The Fifth Decade Program was part of a ten-year plan to expand educational and research programs, strengthen the faculty, and upgrade the physical plant. The collection includes the files of the Ad Hoc Committee on Quality, reports, printed material and clippings. It ranges in date from 1964-1973.

The collection includes reports, memoranda, correspondence, brochures, clippings, and other materials concerning the fund-raising campaign undertaken during President Knight's administration. The bulk of the collection consists of printed reports but in addition includes records of the Ad Hoc Committee on Quality in Relation to the Fifth Decade. Those records of the Ad Hoc Committee on Quality were official transfers. The provenance of other material is conjectural and is not considered to be official transfers. The material ranges in date from 1964-1973.