David Richmond Gergen papers, 1964-1999 (bulk 1971-1992)

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Summary

Creator:
Gergen, David R. (David Richmond), 1942-
Abstract:
Counselor, special advisor, director of communications, and speech writer to U.S. Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton. Gergen has also worked as a journalist, serving as Editor-at-large of U.S. News and World Report and as a regular analyst on the "MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour" and the "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer." A native of Durham, N.C., Gergen graduated from Yale University and the Harvard Law School and served for three-and-a-half years in the U.S. Navy. The collection includes materials from Gergen's career in politics as well as his journalism career. Among his political materials are presidential campaign materials for the 1972, 1976, 1980, and 1984 elections; subject files; office memos; chronological files and telephone logs; daily planners; and legal and financial papers; as well as drafts and transcripts of Gergen's and other's speeches. The collection includes 86 black-and-white and color photographs, 16 audio cassettes; and 106 video cassettes. Other materials document his journalism career, including editorials, interoffice memos, and other U.S. News and World Report documents; financial and subject files relating to his work as an analyst on the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour; speeches; correspondence, chronological files, and telephone logs; and financial papers. The addition contains 445 electronic computer files; 5 color and 40 black-and-white photographs; 16 slides; and 82 video cassettes; as well as 35 audio cassettes. The audio and video cassettes include interviews with Richard Nixon and Ross Perot.
Extent:
216.7 Linear Feet
Language:
English.
Collection ID:
RL.00443

Background

Scope and content:

This collection (74,159 items, dated 1964-1999) documents David Gergen's professional life as a speech writer, director of communications, and special counsel for U.S. Secretary of the Treasury William E. Simon and for Presidents Nixon, Ford, and Reagan. The materials include presidential campaign materials for the 1972, 1976, 1980, and 1984 elections; subject files; office memos; chronological files and telephone logs; daily planners; and legal and financial papers; as well as drafts and transcripts of Gergen's and other's speeches. The collection includes 86 black-and-white and color photographs, 16 audio cassettes; and 106 video cassettes. (2000-0356)

The addition (47,269 items, dated 1987-1996) continues to document David Gergen's involvement in national politics, as both Counselor and Special Advisor to President Clinton from 1993 to 1995, and as a journalist. Materials include editorials, interoffice memos, and otherU.S. News and World Report documents; financial and subject files relating to his work as an analyst on the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour; speeches; correspondence, chronological files, and telephone logs; and financial papers. The addition contains 445 electronic computer files; 5 color and 40 black-and-white photographs; 16 slides; and 82 video cassettes; as well as 35 audio cassettes. The audio and video cassettes include interviews with Richard Nixon and Ross Perot. (2000-0415)

Biographical / historical:
Chronology List
Date Event
9 May 1942
Born in Durham, NC, to parents Aubigne Munger and Dr. John Jay Gergen
1963
B.A., Yale University
1967
LL.B., Harvard University
1967-1971
Officer, U.S. Navy
1971-1972
Staff Assistant, Nixon Administration
1973-1974
Special Assistant to President Richard Nixon
1975-1977
Special Counsel to President Gerald Ford
1977-1981
Resident Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
1981-1984
Director of Communications and Assistant to President Ronald Reagan
1985-1986
Editor, U.S. News and World Report
1985-2000
Contributor, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
1986-
Editor-at-Large, U.S. News and World Report
1993-1994
Counselor to President Bill Clinton
1994
Special Advisor to President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Warren Christopher
1995-1998
Visiting Professor, Duke University
1999-
Prof. of Public Service, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
2000
Author, Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership from Nixon to Clinton (Simon and Schuster)
2000-2001
Commentator, ABC News Nightline
2000-2002
Moderator, World @ Large PBS discussion series
2000-
Director, Center for Public Leadership, Kennedy School of Government
2002-2003
Commentator, Marketplace
Acquisition information:
The David Richmond Gergen Papers was received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a gift in 2000.
Processing information:

Accessioned by Ruth E. Bryan; Kate Crassons; Ann G. Langford; Alice Poffinberger; Lisa C. Stark

Completed December 4, 2000

Encoded by Ruth E. Bryan; Ming Guo; Sue-Ellen Katz; Mohammad Hutasuhut

Updated by Meghan Lyon, May 2011

This collection is unprocessed: materials may have not been ordered and described beyond their original condition.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

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Restrictions:

The collection is closed pending processing.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], David Richmond Gergen Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.

Permalink:
https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m1h61c