Preliminary Inventory of the Alumni Association Records

The Alumni Association of the Territorial Normal School was founded in the summer of 1894 at the invitation of Principal E. L. Storment. The organization began by lobbying for higher academic standards and a more diversified curriculum and founded the Tempe Normal Alumni Association Endowment Fund to assist worthy but not wealthy students in 1920. Chapters were established around the state in 1924. The Alumni Association was active in promoting several of the University's name changes, including the 1925 change from Tempe Normal School to Tempe State Teachers College, the 1945 change from Arizona State Teachers College at Tempe to Arizona State College, and the 1958 change from Arizona State College to Arizona State University. In the 1960s, the Alumni Association strengthened the Alumni Fund, introduced two faculty excellence awards and the Medallion of Merit, began a High School Scholars Program, and instituted continuing education programs. Today, the Association continues to work toward academic excellence at ASU in addition to organizing such events as Founders Day, class reunions, and alumni trips.