Thunderbird School of Global Management Archives
Subject Guide
Current Thunderbird Photos on Flickr
- Thunderbird Flickr Photos
For more current photographs (2010-present) please see our Flickr account!
Photos are downloadable but please reach out to the Thunderbird marketing team if you plan to use the image in a presentation or publication: (602) 496-7000.
Historical Materials Available Online
Thunderbird Alumni Magazine archive (1950-2018)
The alumni magazine archive is a collection of the school's main publication, originally known as The Thunderbird, and later, Thunderbird Magazine. Each issue of the magazine highlights the school's activities, targeting alumni but also featuring articles and photos of Thunderbird students, staff, faculty, and friends.
Each yearbook is a snapshot of life at Thunderbird with photos of students, administration, faculty, and staff as well as campus scenery representing graduating classes from 1947-1998. The collection begins with the first yearbook published in 1951 and encompasses the first five graduating classes. The last yearbook published was in 1998. Yearbooks are continually being digitized and added to the collection regularly.
Thunderbird Student Newspapers
Das Tor is the student newspaper of the Thunderbird School of Global Management (and all of its previous name changes). Publication began in 1970 and continued in paper format until 2011, after which it has been published online at dastornews.com
Thunderbird Course Catalogs
A collection of course catalogs for the School, 1946-2015. Each catalog features a description of courses offered, lists of faculty and administrators, and general knowledge about life on campus.
Historical Photograph Collection
This collection of historical photographs illustrates the story of Thunderbird Field No. 1, as well as Thunderbird, the world's leading international school of management.
The Thunderbird Balloon Race digital collection is a collection of photographs, ephemera, and memorabilia. The race started in 1975 and was originally held on campus at the American Graduate School of International Management (AGSIM). The event was organized by the Friends of Thunderbird to raise money for student scholarships. The race grew in the number of participants and spectators every year and was eventually moved to the Glendale Airport (for two years) and WestWorld in Scottsdale. By the early 2000s, Thunderbird (AGSIM) was no longer a race sponsor.
Listening to Glendale's Past (oral histories)
Listening to Glendale's Past is a collection of oral and video histories, most with transcripts, of people connected with the city of Glendale. Thunderbird's contributions reflect primarily the last 25 years of Thunderbird and include interviews with two school presidents and several key directors.
The site of Thunderbird School of Global Management was originally a primary flight training school during World War II. In late 1940, a contingent of Hollywood actors and businessmen, headed by Leland Hayward and John Connelly, formed a corporation and approached the Army to establish a primary flight training school. The corporation was named Southwest Airways (no affiliation with Southwest Airlines). Flight instruction began in the Spring of 1941 and continued through the end of World War II. During operations, more than 15,000 cadets from China, Great Britain, and Canada as well as the United States, were trained as pilots.
Southwest Airways established four training airfields in the Phoenix area: Thunderbird Field No. 1 in Glendale, Thunderbird Field No. 2 in Scottsdale, Falcon Field in Mesa, and Sky Harbor Airport. At the conclusion of the War, Thunderbird Field No. 1, was sold by the Army as a wartime surplus. The American Institute of Foreign Trade (a business school) was established on the site in 1946.
Featured in the online collection are photographs of all of the Thunderbird Fields, letters from cadets to their former instructors, yearbooks, company handbooks, and other publications. Materials will be added to the online collection regularly.
Did you know?
The layout of the Thunderbird's Glendale campus was designed in the shape of the Native American mythological Thunderbird by designer/artist Millard Sheets.
Watch historic Thunderbird Movies on YouTube!
The ASU Library acknowledges the twenty-three Native Nations that have inhabited this land for centuries. Arizona State University's four campuses are located in the Salt River Valley on ancestral territories of Indigenous peoples, including the Akimel O’odham (Pima) and Pee Posh (Maricopa) Indian Communities, whose care and keeping of these lands allows us to be here today. ASU Library acknowledges the sovereignty of these nations and seeks to foster an environment of success and possibility for Native American students and patrons. We are advocates for the incorporation of Indigenous knowledge systems and research methodologies within contemporary library practice. ASU Library welcomes members of the Akimel O’odham and Pee Posh, and all Native nations to the Library.
