The Archives Program of University Archives and Records Management serves as the main repository for historical records of the University of Delaware, its predecessor institutions – including the Academy of Newark, Newark College, Delaware College, and the Women's College of Delaware – its Board of Trustees, its constituent colleges, departments, and programs, and its administrative offices and units.

Historical records of the University are acquired for inclusion within the collections of the Archives Program through the Records Management Program and through individual donations.

The mission of University Archives and Records Management is to document the history of the University of Delaware. To that end, it collects and makes available through its Archives Program records, documents, images, and artifacts related specifically to the historical development of the University of Delaware. Thus, the bulk of these collections consist of the administrative records of the University, its Board of Trustees, its predecessor institutions, and its constituent and affiliated units and entities.

The following list provides a general idea of the types of records contained within the collections administered through the Archives Program:

• catalogs and directories
• handbooks and policy manuals
• correspondence, reports, meeting minutes, and financial records
• publications, newspapers, newsletters, and yearbooks
• architectural drawings and maps
• memorabilia
• photographs
• personal papers of select trustees, faculty, staff, and alumni

The collections span in time from the mid–1700s to the present day, and most collections administered through the Archives Program are open for public use and research.

Aside from the traditional administrative records of the University of Delaware that are represented within the collections of the Archives Program, some of the specific topics that are particularly well-represented within its collections are as follows:

• records of nineteenth century student literary societies
• records of the Foreign Study Plan (also known as the Junior Year Abroad Program)
• records of the Delaware Cooperative Extension Service
• architectural drawings from the period of dramatic campus expansion from 1915 to 1940

The finding aids for the collections contained within the Archives Program currently are under revision. As finding aids and other guides to collections are completed, they will be made accessible through this website.

To locate historical records of the University of Delaware for research purposes, please contact University Archives and Records Management at 302-831-2750 or ud-archives@udel.edu.