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Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment traces its beginnings to the founding of the Duke School of Forestry in 1938. In the 1990s two other entities, the Duke Marine Laboratory and the Duke Department of Geology, were combined with Forestry to form the Nicholas School. The Records of Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment, 1916-ongoing, contain materials created from the school's inception as the Duke School of Forestry (1938) through all its subsequent names: the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, the School of the Environment, and the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences. The collection also includes material about the history of Duke Forest and its use as a teaching and research facility. The earliest materials comprise the papers of Clarence F. Korstian, first director of the Forest and first dean of the School, including his correspondence, early reports about the Forest and the School, and his involvement in the Ecological Society of America, the North Carolina Forestry Association, and the International Union of Forest Research Organizations. The bulk of the collection consists of the School's general administrative records, including annual reports, admissions records, enrollment statistics, information on degrees granted, faculty history and meetings, and surveys and meetings of the School's alumni. Visual materials include posters, color and black-and-white photographs, negatives, slides, and digital photographs that document the School of Forestry and the Duke Marine Laboratory.

The Nicholas School of the Environment's Senior Professional Program traces its beginnings to 1979, when the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies first offered a program of short intensive courses. These courses have been offered since then as part of various named programs and centers, including the Intensive Course Program, the Continuing Education Program, and the Center for Environmental Education. As of 2013, the Senior Professional Program is the only one of these terms that remains in use as a formally named entity in the Nicholas School. The Nicholas School of the Environment's Senior Professional Program Records span the years 1977-1997 and contain correspondence with faculty, syllabi, notebooks, schedules, and other materials from intensive courses, workshops, and conferences offered as part of the Intensive Course Program, the Center for Continuing Education, the Center for Environmental Education, and the Senior Professional Program. Materials document research and teaching interests of several Nicholas School faculty, and topics covered in the courses include ecological risk assessment, environmental sciences, water supply, water resources development, forest management, and the National Environmental Policy Act. Arranged in order by accession number.

Abel Beach Nichols (1796/7-1868) was a merchant, farmer, slave owner and dealer from Bedford County, Virginia. The collection includes a small account book A. B. (Abel Beach) Nichols used to record financial transactions that occurred in Alabama from 1835 to 1836. Nine pages contain handwriting and several pages near the front and back of the book have been removed. Of particular interest are two pages with the heading, A list of the sales of negroes in the State of Alabama in 1835 & 1836, followed by a tabular listing of the number of slaves, their names, from whom purchased, cost, date, to whom sold, time, and amount. In all, Nichols bought and sold 42 slaves for a profit of $21,430.58. Headings such as A list of bonds bought in Alabama ... and Bond on ... in Alabama for articles sold are found on subsequent pages. Also included in the collection are two letters addressed to A. B. Nichols. The 1846 letter, from Pollard Hopkins & Co., describes efforts regarding the sell or hire of Nichols' slave, Henry, and the writer's intention to buy Henry a horse and dray, thereby giving him the means to eventually buy his freedom. The 1850 letter, from Henry, respectfully explains arrangements for acquiring the title to himself.

Bruce Nicklas is the Arthur S. Pearse Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Biology. Nicklas spent a large majority of his professional career at Duke, starting as an associate professor of Biology in 1965, and later served as chairman of the department of Biology from 1983-1986. With his research focusing on cell biology and chromosomes, he has received National Institute of Health grants to serve as a principal investigator of the Analysis and Control of Chromosome Movement. This collection consists of article reprints, including an article by German biology Walther Flemming, photographs, and VHS tapes of presentations, including a presentation of his 1995 E.B. Wilson Award.

Papers include letters to William Howell Reed, thanking him for the gift of his Hospital life in the Army of the Potomac; to Lady Marian Alford, relating to the Lord Stratford de Redcliffe Memorial Fund; and a series of personal and very affectionate letters to Miss A.P. Lemon, later Mrs. L. Roscoria, a colleague and personal friend, regarding her health, as well as the illness of her mother, and affairs of the hospital. Other items are newspaper clippings about Nightingale and a postcard bearing her portrait.

Two audiocassette copies of a short oral introduction recorded in 1939 by nursing historian Adelaide Nutting to accompany a re-release of Florence Nightingale's 1890 Edison cylinder recording. The original re-mastered version of the few sentences spoken by Nightingale, along with Nutting's introduction, is about seven minutes long, and seems to have been originally published on an audiodisc by the Omnivox Company in 1939. The audiocassettes were produced sometime in the 1970s and the 1990s by Duke University Medical Center Library staff from an unknown sound recording source; the later copy may be used as a listening copy. A printed transcript is available with the cassettes. Acquired as part of the History of Medicine Collections at Duke University.

Letter from writer Anaïs Nin to American collector Thomas C. DiGenti regarding his wish to purcase a copy of Nin's literary magazine Two Cities. Acquired as part of the Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture.

Lawyer, U. S. Representative and Confederate representative, of Macon, Ga. Correspondence, legal notebooks, bankbooks, family albums, genealogical charts, memorabilia, and other items, of Nisbet and of his family. The bulk of the collection consists of largely routine legal correspondence of Nisbet, of his son, James Taylor Nisbet, lawyer and editor, and of his brother, James Alexander Nisbet. Other papers relate to social life and customs in 19th century Georgia, political events after the Civil War, soldiers' views of the Spanish-American War, the education of girls in the early 20th century, and Nisbet family genealogy. Includes personal correspondence of Junius Wingfield Nisbet and a diary (1873-1879) of John W. Nisbet. Correspondents include Charles L. Bartlett, H. B. Battle, William Horn Battle, Allen D. Candler, W. C. Dawson, Charles H. Herty, Walter B. Hill, Malcolm Johnston, Alexander R. Lawton, John M. Kell, Wilson Lumpkin, Howard E. Rondthaler, William Schley, Hoke Smith, and James M. Smith. Also includes a transcription of a land conveyance allowing the state of Georgia to purchase 1134 acres of land from Major-General Anthony Wayne.

Charles Nordhoff (31 August 1830 - 14 July 1901) was an American journalist, descriptive and miscellaneous writer. Collection comprises a private autograph letter, signed, that Charles Nordhoff wrote to William C. Russel, acting president of Cornell University, in 1881.

Two hundred twenty-six digital oral history interviews documenting lesbian feminist activism and community in the South in the latter part of the 20th century.

Norine Shipley Norris attended Southern Female College (also known as Cox College) in 1897-1899, and taught Sunday school in Atlanta at Kirkwood Baptist Church in the early 1900s. This collection (2009-0129) (200 items; 1.8 lin. ft.; dated 1890s-2000) includes a variety of materials from Norine Shipley Norris, in particular her school notebooks, correspondence, and catalogs from the Southern Female College, which she attended for at least two years. Of note is the correspondence from Earnest Sevier Cox, a white supremist who courted Shipley for a time (1905-1906); photographs and records from her years of teaching at Kirkwood Baptist Church (1901-1904); and her handwritten application to the Daughters of the American Revolution (1918). Also included are a number of photographs and tintypes, scrapbooks, several books of poetry and literature, and miscellaneous clippings and ephemera.

NACLA (North American Congress on Latin America) is an independent nonprofit organization that researches and analyzes issues occurring in Latin America and the Caribbean. The NACLA Haiti collection consists of correspondence, memos, clippings, reports and newsletters, mostly in English and French, and spanning 1991-1994, with many materials created as photocopies. Topics include the coup d'état in 1991 by the Haiti army against the government of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, news on refugees, the role of the United States, peace efforts, and activism. Acquired by the Human Rights Archive.

The North Carolina Association of Jewish Women (NCAJW) was founded by Sarah Weil in 1921 with the intent “to deepen the religious life, to stimulate interest and Jewish affairs, and to increase Jewish community activity.” The organization’s projects included administration of a scholarship fund, sponsorship of the NCA of Jewish Youth (founded in 1946), and help towards purchasing books of Jewish interest for the libraries of North Carolina. The materials in this collection primarily document the daily business activities of the NCAJW and include programs and reports from annual conventions and meetings, membership, correspondence to and from Yetta Leder (President and Membership Chair of the NCAJW), financial records such as balance sheets, budgets, and annual contributions, year books, and reports, correspondence, and photographs related to the organization’s various projects.

The North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys (NCAWA) was founded in 1978 to support women legal professionals and women's legal rights. Accession (2009-0209) (11.6 lin. ft.; 7100 items; dated 1978-2009) includes administrative and organizational records from the North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys. Materials include membership directories, conference binders, surveys and other research about women in the profession, videotapes from annual conferences, committee and task force files, meeting minutes, articles of incorporation, photographs from events, and other related materials. Accession (2011-1018) (1.0 lin. ft.; 1000 items; dated 1998-2011) includes additional administrative and organizational records from the NCAWA. Materials include newsletters, membership directories, conference notebooks, continuing legal education (CLE) presentations, photographs, correspondence, and periodicals about legal matters. Accession (2013-189) (6.0 lin. ft.; 4500 items; dated 1978-2009) includes newsletters, brochures, membership directories, conference materials, and photographs of past presidents. Acquired as part of the Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture.

Group formed in the 1970s to draft a charter for the consolidation of the Durham, North Carolina City and County governments. Durham, North Carolina City/County Charter Commission records contain correspondence, financial records, reports, statements, memoranda, polls, minutes, maps, and other documents. Most materials date from 1971 to 1974.

The North Carolina Lesbian and Gay Health Project was founded in 1982. The records in this collection contain administrative files, case files, board minutes, and newsletters that document the organization, staffing, and activities of the NCLGHP. Subject files provide general information about gay and lesbian health issues, such as AIDS, breast cancer, sexually transmitted diseases, mental health, and substance abuse. Includes some artifacts and ephemeral materials such as T-shirts, pamphlets, and fliers.

The North Carolina Public Interest Research Group (NC PIRG) is a consumer advocacy group established in 1971 to facilitate student activism on North Carolina's campuses. Duke students formed the first local chapter of NC PIRG. Collection contains the records of NC PIRG campus groups at colleges and universities in North Carolina, the records of the statewide NC PIRG office, and a small group of material related to the national PIRG office. Materials date from the 1970s to the early 1980s. Topics in the collection include Duke University, consumer advocacy, environmental protection, disarmament, student rights, rental policies, utility rates, and other activist issues.

The North Carolina Student Legislature, the oldest active student legislature in the United States, was established in 1937. Contains the records of the Duke University chapter of the North Carolina Student Legislature, a student organization that presented legislation for possible enactment by the North Carolina General Assembly.