About this Exhibition

Fall 2025 - Spring 2026

Morgan Library (Multiple locations)

CSU’s University Archives was founded on July 1, 1975, as the official repository for Colorado State University history. A product of CSU’s centennial celebration in 1970, the Archives brought together the previously scattered records of an institution that had pursued its agricultural and technical land-grant mission from its earliest days with little administrative interest in preserving its own history.

During the past 50 years, the University Archives has accrued additional collections of primary resources and has grown physically from makeshift pegboard walls to a climate-controlled suite on Morgan Library’s second floor and an off-site storage annex. Today, the University Archives is part of the CSU Libraries’ Digital and Archive Services department, which provides access to more than 550 archival collections of CSU history and Colorado’s water and agricultural history, 150 terabytes of digital files, and thousands of rare books, maps, and posters. These collections are made available in person or through the university’s digital repository, Mountain Scholar.

This exhibit marks the University Archives’ 50th anniversary, offering an opportunity to reflect on the people and events that have shaped the archives and the university’s history. It is also an opportunity to reflect on the importance of documenting the past so that students, faculty, and community members may conduct research and gain inspiration that allows them to celebrate milestones, cultivate research skills,

explore their curiosities, and hold each other accountable now and into the future.