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Preliminary Inventory of the Robert Lee Flowers Records, 1891 - 1968

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Descriptive Summary

Title
Robert Lee Flowers records, 1891 - 1968.
Creator
Flowers, Robert Lee.
Duke University. President.
Duke University. Office of the Vice President.
Extent
22.5 Linear Feet,
21,000 Items
Repository
University Archives, Duke University
Abstract
Robert Lee Flowers, born in 1870, spent his entire professional career at Duke University. From 1891 to 1951, Flowers served in a variety of capacities, including professor (1891-1924), vice president of the business division (1925-1941), president (1941-1948), and chancellor (1948-1951). Types of material in the collection include correspondence, memoranda, reports, clippings, bound volumes, and other printed material. Major subjects include higher education in the United States, the role of universities during World War II, the assistance of displaced scholars during World War II, the Methodist Episcopal Church, and organizations in which Flowers served, including the Duke Endowment, the Durham Chamber of Commerce, the Durham and Southern Railway Company, Greensboro College, North Carolina Central University, the Methodist Orphanage, the Oxford Orphanage, and the Lincoln Hospital. Major correspondents include William Hayes Ackland, George Garland Allen, Alexander Boyd Andrews, John Fletcher Bruton, Homer Hasenlue Dubs, Benjamin Newton Duke, William Washington Flowers, Allen Howard Godbey, Edward R. Murrow, Edward Hines Page, William Robertson Perkins, Alexander Hamilton Sands, Jr., James Augustus Thomas, and Horace Trumbauer.
Language
English.
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Administrative Information

Access Restrictions
Patrons must sign the Acknowledgement of Legal Responsibility and Privacy Rights form before using this collection.
For a period of twenty-five years from the origin of the material, permission in writing from the office of origin and the University Archivist is required for use. After twenty-five years, records that have been processed may be consulted with the permission of the University Archivist.
Records of the University's Board of Trustees which have been existence for at least fifty years are available for scholarly research with the permission of the University Archivist. Access to records which have been in existence for less than fifty years shall be granted only by special permission, in writing, from the Board of Trustees.
In accordance with the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 as amended, Duke University permits students to inspect their education records and limits the disclosure of personally identifiable information from education records.
Use Restrictions
Copyright for Official University records is held by Duke University; all other copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Robert Lee Flowers Records, University Archives, Duke University.
Provenance
The Robert Lee Flowers Records were received by the University Archives as transfers in 1953 (A48-309), 1964 (A64-62), 1971 (A71-70), 1975 (A75-114), and 1982 (A82-133).
Processing Information
This collection is unprocessed: materials may not have been ordered and described beyond their original condition.
Encoded by Valerie Gillispie, June 18, 2003
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
            

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Biographical Note

Robert Lee Flowers was born at York Collegiate Institute, Alexander County, North Carolina, on November 6, 1870, the son of George Washington and Sarah Haynes Flowers. A graduate of the U. S. Naval Academy in 1891, Flowers was first employed as an instructor in mathematics and electrical engineering when Trinity was still in Randolph County. He moved with the college to Durham in 1892. As an engineer, one of his first responsibilities was to wire the new buildings in Durham for electricity.

He served as a professor from 1891 to 1924 and as vice-president of the business division of Duke University from 1925-1941. Following the death of President Few in 1941, Flowers was named president of Duke University. In 1948, he stepped down as president and served as chancellor until 1951. Dr. Flowers was a trustee of the Duke Endowment, a director of the Durham and Southern Railway Company, a director of the Fidelity Bank of Durham, and a trustee of Greensboro College, of the Oxford Orphanage, of Lincoln Hospital, and of the North Carolina College for Negroes (now North Carolina Central University).

He married Lily Virginia Parrish on June 22, 1905. They had two daughters, Virginia and Sybil Parrish. Mrs. Flowers died on May 22, 1948. Robert Flowers died on August 24, 1951. He is buried in Maplewood Cemetery in Durham.

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Collection Overview

Collection includes office files of the vice president and president of Duke University. The position of vice president included duties as secretary and treasurer. The official files consist of correspondence, memoranda, reports, printed matter and other materials received or generated by these offices. The first series, Correspondence is arranged chronologically, and the second series, Subject Files alphabetically. Besides University records, the subject files include material on higher education in America, the role of colleges and universities during World War II, the committee to assist displaced scholars, Methodist Church activities and administration, and records of the various organizations for which Flowers served as a trustee. Also included in the collection is a series of several Volumes focused on Flowers, and a series of Oversize Materials from the Subject Files.
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Subject Headings

These and related materials may be accessed under the following subject headings in the Duke University Libraries online catalog.
  • Allen, George Garland, 1874-1960.
  • Andrews, Alexander Boyd, 1873-1946.
  • Bruton, John Fletcher.
  • Duke, Benjamin Newton, 1855-1929.
  • Duke Endowment.
  • Duke University--Administration.
  • Duke University. Office of the Vice President.
  • Duke University. President.
  • Duke University--Presidents.
  • Durham (N.C.). Chamber of Commerce.
  • Durham and Southern Railway Company.
  • Flowers, Robert Lee.
  • Godbey, Allen Howard, 1864-1948.
  • Greensboro College (N.C.)
  • Lincoln Hospital (Durham, N.C.)
  • Methodist Church--North Carolina.
  • Murrow, Edward R.
  • North Carolina Central University.
  • Orphanages--North Carolina.
  • Oxford Orphanage (Oxford, N.C.)
  • Perkins, William Robertson, 1875-1945.
  • Sands, Alexander Hamilton, Jr.
  • Thomas, James A.
  • Trumbauer, Horace, 1869-1938.
  • Universities and colleges--United States.
  • World War, 1939-1945--Education and the war.
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[Forms part of:] Duke University President records.
University Archives. Duke University.

[Forms part of:] Duke University Office of the Vice President records.
University Archives. Duke University.

Horace Trumbauer Architectural Drawings Collection.
University Archives. Duke University.

List of Series in Collection
Correspondence, 1891-1948
Subject Files
Volumes
Oversize Materials
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Preliminary Description of the Collection

Correspondence, 1891-1948

Box 1

1891-1924
Box 2

January-September 1925
Box 3

October 1925-June 1926
Box 4

July 1926-April 1927
Box 5

May 1927-May 1928
Box 6

June 1928-April 1929
Box 7

May 1929-August 1930
Box 8

September 1930-March 1932
Box 9

April 1932-October 1933
Box 10

November 1933-January 1935
Box 11

February 1935-August 1936
Box 12

September 1936-March 1938
Box 13

April 1938-November 1939
Box 14

December 1939-January 1941
Box 15

February-September 1941
Box 16

October 1941-February 17, 1942
Box 17

February 18, 1942-July 1942
Box 18

August-December 1942
Box 19

January-July 1943
Box 20

August 1943-February 1944
Box 21

March-September 1944
Box 22

October 1944-April 1945
Box 23

May-November 1945
Box 24

December 1945-May 1946
Box 25

June-October 1946
Box 26

November 1946-June 1947
Box 27

July 1947-March 1948
Box 28

April 1948-n.d.

Subject Files

Box 29
Ackland, William Hayes
American Association of University Professors
American Association of University Women
American Council--Institute of Pacific Relations
American Council on Education   [3 folders]
American Historical Association
Andrews, Alexander Boyd
Annual Reports to the President - Department Reports
Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad, 1933-1941
Box 30
Association of American Universities
Citizens' Emergency Committee on Nondefense Expenditures
Cowpen, C. C.
Dubs, Homer Hasenlue
Duke, James Buchanan -- Will

Duke Endowment
Hospital and Orphan Section   [6 folders]
Box 31
Hospital and Orphan Section   [1 folder]
Report of the Secretary
Rural Church Section
Superannuate Fund, 1940-1947   [8 folders]
Box 32
Superannuate Fund, 1948   [1 folder]
Duke Family
Duke Homestead -- Durham, NC
Duke Memorial, The
Duke Memorial United Methodist Church -- Durham, NC

Duke University
Admissions
Alumni Association
Angier B. Duke Memorial Student Loan Fund
Alumni Killed in World War II
Board of Trustees
Brown, Frank Clyde Collection of Folklore
Budget
Bus Service
Carillon
Centennial Celebration
Central Purchasing Department
Chapel
Clippings
Commencement
Debate
Committee for Investigation and Recommendation on Student . . .
Defense Council
Box 33
Divinity School
Duke University Church
Educational Research Committee
Endowment
Engineering School
Enrollment Statistics, 1849-1937
Exhibitions
Faculty Apartments
Faculty Committees
Faculty Housing

Faculty Publications
July 1941-August 1946
July 1941-August 1949   [4 folders]
Forestry School
Box 34
"Four Acres"
Fraternities and Sororities
Gifts and Bequests
Gifts and Bequests, 1936-1939
Graduate School
Historical Material
Insurance
Insurance [Oversize Material]
King Paucus Affair
Laundry
Law School
Lawsuits
Libraries -- Flowers Collection
Libraries
Mathematics Department
School of Medicine
National Recovery Administration
Naval Reserve Officers' Training Corps
Box 35
Parapsychology Laboratory   [2 folders]
Phi Beta Kappa
Philosophy Department
Program of Cooperation with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Public Lectures, 1934-1935
Physics Department
Quadrangle Pictures
Research Corporation
Retirement Schedule
Sabbatical Leave
South Atlantic Inter-American Workshop, 1944
Statistics
Student Publications
Student Union
Taxes
Box 36
Trinity College Historical Society
Tuition
Undergraduate Teaching Council
Veteran Students
Woman's College
Young Men's Christian Association
Duke University Press

Durham, North Carolina
Chamber of Commerce
Government
Young Men's Christian Association
Durham and Southern Railway
Durham County Civil Defense Council
Durham Methodist Society -- Durham, N.C.
Education, Higher
Few, William Preston

Flowers, Robert Lee
Letters of Congratulation on Assuming the Presidency of Duke University
Box 37
Speeches and Writings
Personal Papers
Flowers, William Washington
Freak Letters
Godbey, Allen Howard   [2 folders]
Greensboro College -- Greensboro, N.C.   [2 folders]
Highland Hospital -- Asheville, N.C.
Highlands Biological Research Laboratory
Kittrell College -- Kittrell, N.C.
Box 38
Lake Junaluska Methodist Assembly
Lincoln Hospital -- Durham, N.C.
Livingstone College -- Salisbury, N.C.
Louisburg College -- Louisburg, N.C.

Methodist Church
Association of Schools and Colleges
Board of Education   [8 folders]
Box 39
Board of Education   [4 folders]
North Carolina Conference, 1939-1941

Methodist Episcopal Church, South
Board of Education
General Board of Lay Activities
Golden Cross
Judicial Council
North Carolina Conference, 1931
Union with Northern Church
Union with Northern Church [Oversize Material]
Box 40
Methodist Orphanage -- Raleigh, N.C.
National Conference of Christians and Jews
National Orphans Home -- Lexington, N.C.
National Policy Committee -- Washington, D.C.
New Duke University [Construction Costs], 1931 [Oversize Material]
Newcomen Society
North Carolina Bar Association, 1938
North Carolina Central University -- Durham, N.C.   [4 folders]
Box 41
North Carolina College Conference
North Carolina Commission on Interracial Cooperation
North Carolina Division of Cooperation in Education and Race Relations
Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies
Oxford Orphanage -- Oxford, N.C.   [7 folders]
Box 42
Oxford Orphanage -- Oxford, N.C.   [2 folders]
Page, Walter Hines
Perkins, William Robertson
Pineland College -- Salemburg, N.C.
Seeman, Ernest Albright
Simmons, Furnifold McLendel
Smith, Johnson C., University -- Charlotte, N.C.
South Atlantic Publishing Company
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
Trinity College -- Randolph Co., N.C. -- Historical Material
United States Naval Academy -- Annapolis, M.D.
War, Students and

Volumes


Grade Books
Trinity College, 1892-1893
Trinity College, 1894
Autograph Album of Distinguished People
Clippings and Autographs
[Letters of Tribute on Robert Flowers's 79th Birthday], 1949
Box 43

Oversize Materials


Subject Files

Duke University
Insurance

Methodist Episcopal Church, South
Union with Northern Church
New Duke University [Construction Costs], 1931
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Separated Material

President Flowers has oversize material located in map cabinet 3 including a resolution in memoriam of his death and diplomas from the Naval Academy and Trinity College.