Howe sisters looking down the land toward Ferrycliffe Farm buildings.
“I have lived on Ferrycliffe Farm [a quiet retreat on a beautiful hillside] during every summer of my life and have found there strength and inspiration."
- Edith Howe DeWolf, January 1949

University Archives

Mission

In support of the University’s commitment to academic excellence and engaged learning, the archives collects, preserves, and provides open access to records that document the history of the university, as well as the town of Bristol and the East Bay. The archives also collaborates with the local community to facilitate access to historical material and to develop exhibits and special programs.

The archives also houses the University Libraries' Special Collections and the Roger Williams Family Association Papers.

Roger Williams University can trace its beginnings back 100 years to its time as a branch campus of Northeastern University. Known then as the School of Commerce and Finance, it offered classes at the Providence YMCA.

We are beginning to digitize items from the archives and make them available online:

Visit the Bristol Phoenix Newspaper Digitization Projectto view historic issues of the newspaper, 1837-2015.