Sylvia Swartz received her bachelor's and masters degrees in plant ecology in 1923 and 1928, respectively, from the University of Cincinnati. She moved to Fayetteville, Washington County, Arkansas, in 1929, where she became active in both participant and leadership roles of many community service organizations, including the League of Women Voters of Washington County, the Girl Scouts of Northwest Arkansas, the Area Agency on Aging, and the Juvenile Justice Advisory Board. She was also Fayetteville's first woman to be elected to a public office. She served as the vice mayor of Fayetteville, as well as the chair of the Arkansas Water Resources Committee for Comprehensive Energy Services.

This collection also contains the papers of Dr. Delbert Swartz, the husband of Sylvia Swartz. He served as a professor and chairman of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville's Botany and Bacteriology Department for thirty-seven years until his death in 1966. He also served as the chairman of the University's Faculty Committee on Athletics, president of the Southwest Conference, and vice president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.