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Ron Howard papers

 Collection
Identifier: MS0766-UA

Collection Scope and Content

The collections consists of five series: photographs, slides, memorabilia, videotapes, and personal awards, etc. from Ron Howard.

Materials in this collection include photographs (including many campus buildings no longer extant) and slides (including commencements, buildings, distinguished alumni, President Lloyd Elliott, Jack Friedenthal, Edward "Skip" Ghnem, the GW mascot, Elmer Kayser, the men's and Women's basketball teams, President Trachtenberg, the University Yard, Gates, campus and Washington scenes, and other personalities. Artifacts include banners, key chains, buttons, towels, medals, tickets to Ronald Reagan Honorary Degree ceremony, videotapes, including Alumni Weekend, 1985, Reagan convocation, commencements, Walter Cronkite, Recruiting tapes and an award given to Ronald Howard. The collection spans the years 1958-99.

The collection came to the archives with very liitle order to it, and almost no items identified by Mr. Howard. Every effort was made to correctly identify people and events, and assign a date range, although at times this was difficult to do. Photos and slides of particular events were sorted and kept in the same folder/tray, but some images may actually belong to other events. Years have been assigned using clues from the images themselves (for example the date on the back of the photo or slide, or the cover of a Commencement program someone might be holding in a photo), but most of the dates are approximations.

Dates

  • Creation: 1958-1999

Restrictions on Access

Some records may be restricted.

Restrictions on Use

Some material may be copyrighted or restricted. It is the patron's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright or other case restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the collections.

Biographical Note

Ronald Warren Howard (1934-August 19, 1999) came to GW in 1964 as a counselor in the Admissions Office, and would serve the university for over thirty years, until his death in 1999 following a six year battle with cancer. Howard graduated from Central College in Pella, Iowa (B.A. in English, 1956) and worked as an admissions counselor at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin before taking a similar position here. At GW he became assistant director of admissions and foreign students admissions officer before moving to the Development Office, where he served as director of alumni support from 1973-80. In September 1980 he began work in the Alumni Office as associate director of alumni relations. He served as Director of Alumni Relations from June 1986-1989, and then became the first full-time director of the Alumni Admissions Program, which mobilized volunteer alumni nationwide to help recruit prospective GW students from their particular regions.

Ron Howard traveled the country spreading the message of GW to prospective students, as well as alumni. He was such an enthusiastic ambassador of the university that he became known as "Mr. GW" and "Mr. Alumni." Howard won the GW Award in 1977, given in "special recognition to those people who have made The George Washington University a better place to be." Ron Howard was an enthusiastic photographer. He free lanced for the student newspaper the Hatchet, and some of his images appeared in various campus publications as well. His enthusiasm to capture through the lens of a camera the people and events surrounding the university has been a benefit to the preservation of GW's history.

(Biographical information compiled from "GW Magazine" article, Fall 1993 and "By George" article September 7, 1999)

Extent

10 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Collection include photographs (including many campus buildings no longer extant) and slides (including commencements, buildings, distinguished alumni, President Lloyd Elliott, Jack Friedenthal, Edward "Skip" Ghnem, the GW mascot, Elmer Kayser, the men's and Women's basketball teams, President Trachtenberg, the University Yard, Gates, campus and Washington scenes, and other personalities. Artifacts include banners, key chains, buttons, towels, medals, tickets to Ronald Reagan Honorary Degree ceremony, videotapes, including Alumni Weekend, 1985, Reagan convocation, commencements, Walter Cronkite, Recruiting tapes and an award given to Ronald Howard. The collection spans the years 1958-99.

Collection Organization

Organized in five series: Photographs, Slides, Memorabilia, Videotapes, and Certificates and awards.

Acquisition Information

The collection was donated to University Archives by Alumni House in 1999, following the death of Mr. Howard.

Title
Guide to the Ron Howard papers, 1958-1999
Author
University Archives, Special Collections Research Center, The George Washington University
Date
2006
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections Research Center, The George Washington University Repository

Contact:
George Washington University Gelman Library
2130 H Street NW
Washington DC 20052 United States of America