Collections : [Center for Documentary Research and Practice]

This oral history of the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University traces creation of the Center from its earliest stages and its evolution into a fully operating academic institution dedicated to the study of philanthropy. It includes the negotiations in bringing the Fund Raising School to Indianapolis, Indiana, the grant proposals to the Lilly Endowment, finding the Center's first director, and the creation of its mission statement. This project also contains many different people's views on the study of philanthropy and the importance and success of the Center.

The project follows the Indiana Humanities Council from its beginnings in the 1960s until the present. The interviewees discuss their roles in the council, whether as a staff member or a board member. They discuss the founding of the council, the growth and changes it's undergone, the projects that it has funded, and those that it currently funds, according to their particular tenure. The interviewees also talk about the council's importance, positive work ethic, and good staff relations.

This project is comprised of 59 interviews with doctors who have practiced medicine in the state of Indiana from approximately the nineteen thirties until the nineteen seventies, eighties, and nineties. The doctors share personal anecdotes about their medical practices in both rural and urban areas, their perspectives on the many changes medicine has undergone in the twentieth century, and the greatest satisfaction they received from their profession. Many interviews include physicians' experiences during World War II, African-American physicians' experiences under segregation, and how each individual adjusted to a profession that became increasingly specialized over the years.

The interviews in this collection primarily discuss civil rights issues in Claiborne County, Mississippi. Some topics discussed are Black voter registration, school integration, and freedom of choice. The interviewees' childhoods, including the Great Depression and World War II, are also talked about in the interviews. The interviews were conducted as research for the Ph.D. dissertation Common Courtesy: The Civil Rights Movement in Claiborne County, Mississippi by the interviewer.

The Career in Librarianship project includes interviews with ten people employed in libraries or library education. Three of the interviewees were Deans of Indiana University's School of Library and Information Science, or SLIS. Others include a SLIS lecturer, a high school librarian, a college archivist, 2 public library directors, and a public library branch head. All of the interviewees worked in Indiana (except for one of the public library directors, who worked in Michigan). Collectively, the interviews consider the training that librarians receive, librarianship as a career, as well as changes in, and the future of, the profession. The interviews were conducted by students of the Indiana University School of Library and Information Science as a project for a class on the history of American libraries.

This project consists of interviews with war veterans. Interviewees discuss their war and military experiences. World War I through the Vietnam War are covered in this project. The interviews include discussions of military food, shelter, weapons, and travel.

This project is a compilation of interviews of subjects with strong ties to and memories of Indiana University, primarily at the Bloomington campus, including former students, faculty, and staff, among others. The information spans most of the twentieth century and deals with the administrations under presidents Herman B Wells, John Ryan, Thomas Ehrlich, and Myles Brand. The project occurred in two parts. The first round of interviews was with administrators, trustees, and other high-ranking members of the university hierarchy. The second round of interviews was with senior faculty from a number of departments in the College of Arts and Sciences. The project is a survey of Indiana University's history as a whole including information about various academic departments, athletics, student organizations, campus growth, and the university's growth in the twentieth century. This project was funded by President Emeritus John Ryan.

This collection of interviews primarily delves into the Republican view of Indiana politics from the nineteen twenties to the early nineteen sixties. Major emphasis is placed on both state and national elections and conventions from 1940-1948. The project contains discussions of political campaigns (including finances), the patronage system, and legislation battles. The interviews also reflect on William Jenner by describing his character, beliefs, and influence on Republican politics in Indiana.

The interviews in this project focus on the history of the Council on Foundations, its history and development, its function and goals, and its mission. Central to many of the interviews is the 1969 Tax Reform Act, which had a profound impact on the structure and practice of American foundational philanthropy. The majority of the interviewees are philanthropists or professionals with strong connections to the Council; they share their insights, criticisms, and descriptions regarding the Council in many areas, including diversity, philanthropic ethics, principles and practices, the role of the government, and sources of division within the field of philanthropy.

This project examines the lives of Ukrainian American immigrants. Two of the interviews are conducted in Ukrainian. The time periods covered are the 1930s-1990s. The interviewees discuss immigration, traditions, religion and Ukrainian American community organizations. Some of major topics are the United States culture, Ukrainian American youth organizations, Ukrainian religious ceremonies in the United States, and Ukrainian language and culture instruction. Ukrainian wedding and holiday traditions are also discussed.

Interviewees discuss working at the Bloomington RCA plant from the 1940s until the plant's closing in 1978. They describe the unions, family life, immigration, Brown County farming, and work life.

The interviews in this project are centered around the experiences of Koreans who immigrated to the United States and settled in Indiana. Many of the interviewees comment on conditions in Korea, the reasons they decided to leave that country, and the opportunities they found in the United States. In addition, several interviewees speak of the cultural differences they have discovered, and of the development of Korean American communities.

The American Foundations Oral History Project consists of a series of interviews with prominent American philanthropists, each of whom relates their background, the development of their values, and their philosophies of philanthropy. The purpose and state of American philanthropy, including those family foundations and corporate foundations, form a central topic, as do the recent trend of increasing diversity and opinions on grant evaluation and philanthropic assessment. In addition, many interviewees comment on the role of government in philanthropy and the system of ethics at play in American philanthropy.

This project consists of 27 interviews on the participation of girls in athletics from the nineteen twenties through the nineteen eighties. Organizations such as the Indiana High School Athletic Organization are discussed with regard to female participation in sports. The project also explores sex roles and girls' high school sports in local communities.

This project discusses the history of philanthropy and fundraising as a profession. The interviewees, all workers of different generations, discuss the various issues and changes the field of fundraising has faced over the years, with a major focus on fundraising in America. The changing public image of philanthropy, the introduction of women into the field, and the skills and techniques needed within the profession are all discussed in depth throughout the interviews. The major differences between various types of fundraising are also discussed.

This collection of interviews presents the life histories and impressions of a variety of residents from or near Paoli, Indiana. The interviewees range in age from early twenties to senior citizens and represent diverse professions, educational levels, and interests. This collection highlights some of the major changes in Orange County over the twentieth century and provides insight into the rich community life experienced by its residents.

The project deals with the beginning, the building, and the growth of the Indiana University (IU) Folklore Institute into an internationally recognized program. The interviewees are mostly students and/or faculty of the folklore program from the 1940s to the 1980s. They discuss those who most influenced and impacted the institute, namely Stith Thompson and Richard M. Dorson. They share their memories and experiences of the time they spent, or continue to spend, in the IU Folklore Institute.

The central focus of this project is the life of William Fortune, who lived from 1863 to 1942. Interviewees are the daughters of Indiana businessman William Fortune, a friend and father-in-law of Eli Lilly. They tell about their life in Indianapolis at the turn of the century and offer recollections of associations with famous people like the Lillys and James Whitcomb Riley.

The interviews in this collection concern life in Starke County, Indiana, primarily in the early part of the twentieth century. Dairy and pickle farming, along with their associated industries, are the major topics of discussion, but also described are schools, politics, ethnic communities, other types of farming, and community changes.

This collection of interviews focuses on the political career of John E. Hurt. The bulk of the collection consists of Mr. Hurt's interviews where he speaks about his role as a leading Democratic fundraiser and political advisor to several gubernatorial candidates and governors in Indiana from the late nineteen forties through the early nineteen sixties. The other interviews offer background and specifics about Hurt's political career and actions.