Arthur Hollis Edens (1901-1968) had a long career as an educator and administrator. He served as president of Duke University from 1949 to 1960. During that time, Edens focused on fund-raising and long range planning, and oversaw the implementation of a new student union and a University Council for faculty members. The A. Hollis Edens records include correspondence, memoranda, reports, minutes, and other documents related to Edens's career at Duke. Among the major subjects of the collection focused on Duke University are its administration and development, the Board of Trustees, the Duke Endowment, Annual Reports from major divisions of the university, segregation, and Edens's inauguration in 1949. Prominent people in the collection include faculty member Paul M. Gross and presidential assistant Earl W. Potter. The collection also includes documents related to Edens's membership in organizations such as the U.S. State Department's Advisory Commission on Educational Exchange, the National Commission on Accrediting, the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, the Southern University Conference, the Methodist Church, and the President's Committee on Education Beyond the High School. English.
Collection includes correspondence, memoranda, reports, minutes, conference materials, and other documents related to Edens's professional career. The collection is divided into eight series. The first and largest series, Subject Files, is arranged alphabetically by topic, and chronologically within each subject. Correspondence is filed by name of correspondent; miscellaneous correspondence is filed alphabetically at the beginning of each letter group. The next series, U. S. State Department's Advisory Commission on Educational Exchange, contains papers from Edens's service on this commission. The third series, National Commission on Accrediting, contains papers from Edens's service on this commission. Inauguration, the fourth es, includes material on Edens's presidential inauguration in 1949. The next series, Annual Reports to the President, contains the reports submitted to the president by major divisions of the university. The sixth series, Assistant to the President, Earl Porter (1956-1960), contains the papers of Edens's assistant. The seventh series, Segregation Policy Petitions, involves the desegregation process at Duke University. The next series, U.S. State Department, Educational Exchange Service, details Edens's involvement with that organization. The ninth series, Gross-Edens Controversy, consists of papers relating to Edens's resignation. This series is restricted. The final series is Oversized Materials and includes items from Edens's inauguration as president of Duke.
