Inventory of the National Alumni Association Records, 1946 - 1964 (bulk 1946-1955)

Descriptive Summary Administrative Information      Access Restrictions      Copyright Notice      Preferred Citation      Acquisitions Information      Processing Information Historical Note Collection Overview Online Catalog Headings Container List

Winston-Salem State University

Contact Information: Winston-Salem State University Archives C.G. O'Kelly Library Winston-Salem, N.C. 27110 336-750-2455 336-750-2459 http://www.wssu.edu/library/archives

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Descriptive Summary

Repository:	Winston-Salem State University. Archives
Creator:	National Alumni Association
Title:	National Alumni Association Records, 1946-1964
Language of Material:	Material in English
Location:	For current information on the location of these materials, please consult Winston-Salem State University Archives.
Abstract:	The National Alumni Association is an organization of alumni associations at historically black colleges and universities, organized at Winston-Salem Teachers College (now WSSU) in 1946.
	The records of NAA span from 1946 to 1964 and primarily consist of conference minutes/proceedings, bulletins and newsletters, annual reports, correspondence, and clippings.
Extent:	.4 linear feet, 1 archival box

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Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research

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Copyright Notice

Copyright is retained by the creators, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law. However, some material may be in the public domain.

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Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], National Alumni Association Records (MS 3), Winston-Salem State University Archives, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.

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Acquisitions Information

Gift of Simona Atkins Allen, 1998, who received materials from Rachel Diggs Wilkinson.

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Processing Information

Processed by Carter Cue, Feb. 2005 and Cat S. McDowell, March 2005

Edited and encoded by Cat S. McDowell, April 2005

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Biographical Note

The National Alumni Association (NAA) was organized on the campus of Winston-Salem Teachers College (now Winston-Salem State University) April 6, 1946. The organization consisted of alumni associations from historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) across the United States. At the inaugural meeting in 1946, sponsored by Winston-Salem Teachers College, individuals representing thirty-two HBCUs were present.

The socio-economic realities of a segregated South during the early years of the National Alumni Association meant many HBCUs lacked efficient, formally organized and funded alumni associations. Thus, the National Alumni Association's primary objectives were three-fold: 1) improve alumni relationships with individual colleges; 2) collectively share information that fostered an exchange of ideas and 3) establish full-time, paid campus alumni directors at NAA member institutions.

In its early years, the NAA promoted communication and awareness primarily through an annual conference, as well as newsletters and bulletins produced through the efforts of NAA Executive Secretary Rachel Diggs Wilkinson. A 1933 graduate of Winston-Salem Teachers College, Wilkinson became the college's first director of alumni affairs on a part-time basis in 1938, and full-time in 1940. In addition to serving as Secretary of Alumni Records, Wilkinson also served as Director of Public Relations, Director of Educational Research, and Dean of Women. In 1955, Wilkinson resigned as executive secretary of the NAA following her relocation to New York.

In 1972 the NAA's name was changed to the Association of National Alumni Associations, and it is currently known as the Council of National Alumni Associations.

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Collection Overview

The records of the National Alumni Association date from 1946 to 1964, but the bulk of the materials date from 1946 to 1955, the period Rachel Diggs Wilkinson served as the organization's secretary. The collection documents the NAA's activities through conferenceminutes and proceedings, which contain details of NAA actions as reported at annual meetings from 1946 to 1956. The NAA Records also contain issues of the organization's official organ, the National Alumni Association Bulletin, for the years 1948 to 1957 and 1964, in addition to issues of the NAA monthly newsletter, produced and mailed by Wilkinson, from 1950-1953. Wilkinson, in her role as Executive Secretary, was also responsible for producing annual reports pertaining to membership, finances, and organizational initiatives that were presented at annual meetings; the collection contains 5 of these, dating from 1950 to 1955. Other NAA records in this collection include clippings, the organization's constitution, and miscellaneous reports.

Online Catalog Headings

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Container List