Vice-Chancellor for Data Processing records, 1977-1982
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Summary
- Creator:
- Duke University Vice-Chancellor for Data Processing
- Abstract:
- The collection documents the records of the office of the Vice Chancellor for Data Processing for the years 1977 through 1982. The bulk of the materials in the collection pertain to the Administrative System Planning Study, a project that studied the effects an automated computing system would have on the accuracy and efficiency of data processing at Duke. Materials include the final project report as well as drafts tracking the development of the project as well as notes and correspondence from members of the project team. The collection also includes interviews the committee conducted with Duke employees across a wide range of departments and external studies of information management at Duke. The Administrative System Planning Study series contains materials related to the report. They include a copy of the final report and several drafts of the report including notes and revisions. This series also contains two 1982 editions of The Chronicle announcing the institution of a new data processing system on campus. The Project Materials series contains meeting minutes from the Administrative System Planning council, papers as well as correspondence and notes from three members of the committee, Vice-Chancellor Mel Ray, Joe Kuran and Jim Prestwood as they worked to develop the project. These materials also include analyses of the research materials used in the report. The Research Materials series includes information the committee gathered while preparing the report. These materials include 15 interviews with employees from many departments about the current data processing environment at Duke. Interviewees included President Terry Sanford, Chancellor A. Kenneth Pye and Provost F. Cleaveland. Research materials also include the final copies of automation reports completed by IBM Corporation and Hay Associates on the existing systems and the potential effects of automation. Also included is a 1980 issue of IBM Corporation’s magazine, Prospectives in Computing featuring an article about the academic applications of computing at Duke.
- Extent:
- 1.5 Linear Feet
- Language:
- Materials in English
- Collection ID:
- UA.10.06.0002
- University Archives Record Group:
- 10 -- Executive VP and Treasurer & Administration (Business and Finance)
10 -- Executive VP and Treasurer & Administration (Business and Finance) > 06 -- Information Technology
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The collection documents the records of the office of the Vice Chancellor for Data Processing for the years 1977 through 1982. The bulk of the materials in the collection pertain to the Administrative System Planning Study, a project that studies the effects an automated computing system would have on the accuracy and efficiency of data processing at Duke. Materials related to the Administrative System Planning Study include a copy of the final report, drafts of the report and notes and correspondence between members of the committee.
The collection also contains research materials the committee gathered while preparing the report. These materials include 15 interviews with employees from many departments about the current data processing environment at Duke. Interviewees included President Terry Sanford, Chancellor A. Kenneth Pye and Provost F. Cleaveland. Research materials also include the final copies of automation reports completed by IBM Corporation and Hay Associates on the existing systems and the potential effects of automation. Also included is a 1980 issue of IBM Corporation’s magazine, Prospectives in Computing featuring an article about the academic applications of computing at Duke.
- Biographical / historical:
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The Vice-Chancellor for Data Processing, Mel Ray, was in charge of managing data and technology at Duke University. In 1977, this department began the Administrative Systems Planning Study. The project was a major effort to establish a system for addressing the near and long-term administrative information needs of the University. Its goals were to study Duke's administrative processes with a view toward identifying how automated information systems might best support administrative operations. The method used was similar to business systems analysis, and involved interviews with key administrators regarding their information needs, and studies of the functioning of existing manual and automated systems.
- Acquisition information:
- Transfer, 1979-1981
- Processing information:
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Processed by: Elizabeth Hannigan, June 2015.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Subjects
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Contents
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- Restrictions:
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Records of the University’s Board of Trustees which have been in 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.
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Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the University Archives to use this collection.
- Terms of access:
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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.
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- Preferred citation:
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[Identification of item], in the Vice-Chancellor for Data Processing records, Duke University Archives, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.