J. Barry Mittan
(1949-2013)

The Bronze Doors

Heritage Protocol and Florida State University Libraries are happy to announce the publication of a new book on Florida State University history. With the support of University Libraries, Heritage Protocol archivist, Eddie Woodward, has authored an FSU edition of the Campus History Series by Arcadia Publishing. The book, Florida State University, contains over 220 photographs compiled from the Heritage Protocol Photograph Collections, the Historic Photograph Collection in Special Collections and Archives at Strozier, and a variety of other sources. The book is available in bookstores, at online retailers, and from FSU University Libraries. All of the author’s royalties generated from its sale in bookstores and online go to support the FSU University Libraries. However, to provide additional support to the University Libraries, we encourage you to obtain the book directly from FSU. For further information please visit the University Libraries website at http://www.lib.fsu.edu/ or contact Elizabeth Johnson at eljohnson2@fsu.edu at 850-645-8925.

In the fall of 1947 the recently established Florida State University student body voted that the athletic symbol of the new school should be the Seminole Indian. Not long after that the first FSU Seminole design was created and from 1948 until the late 1950s, this first image served as the athletic identity for the university. The original interpretation is unique, and differentiated from modern imagery in that it is a more authentic representation of a member of the Seminole Tribe of Florida. In 2009 Heritage Protocol was given special permission by FSU NCAA licensing to reproduce this rarely used vaulted design on a special Heritage Protocol throwback t-shirt. Until now, the shirts were only available through local retailers; however, today the shirts can be obtained directly from Heritage Protocol. To obtain one of these unique replicas from FSU history please contact Heritage Protocol archivist Eddie Woodward at 850-645-7988. Special thanks to the manufacturer of the shirts, FSU alumnus Mike Rupp, owner of RagZ of Tallahassee for making all of this possible. Show your support for documenting and preserving Florida State University’s history by wearing one of these unique T-shirts!

Donate Your FSU Memorabilia to Heritage Protocol

The mission of Heritage Protocol is to identify, acquire, catalog, and preserve items related to the institutional history and cultural heritage of Florida State University and its predecessor institutions. By acquiring, preserving and making these materials accessible to researchers, the university will be better able to chronicle and promote its history from its inception as West Florida Seminary in the 1850s through to the modern era. Records in the university archives are generated by the various campus administrative and academic departments, and document the official day to day business of the institution and its administration. These materials are essential in understanding the growth and development of the university, especially with regard to faculty, curriculum, and the campus physical plant.

Fundamental to the mission of Heritage Protocol is the desire to document the student experience through the acquisition and preservation of materials acquired by alumni while they were students at the university. These items, unique in some respects, and quite similar in others, give researchers insight into student life, both socially and academically. The materials that were acquired by each student during his/her four year stay at the university serve as time capsules that document the important events in their lives and campus lifestyles. It is not uncommon for alumni to have saved their yearbooks, commencement programs and invitations, and other commemorative and important items from their college years. However, it is through the study of other more personal items such as photographs, scrapbooks, and the seemingly inconsequential ephemeral items that a deeper understanding of the students’ day to day lives and lifestyles is gleaned. Ephemera, such as a dining hall or bus pass, movie and theater schedules or programs, were usually discarded after their usefulness had passed. These items, taken together, help to create a layered and more richly textured understanding of the lives of these students each within their own particular eras. The commemorative items noted the passing of milestones in a student’s college career. The photographs and ephemeral materials help to fill in the gaps of the students’ day to day lives, giving a more well-rounded picture of what it was like to be a student at any particular time. And by making these materials accessible to researchers it is hoped that through new levels of scholarship, a better understanding of various aspects of the university’s history, and most especially, the student experience at the university, will be gleaned.

Documenting the student experience at Florida State University can only be achieved with the cooperation of our alumni, friends and family of alumni, and friends of the university. Unfortunately, some alumni believe that the materials that they have saved from their years as students might be too personal, silly, or trivial to be donated. This is rarely the case. In order to achieve the level of understanding desired, any items related to the student’s university experience are desirable additions to collection. If it relates to a student’s time at Florida State University it is a worthy addition to the collection. To donate FSU related materials please contact Heritage Protocol Archivist, Eddie Woodward at 850-645-7988.

Heritage Protocol Photograph Database