What's online?
This collection includes presentation programs for many of the Nationality rooms, in addition to photographs of the rooms, architectural drawings, and committee members.
What's in the entire collection?
The University Archives holds the administrative and development records for most of the Nationality Rooms and their committees. The files of the Nationality Rooms Program office and the Council are also part of our collection.
About the Nationality Rooms
The Nationality Rooms Program at the University of Pittsburgh was developed by Chancellor John Bowman in the late 1920’s. The rooms are intended to reflect the diverse heritage of the people who came to Western Pennsylvania. Each room was built by a committee of interested people who sought to have a cultural icon of the craft and traditions of the lands they or their ancestors emigrated from. Upon completion, the room is presented to the University with great ceremony. The Nationality Council is the coordinating body for the activities of the rooms and the Nationality Rooms Program Office are the university’s staff that oversee development of rooms, ongoing activities and coordinates the Room’s scholarship program.