For researchers looking for information on relatives who may have been alumni or faculty – fathers, mothers, grandmothers and grandfathers, aunts, uncles, etc. – the university archives has various resources that can be of help. For people who were students, we have alumni directories going back to 1891. These list the name of the person, the degree/s they earned, and most include their addresses at the time the directory was compiled. The 1917 edition is particularly helpful, and includes short biographies of many alumni from 1824-1916 (with jobs they held and even publications they wrote in some instances.)
Yearbooks are also very useful, as they have photos of students and faculty, and sometimes give information as to what clubs and organizations the person belonged to, or other biographical information. University Bulletins listed students in attendance up until 1960, and are is helpful for locating those people who attended but never graduated. They also list faculty and their titles and degrees. Alumni magazines are also good source to refer to, as they will list what faculty and alumni were doing at the time and also note deaths of former students and faculty. For confirmation of student registration and graduation of a particular individual, the Registrar's Office should be contacted.
Former faculty members have personnel and public relations files (see Academic Affairs and University Relations collections), which may contain C.V.'s and other biographical information. We also have faculty publications, faculty newsletters, and photo collections that may be helpful, as well as faculty and alumni collections featuring prominent people.
Partial list of related sources:
- Alumni directories (including the Medical School, Law School, Elliot School of International Affairs, School of Engineering and Applied Science, Graduate School of Education and Human Development, School of Business and Public Management, and Mount Vernon Seminary and College)
- Yearbooks, 1891-Present
- University Bulletins, 1821-1960
- Student Telephone Directories, 1961-1996
- Alumni Review magazine (1936-63) and GW Magazine (1964-Present)
- GW Times newspaper, 1968-1990
- Faculty Newsletter (1962-76) and GWU Newsletter (1958-68)
- Public Relations, Alumni, Honorary degrees, and Personnel files
- Faculty pamphlet files
- Student newspapers, 1895-Present
- Pre-1904 Collection (RG0031/003)
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