[Back to Formatted Version]

Newman Foundation of Oregon State University Records, 1962-2008

By Finding aid prepared by Elizabeth Nielsen.

Collection Overview

Title: Newman Foundation of Oregon State University Records, 1962-2008

Predominant Dates: 1980-2006

ID: MSS Newman

Primary Creator: Newman Foundation of Oregon State University

Extent: 5.4 cubic feet. More info below.

Languages of Materials: English [eng]

Abstract

The Newman Foundation of Oregon State University Records document the establishment of the Foundation in 1965 to support programs for Catholic students and faculty at Oregon State. The records include administrative records, property and legal files, publications, photographs, and sound recordings.

Scope and Content Notes

The Newman Foundation of Oregon State University Records document the establishment of the Foundation in 1965 to support programs for Catholic students and faculty at Oregon State. The collection includes administrative records, property and legal files, publications, photographs, and sound recordings.

The administrative records include articles of incorporation and bylaws, meeting minutes, lists of board members, budgets and tax records, correspondence, reports, and subject files. The reports and subject files include planning documents and feasibility studies for redevelopment of the Foundation property on Monroe Avenue as Newman Commons and Trinity Court, including documents presented to the Corvallis Planning Commission. A large portion (about a third) of the records are property and legal files documenting the lawsuit by the Foundation against the Catholic Archdiocese of Portland regarding these properties.

The publications include newsletters, brochures, and flyers. The collection also includes materials on the history of the Newman Center and Margaret Snell as well as an embossing seal and non-profit organization stamp.

The photographs depict the streetscape around the Newman Center buildings and the damage done to a large metal cylinder assumed to belong to the Newman Center. The sound recordings consists of two audiocassette tapes of interviews with Gordon and Veronica Sitton about the history of the Newman Center at Oregon State.

Biographical / Historical Notes

The Newman Foundation of Oregon State University was established in 1965 as a non-profit organization to "preserve, protect, and promote the Catholic faith of its members, to propate the Catholic faith according to the dictates of the church, and to provide facilities for each purposes." In order to develop a Newman Center close to the Oregon State University, the Foundation purchased several properties on Monroe Avenue between 21st and 23rd Streets in 1966. These properties included several rental houses as well as facilities for the Newman Center (also known as Newman House) that offered programs and activities for Catholic students and faculty at Oregon State. One of the structures was the former home of Margaret Comstock Snell, the first Professor and Dean of Home Economics at Oregon State from 1889 to 1908.

During 2001 and 2002, the Foundation donated the properties to the Archdiocese of Portland in the interest of facilitating needed renovation work on some of the structures. The announcement of plans a few years later to sell the properties sparked a legal battle between the Foundation and the Archdiocese that the Foundation lost in 2007. The foundation was dissolved soon thereafter in 2008.

The Newman Club for Catholic students at Oregon State was established in 1917.

Gordon Sitton was director of international education at Oregon State and served as faculty advisor for the Newman Center beginning in the 1960s.

Administrative Information

More Extent Information: 47 photographs; 6 boxes

Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.

Acquisition Note: The records were transferred to the Archives by the Foundation in 2008.

Related Materials: Additional materials documenting Newman Center activities and programs are available in the OSU Memorabilia Collection (MSS MC) file "MC-Newman Center". The Daniel P. and Doris Dow Murphy Papers include photographs of Newman Center activities in the late 1930s. The Edgar Raymond Shepard Letters (MSS Shepard) describe his involvement with the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA).

Preferred Citation: Newman Foundation of Oregon State University Records (MSS Newman), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Processing Information: This collection is not fully processed; this guide is preliminary.

Other URL: Preliminary container list available online.

Creators

Newman Foundation of Oregon State University
Sitton, Gordon R. (Gordon Russell) (1916-)
Sitton, Veronica C. E.

People, Places, and Topics

Catholic Church--Oregon--Corvallis.
Catholic Church. Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon
City planning--Oregon--Corvallis.
College students--Religious life--Oregon--Corvallis.
Corvallis (Or.)
Local History
Newman Foundation of Oregon State University
Oregon State University--Faculty.
Oregon State University--Students.
Sitton, Gordon R. (Gordon Russell), 1916-
Sitton, Veronica C. E.
Snell, Margaret Comstock, 1843-1923

Forms of Material

Audiocassettes.
Photographic prints.


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.