Oakland University Events collection

Collection — Container: Box 1

Identifier: OU-HISTORY-EVENTS

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Oakland University Events collection groups together files documenting selected events organized in the first years of the university's existence, from 1959 through the early 1970s. The files are of unknown provenance and were amassed by archivists over time. The collection is composed of two series - one for an invited speakers series and another for conferences and other events. The young university invited many prominent artists, writers, politicians, scientists, and other impactful personalities of the 1960s, both locally and nationally. Most folders contain brochures, programs, and correspondence about the events. Of particular note in the Speakers Series is a script of William Stringfellow's lecture at OU in 1966, "The Great Society as a Myth".

Dates

1960 - 1974

Access and Use note

The Oakland University Events collection is open for research.

Copyright

Copyright held by Oakland University. The collection includes occasional materials produced by outside parties. Copyright to these items may be held by the original creators.

History

From its opening year in 1959, the leaders of MSUO (Oakland University) understood the important role the campus could be as cultural hub in Oakland County and offered many lectures, conferences, and other events that were open to the campus community and the general public. Particularly active was the Scholarship Committee, which organized events on higher education, and the Division of Continuing Education. The Oakland Speaker Series brought to Oakland such renowned speakers as Arthur Larson, David Riesman, William Stringfellow, Roger Hilsman, Anais Nin, John Kenneth Galbraith, and Julian Bond.