Umphrey Lee, a Methodist minister, was the fourth president of Southern Methodist University, serving from 1939 until his resignation in 1954. The collection includes correspondence, university reports and other SMU-related records, book drafts and galley proofs, copies of speeches and articles written by President Lee, news articles detailing his selection and inauguration as SMU president, articles kept by Dr. Lee for his own reference, and clippings covering his resignation as president in 1954, his subsequent appointment as chancellor of SMU, and his death in 1958. Of the material relating specifically to his years as SMU president, the majority covers the World War II years: his correspondence and the university's efforts to attract military training programs to campus, and his work during the immediate postwar years to accommodate the large infusion of veterans coming to SMU to attend college.
Established at Southern Methodist University’s founding, the School of Music provided education in vocal and instrumental music and produced regular performances through the Glee and Choral clubs and the Oratorio Society. In 1964 the School was reorganized and expanded; coursework in theatre and the arts was added, and the School was renamed as the School of the Arts. The School changed names again in 1969 to the Meadows School of the Arts in honor of Texas oilman and philanthropist Algur H. Meadows. Materials in this collection include programs, pamphlets, brochures, letters, news releases, newspaper clippings, correspondence, photographs, and negatives. The collection is a combination of three separate collections that were merged chronologically.
This collection consists of the papers of Elizabeth Gamble Miller, a lecturer and professor of Spanish at SMU from 1962 to 2002. Though the collection spans the period from 1965 through 2006, the bulk of the material comes from Miller’s postdoctoral career (1981-2006). The papers include research materials, essays, translations, translation journals, and a draft of Miller’s master’s thesis.
Ruth Morgan joined Southern Methodist University as an assistant professor of political science in 1966, was promoted to professor in 1974, and served as Provost from 1986-1993. This collection includes correspondence, invitations, subject and reading files, miscellaneous, restricted administrative files, and her meeting notes and calendar. Although these records cover Dr. Morgan's faculty career, the majority of the files reflect her years as Provost.
Mustang Band, Southern Methodist University’s band, became firmly established after V. Cyrus Barcus became director in 1924. In 1933, Barcus’s successor, Bob Goodrich, established the annual Pigskin Revue, a musical variety show that remains a highlight of Homecoming week each year. Other influential band directors whose names appear in this collection include Frank Malone, Oakley H. Pittman, Irving Dreibrodt, and Bob Brandenberger. The collection includes letters, fliers, event programs, band bulletins, newspaper clippings, news releases, a scrapbook, videocassettes, record albums, band member clothing, and other memorabilia.
The Perkins collection is comprised of records, pamphlets, school programs, and publications detailing course offerings, school finances, and events at Southern Methodist University’s theology school throughout its nearly 100-year history. Some records date to the school’s earliest years, but most are from roughly the 1940s through the 1980s. Specifically, the Perkins records contain course catalogs and bulletins, correspondence and other papers regarding school controversies, recruiting pamphlets, financial summaries and brief reports on Perkins activities, and programs printed for regular and special worship services, lectures, conferences, and exhibitions.
Contains the papers of the Southern Methodist University chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, from the time the University began the process of founding a chapter in the years shortly after SMU was founded in 1915, until the late 1960s. The collection includes documents used to found and operate the SMU chapter, correspondence regarding SMU’s petition for a Phi Beta Kappa chapter, the charter, the constitution, and the bylaws drawn up for the SMU chapter. The collection further contains financial records, secretary’s annual reports, addresses, publications, chapter activities, and lists of SMU members of Phi Beta Kappa including two boxes of member information cards.
This collection contains papers from A. Kenneth Pye: law professor, chancellor of Duke University, and ninth president of Southern Methodist University from 1987 to 1994. The papers cover Pye’s career comprehensively, with speeches, articles, exams and other course materials from his time as a law professor and university administrator in addition to SMU-related material: reports, memoranda to the faculty and university community, speeches, press releases, and news clippings. Some biographical and personal material is also included.
R. Richard Rubottom, Jr. returned to Southern Methodist University as Vice President for University Life in 1964 after having received his Bachelor and Masters degrees from the University. His SMU papers include lectures, committee and task force notes, and correspondence concerning students. The bulk of the collection concerns his interest in the foreign affairs of the United States and particularly relationships with the Latin American countries where he served. During his eighteen years with the Foreign Service, Rubottom served as Assistant Secretary of State, Inter-American Affairs, 1956-1960, and Ambassador to Argentina, 1960-61.
Finding aids are inventories that are the primary way to discover collection contents in archival boxes.
