Dean Rusk Collection

Collection

Identifier: DC004

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The collection is arranged in the following series: Biographical Information; Addresses; Correspondence; Interviews; Printed Materials; Photographs; and Recordings. The biographical information includes information about Mr. Rusk and about his family. The addresses are copies of speeches given at Davidson College and at other functions. The correspondence dates from 1939-1994, most of which is between Davidson College and Dean Rusk. The correspondence, 1931-1942 with Professor G.R. Vowles follows Rusk as a Rhodes Scholar and his work at Mills College. There are published interviews, as well as transcriptions of televised interviews. The majority of the collection is printed material, which includes information about Dean Rusk's activities with Davidson College and other places, awards and honors, articles from periodicals, information from his political life, press releases, and information about the Rockefeller Foundation. There are photographs from 1930-1984 and undated, including an autographed portrait. There are reel recordings of his speeches from the 1962 Reynolds lecture series. There is also an oversized scrapbook from the 1994 World Citizen Award Dinner honoring Dean Rusk, which includes letters from Henry Kissinger, James Baker, and Warren Christopher. For additional information about Dean Rusk, check the Audio-Visual Collection.

Dates

Creation: 1930 - 1994

Biographical / Historical

Dean Rusk was born in Cherokee County, Georgia, on February 9, 1909. He attended Davidson College, graduating in 1931 as a Rhodes Scholar. He then attended St. John's College, Oxford. In 1937 he married Virginia Foisie. The couple had three children: David Patrick, Richard Geary, and Margaret Elizabeth. From 1940-1946 he served wth the U.S. Army, eventually being promoted to Colonel in the operations division of the was department general staff. In 1946 he became assistant chief of the Division of International Security Affairs of the U.S. Department of State, and later served as Special Assistant Secretary of War. From 1947 to 1949 he was the Director of the Office United Nations Affairs of the U.S. Department of State, and in 1949 became Assistant Secretary of State. In 1952 he became president of the Rockefeller Foundation, and in 1961 he left that position to become Secretary of State. In 1969 he left Washington to become a professor of law at the University of Georgia. He has received numerous honors, including the Cecil Peace Prize, 1933, the Legion of Merit, the Oak leaf Cluster, membership in the American Society of International Law, and almost 20 honorary degrees.