Online Exhibits & Student Research

This site features exhibitions created from the Special Collections departments' varied materials. The online exhibitions draw their inspiration and content primarily from the historic records in the collections that document the history of Hofstra University, as well as the local and regional history of Long Island. These materials – photographs, manuscripts, newspapers, maps, artifacts, books, census records, and audiovisual materials – are crucial to a more complete understanding of historical events, people, and places in University history as well as local history. It is by using archival materials that social, cultural, and intellectual development can be examined. This site has been designed for both the scholar and the student, so that we might introduce you to the variety and range of the holdings of the Special Collections Department.

Archives Online Exhibits and Student Research Projects

• Alicia Patterson
  Alicia Patterson was a woman who was both of her time, as well as, ahead of her time. As a Hofstra Trustee and the founder of Newsday, Alicia played a significant role in shaping Long Island's history. This exhibit depicts the many aspects of Alicia Patterson's life and her impact on Hofstra University and Long Island.
• Alpha Theta Beta Scrapbooks
  On December 4, 2012, alumni Peggy Braun-Laibach and Judy Cella-Gilligan, class of ’80 and classes of ’67 and ’72 respectively, met with Hofstra University Archivist Geri Solomon to sign a Deed of Gift. The two alumni donated scrapbooks capturing over 70 years of Hofstra history – via their sorority Alpha Theta Beta. Both are very active alumni and give back to the University on a frequent basis, with Peggy Braun-Laibach serving as president of the Alpha Theta Beta alumni board, and Judy Cell-Gilligan holding the position previously. These scrapbooks and articles add to the extensive collection of Hofstra history.
• An historical look at Axinn Library
  In celebration of Axinn Library's 50th anniversary, this exhibit looks back at the building's brutalist architectural style, the construction, the dedication day, and the time in which it was constructed.
• Athletics at Hofstra University and on Long Island
  An exhibit that highlights some fun facts, interesting historical items, and photographs of teams and individuals in both Hofstra and Long Island's sports history.
• Builders and Founders
  Photographs and brief sketches depict 14 of the University's South Campus buildings completed before 1965.
• Civil Rights and Hofstra University
  Hofstra University and its students, staff, and faculty first had an influence on the civil rights movement during the 1960s. Students from Hofstra attended marches, faculty participated in rallies, and administrators elected impressive individuals for the Hofstra Board of Trustees and encouraged well-known speakers to come to campus. This exhibit focuses on the period from 1965-1971, and the individuals who were making news.
• Debate '08 Collection
  The material in the Debate ’08 Collection helps to document the events of one of the most remarkable years in the history of Hofstra University. Included in the collection are brochures, flyers, posters, DVDs, print material, ephemera, and memorabilia. This exhibit features images of material related to the yearlong Educate ’08 initiative and the presidential debate held at Hofstra University on October 15, 2008. 
• Debate 2012 Collection
  On October 16, 2012, Hofstra University hosted the second 2012 presidential debate, which was conducted in a town hall format in the David S. Mack Sports Complex and Exhibition Hall. (Hofstra University also hosted a presidential debate in 2008.) The participants in the debate were President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts. The collection includes brochures, flyers, banners, posters, photos, and print material that chronicle many of the Debate 2012 series events. In addition, this collection contains debate memorabilia such as bags, decals, coffee mugs and water bottles, stationery, and campaign signage specifically designed to mark the celebration of this unique moment in American presidential politics. Preparatory events held by the University in anticipation of this occasion, the debate, and post-election news, were captured in both online and print media form and are part of the collection.
• Debate 2016 Collection
  The material in the Debate 2016 Collection documents the months leading up to the 2016 Presidential Debate at Hofstra, as well as the debate itself. Included in the collection are brochures, flyers, photographs, posters, print material, ephemera, and memorabilia. This exhibit features images of material related to the preparation for the event and the presidential debate held at Hofstra University on September 26, 2016.
• Do you know who's been here?
  This exhibit depicts 75 years of intriguing people who have visited Hofstra from 1943-2018. Over the course of Hofstra’s history, we have been visited by many different sorts of people. Presidents, first ladies, celebrities, athletes, musicians, dramatists, writers, and even royalty have all visited to perform, to give speeches, accept awards or walk our campus. Here are just a few of the famous people who have been here!
• Dr. Harold Yuker: Eliminating Barriers
  Dedicated to Dr. Harold Yuker: 1924-1997. This exhibit contains information on Dr. Yuker's life and his contributions to Hofstra University.
• "First of the Firsts" Digital Project
  Using photographs from many different collections within the University archives, this project describes how Hofstra University has evolved in 75 years. It depicts how different Hofstra community members have contributed to our history. This project also shows the origins of many Hofstra traditions and accomplishments, as well as identifying many notable Hofstronians! This exhibit was curated by Wallens Augustin.
• Frank G. Zarb Collection
  Frank G. Zarb has been a cabinet member or an advisor to five United States presidents. He is a graduate of Hofstra University (BA '57; MBA '62) and served in the U.S. Army. However, he may be best known as the “Energy Czar” when he worked in the U.S. Energy Department and played an integral part in the U.S. fuel allocation program during the oil crisis of the 1970s. He was also the chairman of the NASDAQ stock exchange in the late 1990s. The collection's webpage includes biographical information about Zarb, his collected materials in the Special Collections Department of Hofstra University’s Axinn Library, a digital scrapbook of photographs and captions created from materials in the archival collection, a link to his papers in the Gerald Ford Presidential Library, and a series of excerpts from oral histories taken over a year, which examine Mr. Zarb’s many contributions to both U.S. and New York state history. The full oral history interviews are also available in the Special Collections Department.
• Gerrit P. Judd, IV Collection:  A Pictorial History of Hawaii
  On August 21, 1959, Hawaii became the 50th state. The Gerrit P. Judd IV Collection at Hofstra University consists of the professional papers of Judd, who was a professor at Hofstra from 1950 to 1971. He was a direct descendant of Gerrit P. Judd I, a medical missionary who played a key role in the early development of the Hawaiian Kingdom, and who later served as the key minister in the Hawaiian cabinet from 1842 to 1854.
• History Unfolding: Preparing for Hofstra's 75th Anniversary
  Pulse Magazine is a student-run magazine at Hofstra University. All reporting, writing, editing, photography, layout, web development, and promotion for the magazine is performed by the students in the Department of Journalism, Media Studies, and Public Relations. View this special fall 2009 issue of Pulse Magazine dedicated to Hofstra history in preparation for Hofstra's 75th Anniversary.
• Hofstra History Timeline
  A timeline of historical events and images of Hofstra University from its founders to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Hofstra's Own Tuskegee Airman
  Information on Lt. Col. Charles Dryden.
• Hofstra University Remembers
  On November 28, 2001, a memorial was held for the victims of the September 11, 2001, attacks who were members of the Hofstra University family.
• Interesting Facts about Select Hofstra Buildings
  This exhibit features historical facts, statistics, photographs, and miscellaneous pieces of information about buildings on the Hofstra campus.
• Killers, Pillars, and Thrillers
  Each of the stories in this presentation is noteworthy for its Hofstra or Long Island connection. ​All research was conducted using materials found in Hofstra's Department of Special Collections.
• Mr. & Mrs. Hofstra Founding a University
  Learn about the Hofstras and how the University was established. This exhibit is divided into four sections entitled, "The Beginning," "The Hofstra Home," "Mrs. Hofstra's Cats," and "Creating the University."
• Shakespeare Festival at Hofstra
  Using photographs from the Drama Collection within University archives, this project depicts the beginning of the Shakespeare Festival at Hofstra.  This project also describes the origin of the John Cranford Adams Playhouse at Hofstra University. The exhibit was created by Barbara Guzowski, Special Collections. 
• Student Unrest: National Turmoil at Hofstra's Doorstep
  As the war in Vietnam continued to claim ever more lives, racial tensions flared across the country, and indignant youths rebelled against the monotony of their parents' generation, the Hofstra University community found itself deeply embroiled in the social unrest period of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Long Island Studies Institute Online Exhibits and Student Research Projects

Rare Books & Manuscripts Online Exhibits and Student Research Projects

• An Exhibition of American Printers' and Special Presses Devices
  The revival of the special presses' movement at the end of 19th century reprised the late Middle Ages printer’s device, a small graphic logo denoting creative responsibility or ownership. This exhibit examines how American printers’ and special presses devices evolved from former models in several ways. Researched and written by Bronwyn Hannon, Hofstra University Library Special Collections.
• Black Bodies, Black Ink: Black Male Representation in Visual Culture
  This exhibit was created by Rachel Davis for a Women’s Studies course (WST 198) and makes use of items from Special Collections’ Popular Culture Collection.
• Dr. Seuss & The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins
  This undergraduate student research project focuses on Dr. Seuss and why he appeals to both children and adults. From the early prose of The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins to his later style using rhyme and made-up animals as narrators, Dr. Seuss developed a following that has lasted since the 1930s.
• Eclectic Selections from Special Collections
  This exhibit is meant to show off some truly eclectic books that are available in Special Collections. Some are interesting because of their genre, some are interesting because they are rare, and some just because they are so, well, so eclectic.
• EUCLID to e-books: ideal books moving ideas
  Bronwyn Hannon’s guest curator essay for the exhibition, EUCLID to e-books: ideal books moving ideas, has a series of surprises, and very telling is the link she emphasizes from Euclid to the digitized e-book of today. That link is technology from theory to application. Most folks know that Johann Gutenberg used movable type in his print shop in the 15th century, and while this increased the number of volumes available to the population, it also expanded the types of publications, which allowed the works of the past to be better preserved and disseminated, the works of the present to have a new format, and the works of the future – logarithms, digitalization, and e-books were the next steps. And when Ms. Hannon shows what led to Gutenberg, readers (and viewers) have a set of enviably conceived connections complete in the text and its documentation. 
• Fore-Edge Paintings
  Sometimes there is more to a book than initially meets the eye. Sometimes there is something hiding between the lines or deep within the pages.  Beginning in the 15th and 16th centuries, artists began putting images on the fore-edge of books. These hidden images are called fore-edge paintings.
• Fraternal Masonic Sword and Sheath
  Photographs and information about the Masonic lodge sword of Bertram O. Drover, a Sir Knight of Cambridge Commandery No. 42, Cambridge, MA.
• Illuminated Manuscripts
  What are illuminated manuscripts? Who created them? What did they look like? This exhibit explores the art and history associated with these beautiful manuscripts.
• Memory Project: Al-Mutanabbi Street
  Learn all about the "Memory Project: Al-Mutanabbi Street" from Geri Solomon, assistant dean of Special Collections and University archivist at Hofstra University.
• Readers and Reading in American Education
  The exhibit features the Nila Banton Smith Historical Collection in Reading and traces the evolution of teaching methods and materials from the hornbook and battledore of the colonial period through the McGuffey Readers at turn of the 20th century. Included in the exhibition are samples of different approaches to reading instruction – alphabet method, the phonic and whole word methods, and the sentence and story methods.
• Weingrow Collection Undergraduate Research Project
  The Weingrow Collection Undergraduate Research Project is a selection of presentations that were created as part of the coursework for History of Contemporary Art (AH 074), a liberal arts elective course, in the fall of 2005. Its principal aim was to encourage undergraduate primary research and critical dialogue. An integral component of the project was the engagement of students with Hofstra University's vital collections in support of the University's teaching mission, together with the thoughtful public presentation of the students' research. A further objective was the cultivation of intellectual relationships between various members of the general faculty in support of this student-focused research project.
• Welcome to Rare Books
  This is an introduction to rare books and documents. Twenty items have been selected to show different aspects of book arts and changes in the creation of the written word over the course of history; from the different fonts that were used or the skills that were required to create each item. Also included are highlighted words that are associated with books. They are defined at the end of this exhibit.

Grant Funded Student Research Projects

Professor Simon Doubleday's  HIST 102 "Friendship"

This course introduced to historical research methods. The course focused on the history of friendship: a theme that is experiencing a surge of interest among historians and others today. Using archival sources in the Hofstra University Special Collections – such as personal diaries, letters, photographs, etc., as well as secondary sources and readings – the students developed an individual research project.

Each of the students chose a collection to work with from approximately 10 different archival collections. They focused on a relationship between at least two individuals represented in the collection.

Professor Vimala Pasupathi's English 291RA "Poetry in the Archives" MA/MFA (Spring 2016 Semester)

Graduate students in this class examined various portions of the Stephen Dunn Papers to highlight what poetry collections look like in archival repositories. Each student then created an online exhibit that featured aspects of the Dunn Papers and their interpretation of what they found. Several students also examined the papers of additional poets that they found in Special Collections.

Professor Vimala Pasupathi's "OMG#Literature: Reading in the Digital Age"(Fall 2014 Semester)

Professor Vimala Pasupathi brought her first-year, first-semester students to Hofstra University’s Special Collections to “discover” rare materials and create OMEKA exhibits. Her class, “OMG#Literature: Reading in the Digital Age” chose a wide variety of items to research and write about. Using avant-garde magazines, fairy tales, Disney books, and the papers of a playwright the students created online exhibits featuring photographs, critiques, and their thoughts about the material.