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[Identification of item], James A. Joseph papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library
The James A. Joseph papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library as a gift in 2005.
Processed by Meghan Lyon, March 2009
Encoded by Meghan Lyon, March 2009
This collection is minimally processed: materials may not have been ordered and described beyond their original condition.
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James A. Joseph is a Louisiana native who graduated from Southern University, Baton Rouge, and from Yale Divinity School. He is an ordained minister and is currently Professor of the Practice of Public Policy Studies and Leader-in-Residence at the Hart Leadership Program at Duke University. He is also responsible for launching the U.S.-Southern Africa Center for Leadership and Public Values.
Joseph has taught at Yale Divinity School and at Clairemont Colleges, where he served as chaplain. He was also active in the Louisiana Civil Rights movement during the 1960s. From 1971-1976 he worked as vice president of the Cummins Engine Co. and was president of the Cummins Engine Foundation. In 1977, he was appointed by President Carter to be the undersecretary of the Interior, where he served until 1981. He was also chairman of the presidentially appointed Commission on the Northern Mariannas under President Carter; a member of the Advisory Committee to the Agency for International Development under President Reagan; and an incorporating director of the Points of Light Foundation and a member of the Presidential Commission on Historically Black Colleges under President Bush. He is also a former president and CEO of the Council on Foundations, 1982-1995.
Joseph served as ambassador to South Africa from January 1996 to November 1999, and was the first and only U.S. ambassador to present his credentials to President Nelson Mandela. In recognition of Joseph's contributions, South African President Thabo Mbeki awarded him the Order of Good Hope, the highest honor the Republic of South Africa bestows on a citizen of another country. Before serving in South Africa, Joseph was the first chairman of the board of directors of President Clinton's Corporation for National Service.
This information is taken from his personal papers and from Joseph's biography as written on the Hart Leadership Program website.
The addition (2009-0015) (3 lin. ft.; dated 1961-2004) includes correspondence, chronological files, calendars, clippings, memorabilia, notes, and administrative materials largely dating from Joseph's time as an undersecretary for the Department of the Interior and his ambassadorship to South Africa. Also included are some materials from his work for the Council on Foundations, largely dating from the late 1980s, and some awards and honors dating from the early 2000s. Some newspaper clippings dating from the 1960s discuss his Civil Rights work and ministerial activities. This material has not been processed and therefore no arrangement has been completed at this time. Acquired as part of the John Hope Franklin Research Center for African and African American History and Culture.
These are searchable subject entries for this collection. Performing a search on these subjects in the Duke University Libraries online catalog will bring up other related research materials.
The addition (2009-0015) (3 lin. ft.; dated 1961-2004) includes correspondence, chronological files, calendars, clippings, memorabilia, notes, and administrative materials largely dating from Joseph's time as an undersecretary for the Department of the Interior and his ambassadorship to South Africa. Also included are some materials from his work for the Council on Foundations, largely dating from the late 1980s, and some awards and honors dating from the early 2000s. Some newspaper clippings dating from the 1960s discuss his Civil Rights work and ministerial activities. This material has not been processed and therefore no arrangement has been completed at this time. Acquired as part of the John Hope Franklin Research Center for African and African American History and Culture.