Fitzgerald, Alice Irene (1911-1994), Papers, 1954-1990 (C3919)

6 linear feet, 2 audio tapes

INTRODUCTION

Alice Irene Fitzgerald was a Professor of Education at the University of Missouri from 1961 until her retirement in 1981. Her papers contain correspondence with faculty, students, and friends; records of her activities at the university and in many professional organizations such as the American Association of University Women (Columbia branch, Missouri Division, and National), and the Missouri State Teachers Association; and manuscripts of articles and her book, Missouri's Literary Heritage for Children and Yourth: An Annotated Bibliography of Books About Missouri, as well as two audio tapes of Fitzgerald discussing her book.

DONOR INFORMATION

The Alice Irene Fitzgerald Papers were donated to the State Historical Society of Missouri by Professor Fitzgerald on 26 June 1990 (Accession No. 2790). Additions were made on 25 September 1990 (Accession No. 2796) and 27 June 1991 (Accession No. 2841).

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Alice Irene Fitzgerald was a Professor of Education at the University of Missouri from 1961 until her retirement in 1981. She was born on 9 June 1911, in Miller County, Missouri. Fitzgerald earned her three degrees at the University of Missouri: Bachelor of Science (1938), Master in Education (1956), and Doctorate in Education (1960). Her education career began in 1932 as a teacher in the rural schools of her home county. In 1936, she moved to Eldon, Missouri, where she taught elementary school until 1954.

In 1954, Fitzgerald came to the University of Missouri as an instructor in the College of Education's Laboratory School. She was an Associate Professor of Elementary Education during the 1960-1961 school year at Northeast Missouri State Teacher's College in Kirksville. She returned to the University of Missouri in 1961 with the title Assistant Professor of Education.

During her career, Fitzgerald was active in several organizations. She held membership in the American Association of University Women and participated in the Missouri State Division and the Eldon and Columbia branches. The University of Missouri appointed her as its corporate representative to attend national and regional meetings. From 1969 to 1973 she served on the International Fellowships Committee which provided funding to female scholars for advanced study in the United States. The AAUW honored her in 1986 with the certificate of Recognition of Distinction.

Fitzgerald's interest in children's literature guided her professional activities throughout her life. Besides teaching children's literature classes at the university, she served as a member of the Missouri State Teachers' Association Reading Circle Committee from 1955 to 1981.

In 1980, she completed her book, Missouri's Literary Heritage for Children and Youth: An Annotated Bibliography of Books About Missouri. During this project, she amassed a collection of 300 children's books which she donated to the State Historical Society of Missouri. The collection, known as the Alice Irene Fitzgerald Collection of Missouri's Literary Heritage for Children and Youth, includes fiction, nonfiction, and poetry written about Missouri or by Missouri authors for children under the age of fourteen. Through donations the collection has grown to more than one thousand volumes.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The Fitzgerald Papers contain correspondence with faculty, students, and friends; records of her activities at the university and in many professional organizations such as the American Association of University Women (Columbia branch, Missouri Division, and National), and the Missouri State Teachers Association; and manuscripts of articles and her book, Missouri's Literary Heritage for Children and Yourth: An Annotated Bibliography of Books About Missouri, as well as two audio tapes of Fitzgerald discussing her book. The papers are divided into six series:

FOLDER LIST

American Association of University Women Series

The American Association of University Women (AAUW) series is the largest in the collection and is arranged into five subseries: Columbia Branch, Missouri State Division, National, Fellowships, and Southwest Region. Materials in the Columbia Branch subseries include bylaws, correspondence, clippings, newsletters, programs, and membership lists. The final folder represents Fitzgerald's work with the Eldon, Missouri branch.

The Missouri State Division subseries includes bylaws, scattered issues of the Bulletin, correspondence, and state meeting information. Fitzgerald served as Implementation Chair in charge of developing programs for the local branches. Her correspondence and research materials on the program topic, “Testing Values in a Changing Society” are present.

The National subseries is comprised of material from Fitzgerald's activities as the University's corporate representative at the National Biennial Conferences from 1963 to 1981. These include delegate's reports to the chancellor and various programs, flyers, and publications she shared with administrators.

The Fellowships subseries is arranged alphabetically by committee or group and includes correspondence, application lists, and recipient lists from the Committee on International Fellowships, on which Fitzgerald service from 1969 to 1973. This committee reported to the AAUW Educational Foundation. As a result, materials appear from the Foundation, the Committee on Fellowships to American Women, and the Fellows Program Committee.

The Southwest Region subseries reflects Fitzgerald's attendance at meetings. Present are programs and information regarding the regional group.

f. 1-8Columbia Branch
f. 1Bylaws and policies
f. 2Clippings, 1964-1970
f. 3Correspondence, 1974-1981
f. 4Membership lists, 1969-1988
f. 5Newsletter, 1986-1989
f. 6Program correspondence, 1976
f. 7Programs, 1957-1990
f. 8Eldon Branch- Clippings, 1951-1953, 1967
f. 9-33Missouri State Division
f. 9-10Bulletin, 1947-1969
f. 11Bylaws, policies
f. 12Community Issues Conference, 1979
f. 13Corporate representative- Correspondence, 1966-1981
f. 14Expectations for Education Committee, 1963-1964
f. 15-20Implementation chair
f. 21Leadership Training Conference, 1973
f. 22Leadership Conference, 1978
f. 23Membership committee, 1953
f. 24-25Membership report, 1953-1955
f. 26Model branch bylaws, 1952
f. 27Plan of action, 1954-1955
f. 28-32State meetings, 1955-1979
f. 33Treasurer's report, 1951-1953
f. 34-87National
f. 34But We Will Persist
f. 35Campus 1970: Where Do Women Stand?
f. 36Campus 1970- Correspondence, survey
f. 37Campus 1970- Revisisted 1976, correspondence and survey
f. 38Charter and bylaws
f. 39-40Convention, 1963
f. 41-44Convention, 1965
f. 45-49Convention, 1973
f. 50-59Convention, 1975
f. 60-66Convention, 1977
f. 67-74Convention, 1979
f. 75-83Convention, 1971
f. 84-85Corporate representative, 1976-1981
f. 86General correspondence
f. 87International Federation of University Women
f. 88-126Fellowships
f. 88-91Committee on Fellowships to American Women, 1970-1974
f. 92-111Committee on International Fellowship, 1969-1974
f. 112Coretta Scott King Committee, 1971
f. 113-117Educational Foundation, 1968-1970
f. 118-126Fellowships Program Committee, 1969-1973
f. 127-131Southwest Region- Conferences, 1972-1980

Missouri State Teachers Association Series

The Missouri State Teachers Association series contains Fitzgerald's correspondence and meeting minutes from her work with the Reading Circle Committee, arranged by academic year. This committee reviewed many books, chose those deemed best for children at various reading levels, and made them available to Missouri public schools. Folders which hold book lists, order blanks, and miscellaneous correspondence appear in alphabetical order following the Reading Circle Committee files.

f. 132-154Reading Circle, 1955-1982
f. 155-156Correspondence, 1955-1981
f. 157Evaluations, samples, 1980-1982
f. 158Meeting minutes, 1958-1963
f. 159Miscellaneous
f. 160-161Reading Circle Committee notebook, 1979
f. 162Order blanks, 1954-1962, 1982-1987
f. 163-165Reports of selected books, 1953-1982
f. 166-167Review books, 1980-1981

Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Series

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education series is arranged chronologically. Materials from Fitzgerald's appointment to the Core Competencies and Key Skills Committee comprise most of the series. The responsibilities of this committee were to detect the competencies and skills that school children should acquire in each discipline at the various grade levels. The final folder, unrelated to the committee folders, contains title pages from literature guides with which the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education asked Fitzgerald to assist.

f. 168Core Competencies and Key Skills- Project Overview
f. 169-170Correspondence, 1985
f. 171-174Draft, 1985
f. 175Correspondence, 1985-1986
f. 176-177Oversight Committee, 1988-1989
f. 178-181Revision, 1989
f. 182Literature guides

University of Missouri Series

The University of Missouri series is arranged alphabetically by subject and contains material related to Fitzgerald's position with the University of Missouri. There is one folder from the Northeast Missouri State Teachers College which contains a course syllabus. Present is correspondence with students, administrators, and faculty from the University of Missouri; work on accreditation committees and various other committees; items related to the children's literature collection at the State Historical Society of Missouri; and course evaluations.

f. 183College of Education, Committee for Curriculum Study, 1963-1964
f. 184-189Correspondence, 1962-1990
f. 190Course evaluations, 1975
f. 191Ellis Library Children's Literature Collection, 1958-1969
f. 192Evaluation on Undergraduate Advisement, Fall, 1980
f. 193Field service, Cape Girardeau Public Schools, 1966
f. 194Kappa Delta Pi, 1977-1984
f. 195Library reserves
f. 196Master's Examination (Problems of Teaching Social Studies in the Elementary School)
f. 197Miscellaneous
f. 198Missouri Cultural Heritage Center, 1988-1989
f. 199-200National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, 1955-1966
f. 201Northeast Missouri State Teacher College- Syllabus for “Language Arts in the Elementary School”
f. 202“Problems of Teaching Social Studies in the Elementary School” (E368)- Syllabus
f. 203Propose Revision for course E96
f. 204Retiree Advisory Committee, 1984
f. 205Social Studies- Miscellaneous
f. 206Social Studies Committee, Subcommittee of the College of Education Committee on General Education and Academic Specialization, 1964
f. 207Social Studies Curriculum Center, 1963 proposal
f. 208Student papers, 1981
f. 209Teacher and Course Evaluation Profile, Fall 1980
f. 210Teacher Education Program, 1974
f. 211Women's Center, 1983
f. 212Workshop- Teaching American History in the Secondary School, 1961
f. 213Workshops, 1964, 1966

Miscellaneous Activities Series

The Miscellaneous Activities series is arranged alphabetically by organization and contains small amounts of information on Fitzgerald's other local and state activities. The manuscript s and correspondence for four of her articles appear at the end of this series as well as the manuscripts and galley proofs for her book and audio tapes of her discussing Missouri authors.

f. 214Activities, Miscellaneous
f. 215American Association of School Administrators, Yearbook Committee on Revision, 1958
f. 216Bibliographies to Accompany Selected Lectures
f. 217Children's Literature Organizations
f. 218Children's Literature Festival, 1981-1989
f. 219-220Delta Kappa Gamma, Beta Chapter (Columbia, MO), Yearbooks, 1958-1979
f. 221Delta Kappa Gamma, Delta State (Missouri)
f. 222Missouri Association of School Librarians- General
f. 223Missouri Association of School Librarians- Mark Twain Award, 1976-1987
f. 224Missouri Council for the Social Studies, 1965-1966
f. 225Missouri Library Association, Children's Services Roundtable, 1984-1989
f. 226Missouri State Board of Education, 1987
f. 227Missouri Writer's Guild, 1983-1991
f. 228Oakland Jr. High School (Columbia, MO)- Review of A Matter of Principle
f. 229-232Pi Lambda Theta, 1957-1989
f. 233Reading Conference, 1981
f. 234Single Side Band Radio Project, 1975
f. 235Tax Counseling for the Elderly, 1983
f. 236-255Manuscripts
f. 236Folklore, Tall Tales and Legends for Children and Youth, 1968
f. 237Literature Approved by Today's Kindergarten Children, 1971
f. 238Rhoda Woolridge: Author of Historical Fiction, 1978
f. 239Views on the MSTA Selected List of Children's Books, 1964
f. 240-255Missouri's Literary Heritage for Children and Youth, 1981

Personal Correspondence Series

The Personal Correspondence series contains communications with family members, former students, colleagues, and friends. Folders with significant amounts of correspondence and photographic enclosures have been arranged in alphabetical order. For example, Fitzgerald corresponded regularly with Missouri author Rhoda Woolridge and with former student Do Dahn Tam, a Vietnamese refugee. The remainder of the correspondence is arranged chronologically and dates from 1954 to 1990. The final folder contains photographs of friends, family, and former students and their families, arranged alphabetically.

f. 256Croft, Celeste, 1982-1987
f. 257-259Do Dahn Tam and family, 1967-1990
f. 260Nelson, Judy, 1975-1987
f. 261Ollinger, Marcia, 1983-1987
f. 262-263Woolridge, Rhoda, 1971-1986
f. 264Undated, A-K
f. 265Undated, M-Z
f. 2661954-1961
f. 2671962-1964
f. 2681966-1969
f. 2691970-1971
f. 2701972-1974
f. 2711975-1976
f. 2721977-1978
f. 2731979-1980
f. 2741981-1982
f. 2751983-1984
f. 2761985-1986
f. 2771987
f. 2781987-1990
f. 279Miscellaneous photographs

INDEX TERMS

These index terms are the subjects, people, places, etc. under which this collection is listed in all available indexes at the Western Historical Manuscript Collection-Columbia. If you are interested in a specific index term, please contact the reference staff

American Association of University Women, Columbia, Missouri, Branchf. 1-7
American Association of University Women, Committee on Fellowships to American Womenf. 88- 91
American Association of University Women, Committee on International Fellowshipsf. 92-111
American Association of University Women, Conventions, 1963-1965f. 39-44
American Association of University Women, Conventions, 1973-1981f. 45-83
American Association of University Women, Coretta Scott King Committeef. 112
American Association of University Women, Educational Foundationf. 113-117
American Association of University Women, Southwest Regionf. 127-131
Authors, Missourif. 1-279
Bailey, Elizabethf. 279 (pictorial image)
Bailey, Miltonf. 279 (pictorial image)
But We Will Persist, American Association of University Women--Publicationsf. 34-37
Children's literature--Censorshipf. 226, 228
Delta Kappa Gamma, Beta Chapter, Columbia, Missourif. 219, 220
Delta Kappa Gamma, Delta State, Missourif. 221
Do Dahn Tamf. 257-259
Do Dahn Tamf. 258 (pictorial image)
Educational tools and measurementsf. 168-181
Equal Rights Amendmentf. 64
Finland, Helsinkif. 278 (pictorial image)
Fitzgerald, Irene (1911-1994)f. 1-279 (pictorial image)
Greeting cards--Christmas, 1950sf. 266
Greeting cards--Christmas, 1960sf. 266-268
Greeting cards--Christmas, 1970sf. 269-273
Greeting cards--Christmas, 1980sf. 273-278
Greeting cards--Christmas, 1990sf. 278
International Federation of University Womenf. 87
Massachusetts, Boston Commonf. 273 (pictorial image)
Missouri Association of School Librariansf. 222-223
Missouri Council for the Social Studiesf. 224
Missouri Library Association, Children's Services Roundtablef. 225
Missouri State Board of Educationf. 226
Missouri State Teachers Association, Reading Circle Committeef. 132-167
Missouri Writers Guildf. 227
Missouri. Board of Education
Missouri. Department of Elementary & Secondary Education, Core Competencies & Key Skills Committeef. 168-181
Missouri's Literary Heritage for Children & Youth: An Annotated Bibliography of Books About Missourif. 240-255
Oakland Junior High School, Columbia, Missourif. 228
Pi Lambda Thetaf. 229-232
Postcards, California, Portuguese Bendf. 257 (pictorial image)
Postcards, Israelf. 264 (pictorial image)
Postcards, Missouri, Sibley, Fort Osagef. 273 (pictorial image)
Postcards, Vietnamf. 257 (pictorial image)
Postcards, Virginia, Arlingtonf. 257 (pictorial image)
University of Missouri, College of Education, Committee for Curriculum Study
University of Missouri, College of Education, Committee on General Education & Academic Specializati
University of Missouri-Columbia, Retiree Advisory Committee
University of Missouri-Columbia, School of Education
University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kappa Delta Pi