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This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the FAQ section for more information.
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Collection Overview
| Size | 4.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 1000 items) |
| Abstract | Ralph McCallister was vice-president of the Chautauqua Institution, Jamestown, N.Y., 1944-1961; executive director of Shakertown, Lexington, Ky., 1961-1962; operations director of the Learning Institute of North Carolina, 1964-1966; vice-president of the Regional Education Laboratory for the Carolinas and Virginia, 1966-1969; and an official with other organizations. Correspondence, reports, published materials, and other items chiefly relating to McCallister's work with the Chautauqua Institution; Shakertown in Pleasant Hill, Ky.; the North Carolina Advancement School; the Learning Institute of North Carolina; the Regional Educational Laboratory of the Carolinas and Virginia; and other educational institutions. Included are letters, 1962-1963, from Sarah Gertrude Knott about her difficulties with the National Folk Festival Association. There are also some letters from friends and other personal materials. |
| Creator | McCallister, Ralph, 1905-1988. |
| Language | English |
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Information For Users
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Subject Headings
The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
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Biographical Information
1905 Born 28 September in Carmi, Illinois
1930 Received Ph.D in History, Social Philosophy, and Education from University of Chicago. Married Margaret Emde
1931-1932 Social Science teacher at Mt. Clemens High School, Mt. Clemens, Michigan
1932-1936 Social Science teacher and head of department, Dearborn High School, Dearborn, Michigan
1936 Received M.A. in History, Social Philosophy, and Education from University of Michigan
1936-1948 Director, Adult Education, Council of Chicago
1944-1961 Director of Programs and Education, and Vice-President, Chautauqua Institution
1947 Married Margaret Land after death of his first wife
1948-1952 Visiting lecturer, Maxwell School of Citizenship, Syracuse University
1961-1962 Executive director, Shakertown, an historic village near Lexington, Kentucky
1962-1963 Executive director, National Conference on Scientific Information, New York City
1963-1964 Coordinator of planning, North Carolina Advancement School, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
1964-1966 Operations director, Learning Institute of North Carolina, Rougemont, North Carolina
1966-1969 Vice-president and project director, and later director of special programs, Regional Education Laboratory for the Carolinas and Virginia
1969 Consultant to the University of the State of New York, the State Education Department on the evaluation of Community Education Centers in a state-wide urban education development program Visiting associate professor, North Carolina State University, Department of Adult Education
1969-1972 Consultant on medical education development, and later deputy director at the Office of Medical Studies, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
1970 Executive director, National Task Force on the Adult Right to Read Effort
1988 Died, 23 April
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Scope and Content
These papers chiefly document the professional activities of Ralph McCallister from 1944 when he became director of programs and education at Chatauqua Institution until his retirement in 1972 from the Office of Medical Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Correspondence and papers from his years as director of the Adult Education Council of Chicago are at the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle. A much larger collection of his papers from Chautauqua are at Yale University.
There is some overlap among series, particularly between Series 5 and 6. Items were placed in the Series to which they seemed most important. A number of McCallister's professional colleagues later became personal friends and continued their correspondence with him. These letters can be found in Subseries 9.1.
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Series Quick Links
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Series 1. Chautauqua Institution, 1944-1985 and undated.
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Subseries 1.1. Correspondence, 1944-1985 and undated.
Arrangement: chronological.
Chiefly professional correspondence to and from McCallister relating to arranging the educational programs at Chautauqua, a summer educational institute near Jamestown, New York. Included are several letters to Karl Menninger who was a guest lecturer there.
Of interest are letters concerning incidents of McCarthyism that occurred at Chautauqua in March 1953, August-September 1954, and October December 1959. The 1959 incident was the printing in "News and Views," a publication of the National Layman's Council of the Church League of America edited by Edgar C. Bundy, of a smear against Chautauqua and a number of the lecturers, including Karl Menninger, Norman Cousins, Frank Porter Graham, Anna Lord Strauss, and others.
Also included are letters from McCallister to friends alleging racism and anti-Catholicism among members of the Board. These perceptions of McCallister in combination with his disagreement with management policies of the Board led to his resignation on January 12, 1961.
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Subseries 1.2. Notes and Writings, 1946-1981 and undated.
Notes, writings, brochures, budgets, reports, and newspaper clippings relating to Chautauqua.
| Folder 19-20 |
Notes and writings, 1946-1981 and undated #03998, Subseries: "1.2. Notes and Writings, 1946-1981 and undated." Folder 19-20Folder 19Folder 20 |
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Series 2. Shakertown, 1961-1962.
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Subseries 2.1. Correspondence, 1961-1962.
Arrangement: chronological.
Professional and personal correspondence about Shakertown, an historic village near Lexington, Kentucky, originally settled by the Shaker religious sect, while McCallister was employed as Executive Director, 1961-1962.
| Folder 21 |
1961 #03998, Subseries: "2.1. Correspondence, 1961-1962." Folder 21 |
| Folder 22 |
1962 #03998, Subseries: "2.1. Correspondence, 1961-1962." Folder 22 |
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Subseries 2.2. Notes and Writings, 1961 and undated.
Reports to the Board, minutes from Board meetings, internal memos, handwritten brochures, written histories, and typed notes, newspaper articles, and miscellaneous items dealing with Shakertown.
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Series 3. Scientists' Committees, 1960-1963 and undated.
Arrangement: chronological.
A few routine letters mingled with a quantity of typed, duplicated, or printed papers and brochures, all related to the Scientists' Committee for Radiation Information (incorporated May 1960, under sponsorship of American Association for the Advancement of Science), or to the National Conference for Scientific Information on Nuclear Age Problems, or to similar committees.
McCallister served as executive director of the National Conference from November 1962 to March 1963, and as acting director for a while thereafter. The National Conference sought to bring together representatives from scientists' committees all over the country.
The materials include some copies of Board minutes of the National Conference, slight correspondence, relevant monographs and brochures and bulletins; papers concerning programs of two meetings of the National Conference held in New York on 17-18 November 1962 and 16-17 February 1963; and typed formal requests for funding, addressed to the Carnegie Foundation, following each Conference, written by Jules Hersch, M.D., of the Rockefeller Institute. The requests for funding envisioned a Scientists Institute for Public Information that would provide the public with information on such problems as radioactive fallout, pesticides, air pollution, and detergents in water supplies.
Included is an undated typed statement (2 pages, carbon typescript), circa 17 February 1963, summarizing the purpose and work of the National Conference and its component groups, and the purposes of the "Scientists Institute for Public Information" at the time of its founding on 17 February, as well as a fuller press release and copies of newspaper clippings. There also are a few other papers from this period.
The items dated earlier than November 1962 appear to be monographs assembled for a kit, January 1963, for board members.
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Series 4. National Folk Festival Association, Inc., 1961-1966 and Undated.
Arrangement: chronological.
Apparently an incomplete file from a period (about April-July 1963), when McCallister was negotiating with the Planning Committee of the Association about becoming the director or chief executive officer. The majority of the dated letters addressed to McCallister begin 22 April 1963, and end 16 July 1963. During this time McCallister was moving from New York City to Chapel Hill, N. C. L. G. Derthick was president of the Association.
A large part of this series consists of undated handwritten letters from Sarah Gertrude Knott, founder and longtime director of the Association, explaining to McCallister from her point of view the moves that board members were making in the process of forcing her out of power. Her letters were apparently written in late 1962 and the first half of 1963. During this period Ms. Knott sent various duplicated papers (mostly mimeographed matter) and printed ephemera concerning her work with the festival, 1961-1963. Among the materials are items about the Festival held in Covington, Kentucky, in May 1963; by-laws and other organizational papers; lists and programs; bulletins; and some items about the financial problems of the Association.
The correspondence and duplicated materials have been arranged in a chronological series as far as possible.
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Series 5. North Carolina Advancement School/Learning Institute of North Carolina, 1961-1967 and Undated.
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Subseries 5.1. Correspondence, 1964-1967 and Undated.
Arrangement: chronological.
Chiefly professional correspondence concerning the operation of the Advancement School, where McCallister worked as coordinator of planning, and the Learning Institute of North Carolina, where he served as operations director, 1964-1966. The North Carolina Advancement School was a program developed under Governor Terry Sanford and his assistant John Ehle to determine and provide remedies for the causes of underachievement in North Carolina students. LINC, founded in 1964, was an outgrowth of this program. Its purpose was to be a coordinating body for experiments like the Advancement School and to conduct research that would help solve current problems in the North Carolina educational system.
Included is correspondence relating to various conferences McCallister attended. Notable examples are a letter, January 20, 1964, from Gov. Sanford requesting his presence at a program on the Advancement School, and a group of letters in July 1964 referring to the International Conference on the Impact of Educational Technology.
Also included are numerous letters in January and February 1966 from McCallister to Harold Howe, II, who left his position as director of LINC to become U. S. Commissioner of Education under President Johnson, and a few items to William Friday, president of UNC who served on the board of directors for LINC.
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Subseries 5.2. Notes and Writings, 1961-1966.
Arrangement: chronological.
Assorted items including a report concerning the North Carolina Advancement School, 3 October 1963, a typed copy of a statement concerning the Advancement School and LINC released by Governor Terry Sanford on 2 December 1963, a Curriculum Improvement Proposal initiated by John Ehle, 28 February 1964, a typed copy of the presentation on the Advancement School by McCallister at a Mars Hill Superintendents' Meeting, newspaper clippings about Gov. Sanford's programs in education, a copy of "College Preparation for High School Students," by Harold Howe, II, a copy of the LINC Quarterly, and a copy of a news release dated 16 February 1966 on the Regional Education Liboratory for the Carolinas and Virginia.
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Series 6. Regional Educational Laboratory for the Carolinas and Virginia, 1966-1969 and Undated.
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Subseries 6.1. Correspondence, 1966-1969 and Undated.
Arrangement: chronological.
Chiefly professional correspondence on the early development of the Regional Educational Laboratory for the Carolinas and Virginia, an educational research and development program funded by the U.S. Office of Education. RELCV was part of a network of educational laboratories across the United States.
Included are letters from August 1966 and August 1967 referring to yearly site visits and reviews by the U.S.O.E. and efforts to obtain funding. Also included is correspondence throughout the series about a program in which McCallister was involved for teaching standard English to preschool children from "non-standard" backgrounds through the use of television. This program was based on a project developed in American Samoa. Letters written in April and May 1969 referring to McCallister's dispute with management over the use of an anonymous critique of his program are also included. This controversy culminated in McCallister's being fired.
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Subseries 6.2. Notes and Writings, 1966-1969 and Undated.
Arrangement: chronological.
Progress and development reports on various RELCV projects; news releases, brochures, papers and abstracts of papers dealing with RELCV; and a professional personnel data form for McCallister.
Included are copies of the report by Dr. Susan Houston, "An Evaluation of Ralph McCallister, A System of Pre-First Grade Instruction for McCormick County, South Carolina," which caused the controversy at the end of McCallister's career at RELCV, and another report by Dr. Houston, "Child Black English in Northern Florida." Also included is a copy of a response to the first critique by John Harold.
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Series 7. North Carolina State University Department of Adult Education/Adult Right to Read Effort/University of North Carolina Office
of Medical Studies, 1967-1981 and undated.
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Subseries 7.1. Correspondence, 1969-1981.
Arrangement: chronological.
Chiefly correspondence relating to N.C. State's Department of Adult Education where McCallister was a visiting professor in 1969, the National Task Force on the Adult Right to Read Effort, where McCallister served as executive director in 1970, and the University of North Carolina's office of Medical Studies where McCallister served as a consultant and later as deputy director from 1969 to 1972.
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Subseries 7.2. Notes and Writings, 1967-1971 and undated.
Arrangement: chronological.
Assorted items including two typed copies of speeches, "The Right to Read - Target for the 70's" and "The Educational Third Dimension," by U. S. Commissioner of Education James E. Allen, Jr., memos and notes on the strategy planning session and task force on the Adult Right to Read Effort, preprinted materials on adult education, minutes of the 22 October 1970 meeting of the Southern Regional Deans Group of the Association of American Medical Colleges, and photocopied reports on developing medical school curriculums.
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Series 8. Other Professional Organizations, 1944-1985 and undated.
Arrangement: by organization.
Reports, brochures, and other photocopied material relating to numerous professional organizations in which McCallister was involved.
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Series 9. Personal Materials, 1940-1985 and undated.
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Subseries 9.1. Correspondence, 1940-1985 and undated.
Arrangement: chronological.
Chiefly letters between McCallister and his friends, including associates who continued a personal correspondence after their professional relationship ended. Included are a number of letters from Harold Howe and his wife while Howe was U. S. Commissioner of Education and afterwards. Also included are letters on family matters, including numerous letters between McCallister and his doctors regarding operations on his ears and other medical problems.
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Subseries 9.2. Miscellaneous Items, 1936-1985 and undated.
Financial statements, newspaper articles by or about McCallister and his family, copies of writings by or about Karl Menninger, handwritten notes, and other items.
| Folder 155-165 |
Miscellaneous items, and undated. #03998, Subseries: "9.2. Miscellaneous Items, 1936-1985 and undated." Folder 155-165Folder 155Folder 156Folder 157Folder 158Folder 159Folder 160Folder 161Folder 162Folder 163Folder 164Folder 165 |
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Subseries 9.3. Job Search Materials, 1949-1963 and undated.
Arrangement: chronological.
Letters to and from McCallister during several periods when he was searching for a job.
Processed by: Shonra Newman, December 1989
Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008
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