Subject Files, 1947-1991

Please Note:

This collection is currently being reprocessed to incorporate additional material before it becomes fully open to researchers in January 2027. Material may sometimes be unavailable because of this, especially in the remaining series: Correspondence, Writings and Speeches, Subject Files, and Personal. This work is being funded by a Duke Endowment grant focused on Duke family papers. For more information, please contact the Rubenstein Library.

Scope and content:

MDBTS' interest in the welfare of Duke University and the institutions served by The Duke Endowment is evident this series, including in her files on the Board of Trustees at both organizations. She participated in the development and expansion of the university and medical libraries, and James H. Semans participated in the expansion of the medical library in the 1950s. Duke University correspondents include Presidents, other administrators, and staff, especially Douglas M. Knight, Terry Sanford, Keith Brodie, Thomas L. Perkins, Benjamin E. Powell, and Joel L. Fleishman. Medical Center correspondents include Barnes Woodhall, Wilburt C. Davison, Lenox D. Baker, and William G. Anlyan. The Duke Endowment correspondents include Marshall I. Pickens and Robert McCormack. However, since many of these individuals were connected to different organizations, their correspondence may be scattered across different files.

One of the causes that the Semans supported the most was the arts. They were involved in the art and music departments at Duke and trustees of the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation, which made contributions to the arts at Duke and elsewhere in North Carolina and New York. Correspondents include educators and civic leaders like William C. Friday, George Watts Carr Jr., and Dan K. Moore.

The Semans were heavily involved with the North Carolina School of the Arts (NCSA; now the University of North Carolina School of the Arts), particularly Jim, who was named the first Chairman of the Board of Trustees by Governor Sanford and served for the maximum 17 years. NCSA's summer session in Siena, Italy, which became the International Music Program (IMP), is particularly well-documented, including their role in negotiations with the Italians. Correspondents include Vittorio Giannini, Robert C. Suderburg, Samuel M. Stone, and Giorgio Ciompi.

Outside of Duke and NCSA, the Semans were involved with such art organizations as the New York University Institute of Fine Arts Advisory Board and the New York City Concert Opera Board. Jim had extensive connections stemming from NCSA and numerous artists, writers, musicians, dancers, and fellow art supporters had close ties with the Semans. Correspondents include John Ehle, Iain Hamilton, Nancy Hanks, Agnes De Mille, and Archie K. Davis.

The Semans sponsored music scholarships and prizes, artistic programs and concerts, and an art collection at Duke in honor of Jim's parents. They also commissioned art and musical works at Duke, NCSA, and elsewhere, and they started several endowments, funds, and foundations related to the arts, education, and medicine.

Lastly, the Semans were involved in medical and vocational rehabilitation at the local, state, and national level beginning in the mid-1950s. Three related subject files are Duke University Medical Center, the National Paraplegia Foundation, and Vocational Rehabilitation. Correspondents include Mary Switzer and Howard Rusk.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically.

Contents

Using These Materials