In the Summer of 1974 Sr. Joel Read, then Alverno College President and a historian by training, asked Sr. Joanne Barras (1916-1990), a retired business education instructor, to become the
first Alverno College Archivist. Then Sr. Joanne went through extensive training. The Archives was officially established in January 1975 with a campus-wide memo from Sr. Joel and a Winter
Institute presentation by Sr. Joanne both outlining the program in considerable detail. In October 1978, the Archives became a unit of the Alverno College Library. A records management
program in conjunction with the college archives program was added in the spring of 1987. The Archives became the official repository of the SWITCH Consortium in 1997.
Throughout its history, the Alverno College Archives has had a reputation for quality service. The Archives is currently staffed by one full-time archivist/records manager, Sara Shutkin.
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Did you know …
Alverno once had a tennis court?
When tuition used to be $50 per semester?
Who Sr. M. Providencia was?
Answers to these questions and more can be found in the Alverno College Archives. A unit of the Alverno College Library, the Archives houses about 1938 linear feet of college records of
enduring historical, administrative and legal value in a variety of formats including paper, photographs, microforms, audiotapes, videotapes and digital formats.
Collections of note include those documenting the Research Center on Women (RCW) and Alverno's unique ability-based curriculum.
The records of the SWITCH (Southeastern Wisconsin Information Technology Exchange) Consortium, of which Alverno is a member, are also housed in the Archives.
