540
University Archives Vertical Files
Call Number: RG15
Link leads to the finding aid that can be keyword searched; collection has not been digitized. Vertical files consist of newspaper clippings, published and unpublished documents, and other materials about specific subjects related to WFU history.

Highlights: WFC Dancing Controversy materials (Box 49)
Student Clubs Records
Call Number: RG8.56
Link leads to finding aid; collection has not been digitized. WFU has 243 student clubs and organizations as of 2018, managed by the Office of Student Engagement and the Student Organizations Board. The clubs and organizations range from sports-based, to religious, political, and cultural, to interest and ideology focused, as well as sororities and fraternities. Materials in this collection include promotional materials, such as stickers, fliers, and cards with meeting information.

Primary Sources - Oral Histories

Thou Shalt Not Dance: The Wake Forest Dance Ban of 1957
Student film (2021). Includes interviews.
History of WFU Oral Histories
The History of Wake Forest University Oral Histories collection (2013-ongoing) consists of audio and video interviews. Topics include the alumni and student experience, campus social life and community, and the academic life of faculty and staff. Special thematic focus on WFU Global Programs and Services, the LGBTQ community, and women scientists at Wake Forest.

Oral History Highlights:

Ken Zick interview

Interview transcript. In this interview, Ken Zick talks about President Thomas Hearn's legacy of linking Bowman Gray campus and the Reynolda Campus together, breaking from the Baptist Convention, campus buildings and expansion, WFU's emergence as a national elite university.

Bill J. Leonard oral history

Bill Leonard is founding dean of the Wake Forest University School of Divinity and professor of church history. Interview includes Professor Leonard's academic career at Baptist institutions, the complexity of U.S. Baptist history, and the role of the Divinity School at Wake Forest University. Includes video and transcript.
Knowledge Dispels Fear: Islam and Islamaphobia: Student Interview Project

Audio and transcripts for 10 student interviews. Interviews were conducted for a project initiated in 2017 by the Director of Muslim Life Programming and SCA. Goals included capturing the Muslim student experience on campus. Topics of discussion include but are not limited to: Muslim Student Association, faith and religious practice, intersectionality, and challenges.

SCA Search

Visit Special Collections and Archives to search all collections.

Highlights

Secondary Sources

WFU Timeline
Timeline of events in WFU history from its beginnings in 1834 to the present.
History of Wake Forest College, Volume IV, 1943-1967
Also available in print: LD5721 W52 P3 1935 vol. 4
History of Wake Forest University, Volume V, 1967-1983
Also available in print: LD5721.W52 P3 2010 vol. 5
The History of Wake Forest University, Volume VI, 1983-2005
Also available in print: LD5721.W52 P3 2010 vol. 6

ZSR Library

WRI110 Archival Rhetorics / WRI111 Voices from the Forest: A Matter of Religion

Overview