University Relations records
Collection Overview
Collection contains the records of University Relations, the central communications office of the University of Minnesota.
This collection is arranged into 3 series:
- Subject Files: Folders are labelled according to subject (University department, school, college, event, activity, organization). Materials include correspondence, clippings, reports, and other documents.
- Publications: Various publications edited and published by University Relations include:
- The Minnesotan
- Minnesota Chats; Reports From Your University of Minnesota
- University Report
- Staff Bulletin
- Report
- Audio and Video Recordings: Materials include audio and video in various formats arranged in trays.
Dates
- 1910-2001
Creator
- University of Minnesota. Office of University Relations (Organization)
Use of Materials
Items in this collection do not circulate and may be used in-house only.
Copyright
Researchers may quote from the collection under the fair use provision of the copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code). Requests to publish should be arranged with the University of Minnesota Archives.
Historical Note
University Relations is the central communications office of the University of Minnesota. Established by the Board of Regents in 1945, University Relations was created to bolster the communication avenues with people both inside and outside of the University. The department was to strengthen public relations at the University by coordinating public contact from the Extension Division, the news service, alumni association, the campus radio station KUOM, and the publications office of University Farm. William Lee Nunn, professor of economics at the University of Newark and labor relations officer during World War II, was appointed as the first director of University Relations in June 1945.
Currently, University Relations is comprised of five units: Government and Community Relations, News Service (Media Relations), Marketing Communications, Internal Communications, and Office of Business Relations. In addition, U Relations maintains strong ties to the University of Minnesota Foundation and Alumni Association. "University Relations works to develop relationships with people both internal and external to the University through timely and accurate communications." (University Relations home page, www1.umn.edu/relate)
Extent
170 boxes (170.0 cubic feet))
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
The initial donation was arranged into a loose alphabetical arrangement. Later accretions had no arrangement. To integrate later accretions, the collection is intellectually arranged in alphabetical order according to the folder name. The collection has not been physically reorganized to match the alphabetical list.
Source of acquisition
The collection was transferred to University Archives in multiple donations from 1949-2004.
Processing Information
*The collection guide is under revision (March 2023). Additional item records and descriptive notes will be added*
- Public relations. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Title
- University Relations Records, 1910-2001
- Status
- Under Revision
- Author
- Karen Spilman
- Date
- July 2005
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English
Revision Statements
- 2010: EAD updated November 2010 by Karen Spilman. The collection was processed with later accretions added by Julia Quinn in July 2010.
- 2023: New series added (Publications) and reorganization of series/file listing
Collecting Area Details
Contact The University Archives Collecting Area
