Collections

The Art History Club at UCF collection documents the history of the club from 2011 to 2015. Materials in this collection include officer files of the club's president, such as meeting agendas, event fliers, and memorabilia. The Art History Club at the University of Central Florida became a registered student organization in 2011. As stated in the constitution, the purpose of the club is to pursue the scholastic appeals of art and what art can tell society about the cultures of the past. The goal of the organization is to foster a greater involvement of UCF art and art history students and promote the intellectual discussion of art history. In addition, the club aims to donate time at local museums in order to give back to the art community.

The Beatrice B. Ettinger papers contain correspondence, leaflets, posters, minutes and reports that show women's position in society in the 1970s and 1980s. Continuing Education is the focus of these papers since Ettinger accumulated many of the materials between 1970 and 1992 when she was President of the Council for Continuing Education for Women. This organization established a Center that was based first at Valencia Community College and later at the University of Central Florida. Ettinger also collected documents concerning other organizations in which she was interested that fostered women's intellectual and political growth, such as, the Central Florida Women's Resource Center Inc. and the League of Women Voters. Additional materials provide some personal information about Mrs. Ettinger.

This collection of records contains the findings of FSEC's many research projects as well as grant proposals, yearly and mid-term reports, newsletters, newspapers, printed PowerPoint presentations, emails, and memos. This collection is useful to research on the activities of the Florida Solar Energy Center. Series I: Reports, 1974-2009 contains reports sanctioned by FSEC and includes proposals, test methods, assessments, projects, annual performances, mid-term performances, et al. Series II: Other Publications, 1977-2012 contains publications (no report/control number) both sanctioned by and not sanctioned about FSEC and includes newsletters, news reports, programs, products, directories, et al. Series III: Miscellaneous, 2001-2010 contains documents both sanctioned and not sanctioned by FSEC and includes powerpoint presentations, lists, and workshops. The Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) is a research institute of the University of Central Florida that serves as the epicenter for Florida's solar activity. As said by the UCF Report December 3, 1986 issue, the creation of FSEC by the Florida State Legislature in 1974 was a direct result of a shortage of oil that had been plaguing the world since the previous year. The initial plan for the newly minted institute was to research alternative power sources in order increase the use of clean energy sources. According to FSEC's Public Information Office, their activities and goals now broadly include the Commercialization of Solar Energy, programs for solar equipment testing, certification and standards, educational services, dissemination of information about solar energy, solar demonstration projects, and lastly the advancement of research and development. Since becoming fully operational in 1975, FSEC has had main great strides in the fields of photovoltaic (PV) applications, building designs, education, and training programs, all of which has allowed the center to become nationally recognized as stated by the UCF Report September 18, 1985 issue.

The John T. Washington collection, 1957-1980, documents UCF professor John T. Washington's life outside of his affiliation with UCF and his legacy. It chiefly consists of church sermons and materials, photographs, programs, minutes, agendas, and awards relating to John T. Washington's community service and role as a pastor as well as the scholarship award and honor society established in his name after his death. The collection provides insight into John T. Washington's life as the founder and pastor of the First Church of Peace and the efforts to maintain his legacy after his death with the John T. Washington Community Service Awards and Scholarship and the John T. Washington Honor Society. John Thomas Washington was born in 1940 in Immokalee, Florida. He was an associate professor of sociology at the University of Central Florida (UCF) and one of UCF's first Black faculty members. Washington worked to promote diversity at UCF, serving as one of the first advisors for the Black Student Union as well as other student organizations. He also aided in developing UCF's Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action and the Office of Multicultural Academic and Support Services. Before his time at UCF, Washington served as an airman in the United States Air Force from 1962-1964. He went on to earn his bachelor's and master's degrees at Rollins College and his Ph.D. at the University of Florida. In addition to his work at UCF, Washington founded the First Church of Peace in Orlando and served as the church's pastor. Washington died in 1983 at the age of 42 from a sudden heart attack. Following his death, the Student Services Building was renamed the John T. Washington Center in 1984. The John T. Washington Community Service Awards & Scholarship were also founded in his honor. In 1996, the John T. Washington Honor Society was established to uphold Washington's values of public service.

This collection contains materials related to the Knights Racing program, which spawned from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) chapter at Florida Technological University, now University of Central Florida. Materials found in this collection include newspaper clippings, chapter documents, photographs, plaques, racing car designs, and more. This collection provides insight into the Knights Racing program at Florida Technological University (University of Central Florida) and the groups involved. The Knights Racing Program has been a staple of the University of Central Florida since the creation of the FTU chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) in 1972. Before the program became widely known as "Knights Racing," the racing teams were simply referred to as simply the members of the ASME chapter. The program's name, "Knights Racing," originated with UCF's mascot change in 2007 which shortened the UCF's mascot from "The Golden Knights" to "The Knights." The Mini Baja Competition was coined under the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), who began to hold competitions for the Baja carts. This competition consists of students designing, building, and operating a recreational offroading vehicle. At the time of their creation, the Baja Racing Team and the Formula SAE team were one team; however, they separated in 2019 due to Student Government Association funding limitations. Since their divorce in 2019, the teams compete, design, and build their cars independently. As of 2021, the Formula SAE and Baja Racing Teams remain under the umbrella of the "Knights Racing Program" though they act independently.

Mary Monroe was a theatre student at FTU in the 1970s. Her collection of photographs, news clippings, and programs document the theatre performances during that time.

The Orlando Shakespeare Theater Collection contains playbills, programs, reviews, newspaper clippings, films, cassettes, reels, and schedules. It also includes items relating to the Orlando-UCF Shakespeare Festival Partnership (OSF) such as Simply Shakespeare, Central Florida's first Shakespearean troupe, and the UCF Shakespeare Summer Institute as well as the NEH grant funded faculty study project "Hamlet: Exploring the Renaissance Mind in Action" which was presented in the Summer 1991.

This collection contains documents, correspondence, newsletters and ephemera relating to the College of Health and Public Affairs (COHPA) and its School of Public Administration. The majority of the collection was given by Dr. Wendell Lawther, who began teaching at UCF in 1984 and was a professor for the COHPA Department of Public Administration (later School of Public Administration) for thirty years.

The University of Central Florida Eternal Knights collection, 2008-2025, documents past University of Central Florida (UCF) Eternal Knights Memorial Services, organized by the Office of Student Involvement. Materials in the collection include service programs, as well as unclaimed certificates of achievement, Student Government letters, name tents, letters of remembrance, and honorary degrees. The collection also contains two glass awards, a diploma cover, and a small ribbon from the ceremony. The collection encompasses services held from 2008 to 2025. The University of Central Florida's first Eternal Knights Memorial Service took place in 2002. Held each spring in the Student Union by the Office of Student Involvement (OSI), the service honors the lives of students who have passed away over the course of the academic year, from the previous spring and summer leading up to the current semester. Students, family, and friends are invited to attend and recognize individuals, along with the broader UCF community. A livestream is available for those who cannot attend in person.  

The Library collection documents the history of the John C. Hitt library. There are several subseries pertaining to different leaders, committees, and departments found within the library. This collection contains photographs, negatives, CDs, VHSs, and documents.