In 2017 and 2018, Oregon State University commemorated its 150th anniversary with the OSU 150 celebration. This experience consisted of several events over the course of the year, recognizing the abundant contributions made by OSU, including festivals recognizing OSU’s land, sea, space, and sun grants. [1] Though the celebrations wrapped up in 2019, memorabilia left behind will be preserved in the Special Collections and Archives Research Center (SCARC), as well as online through the Sesquicentennial Oral History Project.[2]
The materials collected from the OSU 150 celebration represent years of planning from many different individuals and departments across campus. The anniversary opened in August 2017 and continued through October 2018 with the goals to, “celebrate and commemorate OSU and its unique land grant mission; inform, inspire and engage diverse audiences; and distinguish what makes OSU unique now and in the future.”[3] Special Collections hosted its own cache of events, including the book launch of The People’s School: A History of Oregon State University, with a lively discussion by author William G. Robbins and SCARC Director Larry Landis.[4] With events such as this hosted all over campus, archival material collected for SCARC to preserve. Karl McCreary, OSU Collections Archivist specializing in campus history, is managing the accession process for this collection – which alongside documental material includes memorabilia from the celebration.
Crayola’s newest color, Bluetiful, based on a new blue pigment discovered by OSU Chemist Mas Subramanian[5]
These glasses were distributed before the 2017 solar eclipse, where Oregon experienced totality
A selection of some of the OSU 150 memorabilia to be preserved in the collection
This
material, having been primarily accessioned by SCARC, will be fully described
in an online guide at a later date. At
that point, these treasures will be available to the public!
[1] A list of events can be found here: https://oregonstate.edu/150/events.
[2]“An Oral History of OSU,” Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Oregon State University, http://scarc.library.oregonstate.edu/oh150/,
[3] “OSU 150: Celebrating Oregon State University’s 150-Year Legacy of Transformation, Anniversary Final Report,” University Relations and Marketing.
[4] “The People’s School: Book Launch,” Oregon State University Press, http://osupress.oregonstate.edu/peoples-school-book-launch.
[5] “Licensing Agreement Reached on Brilliant New Blue Pigment Discovered by Happy Accident,” Oregon State University Newsroom, https://today.oregonstate.edu/archives/2015/may/licensing-agreement-reached-brilliant-new-blue-pigment-discovered-happy-accident.