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From the Archives: Villanova Women’s Basketball

In honor of Women’s Basketball earning #4 Seed in NCAA Championship, hosting first and second round games at Finneran Pavilion starting tomorrow, AND being a big favorite, here is a look back Women’s Basketball throughout the years.

50 years ago…

Women's Basketball, Belle Air 1973

                                               Women’s Basketball, Belle Air 1973

1983 & 1993…

Women's Basketball, Belle Air 1983

Women’s Basketball, Belle Air 1983

Women's Basketball, Belle Air 1993

Women’s Basketball, Belle Air 1993

And this year with such momentum with the team and Maddy Siegrist, senior guard, who is broke the Big East and Villanova single-game scoring records and became the Big East’s all-time leading scorer, is reminiscent of the 1980s Women’s Basketball team. In fact, Siegrist on January 20, 2023, surpassed Shelly Pennefather, 1983–1987 forward, for Villanova’s career scoring record while scoring 23 points in a 73–57 win over Creighton.

Women's Basketball, Belle Air 1983

Women’s Basketball, Belle Air 1987

More images of Villanova Basketball throughout the years can be found in the University Archives and Digital Library.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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Poetic License: Building a Voice at Villanova and the Power of Poetry

The section of the spring exhibit, “Poetic License: Seven Curators’ Poetry Selections from Distinctive Collections” titled “Building a Voice at Villanova and the Power of Poetry,” was initially influenced by Rita Dove’s quote, “poetry is language at its most distilled and most powerful” and pondering how to exemplify that through the poems of our community. From the earliest curriculum at Villanova, poetry has been a mainstay in many courses of study. In the classroom, the study of the art and structure of a verse can expand one’s own voice to express identity and experience; strength and vulnerability; and bring a community together or provide a lens to a community experience. It is with those tools of expression the poems chosen for the exhibit are a reflection of the different ways poetry has been expressed on campus and insight to the many different incarnations of poetry societies, student publications, and poetry groups of Villanova. The poems traverse between personal reflections, politics, and religion. Ultimately, to showcase the power of the voices of our community through poetry.

The display was curated by Beaudry Allen, Digital and Preservation Archivist, and material found in the Villanova University Archives.

Cover of Lynx publication

Cover of Lynx publication, 1970

You can read more poetry by students in our digitized collection of Lynx, student run biannual literary publication.


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Happy Anniversary, Falvey!

Program, Villanova University Falvey Memorial Library Dedication, Saturday November 16th, 1968.

 

On November 16, 1968, Villanova celebrated the dedication of Falvey Memorial Library’s new building. As part of the celebration, Dr. Francis M. Hammond of the U.S. Office of Education received an honorary Villanova degree in recognition of his contributions to interracial justice and higher education.

Dr. Hammond was serving as Higher Education Facilities Program Officer at the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare at the time of his honorary degree. Originally from Nova Scotia, Canada, he had previously taught at Seton Hall University and was the institution’s first African-American faculty member (1946). Photos of the event from University Archives are now online in the Digital Library.

Dr. Francis M. Hammond, 1911-1978.

Photograph, Falvey Memorial Library Dedication (Convocation), 1968.

Dr. Francis M. Hammond with wife and family, receiving an honorary degree from Rev. Robert J. Welsh O.S.A. (28th president of Villanova) at the dedication of Falvey Memorial Library.

 

After the presentation of the degree, Dr. Hammond delivered the address at the ceremony. You can read the text of the words he spoke to dedicate the new library building – now in the Digital Library here: https://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:757210.

 

You can also read more about Dr. Hammond and the Falvey Memorial Library dedication ceremony on p.2 of the Villanovan (November 13, 1968) here: https://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:187269. 

 


Rebecca Oviedo is Distinctive Collections Librarian/Archivist at Falvey Memorial Library.

 

 


 


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TBT: 1987 Fall Festival

Special Olympic contenders and Villanova Students, November 1987.

Photo courtesy of the Villanova Digital Library. Special Olympic contenders and Villanova Students, November 1987.


This week’s Throwback Thursday (TBT) celebrates the annual Special Olympics Pennsylvania Fall Festival hosted and organized by Villanova University students. The festival is the largest annual student-run Special Olympics event in the world. More than 1,200 athletes will compete at the 34th Fall Festival at Villanova University on November 4-6, 2022. To learn more about Fall Festival visit this webpage.

Ethan Shea, Graduate Assistant at Falvey Library, highlighted additional throwbacks to past Special Olympics on this blog. On Falvey’s third floor, Beaudry Rae Allen, Preservation & Digital Archivist, curated an exhibit containing facsimiles of photographs and programs from the early days of the event.

Best of luck to all the athletes competing this weekend!


Kallie Stahl ’17 MA is Communication and Marketing Specialist at Falvey Memorial Library.

 

 


 


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All Treats, No Tricks

A big thank you to all those who stopped by Distinctive Collection’s Halloween Haunts event yesterday. Our ghoulish games, snacks, and witch’s brew were a hit with those consumed with a thirst for regular-sized candy!

 

Treats Table

Our spookiest items on display can also be viewed in our Rare Book Room:

Case of Spooky Books

Display of items from Special Collections

The Amateur’s Guide to Magic and Mystery and the Black Art Fully Exposed

The Dance of Death

Los Vampiros del Aire

Exorcism Manual

The Game of Saturn: Decoding the Sola-Busca Tartocchi

Phadon: oder, Uber die Unsterblichkeit der Seele, in Drey Gesprachen 


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Welcome to Falvey: Meg Piorko, PhD, Joins Distinctive Collections and Digital Engagement

Headshot of Meg Piorko, Digital Scholarship Librarian.

Meg Piorko, Distinctive Collections Librarian.


Meg Piorko, PhD, recently joined Distinctive Collections and Digital Engagement (DCDE) as Distinctive Collections Librarian. Falvey Library’s rare collections are organized into three categories—Special Collections, University Archives, and the Digital Library. “I am responsible for cataloging new acquisitions and materials currently in the Library’s collections and adding them to the Digital Library.”

Originally from northern Delaware, Piorko earned a BA in Art History and Studio Art from the University of North Carolina Wilmington, a MA in Art History from Georgia State University, and a PhD in History from Georgia State University. Before joining the Falvey Library staff she was the Curatorial Fellow for the Othmer Library Special Collections at the Science History Institute. “They have a huge alchemy collection of rare materials,” Piorko reflects on her post-doctorial fellowship at the Science History Institute. “I spent 80 percent of my time researching and 20 percent of my time learning library skills from James R. Voelkel, PhD, Curator of Rare Books. I acquired skills that were not taught in my PhD curriculum; like acquisitions, how to accession new materials in the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) and all of the library databases.”

Combining her librarianship and academic background, Piorko is focused on digitizing the materiality of a text. “Theoretically, I come from the standpoint of material bibliography. I mostly work on early hand-pressed texts and every copy is unique. When we replicate something it is never the same. Even on a copy machine, each individual material culture object is different from the other one. If you’ve ever seen artists copy the same print over and over…the print changes every time. So do texts when they are copied and when multiple copies are produced (even in the same edition). I’m interested in copy specific evidence of the production of a material culture object (text) and how it was used by different historical actors. For example, people writing in the margins of their text, or chopping them up and putting them with other texts and rebinding them. How knowledge travels through textual media is what I’m interested in and I hope to bring that to my current position when I’m digitizing. Ensuring I’m also capturing the materiality and the copy specific evidence within these objects.”

The broad collections at Falvey Library and the opportunity to stay near the Philadelphia area drew Piorko to Villanova University. “Philadelphia has such a rich intellectual and cultural history. The city has incredible libraries with all kind of objects to study and make available to individuals that want to know about the cultural heritage. Villanova University is an outstanding holding institution for that. I’m really excited about the collections at Falvey Library. They are really broad and the nature of donations that come to Villanova are not subject specific and seem to be driven by relationships rather than subject. Which results in all kinds of fascinating objects that span different cultures and different time periods.”

Piorko is excited to collaborate with the Villanova community. “I am looking forward to bringing special collections into the classroom and public exhibits; encouraging hands-on (to whatever extent is safe for the materials) interactions with these objects. They should not just sit in the library. These objects are living. They are not just printed and the knowledge is stagnant. People continually contribute knowledge to these objects.” Building relationships and communicating the value of these collections to the Villanova community is essential for Piorko. “Falvey’s collections can be another vehicle of knowledge. I want to connect with the community and let them know about the really incredible things that we have in the collections. That’s what drew me here, the opportunity to help connect the humanity of these objects to to what is being learned in the classroom.”

In her free time, Piorko volunteers with PAWS animal rescue in Philadelphia. She enjoys playing board games and card games and going to the moves to watch horror films. Her reading recommendation for Falvey patrons: Out There by Kate Folk. “I loved this book. I like to read futuristic sci-fi that is also social commentary.”

Piorko’s desk is located in Access Services on Falvey’s first floor (email: megan.piorko@villanova.edu). For more on Villanova University’s distinctive collections materials, please visit this webpage. Distinctive collections materials can be viewed in the Rare Book Room (Wednesday’s 9:30 a.m.11:30 p.m. and Thursday’s 2 p.m.4 p.m.) as well as other hours by appointment. Faculty interested in incorporating Falvey’s collections in the classroom can contact Piorko to discuss options for collaboration.


Kallie Stahl ’17 MA is Communication and Marketing Specialist at Falvey Memorial Library.

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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New Digital Exhibit: The New Collegiate Sound

In conjugation, with  WXVU 89.1 The Roar’s  big announcement of full ownership of the WXVU call letters, Distinctive Collections is excited to announce our latest digital exhibit, The New Collegiate Sound.

The New Collegiate Sound as a title came from a phrase from the 1964 Belle Air used to describe Villanova radio’s latest reinvention and is emblematic how each generation of Villanovans create a new radio sound representative of them and the times. Thus the exhibit invites you to explore the history of radio on campus from the early days as a radio club in the 1920s to today as FCC-licensed campus radio station.

The exhibit includes great photographs, newspaper clippings, programs, yearbooks, 3D model by Erica Hayes, Digital Scholarship Librarian, and scrapbooks from WXVU radio station.

The exhibit’s 3D image of the radio can be explored with VR in the CAVE. Contact Andrew Grace, andrew.grace@villanova.edu to schedule a demo.

And of course, if you haven’t already, check out WXVU 89.1 FM The Roar on your radio or stream it here: https://wxvu.org.


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From the University Archives: Welcome to Class of 2026

From the University Archives: Welcome to Class of 2026

A Peek into First Year Orientation of the Past

New Student Orientation is designed to welcome and introduce students to what it means to be a Villanovan. During Orientation, first-year and transfer students participate in programs, presentations and activities designed to familiarize themselves with academic and cultural life at Villanova. In celebration of Villanova’s orientation tradition is photographs from orientation throughout the years.


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TBT: Villanova Women’s Soccer

Photo courtesy of the Villanova University Archives, Villanova University. Collection source: Box 01, Folder 36, VUA 35/26/misc. Photograph, Soccer (Women), 1991. Villanova University Archives, Villanova University. Women’s soccer team playing.

Today is National Soccer Day! This week’s Throwback Thursday (TBT) is a photo taken during the 1991 Villanova University women’s soccer season. For additional images, check out the Villanova University Digital Library.

Celebrating 50 years of Title IX, “the landmark gender equity law passed as part of the Education Amendments of 1972, banning sex discrimination in federally funded education programs,” learn more about Villanova University female athletes past and present. Visit the Villanova Athletics website for more information.

Nnenna Lynch, ’93 and Caroline Zajac, ’94. Courtesy of the Villanova University Archives. Image featured in the exhibit “Wildcats Past & Present: Moments from the History of Sports at Villanova.”

Looking for more information on Villanova athletics? Check out the digital exhibit, “Wildcats Past & Present: Moments from the History of Sports at Villanova,” featuring assorted and unique items representative of the varied sports played at Villanova College, and later Villanova University. The exhibit was curated by Susan Ottignon, former Collections Librarian, with assistance from Laura Bang, former Distinctive Collections Librarian, and Michael Foight, Director of Distinctive Collections and Digital Engagement. Graphics were designed by Joanne Quinn, Director of Communication and Marketing.


Kallie Stahl ’17 MA is Communication and Marketing Specialist at Falvey Memorial Library.

 

 


 


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From the Archives: The Spires (1974-1984) now online

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before Villanova Magazine there was The Spires, published from October 1974 to December 1984. The first issue introduces The Spires as a new publication that combined the Villanova Alumnus and The Capsule, previous publications that brought campus news to the alumni community.

The Spires takes its name from the twin gothic-styled towers atop the main chapel. They have been a landmark along the Main Line for more than three quarters of a century. The spires, which rise nearly 130 feet in the air, capture the eye of the visitor and dominate memories of the Villanova campus.

The Spires was published six times a year (October, December, February, April, June, and August) by the Public Relations Office, Villanova University, Austin Hall, Villanova, PA. Villanova Magazine is the current publication of the now-named Office of University Communication and Marketing.

Check out the newly digitized issues of The Spires in the Digital Library. Earlier issues of the Villanova Alumnus are available in the Digital Library as well.

 


Rebecca Oviedo is Distinctive Collections Archivist at Falvey Memorial Library.

 

 


 

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Last Modified: July 27, 2022

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