FINDING AID TO THE PURDUE UNIVERSITY CONVOCATIONS RECORDS, 1876-2012 Purdue University Libraries Virginia Kelly Karnes Archives and Special Collections Research Center 504 West State Street West Lafayette, Indiana 47907-2058 (765) 494-2839 http://www.lib.purdue.edu/spcol © 2012 Purdue University Libraries. All rights reserved. Revised by: Amanda Burdick, on 1 November 2016 and 30 May 2017 Processed by: John Michael Foster, on 29 August 2012 Descriptive Summary Creator Information Purdue University Convocations Title Purdue University Convocations records Collection Identifier UA 42 Date Span 1876-2012 (predominant 1903-2012) Abstract Correspondence, contracts, financial statements, meeting minutes, newspaper clippings, photographs, press releases, programs, season schedules, and other materials and records relating to the lectures and performances offered by Purdue Convocations from its Lecture and Concert Course beginnings to the present day. Extent 29.55 cubic feet (10 c.f. boxes, 37 mss. boxes, 10 loose scrapbooks, 4 flat file folders) Finding Aid Author John Michael Foster, 2012 Languages English Repository Virginia Kelly Karnes Archives and Special Collections Research Center, Purdue University Libraries Administrative Information Location Information: ASC-R Access Restrictions: Collection is open for research. The scrapbooks comprising Series 5 and Series 6 are very fragile and need to be handled with care. Loose materials from the scrapbooks have been removed and placed in acid-free folders, which accompany their respective scrapbooks in flat boxes. Acquisition Records transfer, Purdue University Convocations, Information: February 8, 2012 Accession Number: 20120208 20050209 Newsletters 5/30/2017 2 Preferred Citation: UA 42, Purdue University Convocations Records, Archives and Special Collections, Purdue University Libraries Copyright Notice: Purdue University 5/30/2017 3 Subjects and Genres Organizations Purdue University. Convocations Topics Convocations Lectures Performances Performers Form and Genre Types Addresses Announcements Budgets Correspondence Financial Statements Meeting Minutes Performance Schedules Photographs Press Releases Programs Newsletters Newspaper Clippings Scrapbooks 5/30/2017 4 Purdue Convocations Purdue Convocations began in 1902 with the “Lecture Concert and Course” and today offers a wide-variety of performers in the genres of ballet and dance, Broadway-style shows, cinema, comedy, popular and classical music, and stage theatre. A number of performers have made multiple appearances at Purdue University, courtesy of Purdue Convocations, including Bill Cosby, the Oak Ridge Boys, the Beach Boys, Amy Grant, Chicago, Alan Jackson, STOMP, and the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra. The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra performed on over forty-five occasions between 1932 and 2002. During its rich history, Purdue Convocations has also offered students, faculty, and local residents an opportunity to see a number of overseas performers, including the Berlin Philharmonic, the Chinese Acrobats of Taiwan, Danzas Venezuela, the Hungarian Quartet, the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Ballet of Canada, the National Chinese Opera Theatre, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Stars of Soviet and Eastern European Ballet, and the Warsaw Philharmonic. Notable lecturers have included Dean Acheson, George Ade, Clement Attlee, Jimmy Carter, Barry Goldwater, John F. Kennedy, and Alex Haley. Purdue Convocations continues to provide the university and local community with quality entertainment presented in a wide-variety of genres. Sources: Purdue Convocations Performance Database, at http://www.purdue.edu/convocations/performance-database/ Materials found within the collection 5/30/2017 5 Collection Description Scope The Purdue University Convocations Records (1892-2012, predominant 1903-2012; 29.55 cubic feet) documents the pre-history and history of Purdue Convocations. This collection offers researchers an excellent glimpse into the wide-variety of performances offered and showcased courtesy of Purdue Convocations. Types of materials include: budgets and other financial statements, committee meeting minutes, performance schedules, performer contracts, photographs, programs, etc. The Records are organized into six series: Arrangement Series 1. Administrative Records, 1948-2008 (3.1 cubic feet). Committee on Convocations and Public Lectures records (including budgets, correspondence, expense and suggestion lists, meeting minutes, and season schedules), 1948-1957; Budget statements and miscellaneous financial records (expenditure statements, vouchers, cost estimates and reports), 1954-1969; miscellaneous administrative records (meeting minutes, correspondence, etc.), 1959-1968; Victory Varieties Committee records (mostly correspondence and meeting minutes), 1951-1965, 1970; mock-up designs for the proposed Visual and Performing Arts Center, 1999; and commissioned music, circa 1980s-2000s. Materials in the series are arranged by topic, then chronologically by material type. Series 2. Performers and Performances, 1903-1979, predominant 1934-1940, 1957-1979 (8.72 cubic feet). Series largely consists of files kept on performers who appeared, or were scheduled to appear, at Purdue between 1947 and 1979. These files include agent press releases, contracts, correspondence, programs, and promotional photographs. The series also includes promotional photographs, circa 1970s; addresses and messages given at Purdue, 1903-1950 (see inventory for inclusive dates); performer and performances slides, circa 1972-1982; and three reel- to-reel tapes of the “Diefenbacker Lecture,” 1970. Performer files for 1957-1969 were originally arranged alphabetically; files for 1969- 1970, chronologically. This arrangement has been maintained. The remaining materials in the series are arranged chronologically by material type. Series 3. Promotional Materials, 1892-2012 (2.6 cubic feet). Items in this series include programs, 1899-1981; performance schedules, 1892-2012; miscellaneous schedule materials (flyers and brochures, schedule cards, posters, DVDs), 1928- 2008; and miscellaneous promotional materials (announcements, booklets, correspondence and memorandums, event brochures, newsletters, newspaper articles and clippings, and order cards), 1896-2006. See attached inventory for predominant dates of materials in the series. 5/30/2017 6 Materials in the series are arranged chronologically by material type. Series 4. Scrapbooks, 1965-1979, 1981-2000 (10.25 cubic feet). The scrapbooks comprise largely of programs, flyers, and newspaper advertisements, articles, and clippings pertaining to Convocation performances. Materials in the series are arranged chronologically but are stored either in boxes or as loose items. Series 5. Chairman of the University Convocation Committee Scrapbooks, 1923-1955 (4.42 cubic feet). Series comprises of scrapbooks kept by Professors J.T. Gunn and Ross Smith during their respective terms as Chairman of the University Convocation Committee. The scrapbooks contain newspaper clippings, photographs, and programs, along with some correspondence. The series is arranged chronologically. Series 6. Program Scrapbooks, 1876-circa 1918 (0.46 cubic feet). This series consists of two scrapbooks of programs from events and performances that took place between 1876 and 1918. The bulk of the programs range from 1876 to 1904. The series is arranged chronologically. Descriptive Rules Describing Archives: A Content Standard Processing Information Materials comprising Series 2’s performer files remain in their original folders. The arrangement of the performer files was also retained as found. Loose items in the Series 5 scrapbooks were removed and placed in acid-free folders according to material type. All scrapbooks in the series, along with their corresponding folders, were then placed in flat boxes. Revision History Collection identifier updated from UA 12.05.06 to UA 42 as of November 1, 2016. Added series 3, folder one; previously unprocessed as of May 30, 2017. 5/30/2017 7 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION Series 1. Administrative Records (3.1 cubic feet) Box 1 Committee on Convocations and Public Lectures, Records, 1940s- 1950s Includes budgets, season schedules, correspondence, expense and suggestion lists, meeting minutes Folder 1. 1948-1949 2. 1949-1950 3. 1950-1951 4. 1951-1952 5. 1952-1953 6. 1953-1954 7. 1954-1955 8. 1955-1957 Box 2 Budget Statements, 1950s-1960s Folder 1. June-December, 1955 2. January-December, 1956 3. January-December, 1957 4. January-December, 1958 5. January-June, 1959 6. July-December, 1959 7. January-June, 1960 8. July-December, 1960 9. January-June, 1961 10. July-December, 1961 11. January-June, 1962 12. July-December, 1962 13. January-June, 1963 14. July-December, 1963 15. January-December, 1964 16. January-February, 1965 17. January-December, 1967 18. Miscellaneous Budget Records, 1954-1957, 1959-1960, 1962, undated 5/30/2017 8 Box 3 Miscellaneous Financial Records, 1960s Folder 1. Expenditures, 1961-1962 Season 2. Expenditures, 1962-1963 Season 3. Expenditures, 1963-1964 Season 4. Invoice Vouchers, 1966-1967 5. Invoice Vouchers, 1967-1968 6. Cost Estimates, 1968-1969 7. Cost Estimates and Reports, 1963-1964 Box 4 Miscellaneous Records, 1960s Folder 1. American Educational Theatre Association, Placement Materials, 1959- 1960, 1962 2. Convocation Luncheon, Minutes, 1961-1962 3. Convocations and Lectures Meetings, Minutes, 1962-1963 4. Convocations and Lectures Meeting, Notes, 1963-1965