INTRODUCTION

The General Archival Files were established to provide a means of collecting general information and ephemeral materials related to the history of administrative units, organizations, and activities at the University of Chicago. The General Archival Files include a wide variety of items such as documents, brochures, pamphlets, clippings, programs, invitations, press releases, advertisements, and recollections of the history of academic departments by former faculty members. The arrangement of the files is alphabetical by the name of the administratrive unit, organization, or activity.

The University of Chicago Archives has other resources for obtaining information on individual administrative units, faculty members, and student and community life. Depending on the topic, these may include official publications such as course announcements, the administrative records of departments and offices, and professional papers of individuals. Researchers should also be aware of related documentary material on the University of Chicago in the Archival Biographical File, the Archival Buildings File, the Guide to Archival Serials, and the Archival Photographic Files.