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Finding Aid for the Presidential Debate Collection (MUM01697)

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Open for research. This collection is stored at an off-site facility. Researchers interested in using this collection must contact Archives and Special Collections at least two business days in advance of their planned visit.

Finding Aid for the Presidential Debate Collection



Descriptive Summary

PURL: http://purl.oclc.org/umarchives/MUM01697/
Title: Presidential Debate Collection
Dates: 2007-2009 (bulk 2007-2008)
Collector: University of Mississippi. Modern Political Archives.
Physical Extent: 5 boxes (9 linear feet)
Repository: University of Mississippi. Department of Archives and Special Collections. University, MS 38677, USA
Identification: MUM01697
Location: Library Annex H18, Library Annex Map Case Drawer 3, Collection Photographs Box 46, Folder 10.
Language of Material: English
Abstract: Correspondence, press releases, reports, clippings, publications, posters, photograph, recordings and memorabilia associated with the University of Mississippi hosting the presidential debate on 26 September 2008. In addition to the debate itself, the university sponsored numerous academic courses, programs, and activities related to the debate and the election.

Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

Donors include but are not limited to the following: Marie Barnard, Dr. Mary Carruth, Tony Coleman, Mitchell Diggs, Dr. Richard Forgette, Micah Ginn, Dr. Kees Gispen, Dr. Andy Harper, Patricia Huggins, Chancellor Robert Khayat, Bill Kingeny, Dr. Neil Manson, Kelli Messer, Katherine R. Mikell, Traci L. Mitchell, Ed Movitz, Dr. Andy Mullins, Anne Percy, Joan Prewitt, Elaine Pugh, Dean Sparky Reardon, Errol Sayre, Genn S. Schove, Michael Upton, Dr. Joe Ward, Dr. Kathleen Wickham, and Dr. Noel Wilkin.

Collection History

In the Spring of 2008, the Archives and Special Collections distributed a memorandum on the creation of a Presidential Debate Collection to all members of the university’s Debate Steering Committee. On 23 October 2008, Special Collections sponsored a Brown Bag program entitled “History Lives in Mississippi: Creating the Presidential Debate Collection.” Dr. Andy Mullins, Executive Assistant to the Chancellor and chair of the Debate Steering Committee, discussed the university’s application and planning for the debate, while Dr. Andy Harper of the Center for Documentary Projects described his interactions with the media and played footage from a future documentary on the debate. General publicity invited audience members to bring any debate-related material they wished to donate to the collection. Members of the Steering Committee, contacts for debate-related events, and faculty who taught debate-related courses received a letter personally inviting them to attend and contribute.

Processing Information

Collection processed and finding aid created by Leigh McWhite, February 2009.

Finding aid encoded by Jason Kovari, 27 April 2009.

Additions

Further additions to this collection are welcome. Please contact the Archives and Special Collections if you would like to donate materials.


Subject Terms

Campaign debates -– United States
Presidents -– United States -– Election -- 2008
Television in politics -– United States
University of Mississippi


Formats:

clippings (information artifacts)
correspondence
posters
press releases
publications
video recordings


Historical Note

In 2003, the University of Mississippi (UM) considered applying to host a presidential debate in 2004. However, since the election contest would involve an incumbent president, the stringency of Secret Service requirements was too prohibitive. Instead, university administrators pursued the possibility of hosting a debate during the 2008 election. Representatives from the U.S. Commission on Presidential Debates visited the campus to determine the feasibility of the site and encouraged the university to make a formal application.

In November 2007, the Commission announced that the University of Mississippi would host the first presidential debate on 26 September 2008. Soon afterwards, the university administration requested faculty, staff, and students to develop academic courses and programming related to the debate and the election. In the end, the university officially sponsored over ninety events and nineteen courses.

In March 2008, John McCain became the clear frontrunner of the Republican Party, while Barack Obama secured enough delegates in June to gain the Democratic nomination.

Originally, the U.S. Commission on Presidential Debates selected domestic policy as the topic of the debate at UM. However, a few weeks prior to the event, both candidates and the Commission agreed to switch the topic to foreign policy and national security. Two days prior to the September 26th debate, McCain announced that he would suspend his campaign and return to Washington DC to concentrate on the financial crisis and to help craft a legislative bailout for banks. However, McCain reversed his decision on the day of the debate, arriving in Oxford to participate in the verbal contest with Obama moderated by PBS’s Jim Lehrer. Lehrer spent the first thirty minutes of the debate on the current financial crisis and the national economy.


Scope and Content Note

The first three boxes contain records, correspondence, publications, clippings, and ephemera associated with the September 26th presidential debate at UM. Of particular interest are the three large folders in Box 1 which hold the records of the UM Debate Steering Committee. Other files contain more information related to the planning phase, as well as material related to debate-related programming and classes on campus. Boxes 4 and 5 hold memorabilia and artifacts.


User Information

Prefered Citation

Presidential Debate Collection, 2007-2009. The Department of Archives and Special Collections, J.D. Williams Library, The University of Mississippi.

Access Restrictions

Open for research. This collection is stored at an off-site facility. Researchers interested in using this collection must contact Archives and Special Collections at least two business days in advance of their planned visit.

Copyright Restrictions

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship or research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use", that user may be liable for copyright infringement.

Ed Movitz and Bill Kingeny transferred all copyright interest in their digital photographs (see Box 2, Folder 2.63) to the University of Mississippi.


Related Material

Resources at the University of Mississippi

The University of Mississippi maintained an official debate website. (http://www.olemiss.edu/debate/)

The J.D. Williams Library created an online Presidential Debate Subject Guide. (http://apollo.lib.olemiss.edu/center/subject_guide/debate/intro)


Separated Material

Curators decided not to retain most of the items in the two media gift bags distributed by the university. However, Folder 1.5 includes a typed inventory of the contents as well as photographic documentation. Those objects remaining in the collection reside in Box 4 and are noted in the content list as a “Media Gift Bag item.”

Oversized items noted at the end of the finding aid are stored separately in Library Annex Map Case, Drawer 3. Box 5 is stored separately with poster tubes.

The original print photographs in Box 2, Folder 2.62 are stored separately in Collection Photographs Box 46, Folder 10. Contact sheets of born-digital photographs are in Box 2, Folder 2.63, but their digital files are stored separately on a Special Collections hard drive.

DVD recordings of debate events listed at the end of the finding aid have been catalogued for Special Collections.

An original, signed political cartoon by Marshall Ramsey of the Jackson Clarion-Ledger “And the Winner Is…” on the UM presidential debate is on permanent exhibit in the Modern Political Archives space in the Library Annex.


Container List

Box 1
Folder 1.1 Presidential Debate Steering Committee Records
Folder 1.2 Presidential Debate Steering Committee Records
Folder 1.3 Presidential Debate Steering Committee Records
Folder 1.4 "Application to Host a 2008 Presidential Debate, The University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS."
Binder
CD: “Application to Host a 2008 Presidential Debate: Building Schemes & Schematics”
CD: “Ford Center Maps, March 2007”
CD: “2008 Presidential Debate: Application Proposal Documents.”
Folder 1.5 Media Relations
Separated Material: Artifacts & Memorabilia – see "Separated Material" note above.
Memorandum
Correspondence
Broadsides
Forms
ID Tags
Office of Media & Public Relations Binder
Layout
Inventory of media gift bags
Photographs of media gift bags & contents
Box 2
Folder 2.1 File of campus and local information publications provided in the gift bag for visiting media
Folder 2.2 Debate Ticket Distribution
Email correspondence
Memorandum
Folder 2.3 Debate Traffic & Parking
Maps
Service vehicle pass for "Rock the Debate" (3 copies)
Planning Records
Folder 2.4 Debate Planning, General
Folder 2.5 Debate Lodging
Report
Screenshots of Web Pages
Presidential Debate Housing Rentals Card
Flyer
Folder 2.6 Volunteer Training - Schedule
Folder 2.7 Debate Dining - Aramark binder
Folder 2.8 Campus Listserv E-mails
Folder 2.9 Debate-Related Academic Activities - Preliminary Calendars
Folder 2.10 Presidential Debate, The University of Mississippi,September 26, 2008, Academic Activities(2 copies)
Folder 2.11 Program "The 2008 Presidential Campaign and Health Care" (28 August 2008) sponsored by the School of Pharmacy, the University of Mississippi Medical Center, and the American Heart Association - Invitation
Folder 2.12 Program "Capitol Steps" (29 August 2008) sponsored by the Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts - 2008-09 Season program
Folder 2.13 Program "Naturalization Proceedings" (2 September 2008)(2 copies)
Program
Information sheet
Folder 2.14 "National Health Care Reform: Moving from Treatment to Prevention" (8 September 2008) sponsored by the School of Applied Sciences, American College of Sports Medicine, American Dietetic Association, and Center for Mississippi Health Policy - Program(2 copies)
Separated Material: Artifacts & Memorabilia – Candies with program title and debate logo on wrappers ; Pen with program title
Program
Invitations
Correspondence
Folder 2.15 "We Could Be Making History: Kennedy-Nixon Debates Revisited" (11 September 2008) sponsored by the History Department - Program(2 copies)
Broadside
Ole Miss Community Calendar announcement
Biographical information on speaker James L. Baughman
Folder 2.16 "Debate Kickoff" (21 September 2008) - Program
Folder 2.17 "Debating the Stakes for Mississippi" (23 September 2008) sponsored by the Department of Political Science - Program
Broadsides
Photographs
Speaker invitation
Folder 2.18 Program "Robert Wuhl – Assume the Position" (23 September 2008) sponsored by Campus Programming - Ticket
Folder 2.19 Program "Hot Issues Heated Debates" (24 September 2008) sponsored by the Chinese Language Flagship, the Department of Modern Languages, and the Croft Institute of International Studies - Broadside
Folder 2.20 Program "Educational Policy and the 44th U.S. President: National Educational Policy Forum" (25 September 2008) sponsored by the School of Education
Transcript
Program (2 copies)
Logistics records
Correspondence
Planning Committee records
Publicity flyer
Proposal records
Invitations
Folder 2.21 Program "Rock the Debate" (26 September 2008)
Planning Records
Correspondence
Folder 2.22 Program Nutt Auditorium Screening of Debate (26 September 2008) - Invitation
Folder 2.23 Program "A Women’s Agenda: Having Our Say in 2008 and Beyond" (14 October 2008) sponsored by the Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies, Academic Debate-related Events Committee, Chancellor’s Commission on the Status of Women, Office of Multicultural Affairs, and the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College - Invitation
Folder 2.24 "It Takes a Book to Know a Candidate: An Online Book Club" sponsored by the University of Mississippi chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists - Broadside
Folder 2.25 Dean of Students Office
Correspondence
Business Cards
Folder 2.26 Political Science Department
Records on Alumni Reception (23 September 2008)
Correspondence
Folder 2.27 Sarah Isom Center for Women - Printed E-mail Listserv Announcements
Folder 2.28 Student Media Center
DVD-R Recording of Debate Coverage
Copy of typed letter from James Meredith to Tyler Clemons, editor of the Daily Mississippian
Folder 2.29 University Libraries
Archives Press Packet
Library Debate Flyer
A Keepsake of Presidential Portraits
Keywords (Spring 2008) (Fall 2008)
Correspondence
Publicity & Clippings
Folder 2.30 Course. Political Science 100 "The 2008 Election," Fall 2008
Folder 2.31 Course. Political Science 303 "The American Presidency" taught by Dr. Richard Forgette, Fall 2008
Folder 2.32 Course. Political Science 367, Section 2 "Closing the Gap: A Policy Analysis of Education in the Mid-South" taught by Dr. Richard Forgette, Fall 2008
Folder 2.33 Office of Information Technology
Binder. "Presidential Debate, The University of Mississippi, September 26, 2008: Office of Information Technology Final Report, October 2008."
CD-R "Presidential Debate IT – Final Report October 2008."
TechNews (October 2008) Note: "IT Plays Role in Success of Debate ’08."
Folder 2.34 University of Mississippi, re: debate
Folder 2.35 Official Media Press Kit, Presidential Debate, The University of Mississippi, September 26, 2008
Folder 2.36 Presidential Debate, The University of Mississippi, September 26, 2008, Sponsors.
Folder 2.37 The 2008 Presidential Debates. Commission on Presidential Debates, 2008
Folder 2.38 Debate Program
Folder 2.39 University of Mississippi Presidential Debate Final ReportDecember 12, 2008. (Cirlot Agency)
Folder 2.40 Invitation addressed to Chancellor Robert Khayat to the Inauguration of Barack Obama
Folder 2.41 University Press Releases on Debate between 2 April 2007 – 16 October 2008
Folder 2.42 Debate Website
Correspondence
Planning document
Folder 2.43 Ole Miss Alumni Review (Summer 2008)
Folder 2.44 The Southern Register (Fall 2008)
Folder 2.45 Fine Tuning (Mississippi Public Broadcasting) (September 2008)
Folder 2.46 Chronicle of Higher Education articles
Folder 2.47 Square Books Speed Reader (11 August 2008)
Folder 2.48 Presidential Debate University of Mississippi window decals
Folder 2.49 Presidential Debate University of Mississippi notepads and folder
Folder 2.50 Presidential Debate University of Mississippi postcard (postmarked on 26 September 2008 at University, MS) (2 copies)
Folder 2.51 Khayat’s engraved thank you card for debate participation
Folder 2.52 Clippings June 2007
Folder 2.53 Clippings, November 2007
Folder 2.54 Clippings, April 2008
Folder 2.55 Clippings, May 2008
Folder 2.56 Clippings, June 2008
Folder 2.57 Clippings, July 2008
Folder 2.58 Clippings, August 2008
Folder 2.59 Clippings, September 2008
Folder 2.60 Clippings, October 2008
Folder 2.61 Clippings, Undated
Folder 2.62 Print Photographs
Restrictions: Photocopies only, originals are stored in Collection Photographs Box 46, Folder 10; researchers must provide two days advance notice to view the originals
Color 4"x6" photograph of Dr. Andy Mullins, Chancellor Robert Khayat, and Democratic Presidential Nominee Barak Obama prior to the Presidential Debate (26 September 2008)
Color photograph of black limousine with American flag and government decals (26 September 2008) (8"x10")
Laminated color copy photograph of Gertrude Castellow Ford Center exterior lit with red, white, and blue lights (26 September 2008) (7"x10-1/4")
Matted color photograph of John McCain and Barack Obama on stage during the debate (26 September 2008). Inscribed on mat: "To Robert Khayat & Ole Miss – thank you, CPD ’08." (8"x10")
Folder 2.63 Digital Photographs
Photographs taken by Ed Movitz in Oxford and on the University of Mississippi campus (25-26 September 2008). (340 Photographs)
Photographs taken by Bill Kingeny of "Rock the Debate" in the University of Mississippi grove (26 September 2008). (90 Photographs)
Box 3 (Oversized)
Street post banner "Ole Miss Presidential Debate" (8’ x 2’)
Street post banner "The Debate Starts Here, September 26, 2008"(8’ x 2’)
Magazines
Folder 3.1 Invitation Oxford (September 2008) ;
Mzine Vol. 2, No. 2 (13 October 2008 ), re: issue devoted to the debate and election(2 copies)
Folder 3.2 Daily Mississippian issues: 11 September 2008 ; 16 September 2008 ; 17 September 2008 ; 22 September 2008 ; 23 September 2008 ; 24 September 2008 ; 25 September 2008 ; 26 September 2008 ; 27 September 2008 ; 28 September 2008 ; 29 September 2008
Newspapers
Folder 3.3 Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal (21 September 2008): Special Presidential Debate Supplement ;
Oxford Eagle (29 September 2008), re: Special Commemorative Edition. ;
Oxford Town (18-24 September 2008) & (25 September – 1 October 2008).
Folder 3.4 Clarion-Ledger issues: 21 September 2008: Section J ; 25 September 2008 ; 26 September 2008 ; 27 September 2008 ;
Posters
Folder 3.5 "Anticipating the Debate: A Week of Special Programs" (Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics). ;
"Hail to the Chief!: An Exhibit on Presidents & Mississippi in Presidential Elections (Archives & Special Collections).
Box 4
"Ole Miss Presidential Debate" flash drives (Media Gift Bag item) (3)
Candy wrappers "National Healthcare Reform: Moving from Treatment to Prevention, School of Applied Sciences"(3)
Presidential Debate nametag for "Michael Upton"
Button "The True Candidate for Change, U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish"
Label with UM debate logo "IT Support Center"
Lariat with UM logo (Media Gift Bag)
Pen with UM debate logo (Media Gift Bag)
"Ole Miss" keychain (Media Gift Bag)
Hooded Poncho rainwear with Ole Miss logo (Media Gift Bag item)
Box for Mississippi Cheese Straw Factory Traditional Cheddar Cheese Straws with UM logo (Media Gift Bag item)
Pen "Moving from Treatment to Prevention, School of Applied Sciences, September 8, 2008"
Travel coffee mug with Ole Miss logo (Media Gift Bag item)
Leeds bag with university presidential debate logo (Media Gift Bag item)
Ole Miss baseball cap (Media Gift Bag item)
Silver frame with UM debate logo(2)
T-shirt "Presidential Debate, The University of Mississippi, September 26, 2008"
Knit shirt with UM debate logo
Hotflops flip-flop sandals with Barack Obama heads
Hotflops flip-flop sandals with John McCain heads
Box 5
Note: Stored separately with poster tubes
Fathead wall poster of Barack Obama
Fathead wall poster of John McCain
Oversized Items
Note: (stored separately in Library Annex Map Case, Drawer 3, Folder: Presidential Debate Collection)
Sign with UM debate logo "Republican Party Guests"
Sign with UM debate logo "Democratic Party Guests"
Sign "Presidential Debate, The University of Mississippi, September 26, 2008"
Map "Media Filing Center Layout & Details, Revision 6 8-5-08"
Map "University of Mississippi -- Oxford, Revision 9 7-1-08"
Map "Standup Platform "A" – Plan View…Platform Outside Debate Hall"
DVD Recordings
Note: All recordings are cataloged and available in Special Collections.
2008 Presidential Debate Highlights Video. University of Mississippi Center for Documentary Projects, 2008. JF2112.D43 D433 2008
Brown Bag Lecture: Building a Nuclear Weapons-Free World, Bobbie Wrenn Banks, October 27, 2008. University of Mississippi Center for Documentary Projects, 2008. JZ5675 .B365 2008
History Lives in Mississippi: Creating the Presidential Debate Collection, Dr. Andy Mullins and Dr. Andy Harper, October 23, 2008. University of Mississippi Center for Documentary Projects, 2008. JF2112.D43 H578 2008
2008 Presidential Election: "Teens and Politics, " September 9, 2008. University of Mississippi Center for Documentary Projects, 2008. HQ784.P5 R654 2008
"We Could Be Making History": The Kennedy-Nixon Debates Revisited, Dr. James Baughman, September 11, 2008. University of Mississippi Center for Documentary Projects, 2008. JF2112.D43 B384 2008
2008 Presidential Campaign and Health Care, Dr. Daniel W. Jones,August 28, 2008. University of Mississippi Center for Documentary Projects, 2008. RA395.A3 J653 2008
Politics around the World: Moderator Michael Johansson, September 10, 2008. University of Mississippi Center for Documentary Projects, 2008. JF1001 .P655 2008
Women in Politics: The Archival Record in Special Collections, September 4, 2008. University of Mississippi Center for Documentary Projects, 2008. HQ1438.M7 W664 2008
Student Debate: College Republicans vs. College Democrats, September 4, 2008. University of Mississippi Center for Documentary Projects, 2008. PN4189.M6 S783 2008
Homeland Security 2015, Moderator Carl Jensen, September 15, 2008. University of Mississippi Center for Documentary Projects, 2008. HV6432.4 H664 2008
A Consumer’s Guide to the Presidential Debate, Dr. Michael Nelson, September 2, 2008. University of Mississippi Center for Documentary Projects, 2008. JF2112.D43 N457 2008
State of Disaster Recovery Efforts: John M. Barry, Reilly Morse, Tracie L. Washington, Moderator Deborah Bell, September 3, 2008. University of Mississippi Center for Documentary Projects, 2008. HV636 2005 .S738 2008
"Can America Compete for 21st Century Jobs?": Norman R. Augustine, September 3, 2008. University of Mississippi Center for Documentary Projects, 2008. HF1414 .A948 2008
National Health Care Reform: Moving from Treatment to Prevention: Steven N. Blair, Evelyn Crayton, John Clymer, Moderator: Therese Hanna, September 8, 2008. University of Mississippi Center for Documentary Projects, 2008. RA395.A3 N375 2008
National Educational Policy Forum, September 25, 2008. University of Mississippi Center for Documentary Projects, 2008. LC89 .E273 2008
U.S. Science Policy: What Should Be on the President’s Agenda: Christopher Mooney, Johnathan Moreno, Ronald Bailey, Moderator: Neil Manson, September 18, 2008. University of Mississippi Center for Documentary Projects, 2008. Q127.U6 U558 2008
Tell Every President to Listen to the Blues: Presidents, Politics and the Blues, September 11, 2008. University of Mississippi Center for Documentary Projects, 2008. ML3521 .T455 2008
Decision 08: Focus on Mississippi, International Journalists Discuss U.S. Politics and Elections, Sept. 23, 2008, University of Mississippi. Mississippi Public Broadcasting, 2008. PN4888.F69 D435 2008

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