Archives

In order to extend the charism, spirituality and mission of the School Sisters of Notre Dame and to ensure that SSND continues to influence the future, the School Sisters of Notre Dame North American Archives collects, organizes, preserves, makes accessible and promotes the use of materials that document and witness to the life of the congregation."- Mission Statement, October 2016
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For the next year, the staff at the School Sisters of Notre Dame North American Archives will celebrate the past 175 years of SSND history in North America by highlighting SSND “firsts.” Each month will focus on a particular sister, event or mission that has a unique place in the congregation’s history in the United States and Canada.

Read more about it here.

Congratulations to the School Sisters of Notre Dame North American Archives for receiving the 2022 Governor's Award for Archival Achievement from the Wisconsin Historical Society!
Read about the award at wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS16797.

Congregation History

The School Sisters of Notre Dame (SSND) North American Archives is the repository of historical documents for the congregation in North America. Located at Mount Mary University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the archives include more than 2,000 linear feet of records that date back to the establishment of the School Sisters of Notre Dame in North America.

What's in the collection

The collection includes records from eight former province archives (Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Baltimore, Maryland; St. Louis, Missouri; Mankato, Minnesota; Canada; Wilton, Connecticut; Chicago, Illinois; and Dallas, Texas) and records documenting the congregation in North America as a whole. The collection also contains records of SSND life and ministry in Japan, Guam, England and Puerto Rico, as well as in mission extensions in Africa and Latin America, all of which have connections with the North American provinces.

SSND are members of an international congregation with its Generalate in Rome, and the North American Archives also houses correspondence and other unpublished materials pertinent to the international congregation.

The SSND North American Archives contains documents, photographs, books and audio-visual materials related to the life and ministry of SSND in North America. Some examples of records are chronicles from each mission; minutes and working papers from chapters, assemblies and committee meetings; correspondence; deceased member files; administrative records; records from mission extensions, etc. Because education always has been an integral aspect of the congregation’s ministry, the archives also contain many records that document the history of Catholic education in North America.

In addition, The Mount Mary University Archives has officially been transferred to the School Sisters of Notre Dame North American Archives (NAA), which is also located on the Mount Mary Campus. The NAA will manage reference questions and other communications related to the Mount Mary University collection.

Please contact archives@ssnd.org or 414.763.1000 with questions or to make an appointment.

Haggerty Library will continue to maintain the Digital Collections and digital yearbook sites.

Read about the renovations for the SSND North American Archives, completed in 2017.

Visiting the Archives

The SSND North American Archives is located in Bergstrom Hall at Mount Mary University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. To visit the archives please enter on the 92nd Street side of the campus to get to the parking lot and Bergstrom Hall.

SSND North American Archives
Mount Mary University
Bergstrom Hall, Room 86
2900 North Menomonee River Parkway 
Milwaukee, WI  53222

Hours by appointment only: Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Michele Levandoski, MLIS, MA, Archivist
archives@ssnd.org
414.763.1000

Read about the dedication of the Sister Mary Ann Kuttner Archives Room >>