University Archives is the final, central repository for East Carolina University records of permanent historical value, including documents created by ECU’s administration, offices, colleges, departments, student groups and faculty members as well as items from alumni about their time as students. We collect, preserve, and provide public access to these materials. For assistance, contact University Archivist Alston Cobourn.
Use our Collection Guides page to search our finding aids (in-depth descriptions of archive and manuscript collections).
The main student newspaper - known today as The East Carolinian - has existed for nearly as long as ECU but with different names. Most of these issues have been digitized and are available online in the library's digital collections.
The first yearbook published by the students of East Carolina Teachers College, The Tecoan, debuted in 1923. The name of the yearbook changed to the Buccaneer in 1953. The Buccaneer suspended publication from 1976-1978 and 1991-2005, finally ceasing in 2018. It was superseded by Anchors Away in 2019. Most of the yearbooks have been digitized and are available through our Digital Collections.
University Archives holds copies of ECU's student handbooks that contain information such as campus calendars and social regulations. For a full listing, see our East Carolina University Student Handbooks collection guide.
We collect commencement programs, invitations, and other printed material relating to fall, spring and summer commencements. Early commencement files may include commencement program cards, invitations, name cards, annual commencement programs, commencement Sunday programs, and class day exercise programs. Many of these materials have been digitized and are available through our Digital Collections. The Commencement Programs collection guide provides a detailed listing and links to digitized items.
The Records of the East Carolina University Board of Trustees includes the official meeting minutes of the Board, committee minutes, audio recordings of board meetings, biennial reports for the Governor of North Carolina, and biographical information about Board of Trustee members. The records begin in 1907 when the East Carolina Teachers Training School was chartered and continue through the present.
We collect correspondence, publications, press releases, and administrative records related to East Carolina's official sports teams. See the Department of Athletics collection guide for more information.
The Pursuit of Civil Rights at East Carolina: A Timeline provides information about the history of civil rights at East Carolina within the context of what was simultaneously happening across the state and nation.
An alphabetical list of ECU emeritus faculty members.
We maintain archives of some official university websites, websites and social medial accounts that pertain to student organizations, websites documenting regional events, and digital university publications. You can view them at https://archive-it.org/organizations/1499
For assistance navigating these websites, please see our tutorial.
The collection includes annual course catalogs, summer session catalogs, graduate school catalogs, and special topic bulletins. You can find the full list in the East Carolina University Annual Catalogs collection guide.