Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans papers, 1947-1987
Navigate the Collection
Summary
- Creator:
- Semans, Mary Duke Biddle Trent
- Abstract:
- Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans was a member of the class of 1939 but graduated in 1951 before becoming a trustee from 1961-1981. This collection primarily includes material from her time as a trustee, such as printed material and ephemera, speeches, and photographs, as well as a scrapbook on the 1984 British American Festival.
- Extent:
- 2.5 Linear Feet (Two document boxes and one flat box.)
- Language:
- Material in English.
- Collection ID:
- UA.29.02.0222
- University Archives Record Group:
- 29 -- Papers of Faculty, Staff, and Associates
29 -- Papers of Faculty, Staff, and Associates > 02 -- Individuals
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The Duke University files include reports, programs, addresses, and printed ephemera which reflect Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans' activities as a university trustee, as well as her support for the arts. There is the transcript of a 1969 discussion on race relations at Duke and the Allen Building takeover, minutes of the University Center Committee, the report of the Special Committee on the Functions and Organization of the Board of Trustees, a summary report of the B. N. Duke Leadership Program, and reports on fundraising and issues faced by women faculty in the late 1980s.
There is also the text of her 1986 speech (with slides) given at the 100th Celebration of Duke Memorial United Methodist Church and a scrapbook on the 1984 British American Festival.
The oversize folder contains blueprints of a 1977 accessibility study of the Duke Chapel, a 1966 newsletter from the class of 1939, and a score for Robert Ward's Music for a Great Occasion (composed for Terry Sanford's 1970 inauguration as President of Duke University).
- Biographical / historical:
-
Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans was born in 1920 in New York City to Mary Lillian Duke Biddle and Anthony J. Drexel Biddle Jr. She attended Duke University as a member of the class of 1939 and graduated in 1951. She became a philanthropist of the arts, education, and medicine; a trustee of Duke University and The Duke Endowment; and Vice-Chair of the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation. She died in 2012 in Durham.
- Acquisition information:
- The Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans papers were received by the University Archives as a transfer in 1983.
- Processing information:
-
Processed by Jessica Wood, February 2007.
Encoded by Molly Bragg, May 2011.
Collection reprocessed to segregate restricted Board of Trustees material by Tracy M. Jackson, January 2015.
Accessions were merged into one collection, described in this finding aid.
- 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
Using These Materials
- Using These Materials Links:
-
Using These Materials
- Restrictions:
-
Collection is open for research.
- Terms of access:
-
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.
- Before you visit:
- Please consult our up-to-date information for visitors page, as our services and guidelines periodically change.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans papers, Duke University Archives, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Duke University.
- Permalink:
- https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m1670j