Robert M. Lester papers, 1879-1969
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Summary
- Creator:
- Lester, Robert M. (Robert MacDonald), 1889-1969
- Abstract:
- Teacher; foundation administrator and consultant. Correspondence, speeches, writings, clippings, and pictures, all related to the life and career of Robert Lester. Correspondence and clippings cover every facet of his career: teacher and superintendent of schools in Mayfield, Ky.; service in the Army in World War I, library, teaching, and administrative positions at Columbia University; his involvement with Duke University and with major fundraising organizations such as the Carnegie Corporation, and the Council of Southern Universities, where he was director of the Southern Fellowship Fund. One volume of memoranda from the Southern Fellowship Fund includes a 1966 proposal for faculty development among predominantly Afro-american colleges and universities. Lester's addresses and speeches chiefly concern education, philanthropy, and library issues. Collection also includes papers relating to other Lester family members, and to Lester's Chapel in Shelby County, Alabama.
- Extent:
- 3 Linear Feet
2329 Items - Language:
- Material in English
- Collection ID:
- RL.00807
Background
- Scope and content:
-
Correspondence, speeches, writings, clippings, and pictures, all related to the life and career of Robert Lester. Correspondence and clippings cover every facet of his career: teacher and superintendent of schools in Mayfield, Ky.; service in the Army in World War I, library, teaching, and administrative positions at Columbia University; his involvement with Duke University and with major fundraising organizations such as the Carnegie Corporation, and the Council of Southern Universities, where he was director of the Southern Fellowship Fund. One volume of memoranda from the Southern Fellowship Fund includes a 1966 proposal for faculty development among predominantly African American colleges and universities. Lester's addresses and speeches chiefly concern education, philanthropy, and library issues. Collection also includes papers relating to other Lester family members, and to Lester's Chapel in Shelby County, Alabama.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Robert MacDonald Lester (1889-1969) was an author, teacher and employee of the Carnegie Institute of New York. His published works include Forty Years of Carnegie Giving (1941). Lester was also the recording secretary of the Council of Southern Universities and executive director of the Southern Fellowships Fund.
- Acquisition information:
- The Robert M. Lester Papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a gift in 1971.
- Processing information:
-
Processed by Rubenstein Library Staff, date unknown
Encoded by Meghan Lyon, April 2011
Materials may not have been ordered and described beyond their original condition.
- Physical location:
- For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Subjects
Click on terms below to find related finding aids on this site. For other related materials in the Duke University Libraries, search for these terms in the Catalog.
- Subjects:
- Charities -- United States -- Management
Endowments -- United States
Teachers -- Correspondence
Libraries -- United States
Education, Higher -- Southern States
Education -- United States -- Finance
Education, Higher -- North Carolina
Universities and colleges, Black -- Southern States
African American universities and colleges -- Southern States
Public Schools -- Kentucky -- Mayfield
Universities and colleges -- Southern States - Names:
- Vanderbilt University
Duke University
Lester's Chapel -- Alabama -- Shelby County
Carnegie Corporation of New York
Council of Southern Universities, Inc. Southern Fellowships Fund
Columbia University
Lester family
Lester, Robert M. (Robert MacDonald), 1889-1969
Lester, Robert M. (Robert MacDonald), 1889-1969
Contents
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Collection is open for research.
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- Preferred citation:
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[Identification of item], Robert M. Lester Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.