Recently processed collections: Edwin T. Salvant papers
New Digital Collections website: www.austinseminarydigital.org
What are Archives?
Archives are places for documents, artifacts, photos, and other materials to be stored, documented, and preserved for future research Archives are places where you can access materials from events, places, and people from the past.
What’s in the Austin Seminary Archives?
Our collection focuses on Austin Seminary and its history, alumni, & related entities, and the history of the Presbyterian Church in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma.
You! We are here to make collections accessible to the Austin Seminary community, researchers, and the general public.
Are you part of the Austin Seminary community and have something you’d like to share with us?
If you have old photos, documents, flyers, or something else you’d like to contribute to the Archives, please contact us!
Campus Caffeination
With the new unveiling of the Holy Grounds coffee cart on May 6 in the McCord atrium, we would like to remember a coffee shop from the past that was housed in the Stitt Library basement in the 1960s-1970s.
After its soft opening this spring, Holy Grounds will officially open in Fall 2026 with full hours (TBD). Keep an eye out and come on by to caffeinate!
Campus coffee shop circa 1967-1968
Barista & student Kyla Nies at the Holy Grounds coffee cart May 6, 2026
Graduation Over the Years
With our recent graduation ceremony, we thought we’d look back at previous graduating classes. Notice some familiar locations?
Graduation Over the Years
Recently Processed Collections
Edwin T. Salvant, Jr. papers, 1954-2017
The Rev. Edwin Theodore Salvant Jr. was a Presbyterian minister and practitioner of Christian clowning as a form of ministry and worship. This collection contains manuscripts, sermons, workshop and performance materials, correspondence, church ephemera, and travel records documenting Salvant’s theological education, pastoral leadership, creative ministry work, and broader service within the church from 1962 to 2017.
On April 26 , the Austin Seminary Archives team––Kristy Sorensen, Rodrigo Leal, and Robyn Pereira––attended the biannual Austin Archives Bazaar to promote our collections and educate the community about archives. th
As an activity, we hosted a collage craft where visitors could utilize non-archival materials (duplicates of publications and photos) from Austin Seminary to create something new. The finished collage is in the Archives!
Find out more about the bazaar at www.austinarchivesbazaar.org/
Kristy Sorensen, Rodrigo Leal, and Robyn Pereira April 26, 2026
Seminary collage featuring extra photographs and publication clippings from the Archives
April 26, 2026
Archives Staff
Rodrigo Leal
Learning Technologies Librarian and Archives & Records Manager rleal@austinseminary.edu
Job responsibilities: By day I am the lead admin for MyLearning, Austin Seminary’s learning management system; by night,* I manage the Austin Seminary Archives and the Seminary’s records management program.
*I don’t actually do this at night.
When should a student come see you?
Anytime you have issues or questions related to MyLearning please do not hesitate to contact me for help! Alternatively, if you want to take a trip through the history of Austin Seminary or the Presbyterian Church in the Southwest, stop by the Archives!
Fun facts: I make collages from old magazines, am into film photography, and am actively looking for more ways of becoming a luddite.
Robyn Pereira
Archives Assistant rpereira@austinseminary.edu
Job Responsibilities: I process and arrange archive collections, create finding aids, pull collections and materials for researchers, and assist Rodrigo with other projects.
When should a student come see you?
If you need help understanding finding aids, have research or information-seeking questions, or want to learn more about what archives are for.
Fun facts: I’m a first-generation American from Canada, I sing soprano in a classical choir, and my hobbies include reading, crochet, gardening, and Krav Maga.
The Digital Collections at Austin Seminary provide access to recorded sermons, lectures, and webinars, alongside digitized versions of materials from the Archives at Austin Seminary.
We recently migrated to a new platform for digital collection access. Check it out at www.austinseminarydigital.org
You can find...
MidWinter Lectures
Established in 1945, MidWinters is an annual lecture series, worship festival, and homecoming celebration. The series is made up of three lectureships focusing on theology, the Bible, and other aspects of the Christian experience: The Thomas White Currie Lectures, the Robert F. Jones Lectures, and the E. C Westervelt Lectures
Austin Seminary has recordings of MidWinter Lectures going back to 1960, originally captured by reel-to-reel recording equipment in the chapel
Search our digital collection by lecture series or year.
www.austinseminarydigital.org/midwinter-lectures
Chapel Sermons
What we have: Video recordings of faculty preaching in Shelton Chapel––just under 300 recordings as of this issue.
You can narrow your search by scripture text or person to find what you’d like to view.
