Archiefmappen van de Faculteit der Letteren en Wijsbegeerte

From inkwell to introduction booklet: there might be heritage hiding in your office

14 May 2026 News item

As the date of the move to the Maria Montessori Building is closing in, many of us have started to organising and clearing out the spaces of our faculty. Hidden between all the endless piles of paper, the figurines and artwork, there might be objects that are of particular value for the heritage of Radboud University. Marianne Waldekker and Chris Dols, who work at Radboud Heritage, manage all kinds of documents and objects which at fist glance seem unsignificant, but gain value when you learn its story. But what makes an object part of Radboud University's heritage?

What is heritage?

Apart from the obvious objects which have been created and used in university educational and research settings throughout history, academic heritage also entails objects or rituals connected to the history, culture and traditions of the university. Chris explains: “Academic heritage primarily consists of archives, books and handwritten texts, but nowadays we tend to view heritage with a broader perspective. A portrait, figurine of distinction could be university heritage, but you can also think about street signs, waste bins, notepads or even neckties. As long as it's got a story attached to it.”

In itself, it is a very common inkwell, but when you realise that it is likely that the first important documents of Radboud University have been signed with its ink, it suddenly becomes special.

Chris Dols houdt een straatnaambordt van het Poeter Bondamplein vast

Chris Dols, conservator at Radboud Erfgoed

Inkwell

The campus archives therefore hold more than just institutional documents, such as minutes of board meetings, building records and student enrolment records. But why do we keep all this stuff? Chris explains: “ History and heritage help us understand who we are as a university and where we come from. It shows the development of the university, the people who populated its buildings, what the student life was like and what kind of research has been done here. An object makes that history tangible. A great example is the inkwell of the first rector, professor Schrijnen. In itself, it is a very common inkwell, but once you realise that it is likely that he signed the first important documents of Radboud University with its ink, it suddenly becomes special.”

Introduction booklets and career days

Incited by the upcoming move to the Maria Montessori Building, several objects have been donated by the Faculty of Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies. Among them are posters and flyers of Radboud Reflects programmes, and introduction booklets dating back to the ’80s. “These booklets paint a picture of the ordinary student life at the time, but also shows what the faculty deemed important to pass on to its students. This takes you a step further: beyond the institution, to the students,” Marianne explains.

Another remarkable possession of Radboud Heritage: a binder full of posters for career days for philosophers, from the zeroes. Marianne: “At that time, students were worried about their career prospects. Nowadays, career orientation has a substantial part in the curriculum but back then, it was very new. Seemingly ordinary objects can show you these kind of tendencies.”

Archivist Marianne Waldekker

When is something considered heritage?

Potentially, every object could be considered heritage, but it has to fulfill certain criteria: “The most important feature of an object of heritage is that it has a story to tell. It is this story that embeds an object in the academic community that produced it. Therefore, we want to know as much as possible about every object. Some objects are so special that they speak for themselves. But in the case of an academic dress, it is important to know who it belonged to. Unfortunately, we cannot keep everything. Storage is expensive and entails responsibility, so we choose which objects to accept. For example, we assess whether an object will not desintegrate due to its age. We shouldn't burden future generations with endless piles of stuff,” says Chris.

In the end, heritage is about the story of Radboud University and its faculties. If one way or another, an object can shed light on the history of the faculty, its research or its education, it could be of interest for Chris and Marianne. Marianne: “People often don't think of photos, film and audio material as heritage, but these kinds of sources are especially valued later on.”

Donations

How does one make a donation to Radboud Heritage? “We prefer to gather as much information as possible beforehand: who did it belong to? When was it used or made? Where does it come from? And it helps if the items have already been sorted out and organised, as we often don't have time to comb through boxes and boxes of stuff. Art is increasingly regarded as part of our heritage. When it belongs to the university, it has a sticker on the back. In that case: don't take it home or throw it out, but call the telephone number on the sticker. That way, it will end up in the right place.”

Have you encountered something of possible interest for Chris and Marianne during your preparatory cleaning? Please send them an email at radbouderfgoed [at] ru.nl (radbouderfgoed[at]ru[dot]nl), preferably accompanied by a photo and a story.

Introductieboekjes van de Faculteit der Filosofie, Theologie en Religiewetenschappen door de jaren heen

Booklets for introduction weeks by the faculty

Take a look in the archive yourself?

Hidden in the cellar of the Elinor Ostrombuilding, there are filing cabinets full of meeting minutes, policy documents, course guides and theses. Everyone who ever studied at Radboud University can be found in these archives. Upon a motivaterd request, the archives of Radboud Heritage are open to visit for everyone. Marianne visits almost daily: “It happens that lawyers have to check wheter someone has actually studied here. Sometimes, we discover cases of fraud.”

Graduate and PhD students often use the archives for research, policy officers look up meeting documents. “We regularly have relatives of deceased alumni contacting us, asking for information or to reminisce their loved ones. Sometimes they send us a picture of the family looking at our material together. Those are truly the most beautiful moments of this job.”

However, there is one group that makes very little use of the archive: the academic staff. “Recently, a soon-to-be professor made an inquiry about the history of their academic chair, to prepare for their inaugural speech. It was really nice to see that, because academic staff still don’t tend to find their way to our archives very often. But there is a wealth of fascinating material to be discovered there!” exclaims Marianne.

Do you want to visit the archives yourself? Send an email to radboudefgoed [at] ru.nl (radboudefgoed[at]ru[dot]nl)

Contact information

Do you want to donate something to Radboud Heritage? Or maybe take a look at the archives? Please contact radbouderfgoed [at] ru.nl (radbouderfgoed[at]ru[dot]nl)

Organizational unit: Faculty of Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies