University Archives

The University of Mount Olive Archives seeks to preserve materials of and about the University and to make them available for review and research. Included in these materials are not only official records, but association materials generated by the University, the press and other sources.

In preservation, the goal of the Archives is to acquire (through transfer and collection), to organize, and to make available for use such materials as, but not restricted to: administrative papers of the presidents; official records of administrative and academic departments; minutes of trustees, faculty, faculty committees, student organizations, etc.; university publications (catalogs, newspapers, news releases, yearbooks, books, etc.); brochures of all types; programs of activities/events; administration/faculty/trustee, and alumni biographical materials and publications; photographs; and memorabilia and commemorative materials, of course. Materials preserved are not limited to printed materials, but may be various types of media. As is the case with archival materials, some files may be closed (confidential) and can be opened (used) only by permission of the originating bodies.

Materials in the Archives are housed in the University of Mount Olive Archives Room adjacent to the FWB Historical Collection and are administered by the curator of both collections. The archives room was funded by loyal University of Mount Olive alumni. Most archival materials are cataloged and bibliographic access is available through the online catalog of the Moye Library.

Some displayed memorabilia include portraits of college presidents; a handmade wooden typing table used by the first typing classes when the College opened in Mount Olive, in 1953; retired Trojan mascot regalia; and a copy of the Articles of Incorporation of the College that was flown aboard the US Space Shuttle, Challenger, April 29-May 6, 1985, by William E. Thornton, MD, Scientist-Astronaut, a native of nearby Faison, NC.

The archives room collection is open to the public for research. Research inquiries will be answered but the staff can provide only limited research responses. Researchers should contact the library before making plans for research visits to assure availability of information and staff assistance.

For more information, contact Gary Barefoot, Curator of the Free Will Baptist Historical Collection/University Archives. Please consult the Policy for Duplication and Usage for more information about how to obtain copies of items in the Archives.

The yearbooks of the University (Mount Olive Junior College/Mount Olive College), Olive Leaves, have been digitized and are available online through DigitalNC. The years included are: 1955-1978, 83, 87-95, 2001/02 (No yearbooks were published in 1979-82, 1984-86, 1996-2001 and none were published after 2001/02). (Click on “Olive Leaves” in either the section heading or first sentence to access the digitized issues.)