Willis M. Tate (1911-1989) served as the fifth president of Southern Methodist University from 1954-1971. Most of this collection relates to his years as SMU president; materials on his 1955 inauguration, and information on some of his administrative activities as president--the SMU Master Plan, president's conferences, and Tate's efforts to cope with the turmoil of the 1960s. A major portion of this collection is his speeches. Dr. Tate gave a large number of speeches, pertaining to SMU, education, church matters, and various other topics. Also included are biographical and personal material--biographical sketches assembled for SMU, news clippings, awards, and writings of Tate's, and copies of his doctoral dissertation. Other papers concern his activities as chancellor and president emeritus from the late 1970s until his death in 1989.
Town and Gown is an organization founded in 1927 by both Southern Methodist University representatives (gown) and prominent Dallas residents (town). The original goals of the organization were to promote fellowship, intellectual stimulation, and dialogue between Southern Methodist University and the greater Dallas community. Early membership included notable Dallasites such as Robert E. Lee Saner, Charles Selecman, and John Avery Lomax. The group’s papers include correspondence, budgetary information, membership rolls, event invitations, membership nominations, and directories.
The University Assembly of Southern Methodist University (SMU) was the university’s experiment with the concept of "shared governance," whereby students, faculty, and staff shared the burden of governing the university’s affairs. This collection contains reports, correspondence, and meeting minutes.
Established in fall 1996, Southern Methodist University’s William P. Clements Center for Southwest Studies promotes research, publications, teaching, and public programming in a variety of fields of inquiry related to the American Southwest. This collection contains the records of its development before 1996 as well as the Center’s early years of existence, including symposia, lecturers, correspondence, research fellowships, and joint projects with organizations in north Texas.
The Southern Methodist University Woman's Club collection contains the records and memorabilia of the Southern Methodist University Woman's Club from its founding in 1915 to the present. These records and memorabilia include minutes, financial records, event flyers, brochures known as yearbooks, and scrapbooks.
The Southern Methodist University Woman's Club Scholarship collection contains the records concerning the Southern Methodist University Woman's Club Scholarship. These records detail the scholarship itself, its winners, and its contributors, beginning in 1927. Founded in 1915, Southern Methodist University's Woman's Club has been in existence since the opening of the university.
The Southern Methodist University Woman’s Club 75th Anniversary collection contains the scripts and slides from the celebration of seventy-five years of the SMU Woman’s Club as presented at a luncheon on May 15, 1990. Photographs of the SMU Woman’s Club primarily from the 1990s are also a large part of the collection. Founded in 1915, Southern Methodist University Woman’s Club has been in existence since the opening of the university.
The Southern Methodist University Women’s Symposium is the longest running women’s symposium in the nation and one of the largest. It was started by SMU Dean of Women Emmie V. Baine in 1966. Since then, SMU has brought prominent political, social, and economic personalities and experts to the SMU campus annually to participate in the symposium and discuss issues affecting the nation and women in particular. This collection contains the papers of the organizing committee and includes correspondence, attendance records, expenses, publicity, evaluations, reading materials, and programs.
This collection contains papers and news clippings from the presidency of Dr. James H. Zumberge, who served as the seventh president of Southern Methodist University from 1975 to 1980. Newspaper clippings, some internal university papers, and a binder with information on curriculum and faculty changes during his term are included.
Finding aids are inventories that are the primary way to discover collection contents in archival boxes.