Duke University Press publishes both scholarly books and journals, primarily in the humanities and social sciences. In its early years, preference was given to works published by faculty, graduate students and alumni and to works focused on southern states. The records of Duke University Press span from 1812-2019 and consist of correspondence, annual catalogs, advertisements, annual reports, Board minutes, contracts and agreements, book and journal reviews, financial records, marketing files, the records of former director Steve Cohn, and facsimiles of the Carlyle letters.
The Registrar's position originated in 1899 with Dallas W. Newsom's appointment as Registrar and Recording Secretary to the Board of Trustees to focus on financial matters. In 1953, the office of the University Registrar's responsibilities expanded to include admissions, registration, and student records. The collection includes grade books from Normal and Trinity Colleges; subject files with information on financial aid, the Consortium on Financing Higher Education, and the Undergraduate Faculty Council of Arts and Sciences; statistical information kept on student admissions, enrollment, and grade performance; the official schedules of courses for semesters and summer school, mailings to students, and microfilmed copies of student transcripts.
The Office of Undergraduate Admissions coordinates admissions for Trinity College and the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University. Records include applications to Trinity College prior to the founding of Duke University (1911-1925), the administrative files of Admissions Director Robert H. Ballantyne (1967-1974), one file from Admissions Director Richard Steele, and a printed version of the website from 2001.
The South Atlantic Quarterly was founded in 1901 at Trinity College (later Duke University), and faculty from Trinity College and Duke University have served on its editorial board since its inception. The periodical, published by Duke University Press since 1930, began as a scholarly and literary journal about southern topics, and has since expanded to discuss national and international issues. The South Atlantic Quarterly Records consist mainly of correspondence regarding manuscript submissions and editing issues. Other materials include Board of Directors minutes, subject files, and content lists for individual issues of South Atlantic Quarterly. English.
The Duke Artists Series, founded in 1931, brings international music, opera, and dance performances to University venues. The Duke Artists Series was administered by the Office of Cultural Affairs and later, the Office of University Life. This collection includes programs, printed matter, correspondence, clippings, artist contracts, financial materials, and box office reports. Major subjects include Duke University, the Duke Artists Series, the Office of Cultural Affairs, the Office of University Life, and performing arts. Materials range in date from 1931-2000. English.
The Nasher Museum, founded as the Duke University Museum of Art in 1969, opened in its current building in 2005. The museum's collection focuses on works by diverse artists, European medieval art, European and American paintings, Outsider art, classical antiquities, African art, and ancient American art. The Nasher Museum of Art records include materials related to exhibits and events at the Nasher as well as the planning, construction, and opening of the museum building.
The Institute Studies Center (ISC) sponsored programs in international education. From 1952-1957, Duke was a host institution for the IIE's INternational Studies Center. This was a summer orientation program for foreign students sponsored by the US State Department. For several weeks during the summer, contracted schools hosted students coming to study in the US and introduced them to American life. The ISC should not be confused with the Duke University Center for International Studies. Materials in the collection include administrative records, correspondence, reports, and black and white photographs of international students.
The Duke University Museum of Art opened to the public in 1969, in a renovated science building on the University's East Campus. In 1998, Duke alumnus Raymond D. Nasher donated funds to support construction of a new art museum at Duke University, the Nasher Museum of Art, set to open in 2005. Collection includes correspondence, administrative files, financial records, exhibit catalogs and publicity material, fund-raising files, clippings, photographs, and related records. Major subjects include the opening of the Museum of Art, the Brummer Collection of Medieval and Renaissance Art, and exhibits. Materials range in date from 1962 to 2002. English.
The Committee on African Studies formed in 1965 as part of the Center for International Studies at Duke University. The committee was composed of faculty from the departments of history, political science, anthropology, and economics. Its mission included supporting research in Africa, publishing articles and sponsoring lectures on African studies, and developing African studies curricula for middle school and high school students. Records date from 1967 to 1976 and consist of correspondence, papers and proposals, course materials, reprints, and sound recordings. The Committee's work focused on cultures including the Dan, Mbuti, Somali, and Zulu. The bulk of the material relates to the African Curriculum Development Project conducted in cooperation with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, and publication of the series Africa Sketches. English.
The position of Personnel Director has existed at Duke since 1949. In 1980 the division of Human Resources was created to oversee all aspects of employee affairs and relations. The collection contains memoranda, policy statements, wage and salary information, pay range documentation, and various other materials relating to employee relations and personnel management at Duke University.
The Office of Undergraduate Education supports and coordinates the many facets of the undergraduate experience. The Office of Undergraduate Education records include reports, speeches, and reaccreditation materials, among other documents.
Formal investigation into a study abroad program began in 1947 when Dean Alice Baldwin appointed a committee to study the status of existing opportunities for Duke students to study elsewhere and for foreign students to study at Duke. This collection contains correspondence, brochures, catalogs, clippings, photographs, a videotape, artifacts and other records. Some material in the collection focuses on the Hosei University (Tokyo) Summer Institute at Duke.
The Duke University Program in Education provides opportunities for undergraduates to connect their liberal art studies and the academic work of their major with rigorous intellectual examination of the issues confronting schools, children, and communities. This collection contains reports, inromation regarding the Winfred Quinton Holton Prize for educational research, including prize winning papers and other records.
The Chamber Arts Society was created in 1945 and is dedicated to the performance of classical music by small chamber ensembles. This collection includes programs for many performances from 1990-2016.
The Office of the Vice Provost for the Arts works closely with Duke arts departments, Duke Performances and the Nasher Museum of Art to expand and coordinate arts programming on campus. The Office of the Vice Provost for the Arts records consists primarily of promotional materials related to arts events and performances at or related to Duke, as well as some materials related to advertising or promoting performances, organizing events, and regional arts organizations.
Duke University's strategic plan emphasizes interdisciplinary studies because important teaching, learning, and research often occur across the traditional boundaries of disciplines, departments, or schools. Interdisciplinary Studies at Duke University became an office under the direction of the Provost with the appointment of the first Vice Provost for Interdisciplinary Studies in 1998. Prior to this, direction of interdisciplinary studies was a responsibility of the Dean of the Graduate School/Vice Provost for Graduate Education. Records contain subject files, correspondence, reports, and planning documents related to Interdisciplinary Studies at Duke, including the Franklin Center for Interdisciplinary and International Studies, the Franklin Humanities Institute, Information Science and Information Studies, Women's Studies, Science Technology and Human Values, the Black Faculty Initiative, the University Scholars Program, global health, arts and humanities, the arts warehouse, development and grants, and faculty involvement with interdisciplinary teaching.
Duke Learning Innovation and Lifetime Education is a source for teaching support and consulting on campus as well as continuing and online education. The Duke Learning Innovation and Lifetime Education records consist of administrative records transferred by Shawn Miller, covering 2009-2023.