About the Archives

Stewart S. Howe

The Student Life and Culture Archival Program was founded in 1989 through the generous endowment of the Stewart S. Howe Foundation. It is a vibrant program whose mandate is to document, make accessible, and promote the national history of fraternal organizations and University of Illinois student life and culture.

Illinois alumnus Stewart S. Howe ’28 was founder and owner of the Stewart S. Howe Alumni Service, which provided management, public relations, and fund-raising assistance to fraternities, sororities, and institutions of higher education. He had a life-long interest in higher education and was a dedicated collector of material dealing with fraternal organizations and other areas of college life. His world-renowned collection is the centerpiece of the SLC Archives.

The Student Life & Culture Archives actively documents the history and traditions of student life and culture at the University of Illinois through alumni and student papers (including diaries, scrapbooks, correspondence, and photographs), student organization records, administrative office records, oral histories, and student publications.