ABSTRACT

The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) is an organization formed by the 1975 merger of the American Alumni Council (AAC) and the American College Public Relations Association (ACPRA). Constituents of both groups believed their goal of increasing the professional competence of those individuals involved in all phases of alumni work including, alumni administration, educational fund raising, public relations and publications in order to promote the cause of education could be better achieved as a single entity.

The collection contains the records of CASE and its predecessor institutions covering the development of the early organizations and their merger to form the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.

ACCESS

This collection is open to the public without restriction. The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material.

PREFERRED CITATION

Cite as: Council for Advancement and Support of Education Records, 1913-2002, Ruth Lilly Special Collections and Archives, IUPUI University Library, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis.

ACQUISITION

Presented by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, 1996-2004.
A96-45, A1997/98-004, A1998/99-006, A1999/00-008, A2000/01-027.

Processed by Brenda Burk and Debra Brookhart.

HISTORICAL NOTE

The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) is an organization formed by the 1975 merger of the American Alumni Council (AAC) and the American College Public Relations Association (ACPRA). Constituents of both groups believed their goal of increasing the professional competence of those individuals involved in all phases of alumni work including, alumni administration, educational fund raising, public relations and publications in order to promote the cause of education could be better achieved as a single entity.

Both of CASE's predecessor organizations originated early in the twentieth century. In 1913 the Association of Alumni Secretaries (AAS) was founded to bring together individuals in charge of college or university alumni affairs to exchange ideas and information. Ten years later, the Association of Alumnae Secretaries that was formed in 1918 merged with the AAS. The American Alumni Council came into being through the consolidation of the AAS, the Association of Alumni Funds that was formed in 1925, and Alumni Magazines Associated, formed 1918. It operated as a professional association for educational alumni executives; members included alumni secretaries, fund and development directors and magazine editors. The AAC's goal was to provide professional assistance and to work for the benefit of higher education.

The American Association of College News Bureaus was established in 1917 from a group which first met informally, at the instigation of T. T. Frankenberg, in 1915. It was renamed in 1930 as the American College Publicity Association to reflect more closely the work of publicity directors. In 1931 its regional organization was developed, dividing the United States and Canada into six districts. In the late 1930s public relations was increasingly emphasized as being distinct from publicity and in the 1940s the organization began to develop relations with educational associations. The group was renamed the American College Public Relations Association in 1946 because of its growing concern with education rather than publicity. A national office was established in 1950 and a National Director hired that year. During the 1950s increasing attention was paid to the public relations aspect of fund raising.

As early as 1954 the leaders and some members of AAC and ACPRA began to believe the organizations could better achieve their goals if they combined their forces. However, it was three years before joint activities began with the formation of a Liaison Committee to study cooperative efforts. Although two annual and numerous district meetings were held jointly and their libraries consolidated, the two groups were unable to reach a merger agreement until 1975. Shortly thereafter the new organization adopted the name, Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). Currently CASE has over 3,000 member organizations in the United States, Canada, Mexico and eighteen other countries. Its members are involved in educational fund raising, alumni administration, communications, government relations and student recruitment. CASE accomplishes its mission of advancing the understanding and support of education by providing direct services to individual members, institutional members, and public programs.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Records are divided into five series: Association of Alumnae Secretaries, American Alumni Council (AAC), American College Public Relations Association (ACPRA), AAC/ACPRA Merger, and Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). This collection documents the history of CASE beginning with its predecessor organizations and continuing through the present.

Association of Alumnae Secretaries Records, 1913-1938, consist of correspondence and handbooks. Much of the correspondence deals specifically with the organization and development of the association.

American Alumni Council (AAC) Records, 1922-1974, consist of minutes, programs, reports, conference information, publications, and photographs. The board minutes are an excellent resource for information about the internal operations of the organization. Further information about the organization and education in general can be found in the conference reports. The papers given at the conferences are included in the reports and provide insight into the educational trends of the period. The records are arranged consistent with the arrangement of the CASE Records.

American College Public Relations Association (ACPRA) Records, 1915-1974, consist of minutes, reports, conference information, correspondence, publications, and photographs. The Board of Trustees records provide useful information on the later years of the organization, but are incomplete during its earlier years. The best place to find further information is the annual conference files and the president's files. The publications files also contain beneficial information about the organization and include annual reports, newsletters, and membership directories. The records are arranged consistent with the arrangement of the CASE Records.

AAC/ACPRA Merger Records, 1959-1997, include information about the merger of AAC and ACPRA. These materials consist of minutes from the joint study committee, records on the merger from both AAC and ACPRA, and interviews with different people involved in the merger. Further information about the merger and the decisions leading to the merger can be found in the AAC and ACPRA records

Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Records, 1973-2002, include information about the organization formed after the merger of AAC and ACPRA. These records are divided into ten sections based on the structure of the organization.

Board of Trustee Records, 1975-1998, contain the articles of incorporation, records of the Board of Trustees, committees of the board, and CASE Annual Assemblies. This is the best place to look for information about the organization as a whole. The Board of Trustees files include meeting minutes, correspondence, trustee handbooks, and the Highlights newsletter. The board minutes contain handouts and other pertinent items distributed for the meeting. The collection contains most of the board minutes with the exception of some of the minutes between 1980 and 1984. The president's reports to the board help fill in these gaps in the minutes and provide, in some cases, more detailed explanations of activities at board meetings. The committee records are arranged alphabetically by the committee name and contain meeting minutes and correspondence related to the committee. The Annual Assemblies serve as the annual meeting of the organization's membership. Information about the assemblies includes programs and agendas from the meetings. Further information about the Annual Assemblies is located in the Board of Trustees minute files.

President's Files, 1970-1997, contain correspondence, speeches, articles, and reports to the Board of Trustees. These files include the records of James Fisher, Gary Quehl, Virginia Carter Smith (Interim President), and Peter Buchanan. With the exception of Virginia Carter Smith all the presidents' files contain reports to the board. These reports contain detailed information about the activities of the president and the organization during the periods between meetings and are also useful sources for information about board meetings. The files of James Fisher, Gary Quehl, and Peter Buchanan contain correspondence, reports to the Board, and speeches. Since Virginia Carter Smith was president a few months, most of her records are in the staff files. Some of her correspondence as president, however, is located in this series. Administrative files and Board Records will also contain information about activities of a president for that particular year.

Administrative Files, 1969-2000, contain audits, reports, non-presidential speeches, correspondence, staff records, strategic planning, and legislative records. These records deal with the internal operations of the organization. The staff records document staff meetings and the activities of department chairs. This series also includes the records from the Student Alumni Association. This group's organizational structure is similar to that of CASE. Its files include minutes, district records, conference information, membership directories, and a newsletter.

Surveys, 1984-1998, contain the records of surveys conducted by CASE. Most of the surveys involve the status of higher education. The major survey, conducted by Gary Quehl, consisted of a number of campus visits to interview students, faculty, presidents, and chief academic officers. The results of this survey were sent to a special task force to be compiled and set forth as a report on the status of higher education in the United States. Other surveys include campus visits made by Virginia Carter Smith, statistical summaries and reports, and presidential polls. This series is arranged alphabetically by the name of the survey.

Award Records, 1974-1998, include programs, requirements, and lists of award winners. The Circle of Excellence and Recognition Awards are the major awards documented by this series.

Conference Records, 1975-1997, contain documents related to the annual and training conferences sponsored by CASE. Within the conference files are agendas, issues discussed, handouts from the conference, and correspondence related to the meeting. This is a good place to find information about topics of concern to educators and to CASE as an organization.

Publications, 1964-2002, contain books and newsletters published by CASE and include annual reports, membership directories, brochures, and handbooks. They are arranged alphabetically by the title of the publication. More of CASE=s publications collection can be located in the Payton Philanthropic Studies Library at IUPUI using the library's online catalog, IUCAT, available at: http://www.iucat.iu.edu.

District Records, 1974-1995, contain conference proceedings, meeting minutes, and newsletters from each of the eight districts. District records are arranged chronologically by district under the headings of conference, minutes, and newsletters.

Photographs, 1929-1996, include photographs from AAC and ACPRA prior to the merger and some photographs from CASE. The photographs from both AAC and ACPRA include awards and photographs of individuals involved in the organizations. The CASE photographs are mainly of awards programs during the 1970s and 1980s and conference photographs.

Audio Visual Materials, 1978-1992, contain video and audio cassettes from conferences, publications, and historic interviews. The audio cassettes include tapes from the Columbus Colloquium and the Greenbriar II Conference. Also included are cassettes related to CASE publications. The videos include interviews with Virginia Carter Smith and a set of Recollections of the AAC/ACPRA merger.

SERIES LIST