Edgecliff College records

Collection

Identifier: XUA-37

Staff Only

Scope and Content

This is a collection of various documents relating to Edgecliff College and its former name of Our Lady of Cincinnati College. The holdings are limited.

Dates

Creation: 1936-1982

Creator

Edgecliff College (Organization)

Restrictions on Access

Restricted access. Please contact the Xavier University Archives staff.

History of Edgecliff College

Our Lady of Cincinnati College was founded in 1935 by the Sisters of Mercy as a women's college. In 1970 the college became co-educational and assumed the name Edgecliff College. Later, Xavier University acquired the Edgecliff campus and its academic programs.

Originally called Our Lady of Cincinnati College at its founding in 1935 by the Sisters of Mercy, the college educated women exclusively until 1970 when it opened its classrooms to men and adopted a new name, Edgecliff College. On July 1, 1980 Xavier University announced that it had purchased from the Sisters of Mercy a three year option to buy the Edgecliff campus property by June 30, 1983. Edgecliff College then became known as Edgecliff College of Xavier University, the fourth undergraduate college at Xavier University. In the Spring of 1983 Xavier completed the purchase of the Edgecliff property from the Sisters of Mercy. In April 1987 Xavier University sold the Edgecliff property. Academic programming was transferred to the main Xavier campus that year. Edgecliff's departments of art, music, and theatre arts joined the College of Arts and Sciences, while its departments of nursing and social work were incorporated into Xavier's new College of Professional Studies.

Biographical / Historical

Originally called Our Lady of Cincinnati College at its founding in 1935 by the Sisters of Mercy, the college educated women exclusively until 1970 when it opened its classrooms to men and adopted a new name, Edgecliff College. On July 1, 1980 Xavier University announced that it had purchased from the Sisters of Mercy a three year option to buy the Edgecliff campus property by June 30, 1983. Edgecliff College then became known as Edgecliff College of Xavier University, the fourth undergraduate college at Xavier University. In the Spring of 1983 Xavier completed the purchase of the Edgecliff property from the Sisters of Mercy. In April 1987 Xavier University sold the Edgecliff property. Academic programming was transferred to the main Xavier campus that year. Edgecliff's departments of art, music, and theatre arts joined the College of Arts and Sciences, while its departments of nursing and social work were incorporated into Xavier's new College of Professional Studies.

Extent

5 Linear Feet (9 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

This is a collection of selected records from Edgecliff College (Cincinnati, Ohio). These records reflect some college activities and the campus environment prior to the acquisition of the Edgecliff property by Xavier University.

Statement of Arrangement

Materials are arranged into four main topics:

Institutional records, mainly faculty lists and handbooks
Edgecliff Long Range Planning Committee records and institutional surveys/data
Student related materials: Orientation, housing, committee records
Music Department scrapbook and photographs

Related Material

Xavier University Archives also has materials pertaining to the purchase and sale of the Edgecliff College property as well as various records relating to the transition of Edgecliff College programs to Xavier University. Please contact the Xavier Archives staff.

Processing Information

This collection was reprocessed into its current arrangement and description as part of a major University Archives reprocessing project in 2012-2013. This reprocessing project was largely an effort to disband a record group system, developed in the late 1970s, used to arrange university records. The record group scheme had been established by the first University Archivist, Lee Bennish, SJ, and chiefly organized materials by originating office and organizational structure. After Bennish’s tenure, oversight of the archives changed several times and resulted in a lack of adherence to the record group scheme for new acquisitions. The 2012-2013 processing project also sought to incorporate records for which little acquisition or contextual information existed. The project staff primarily reorganized records into subject-based collections. Occasionally subjects coincided with offices of origin (e.g. Subject= Presidents, Office= Office of the President, Collection= Xavier University President’s Office). This subject-based arrangement makes it difficult to identify or describe the collections by office of origin but administrative project records do indicate transfers and connections between original record groups and 2012-2013 collections. During the project, records were rehoused in archival folders and boxes, and new finding aids were created using the OhioLINK Finding Aid Creation Tool.

As of 2017, University Archives no longer employs the 2012-2013 system of arranging collections by subject.