Collections

The Archive's collections explore a variety of topics and time periods including: U.S. Congress, Women in the French Resistance, Eugene O’Neill, the early history of radio, El Salvador’s civil war and the history of Suffolk University.

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Collections

The University Archives holdings include materials having permanent value to Suffolk University, its history and its mission. These materials include records such as correspondence, reports, committee meeting minutes and agendas, publications, audiovisual materials, artifacts and memorabilia and photographs. More info.

For questions concerning which departmental records should be kept and transferred to the Archive please consult our Records Management page.

Materials Open for Research Include:
  • Photographs
  • History of Suffolk University
  • Scrapbooks
  • Press Releases and News Clippings
  • Trustees’ Files
  • University Publications
  • Student Publications
  • Commencement Files

Joe Moakley’s congressional career from 1973 to 2001 is recorded in files, videos, photographs, and citations. The Archives has constituent service and policy files; reports of the Congressman’s legislative and voting records; and documents related to his campaigns. Congressman Moakley’s interest and advocacy for international human rights, dating from a constituent service issue in the early 1980s, are demonstrated through materials that include the declassified files of the Moakley Commission, which investigated the murders in El Salvador of six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper, and her daughter. Other documents reflect Moakley’s service as chairman of the powerful House Rules Committee and his role in congressional law making, as well as his promotion of the combined "Third Harbor Tunnel" and "Big Dig" project, the largest public works project in U.S. history. More info

Subject Terms
Boston Harbor Islands (Mass.)
Busing for school integration
Cigarettes -- Safety regulations -- United States Democratic Party (U.S.) History 20th century.
El Salvador -- Politics and government -- 1979-1992
Jesuits -- El Salvador
Legislators -- Massachusetts.
Legislators -- United States.
Massachusetts -- Politics and government--1950-2001.
McGovern, James P., 1959-Moakley, John Joseph, 1927-2001
Politicians -- Massachusetts.O'Neill, Tip
United States -- Congress -- House.
United States--Politics and government--1973-2001.

This collection brings together materials donated by Suffolk University faculty, staff, alumni and friends that represent their individual academic pursuits, research, memorabilia, and other personal records. Some of them are small collections of personal papers or single items such as scrapbooks, objects or photo albums.

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The Jamaica Plain Committee on Central America (JPCOCA), a grassroots organization from Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts lobbied Congressman Joe Moakley in the 1980s to help Salvadoran refugees gain legal status in the United States. The collection, which spans from 1982-2001, includes correspondence, news clippings and office files that document the committee’s involvement in raising awareness of the Salvadoran refugee issue, their interactions with Congressman Moakley and how they achieved their goal of helping Salvadoran refugees in America.

Learn more about the collection:

Subject Terms
El Salvador. Politics and government. 1979-1992
Extended Voluntary Departure
Human Rights. El Salvador
Immigration policy and research
Jamaica Plain Committee on Central America
Refugees. Legal status, laws, etc. El Salvador
Social action
United States. Relations. El Salvador Jamaica Plain Committee on Central America

McGovern, James P., 1959-Moakley, John Joseph, 1927-2001

Esther Cassidy, producer of Enemies of War, a documentary on the Salvadoran civil war and the investigation into the murders of six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her daughter, donated her records, audio and video tapes, and transcriptions to the Moakley Archive in 2008.

Learn more about the collection:

Subject Terms

• El Salvador--History--1979-1992.
• El Salvador--Politics and government--1979-1992.
• United States--Relations--El Salvador.
• Jesuits--El Salvador.
• Cassidy, Esther
• Ellacuría, Ignacio
• McGovern, James P., 1959-
• Moakley, John Joseph, 1927-2001

The collection contains published materials, personal notes, and research materials pertaining to Suffolk University Professor Mary P. Burke’s involvement in the U.N. International Women’s Conferences and research into women and international development. The four U.N. conferences, held between 1975 and 1995, served as both a catalyst for and a sign of a revived international movement for women’s empowerment and equality.

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Related Materials: The Center for Women’s Health and Human Rights at Suffolk University conducted two audio interviews with Professor Burke that provide context to the documents in this collection.

Subject Terms
World Conference on Women
United Nations-- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
Women and development

The papers of Thomas F. Lambert Jr., torts scholar and Suffolk University Law Professor, include research materials related to the Nuremberg Trials, his law school notebooks and pocket diaries containing notes with legal and literary quotations.

Search the collection's Finding Aid

Subject Terms
Nuremberg Trial of Major German War Criminals, Nuremberg, Germany, 1945-1946
Suffolk University Law School

The Gleason Leonard Archer Personal Papers document the personal and professional activities of Suffolk University’s founder. In addition to being an educator, Archer was also a prolific writer and popular radio broadcaster. The types of materials in the collection include manuscripts and typescripts of his books, journals, articles, speeches, and radio addresses; correspondence; biographical information; genealogy records; photographs; and personal artifacts. The collection also includes family papers, documenting the personal and business activities of members of Archer’s immediate and extended family through account books, contracts, correspondence and photographs.

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Lists of Archer's Publications

Subject Terms
Archer, Elizabeth Glenn
Archer, Gleason Leonard, 1880-1966
Archer, Gleason Leonard, 1916-Genealogy
Great Pond (Me.)
Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants.
Radio broadcasting History
Radio History
Suffolk University History
Suffolk University. Law School History

The papers of Professor Emerita Margaret Collins Weitz of the Humanities and Modern Language Departments at Suffolk University relate to her scholarly research in the fields of women’s studies, French women, French culture and history, women in the French Resistance during World War II and human rights. A small amount material details the overlap between her research interests and teaching career at Suffolk University in the Humanities and Modern Languages Departments and at Harvard University. Her collection includes of published articles and books, conference materials, original research for publications and class notebooks.

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Subject Terms
Feminism -- France
Human rights -- Congresses
Human rights -- France -- History – Congresses
Human rights -- United States -- History – Congresses
Resistance movements, War
Weitz, Margaret Collins
Women, French
World War, 1914-1918 – Women
World War, 1939-1945 – France
World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, French
World War, 1939-1945 -- Underground movements – France
World War, 1939-1945 – Women
Women -- History -- 20th century
Women -- France -- Bibliography

The papers of Frederick Wilkins, Suffolk University English professor and Eugene O’Neill scholar, document his personal life through family papers, such as birth and marriage certificates; education materials, including report cards and drawings; concert programs; and correspondence with friends and family. Wilkins’ professional activities, including his role in the renewed scholarship of playwright Eugene O’Neill, are reflected in article reprints, book reviews, playbills, Eugene O’Neill Conference materials, posters, correspondence, audio recordings, and photographs.

Learn more about the collection:

Subject Terms

Drama and theatre studies
Eugene O’Neill Society
O’Neill, Eugene, 1883-1953
Suffolk University. Dept. of English
Theater--United States--History--20th century.
Wilkins, Frederick, 1935-

Harry Hom Dow, a son of Chinese immigrants, was raised in Massachusetts during a time when the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was in place and anti-Chinese sentiment and discrimination were common. In spite of those challenges, the 1929 Suffolk Law School graduate became the first Chinese-American to pass the Massachusetts Bar exam. His career included military service during WWII and the Korean War, working for the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), and practicing immigration law in private practice. In retirement, he was a noted community activist in Boston.

The Harry Hom Dow Papers, which cover 1911 to 1985, document his personal and professional activities
through family papers, immigration case files from Dow's private law practice, and subject files related to his work with community organizations.

Dow's legal case files are currently closed to research due to privacy restrictions. However, a recent partnership between Chinese Historical Society of New England (CHSNE) and Suffolk University's Moakley Archive has been established to explore ways to make the files more accessible. (Learn more)

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Learn more about Harry Dow and his legacy at Suffolk University:

The Ford Hall Forum Collection documents the history of the nation’s longest running free public lecture series. The Forum has hosted some the most notable figures in the arts, science, politics, and the humanities since its founding in 1908. The collection, which spans from 1908 to 2013, includes of 85 boxes of materials related to the Forum's administration, lectures, fund raising, partnerships, and its radio program, the New American Gazette. The collection is arranged into three series: Lecture, Event, and Program Files; Administrative Records; and Special Materials.

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Subject Terms

The following topics, people and places are featured in the collection:

  • Boston (Mass.)
  • Ford Hall Forum
  • Forums (Discussion and debate)
  • Civil society -- United States -- History.
  • Democracy -- United States -- History.
  • Political culture -- United States -- History.
  • Political participation -- United States -- History.
  • Abzug, Bella S. 1920-1998
  • Angelou, Maya
  • Asimov, Isaac, 1920-1992
  • Bernstein, Carl, 1944-
  • Brudnoy, David, 1940-2004
  • Carmichael, Stokely, 1941-1998
  • Carroll, James, 1943-
  • Coleman, George W. (George William), 186
  • 1867-
  • Cox, Archibald, 1912-2004
  • Crawford, Mary Caroline
  • Dershowitz, Alan M.
  • Duke, David Ernest
  • Dunn, Nora 1952-
  • Fanning, Kay, 1927-2000
  • Ferraro, Geraldine
  • Ford, Betty, 1918-2011
  • Frank, Barney, 1940-
  • Friedan, Betty
  • Frost, Robert, 1874-1963
  • Galbraith, John Kenneth, 1908-2006
  • Glover, Danny
  • Goodwin, Doris Kearns
  • Gore Albert, 1948-
  • Gould, Stephen Jay
  • Haig, Alexander Meigs, 1924-2010
  • Hampton, Henry, 1940-1998
  • Heaney, Seamus, 1939-
  • Ifill, Gwen
  • Jordan, Barbara, 1936-1996
  • Kennedy, Edward Moore, 1932-
  • King, Coretta Scott, 1927-2006
  • King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968
  • Kissinger, Henry, 1923-
  • Kozol, Jonathan
  • McCullough, David G.
  • McGovern, George S. (George Stanley), 1922-
  • McLaughlin, John
  • Nelson, David Sutherland, 1933-
  • Parks, Rosa, 1913-2005
  • Patrick, Deval
  • Payzant, Thomas W.
  • Peikoff, Leonard
  • Rand, Ayn
  • Schorr, Daniel, 1916-2010
  • Seeger, Pete, 1919-
  • Steinem, Gloria
  • Stone, I. F. (Isidor Feinstein), 1907-1989
  • Tsongas, Paul
  • Tutu, Desmond
  • Walker, Alice, 1944-
  • Wertheimer, Linda
  • West, Cornel
  • Wiesel, Elie, 1928-
  • X, Malcolm, 1925-1965

The collection contains 9 boxes of Arthur S. Meyers' research files related to his book, Democracy in the Making: the Open Forum Movement. The book, published in 2012, chronicles the history of the nationwide open forum movement, including the role of the Ford Hall Forum. The collection contains photocopies of letters, articles, and programs related to open forums and the movement’s proponents such as George W. Coleman and Mary Caroline Crawford.

Learn more about the collection:

Subject Terms

  • Civil society -- United States -- History.
  • Coleman, George W. (George William), 1867-
  • Crawford, Mary Caroline
  • Democracy -- United States -- History.
  • Meyers, Arthur S.
  • Political culture -- United States -- History.
  • Political participation -- United States -- History.

The Moakley Archive collects oral history interviews that capture observations and opinions regarding key events, people, and themes that complement the university’s research collections. The Archive maintains two collections of interviews: the Suffolk University Oral History Project and the Moakley Archive Oral History Project.

Visit the Digital Collections site to access interview recordings and transcripts from either of the oral history collections.

More info

Suffolk University’s Rare Books and Special Collections include:

  • The Broadsides Collection (full list)
  • The Clark Collection of African American Literature (full list)
  • Signed works by Poetry Center Speakers (full list)
  • The Zieman Poetry Collection (full list)

All items are described in the Sawyer Library’s catalog. Rare or fragile items shelved in the Zieman Book Room or the Moakley Archive are available for in-library use at the Moakley Archive’s Reading Room. Contact the Moakley Archive for access via email or by calling 617-305-6277.