Institutional History

In this section you will find digital exhibits that grapple with the long history of Washington and Lee University. In addition to topic exhibits on particular moments in our history, we have pages that provide guides to major topics, such as Integration at W&L. 

  • SABU students

    Student Association for Black Unity (SABU)

    The Student Association for Black Unity (SABU) was founded in the winter of 1971 and has continued to evolve with campus culture over the last 50 years. This research guide contains materials that focus on the inception of S.A.B.U. (1971-1985) and its connection with the present campus community.
  • Fancy Dress 1980 poster of Monopoly board.

    DCI 201: Fancy Dress 1980s

    An institutional history digital exhibit created during Fall 2023 about the history of Fancy Dress during the 1980s.
  • Class picture of the W&L class of 1989, the first co-ed graduating class, in front of Washington Hall.

    DCI 201: Coeducation (Fall 2023)

    An institutional history digital exhibit created during Fall 2023 that highlights the University’s official coeducation process from 1980-1990.
  • Glamour shot of a women found in the 1968 Calyx.

    DCI 201: Evolving Images: The Portrayal of Women at Washington and Lee University (1960-2000)

    An institutional history digital exhibit created during Fall 2023 that delves into the dynamic and often complex portrayal of women at Washington and Lee University from the 1960s to the 2000s.
  • Image of the 1966 program of the Contact Committee speaker series showing a city sklyine.

    DCI 201: Contact Committee & Campus Speech Controversies

    An institutional history digital exhibit created during Fall 2023 that is working to better understand W&L’s Contact Committee, its role in promoting free speech, and controversies surrounding freedom of expression on campus.
  • Image a football player running with the ball.

    DCI 201: Football

    An institutional history digital exhibit created during Fall 2021 that portrays the story of competitive football at Washington and Lee University, a small, private, liberal arts university in Lexington, Virginia, through showing the evolution of the school as a pioneer of the sport, to dealing with academic scandal, and rebounding to become a prominent member of the NCAA Division III.
  • Cadaver society plaque.

    DCI 201: Secret Societies

    An institutional history digital exhibit created during Fall 2021 for DCI 201: Digital Collections and Exhibits that seeks to help broaden public knowledge of what secret societies are and their existence at Washington and Lee University.
  • Image of musician holding a guitar and singing into a microphone.

    DCI 201: Music

    An institutional history digital exhibit created during Fall 2021 for DCI 201: Digital Collections and Exhibits that details musical acts who performed at W&L from the 1940s through the 1990s.
  • On These Grounds

    On These Grounds: Documenting Slavery at W&L

    On These Grounds: Documenting Slavery at W&L is a collaborative project to share the history of slavery at W&L through archival sources and an event-based data set. This website contains a preview of the data created by the W&L University Library and Institutional History departments.
  • University Chapel

    University Chapel

    Based on a proposal by President Robert E. Lee to the Board of Trustees, the University Chapel was built between 1866 and 1868. The building has been renovated and re-designed several times between 1870 and 2021. This exhibit takes the visitor on a tour of the first floor of the auditorium and the 1883 addition, reviewing the changing appearance of the chapel's floor plan and stage.
  • The Black Experience @ W&L

    A digital exhibit created to help remember about the black experience at Washington and Lee University and, more largely, in United States history through African-American poetry and archival materials.
  • The Black General

    The Black General is a digital exhibit featured archival material and oral histories on the period of desegregation at W&L, the history of black student organizations, and other relevant material on the Black experience at W&L sourced from alumni, faculty, staff and Special Collections.
  • SABU

    Integration at W&L

    Integration at W&L is dedicated to the presentation and aggregation of archival material that tells the story of Washington and Lee’s desegregation and integration from its foundation through the present.
  • DCI 201: Coeducation (Winter 2020)

    An institutional history digital exhibit created during Winter 2020 that portrays the impacts of coeducation at Washington and Lee University, a small, private, liberal arts university in Lexington, Virginia, through evaluating its effects by comparing the university's social climate before and after the decision to become coeducated.
  • Fancy Dress (in progress)

    DCI 201: Fancy Dress Gala

    An institutional history digital exhibit created during Winter 2020 about the history of Fancy Dress, an annual formal gala, at Washington and Lee University.
  • Mock Convention (in progress)

    DCI 201: Mock Convention - Student Involvement

    An institutional history digital exhibit created during Winter 2020 that compares student involvement in the 1980 and 2020 Washington and Lee University's Mock Conventions.
  • DCI 201: Integration

    An institutional history digital exhibit created during Winter 2020 about integration at Washington and Lee University, including the creation of Student Association for Black Unity (SABU).
  • DCI 201: Mock Convention - Processes Through the Years

    An institutional history digital exhibit created during Winter 2020 for DCI 201: Digital Collections and Exhibits that details the delegation selection of Mock Convention and how it has progressed as technology has advanced. This collection is primarily aimed towards Washington and Lee alumni but can also help to inform current students about the history of this tradition.
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