Mundelein College Paper Records 1900-2016
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Women and Leadership Archives Loyola University Chicago Mundelein College Paper Records 1900-2016 Creator: Mundelein College Extent: 157.6 linear feet (358 boxes) Language: English Processors: Caroline Giannakopoulos and Angela Rothman, 2019 Repository: Women and Leadership Archives, Loyola University Chicago Administration Information Access Restrictions: Some records are partially or completely restricted. Records include three levels of restrictions based on content. Consult archivist for more information. Level of restriction is noted next to the folder title. Restricted A: Closed to researchers until 75 years after date of item per FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act). Restricted B: Closed to researchers for 75 years due to sensitive information. Partial access may be granted on a case-by-case basis; see archivist. Restricted C: Available for use with supervision due to preservation concerns. Usage Restrictions: Copyright of the material was transferred to the Women and Leadership Archives (WLA) with some exceptions of previously copyrighted materials. Consult archivist. Preferred Citation: Women and Leadership Archives. Loyola University Chicago. Mundelein College Paper Records, Title. Box #, Folder #. Provenance: The Mundelein College records were transferred to the WLA upon its founding in 1994. Materials donated by faculty, staff, and alumnae in the following years were integrated into the collection. Accessions WLA2006.60, WLA2006.61, WLA2006.65, WLA2006.77, WLA2006.84, WLA2007.03, WLA2008.30, WLA2010.12, WLA2010.13, WLA2018.10, WLA2018.11, and more from various individuals. Processing Information: The Women and Leadership Archives received the Mundelein College records from the collection maintained in the college archives and additional records were gathered after Mundelein College affiliated with Loyola University Chicago in 1991. The records were originally organized using an alphanumeric index, and some records were separated into independent collections. In 2016, an ISHRAB (Illinois State Historical Records Advisory Board) grant allowed the WLA to begin processing the records to conform to current professional archival standards through a new arrangement and the creation of a finding aid. The project archivist attempted to reconstruct provenance. This project was completed in 2019. Separations: Materials related to the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (BVMs) but not directly related to Mundelein College were removed to create a BVM reference collection. Records related to Piper Hall dated after 1991 were removed to create a separate collection. Several linear feet of unrelated materials and duplicates were discarded. Mundelein College Paper Records, pg. 1 Women and Leadership Archives Loyola University Chicago See Also: Mundelein College Photograph Collection, A College of Their Own Documentary Collection, Hispanic Institute, Mundelein College Laboratory Materials, Mundelein College Oral Histories, Mundelein College History Project, Mundelein College AV Collection, Mundelein College Memorabilia Collection, and the papers of faculty members and alumnae at the Women and Leadership Archives. The BVM Archives are located in Dubuque, Iowa. Administrative History Mundelein College was founded by the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (BVMs) in response to a call by Cardinal George Mundelein for a Catholic women’s college on the North Side of Chicago. Cardinal Mundelein commissioned architect Joseph McCarthy to design a Greek Revival skyscraper building to house the college. However, preferring a modern structure to reflect the modern institution they envisioned, Mother Isabella Kane, BVM persuaded the Cardinal to approve an art deco design by Nairne Fisher and hire McCarthy to supervise the project. Construction of the iconic art deco style skyscraper began in 1929, at the start of the Great Depression. Mother Kane oversaw every detail of the construction through communication with the sisters she sent to Chicago and decisively influenced the building’s design, including proposing the two four- story stone angels flanking the entrance to the skyscraper. Mother Kane entrusted the new school to Sister Justitia Coffey, BVM who selected young BVMs to serve as faculty and developed plans for the college. With a staff of twenty BVM teachers and Coffey as the first president, Mundelein opened its doors to students in the fall of 1930 as the first self-contained skyscraper college for women. The college began as a day school, serving women who lived nearby and commuted to the small campus. As enrollment increased and the need for on-campus living space grew, the college purchased nearby properties, including large homes and apartment buildings. In 1959, Mundelein built the Scholasticate building (later Wright Hall) to house sisters attending the college. Coffey Hall, a dormitory, was completed in 1962 and the Learning Resource Center (now Sullivan Center) was built in 1969 as a modern library. For 60 years, Mundelein College offered its students a comprehensive Catholic liberal arts education. The women who were educated at Mundelein came from many ethnic and socio-economic groups and were often the first females in their families to attend college. The college was led through many changes and social movements in the Catholic Church and nation by renowned educator Sister Ann Ida Gannon, BVM, who served as president from 1957 to 1975. Mundelein pioneered such areas as giving class credit for lifetime experience, providing graduate religious studies education for women, peace studies, graduate liberal studies, and Latina outreach. In 1974, the Weekend College opened, offering older women and men with full-time jobs and other commitments with the opportunity to take classes exclusively on weekends. Students also had the option to live on campus on weekends in order to take full advantage of the college environment and services. The first of its kind, this residential weekend college inspired the creation of similar programs across the country. Mundelein College served as the last private Catholic women’s college in Illinois. In the 1980s, the college faced financial difficulties and declining enrollment. Under this pressure, Mundelein College affiliated with neighboring Loyola University Chicago in 1991. Sister Carolyn Farrell, BVM, became President of the college to lead Mundelein throughout the transition. Loyola adopted some of Mundelein’s academic programs: Loyola gained its first music program through the affiliation, and adopted Mundelein’s unique Peace Studies program. The Weekend College became a part of Loyola as the Mundelein College of Loyola University Chicago. In 2003, the name was changed to the School of Professional Studies and later was renamed the School of Mundelein College Paper Records, pg. 2 Women and Leadership Archives Loyola University Chicago Continuing and Professional Studies. The school continues to provide diverse course formats for adult learners including evening, weekend, and online courses. Today, the legacy of Mundelein College can be seen in many of the programs at Loyola University Chicago. The Gannon Center for Women and Leadership was created to carry on Mundelein’s heritage of fostering women leaders. Named after Ann Ida Gannon, BVM, Mundelein’s longest-serving President, the Gannon Center continues to foster that legacy through a variety of programs, including the Gannon Scholars Leadership Program, which engages students in the development of leadership, service, and research. The Women and Leadership Archives (WLA), established in 1994, grew out of the need to care for the records of Mundelein College. The archives later expanded its mission to collect the papers of women’s organizations and women leaders, including several Mundelein graduates. The WLA is funded jointly by the Gannon Center for Women and Leadership and Loyola University Chicago Libraries. Scope and Content The paper records of Mundelein College consist of 157.6 linear feet and span the years 1900 to 2016, including some undated materials. Records that predate the college’s active years relate to planning for the college or individuals connected to the college. Records dated after 1991 are relevant materials that were collected by the archives after the college’s affiliation with Loyola University Chicago. Subjects include Catholicism, higher education, women religious, women’s education, Vatican II, World War II, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Vietnam War, among others. Most folders within series and subseries in the collection are arranged by date, but some are arranged alphabetically where noted. Student academic records and transcripts from Mundelein College are held by Loyola University Chicago’s Office of Registration and Records and are not in this collection. Other record formats and subjects related to Mundelein College are located in separate collections at the WLA: • Mundelein Audio Visual Collection, 1950-1997: recordings of faculty, staff, students, visitors, and speakers. • Mundelein History Project Records, 1997-2002: materials related to the creation of the book Mundelein Voices, a collection of historical essays about Mundelein College. • Mundelein College Laboratory Materials Records, 1942-1972: materials related to the college’s Psychology department laboratories. • Mundelein College Oral Histories Records, 1993-2003: oral histories of former Mundelein College administrators, faculty, staff, and students. • Mundelein Memorabilia Collection, 1912-2005: