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Academics Collection

 Collection
Call Number: UA004

Scope and Contents

This collection contains material compiled by Tufts University Historian Russell Miller relating to general academic matters that did not fit into any of his other subject categories. It contains artifacts, clippings, correspondence, fliers, notes, programs, photographs, press releases, speeches, and lists of presenters and recipients of academic honors. It contains materials on commencement, class day, convocation, and matriculation. In addition, it contains the full text of talks given as part of the Russell Lecture Series, a lecture series that was run through the Crane Theological School and is the University's oldest lecture series. There are also materials on the Steinman Poetry Lecture Series and the University Lecture Series.

The photographs are grouped at the end of the collection.

Dates

  • Creation: 1856 -- 1996

Creator

Language of Materials

English

Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Some material in this collection may be protected by copyright and other rights. Please see “Reproductions and Use” on the Digital Collections and Archives website for more information about reproductions and permission to publish. Copyright to all materials created by Tufts University employees in the course of their work is held by the Trustees of Tufts University.

Biographical / Historical

Russell Elliott Miller was a Professor of History, University Historian and Archivist of Tufts University, and author of "Light on the Hill, A History of Tufts College from 1852 to 1952" and the second volume "Light on the Hill, A History of Tufts University since 1952." He was born in Bloomington, Minnesota, on April 25, 1916, to one of the last pioneer families in the Minnesota prairie. His mother spoke Dakota Sioux, which she had learned as a child. He received a B.A. in Education in 1937 and an M.A. in political science in 1939, both from the University of Florida at Gainesville. From 1942 to 1946, he served in the Army Air Corps as an enlisted man, rising to the rank of technical sergeant. Initially with personnel and classification, he was finally assigned to the historical section (intelligence) at the headquarters of the troop carrier command. In 1948 he earned a Master of Arts in history from Princeton University and came to Tufts that same year.





In 1952 he received a PhD from Princeton, and in 1964 Tufts appointed him Professor of History and University Historian and archivist. He taught courses ranging from the history of western civilization to the history of the American frontier. In 1966, he published "Light on the Hill, A History of Tufts College from 1852 to 1952." That year he received the Distinguished Service Award from the Tufts Alumni Association and became an honorary member of Phi Beta Kappa. In 1975 he became the Walter S. Dickson Professor of English and American History and chaired the Department of History from then until 1980. He was voted Emeritus Professor of English and American History in 1981 and received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree in 1983. In 1986, he completed the second volume of Tufts history, "Light on the Hill II, A History of Tufts University since 1952."

Extent

8.75 Linear Feet (18 boxes)

Arrangement

This collection is organized in one series: Academic.

Custodial History

The "Academic" collection was created by Russell Miller while preparing "Light on the Hill," his history of Tufts College. The material was assembled from various administrative departments. No attempt has been made to restore the original order of this material.

Processing Information

On 2012-11-15, DCA staff reviewed the contents of box UA004.001.002 and determined that no collection record exists for folder 3, although a card catalog entry is given for it, and it is not present in the box. Also, folder 4, despite having a records entry of "Academic Honors, Medical School, 1994" is not in the box. On this date the record for folder 4 was removed. Other were renumbered to avoid future confusion by researchers.

Related materials from accession UA-2023-016 were added to the Centennial folders by Records and Accessioning Archivist, Kate McNally, in September 2022.

Processing status

This collection is processed.

Repository Details

Part of the Tufts Archival Research Center Repository

Contact:
35 Professors Row
Tisch Library Building
Tufts University
Medford Massachusetts 02155 United States
617-627-3737