Founder's Day

A student riding in the bicycle contest
Through our digital collections, Vassar College Libraries aim to provide access to high-quality digital content generated by the Libraries for research and study, as open as possible; support the teaching, learning, and research needs of the College; preserve at-risk or fragile physical collections through digitization, or at-risk born-digital collections through reformatting; expose hidden, less-used physical collections through access to digital surrogates; and foster experimental, cutting-edge, and innovative projects through technology. Learn More
A student riding in the bicycle contest
Spectators at the Founder's Day contests
Two students in costume, one in a baby carriage
Professor at bat in the faculty-student baseball game. Sarah H. McLean (VC 1930) is playing catcher
Sarah H. McLean (VC 1930) at bat at the faculty-student baseball game
Students in a horse-drawn carriage for the Founder's Day parade
Spectators at the Founder's Day contests
Students lined up for a bicycle contest
Spectators and judges at the Founder's Day contests. One of the judges may be Professor Frances Gertrude Wick or Dean C. Mildred Thompson
President MacCracken at the faculty-student baseball game
President MacCracken at Matthew Vassar's grave in the Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery
President MacCracken at Georgia A. Kendrick's grave in the Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery
The Class of 1920 leading the march away from song contest
Song contest
Class of 1920 lined up for the song contest
Class of 1922 performing at the song contest
Members of the Class of 1920 and others at the song contest
Class of 1920 performing in the song contest
Class of 1920 marching to the song contest
Class of 1920 marching to the song contest
Here you will find digitized archival collections, oral histories, and more. We are continually expanding the collections and improving access. You may find additional digital resources that reside outside the digital library here, and a selection of Online Exhibitions here.
Collections Overview
The Archives & Special Collections Library is part of the Vassar College Libraries system. It holds the rare book, manuscript, and archival collections of the college. It collects, preserves, and makes available rare and unique collections, and also engages in teaching and outreach activities. This collection of finding aids describe items in both the Virginia B. Smith Memorial Manuscript Collection and the College Archives.
The Vassar College herbarium holds over 8,000 specimens of vascular plants, bryophytes, and algae. Holdings are primarily from northeastern North America, and include collections made by several notable 19th century botanists. To learn more about this project visit the website here.
Vassar College's institutional repository reflects the research and scholarly output of the Vassar College community. It provides access to senior theses, peer reviewed open access articles, and projects from a wide range of disciplines.