Seton Hall’s “Our Hall, Our History” Exhibit Brings 170 Years of Pirate Pride to Life at Walsh Library

As Seton Hall University celebrates its 170th birthday, University Libraries and the Archives & Special Collections Center are inviting the community to experience this legacy in a vivid new way through "Our Hall, Our History," a photo contest and exhibit now on view in the Information Commons on the second floor of Walsh Library.

Created as a community-centered celebration of the people, events and transformations that have shaped the University’s legacy, the contest invited students and members of the Seton Hall community to vote for up to five archival photographs they believed best represented Seton Hall’s history. The response was extraordinary: 492 votes were cast through social media, online outreach and in-person engagement and the winning images now welcome visitors into a powerful visual story of Seton Hall across generations.

“It was wonderful to see so many people participate in the voting,” said Sarah Ponichtera, Ph.D., assistant dean for Special Collections and the Gallery, University Libraries. “The archives is here to share Seton Hall’s history with the community of today, so we’re thrilled that this generation of students made a personal connection with the people, places and events of previous generations.”

The connection shines through in the breadth of the images selected for the contest. Drawn from approximately 60 photographs, the voting choices reflected the rich range of Seton Hall’s history and identity. The collection included images of Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley, founder of Seton Hall College; the 1857 map of the Madison campus; Mary Grace Dougherty, the first woman to register for the Seton Hall Extension Program in 1937; WSOU broadcasts from the 1950s; student traditions and campus life across the decades; athletic milestones; cultural celebrations; and beloved campus spaces such as the Chapel, University Green and Walsh Library. Together, these photographs tell the story of a University shaped by faith, scholarship, service, community and Pirate pride.

The contest was conceived by Martha Slomczewski, special collections assistant in the Archives & Special Collections Center and Social Media Coordinator for Walsh Library, whose work brings together public engagement and archival discovery. “As the Social Media Coordinator for Walsh Library, my role is to promote the incredible resources, events, spaces and work our staff and faculty do day in and day out to garner as much engagement from the Seton Hall community as possible,” Slomczewski said.

Slomczewski's work in Special Collections also opened a unique window into materials that capture the spirit of Seton Hall across time. “As an aspiring archivist, I see my platform as a way of bringing forward the remarkable collections and materials I encounter, many of which remain largely unfamiliar to the wider Seton Hall community.”

The idea for "Our Hall, Our History" emerged while Slomczewski worked with Public Services Archivist Quinn Christie, MLIS, alongside student workers and interns, on the reorganization of the Seton Hall Photographs collection. Over the course of several months, the team rehoused thousands of photographs dating from the 1860s through the 2000s and researched the people, places and events captured in those images. “It was also so interesting to see the many iterations of Seton Hall throughout the years,” Slomczewski said. “That is how ‘Our Hall, Our History’ was born.”

When selecting the contest images, Slomczewski focused on both range and resonance. “Variety and diversity were the key words in my mind when choosing photographs,” she said. The images unfold as a visual narrative of Seton Hall’s history in motion, including its origins, athletics, campus development, coeducation and hallmark institutions such as WSOU and the Institute of Judeo-Christian Studies. The photographs also trace the warmth and energy of student life across generations. “I hoped to create a selection of photos that feels more like a family scrapbook,” she said. “My goal was to create room for people to take pride in Seton Hall's history and connect more deeply with its legacy.”

To cultivate this sense of shared ownership and belonging, Slomczewski led a dynamic outreach campaign that included a Google Form, daily Instagram Story polls, collaborations with Seton Hall University and the History Department on social media, faculty outreach and in-person tabling at the University Center with flyers and QR codes. The result was a strong, enthusiastic response that turned the contest into a campus-wide celebration of memory, identity and community.

For Ponichtera, the exhibit also opens the door to future discovery. “These photographs are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the archives’ photo collection,” she said. “I hope this display will spark people’s curiosity, so that they think of new and innovative ways to use these photographs to enrich their experience at Seton Hall.” She added, “If people want to know more about the photo collection or have other archives projects in mind, they can always reach out to us at [email protected].” 

Now on display in Walsh Library, "Our Hall, Our History" offers the entire Seton Hall community, from students, faculty, staff and administrators, to alumni and visitors, a welcoming opportunity to encounter Seton Hall’s history through the images that have helped shape it. The exhibit celebrates the University’s enduring legacy and embodies the spirit of a community that continues to carry that legacy forward, where past and present meet, with each generation stepping into a story that is still unfolding.

Categories: Campus Life