Abilene Christian University Special Collections and Archives

05/27/2026

New research featured on our blog by ENGL 325 Advanced Composition student, Mikhail Fortner, is centered on the proposition: How does the historical context of 18th century hymn writing contribute to the composition of “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing?”

https://blogs.acu.edu/specialcollections/2026/05/26/come-thou-fount-of-every-blessing/

05/20/2026

Abilene Christian University, what were you like in the 90s???

Take a look at some of these pictures from the 1991 Winter issue of ACU Today!

05/12/2026

In Spring 2026, Dr. Laura Carroll’s ENGL 325: Advanced Composition students were challenged to engage Special Collections broadly, and, more specifically, with the hymnal collection. Each student wrote a research paper on a topic inspired by the hymnal collection. Their research included databases, interviews, library print resources, and data collection. Today we welcome ACU student Ashlyn Anderson to the blog. Click on the link below to read more about her topic:

"Tradition and Transformation: Worship Evolution at Abilene Christian University"

https://blogs.acu.edu/specialcollections/2026/05/12/tradition-and-transformation-worship-evolution-at-abilene-christian-university/

05/03/2026

03/19/2026

Students in English 461 (Archival Research for English Studies) consulted with our staff today about writing finding aids and archival storage solutions for one of their class projects. The class is going very well.

03/16/2026

Dr. Miroslav Volf, author of The Cost of Ambition (and many other titles), is on ACU's campus today as a guest speaker.

We were thrilled to get to hear him at lunch!

There is one more chance to hear him speak tonight - see the flyer in the comments for more details!

A big thanks to the Saunders Center for Joy and Human Flourishing for coordinating this event!

02/09/2026

We are excited to share the digitized files that we have uploaded so far from Northeastern Christian Junior College (NCJC)! These include yearbooks, photos, the "Knight Times" newspapers, and more!

The school was founded in 1957 as the Northeastern Institute for Christian Education. It became Northeastern Christian Junior College in 1964, and later merged with Ohio Valley College.

Check out the collection here: https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/northeastern_christian_jrc/

01/20/2026

Construction is beginning on the Saunders Center for Joy and Human Flourishing!

You can see more of our Landon Saunders collection online here: https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/saunders/

01/05/2026

ENGL 461 Archival Research for English Studies will meet in our reading room on Tuesdays and Thursdays this semester. Led by Dr. Todd Womble, this course will open all kind of doors for students. They will learn about the theory and use of archives and special collections, and gain some invaluable experience in the use of archival materials. It is always a highlight to work with this course...and we will keep you updated as the semester progresses.

Send a message to learn more