The IIT Archives has a large collection of glossy prints (mainly black & white, 8” x 10”) dating from the late 1950s into the 1980s, from an era when the university had a photographer on staff whose task it was to document campus life. His assignment was simple, but the subjects and objectives were not. College campuses in that era were seen as valued and protected spaces for two primary purposes: the promotion of higher learning; and the final stage of childhood development for its students. This photo essay will illustrate and ponder the second purpose.

The most obvious use of images of student life would be their inclusion in student yearbooks—mementos treasured by alumni. But the yearbooks were not the exclusive domain of the staff photographer as students on the yearbook staff also contributed images that were much more spontaneous, situational, and less staged. I would argue that the main job of the campus photographer was to support university recruitment by providing images for promotional literature. Those images were meant to be both inviting and reassuring for parents and students. Students would see people who looked (and appeared to be acting) like themselves; and their parents would be better prepared (if only slightly) to let them leave home.

There is much written in our day about the death of expertise and authority as the internet democratizes both discourse and content. There’s no need to pursue that familiar topic here, beyond pointing out that the 1950s through the 1980s were the last decades for expertise, etc. before the social changes initiated by the online world. So our pre-1990 campus photographer provided a managed (but not manipulated) content that was fully reflective of the social values of the “Post-War” (1945-1990) era. In the sectional and item labels that follow I will identify dates and spaces—but also point out the social realities reflected (and re-enforced) in the images.