Counseling Center records, 1950-1970
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Summary
- Creator:
- Duke University. Counseling Center
- Abstract:
- The Counseling Center offered general psychological counseling to students, faculty, staff, and the Durham community, particularly in the areas of career planning and education, and personal and social development. It also provided students with information about jobs, graduate school, financial aid, foreign study, and employment. Records contain printed material relating to the Counseling Center and its predecessor, the Bureau of Testing and Guidance, including correspondence, reports, memoranda, financial statements, printed matters, and other materials. The materials range in date from 1950-1970.
- Extent:
- 3.2 Linear Feet
- Language:
- Materials in English
- Collection ID:
- UA.09.11.0001
- University Archives Record Group:
- 09 -- Student Affairs
09 -- Student Affairs > 11 -- Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)
Background
- Scope and content:
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The collection contains materials pertaining to the Counseling Center and its predecessor, the Bureau of Testing and Guidance, including printed informational materials, correspondence, reports, memoranda, financial statements, test booklets, draft proposals for an M.A. in guidance at Duke, and other materials. Included are annual reports, 1950-1969; summaries of placement test scores by school and major field, 1951-1956; annual budgets, 1951/52 to 1969/70; staff research reports, 1952 to 1966 concerning placement test performance and predictive value; and brochures and clippings describing the Center and its services. The correspondence and memoranda concern planning for a proposed graduate program in counselor training (1950 to 1953) and guidance training institute (1958), placement tests (1962), the organizational name change (1964), and practices at other institutions (1959-1960). Final annual budgets (oversize) are also included, covering the years 1954 to 1970, as well as a ten year placement testing study covering the years 1951-1960 (oversize).
- Biographical / historical:
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Since the 1920s, various counseling services had been offered by the University in cooperation with organizations such as the "Y" and the Southern Women's Educational Alliance. The Bureau of Testing and Guidance was created in 1944 to provide educational and vocational testing services to the University and on occasion to the Durham community. The first staff members were James M. Slay, an Assistant Dean of Trinity College, assistant director Jay Ostwalt, and administrative assistant Mrs. R.E. Lee. The office offered pre-college testing of applicants, placement testing, career counseling, and aptitude testing. It underwent major reorganization in the fall of 1950.
In the 1950s, Henry Weitz became director of the Bureau, the staff was enlarged, and the program's focus was changed to emphasize counseling, with testing placed in a supporting role. In 1964, the name of the organization was changed from the Bureau of Testing and Guidance to the University Counseling Center, further accentuating the role that counseling had come to play in operations.
As its primary mission, the Counseling Center offered general psychological counseling to students, faculty, staff, and the Durham community, particularly in the areas of career planning and education, as well as personal and social development. It also provided students with information concerning jobs, graduate school, financial aid, foreign study, and employment. In 1977, the Counseling Center merged with Student Mental Health Services to form Counseling and Psychological Services, or CAPS.
- Acquisition information:
- The Counseling Center records were received by the Duke University Archives as a transfer from the Counseling Center in September 1976 and August 1977 (accession numbers UA76--153, UA77--109).
- Processing information:
-
Processed by: Matthew Schaefer, June, 2013
Accessions described in this finding aid: UA76-153, UA77-109
- 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.
Contents
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- Restrictions:
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Collection is open for research.
Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection.
All or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. The library may require up to 48-hours to retrieve these materials for research use.
Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.
- Terms of access:
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Copyright for official University Records is held by Duke University; all other copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
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- Please consult our up-to-date information for visitors page, as our services and guidelines periodically change.
- Preferred citation:
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[Identification of item], Counseling Center Records, Duke University Archives, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.