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J.B. Duke acquired a lot on the northeast corner of Fifth Avenue and 78th Street and commissioned Horace Trumbauer to draw the plans for a new residence in 1909. It was in this mansion that his daughter Doris was born and raised. After J.B.'s death in 1925, Nanaline continued to live in the mansion until January, 1958 when she and Doris donated the house to New York University's Institute of Fine Arts. Throughout her adulthood Doris continued to live in New York City, residing in a penthouse located at 3 E. 84th Street and a penthouse at 475 Park Avenue, which was her last New York City residence when she died in 1993. The collection primarily documents the expenses and daily operations of running and maintaining three large residences in New York City. Materials include invoices and receipts for repairs and renovations to the residences, correspondence and memoranda relating to routine matters of the residences including expenses, inventories of furniture, fixtures, and other household items, and appraisals of the residences and their household effects. A majority of the architectural records in this collection are related to the design and construction of J.B. Duke's mansion at 1 E. 78th Street.

James Buchanan (J.B.) Duke (1856-1925) was known for his business acumen, especially in national and international tobacco industries and hydroelectric power. He was married twice, first to Lillian McCredy, who he divorced in 1906 and then Nanaline Holt Inman, who was his spouse from 1907 until his death in 1925. This collection primarily documents James B. Duke's business and personal activities. Materials include business and personal correspondence, invoices and receipts for both business and personal purchases, financial and legal reports, the last will and testaments of both James B. and Nanaline Duke, and materials documenting the divorce proceedings of J.B. and Lillian McCredy Duke. Miscellaneous records include a booklet tracing the Duke family geneaology.

Duke Farms, a 2,700 acre estate located in Hillsborough, New Jersey, was developed by James Buchanan (J.B.) Duke beginning in 1893. After J.B. Duke's death in 1925, Doris Duke inherited the property. Over the course of nearly seven decades she worked to continue the legacy of Duke Farms and introduced environmentally-friendly and innovative farming methods into the operations of Duke Farms and purchased and restored farms and farmstead structures in order to forestall the rapid loss of farmland to urban development. When she died she left the majority of her estate to the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation with her expressed wish that Duke Farms be used to drive positive change on a number of key issues regarding the stewardship of the natural environment. The collection is arranged into four series: Administrative Records, Duke Business Office Records, Duke Farms Main Residence Records, and Architectural Records. It spans the years 1859 to 2004, beginning with the early vision and evolution of the estate by James Buchanan (J.B.) Duke, the enhancement and management of the estate by Doris Duke after she inherited control of it upon her father's death, and ending with the general upkeep of the estate after Doris Duke's death in 1993. The collection primarily documents the daily operations of running, renovating, and maintaining the Duke Farms estate, and includes daily activity reports, correspondence, notes, and specifications for various architectural projects at Duke Farms, invoices and vouchers for repairs at different buildings on the estate, cattle inventories and cow registrations, financial ledgers and cashbooks, and security ledgers and reports. The architectural records are further arranged into seven sub series and contain a wide assortment of records, including blueprints, diazo prints, site plans, schedules, and maps. The materials document a variety of design, construction, and farm-related activities at Duke Farms.

Organized in 1949, the Duke Film Society's aim was to bring to the Duke University campus the best foreign, experimental, documentary, educational, and art films, both current and past. It was disbanded in 1965. Collection contains materials pertaining to the organization and operations of the Duke Film Society including society minutes, press releases of programs, financial statements, film catalogs/ promotional material and correspondence with film production companies. The collection spans the years 1949-1956.

The Duke Forest is more than 7,000 acres of forested land in Durham, Orange, and Alamance counties, managed by Duke University for teaching and research. The Duke Forest records contain a wide variety of materials documenting research projects and forest management.

On October 15, 1958 the Duke Gardens Foundation was incorporated with the purpose of "developing thereon agricultural, botanical & horticultural exhibits for the purpose of scientific experiments and of public inspection, instruction, education & enjoyment." Over the period of six years, Doris Duke was personally involved in the physical design of the Indoor Display Gardens, in which various gardens were carefully designed, planned, and developed from the point of view of authenticity. The gardens were opened to the public in 1964, and included 11 unique gardens for visitors to enjoy. Doris Duke continued her involvement with her gardens throughout her life, bringing designers with her to modify them during the summer season when they were closed to tourists. The Duke Gardens Foundation was officially dissolved November 13, 2001 and the gardens closed to the public in 2008. The collection documents the lifecycle of the Duke Gardens Foundation, beginning with the inception of the Duke Gardens Foundation and the design and creation of the various indoor display gardens that comprised Duke Gardens, including the associated purchases of plants and bulbs. The materials follow the daily operations of Duke Gardens, including modifications and general upkeep of the gardens, visitor and tour information, and operations of the Foundation itself. The materials end with the general management of Duke Gardens after Doris Duke's death in 1993 and the final dissolution of the Foundation in 2001. Materials include correspondence, inventories, specifications for various architectural projects at Duke Gardens, invoices and vouchers for repairs and reconstruction to the greenhouses, surveys and reports, financial ledgers, and a multitude of both black and white and color photographs and slides of the different gardens.

The Duke Graduate Students Union is a student organization partnered with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) to create a labor union representing graduate student workers at Duke University. Records cover the campaign to form a collective bargaining union as well as subsequent efforts to organize as a direct-action, direct-join union.

The Duke Human Rights Center at the Franklin Humanities Institute is an interdisciplinary center focused on promoting education and action around human rights, which offers an undergraduate certification. The Duke Human Rights Center at the Franklin Humanities Institute records include materials related to programs and events run by the DHRC, as well as other materials.

A report and presentation slideshow regarding social and gender relations among undergraduates. The report was released in April 2014.