Welcome Message from Virginia Hunt, University Archivist
Welcome to the Harvard University Archives!
Containing 400 years of Harvard, American, and world history, our collections are open to the public and accessible through visits to our reading room and exhibition gallery in Pusey Library — both situated right in Harvard Yard — as well as via the constellation of Harvard Library access and discovery portals.
As the primary repository for Harvard’s records and personal archives, you will find over five centuries of innovation, exploration, revolution, and introspection — the soul of Harvard — on campus and worldwide. A product of careful stewardship, community engagement, and interconnectedness, our vast and inclusive collections provide opportunities for remote and hands-on teaching and learning, public and educational programs, individual and scholarly pursuit, and opportunities for interaction between the creators and users of the University Archives.
We invite you to come and experience the people, discoveries, change, and history that make up the Harvard University Archives.
Mission
The Harvard University Archives, a unit of the Harvard Library, has authorization derived from votes of the Harvard Corporation. The Archives supports the University's mission of education and research by preserving and providing access, to the greatest extent possible, to Harvard's historical records; gathering an accurate, authentic, and complete record of the life of the University; and promoting the highest standards of management for Harvard's current records.
History
Authorized by a vote of the President and Fellows of Harvard College in 1851, the Harvard University Archives is believed to be the oldest institutional archives in the United States established by a corporation.
The mission and the authorization for the work of the Harvard University Archives derive from a succession of votes by the Harvard Corporation.
Contact Us
Administration
- Virginia Hunt, University Archivist
- Juliana Kuipers, Associate University Archivist for Collection Development and Records Management Services
- Sarah Martin, Associate University Archivist for Community Engagement
- Hannah Hack, Administrative Coordinator
Services
- For questions about events, exhibitions, and programming, contact archives_engagement@harvard.edu
- For questions related to records management, contact archives_rms@harvard.edu
- For questions related to transferring institutional records, contact archives_transfers@harvard.edu
- For questions related to donating materials, contact archives_collections@harvard.edu
- For requests for permission to publish, contact archives_permissions@harvard.edu
- For reference or research questions, contact archives_reference@harvard.edu
- For requests to bring a class to the University Archives, please fill out this form
Collection Development and Records Management Services
- Emily Atkins, Archivist & Curator for Institutional Collections
- Sean Crawford, Collection Development and Records Management Coordinator
- Bailey Culpepper, Project Appraisal and Inventory Archivist
- Alexandra Dunn, Collection Development Archivist
- Curtis J. Hill, Senior Digital Records and Information Manager
- Skip Kendall, Senior Collection Development and Electronic Records Archivist
- Alison Macdonald, Records Manager/Archivist for Operations
- Jason Wood, Senior Collection Development Curator/Archivist
