Tennessee Tech University Archives and Special Collections

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Tennessee Tech University Archives and Special Collections The collection includes 2,600 cubic feet of materials from Tennessee Tech and the Upper Cumberland. Joe L.

Evins donated his papers to Tennessee Technological University in 1977, but it was not until Tennessee Tech hired its first archivist in 1985, that the Tennessee Technological University Archives and Special Collections officially began. In November 1986, the Archives opened its doors to the public in its original location in Derryberry Hall. Currently, Archives and Special Collections resides in the Angelo and Jennette Volpe Library on the first floor. The collection, which has grown tremendously since its initial donation, includes materials of legal, fiscal, and historical significance to the University. It also documents the history of the Upper Cumberland Region, which is as important to the University as the University is to the region. The collection includes over 2,500 cubic feet of manuscripts, photographs, and archives from Tennessee Tech as well as surrounding people, businesses, and organizations of the Upper Cumberland. The collection includes books on the history and culture of the Upper Cumberland region of Tennessee. Items in the Archives and Special Collections cannot leave the building, so make an appointment today to see some the collections.

10/27/2026

Ready. Set. Roach. Check out this year's official shirt!
Designed by TNTech alum Jade Berry

10/26/2026

Making her mama proud and her competition nervous. Meet our next Watergate contender!- EC from the Water Center!

EC is from the streets. Raised to hold her own, EC has been training for this race her whole life. Recently, EC relocated to a loving, and furnished home with the Water Center. To prepare, EC prayed furiously, and ate her weight in bread. She is motivated by sheer love of the game. A word from EC: making my mama proud.

10/26/2026

Eyes on the prize, antennae to the wind!
Here's our contestant from the Launchpad! -Roachina George

She’s not a regular roach. She’s a COOL roach. Some roaches race for glory. Some race for food. Roachina races because she refuses to be second to anyone. Now, as she prepares to take the starting line, Roachina George is ready to prove that she isn't just another bug in the race. She's the roach everyone loves to hate and the queen of the colony. Her motto? “Get in, loser. We're going racing.” And remember: on Wednesdays, we wear pink. On race day, we leave our competition in the dust.

10/25/2026

Straight from the runway and onto the raceway.

Meet: Frannie Marie Antoinette from the Fashion Merchandising Association

She is a cockroach and she is proud. She is a cockroach and she sings it loud. Our girl is an Olympian from Paris and absolutely loves cake.

10/24/2026

The competition just got tougher. Roachy Balboa from the Center for Global Experiences is preparing to take the track!

Roachy Balboa was born behind a restaurant dumpster, the runt of four hundred siblings, and was written off as “all antennae and no hustle” after losing a race to a dropped french fry. After a rogue dishwasher cycle swept him down the drain, he crawled back out three days later, soggy, battered, and furious, and set out to become a champion. He stowed away in a shipping crate and trained around the world: sprinting across chopsticks in Tokyo, dodging flip-flops in Rio de Janeiro, chasing the fastest beetles in Nairobi, building endurance on a flour-dusted bakery floor in Paris, and weaving through a crowded market in Mumbai. Back home, he took second place at the Underground Pantry Invitational, losing by a single antenna’s length, and went right back to training. He has no lasting injuries, only the scars and grit from his near-drowning. Strengths: discipline and precision (Tokyo), quick footwork (Rio), top speed (Nairobi), endurance (Paris), and the ability to weave through traffic (Mumbai). Motivation: Roachy is driven by proving everyone wrong. He’s the runt who was written off, and he’s now running for his trainer Mickey, who always believed in him, and for the whole world he trained across.

10/23/2026

This returning athlete from the Office of the President knows the drill: crawl fast, look official, and bring home the bragging rights.
Welcome back, Ghirardelli!

Ghirardelli hails from Derryberry Hall, on our beloved Tennessee Tech campus. When the Derryberry Hall auditorium renovation began, he was uprooted from his home and now is a nomad, traveling the halls and stairways of Derryberry. The intensive cardio and strength training of navigating this building has made him a fit and fierce competitor. His endurance is second to none and has made him a champion in the Sewer Circuit. When he’s not on the run from the bats in Derryberry or training, he can be found enjoying a good crumb of Chick-fil-A and watching reruns of Forensic Files and Unsolved Mysteries. He considers himself an amateur sleuth, and his analytical mind always finds the path to victory.

10/22/2026

The competition is crawling in, and this athlete is ready to race!

Meet: Marginally Faster from Omicorn Delta Epsilon and Society for Advancement of Finance and Economics

Born and raised in the bustling Free Market beneath the Economics Department vending machines, Marginally Faster learned early that resources are scarce, competition is fierce, and dropped potato chips create profitable opportunities. A veteran of the 2025 Supply-Side Sprint, the 2026 Invisible Hand Invitational, and the prestigious Nash Equilibrium Dash, Marginally Faster has consistently outperformed expectations, though never by more than one utility-maximizing body length. His preparation follows a rigorous economics-based program: Daily interval sprints between supply and demand curves. Endurance training carrying increasingly heavy inflation-adjusted bread crumbs. Game theory simulations against rival roaches to identify dominant racing strategies. Advanced cost-benefit analysis to determine the optimal number of training laps before diminishing marginal returns set in. Marginally Faster is recovering from a minor externality suffered during last year's Fiscal Cliff Steeplechase, where an unexpected spillover effect from a neighboring lane caused a brief antenna sprain. Team economists expect a full recovery after sufficient investment in roach health capital. Strengths: Exceptional elasticity. Strong comparative advantage in short-distance races. Elite information processing due to highly efficient market awareness. Remarkable resilience during periods of economic uncertainty. Marginally Faster races for more than personal gain. His ultimate goal is to prove that rational actors, armed with proper incentives and a healthy respect for opportunity cost, can overcome any obstacle. He dreams of earning enough prize crumbs to stimulate economic growth throughout his entire colony. Why be absolutely faster when being marginally faster is all you need to win?

10/21/2026

Ready for Watergate Roach Race? Look who just scurried into the competition!

P.I., the Principal Insect-igator from the Office of Research!
P.I. has been training for this event since he was only a Pest Doctoral Fellow. Now that he has secured funding from the National Institute of Hexapods (NIH), he's putting the F&A in fast and the cost will be anything but indirect.

10/19/2026

A champion has been crowned and a tradition has begun. WHO'S NEXT?! Join us for the Watergate Roach Race, October 28 at Tucker Stadium from 4:30- 6:30 p.m. and REGISTER NOW!

10/09/2026

Building Histories on the Quad- Military Science Building

Address

1100 Peachtree Avenue
Cookeville, TN
38501

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 8am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 8am - 4:30pm
Thursday 8am - 4:30pm
Friday 8am - 4:30pm

Telephone

+19313723537

Website

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