The collection includes a wide variety of materials related to the operations of the Student Affairs office. Much of the collection is correspondence, with many reports, printed materials, and memorandums, as well as other materials.
Topics include student organizations and activities, including student government, fraternities, student living groups, interest groups, and publications; administrative activities and policies focused on student life and well-being, including student housing, student health and insurance, resources for supporting student life, and facilities for students; administrative and campus activities including arts and cultural activities such as the Duke Players, Chapel activities and services, and the Publications Board; and events of significance to the Duke community, including materials related to the Allen Building Takeover, protests and demonstrations, and many other topics.
An addition (Accession UA2018-0084) contains correspondence and subject files from Larry Moneta, VP of Student Affairs. An addition (Accession UA2020-0050) consists of email correspondence transferred from Moneta's email account. Email originals are in Outlook PST format, with a copy migrated to MBOX. Accession UA2022-0030 contains materials related to Duke Student Health.
Some materials were removed April 2007 and now make up the Office of Student Affairs Reference Collection.
The Division of Student Affairs is led by the Vice President of Student Affairs. The office is involved in all aspects of student life at Duke University, providing programs and services "that support the optimal growth of Duke students, enhance their intellectual, social, cultural and physical development, and complement Duke's academic excellence by providing opportunities for students to experience education and explore interests beyond the classroom."
The first Dean of Student Affairs was Herbert Herring, who held the position in the 1950s. William Griffith became Dean of Student Affairs in 1963, later to be called the Vice President of Student Affairs, and served for almost thirty years before retiring in 1991. Under Griffith, the office developed the Student Union and Counseling and Psychological Services, and was deeply involved in shaping the Duke Publications Board, the Duke Players, the Duke Artists Series, the Associated Students of Duke University and its successor the Duke Student Government, and many student and student-focused organizations. Griffith was Dean of Student Affairs during the Duke Vigil in 1968 and the Allen Building Takeover in 1969, involved in the administrations response and follow-up to the latter. After retiring in 1991, the William J. Griffith University Service Award was named in his honor, and the Griffith Board Room in the Bryan Center was named for William and Carol Griffith.
Maureen Cullins was the Assistant to the Vice President of Student Affairs in the late 1980s and early 1990s. She is presently (2018) the Co-Director of the Multicultural Resource Center at the Duke University School of Medicine.
Larry Moneta was the Vice President for Student Affairs from 2001 to 2019.
Processed by: University Archives Staff
Finding aid derived from MARC record, November 2014
Accessions A74-78, A80-201, A81-113, A82-113, A84-98, A80-35, A86-76, A91-69, A82-31, A93-35, A93-37, A93-41, A93-49, A95-112, and A96-25 were rehoused and processed by Tracy M. Jackson, January, March, April, June, August 2018.
UA2018-0084 added October 2019.
UA2020-0050 added June 2021.
UA2022-0030 added by April Blevins, September 2022.