This 1970s home movie captures scenes around the St. Edward’s University campus in Austin, from casual observations inside the classroom to panning shots of building exteriors. Students can be seen playing tennis, learning how to type on manual typewriters, and using an IBM card sorter, which sorted punched cards into a specific order as a means of processing the data on them (represented by the hole punches in the cards). The presence of both male and female students in the classroom dates the film to 1970 or later, when St. Edward’s absorbed the all-female Maryhill College to become co-educational. In addition to exterior shots of the grand Main Building and the Mary Moody Northen Theatre, the film also captures the downtown Austin skyline at the end of the film, zooming in from the hilltop.
St. Edward’s University is a private Roman Catholic institution of higher learning located in Austin, Texas. It was established in 1877 by the Reverend Edward Sorin, CSC, Superior General of the Congregation of the Holy Cross. Sorin also founded the University of Notre Dame. The campus moved to its current location in 1889. Famed Galveston architect Nicholas Clayton built the university’s Main Building, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. St. Edward’s received its university charter in 1925, and became co-educational in 1970. Today, the university’s enrollment exceeds 5,000 students rom 44 states and 51 countries.