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Carl A. Fields Papers
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Held at: Princeton University Library: University Archives [Contact Us]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: University Archives. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
Educator and advocate of minority education Dr. Carl A. Fields, the first African American to hold a high-ranking position at an Ivy League school, was appointed Assistant Director of Student Aid and then Assistant Dean of the College at Princeton before serving in other leadership positions outside the University. Carl A. Fields was born on June 5, 1919 in Columbus, Ohio to Ralph A. Fields and Queena R. Grayson Fields. He attended St. Johns University on an athletic scholarship and graduated with a B.S. in English and Social Science in 1942. Fields served as a Master Sergeant of the 376th Port Battalion in the United States Army, where he received the Bronze Star for the Battle of Saipan in 1944 before being honorably discharged on February 3, 1946. After the war, Fields earned his Master of Arts degree in Vocational Guidance from New York University in 1950.
Fields came to Princeton University in 1964 as Assistant Director of Student Aid, becoming the first African American to hold a high-ranking position at an Ivy League school. After earning his Ph.D. in Educational Philosophy from Philathea College in 1967 he was promoted to Assistant Dean of the College in 1968. Fields served on various committees at the University, including acting as chairman of the President's Committee for Human Relations. Throughout his tenure at Princeton Fields began and directed several innovative programs aimed at the retention of African American and other students of color. These included a minority orientation at the beginning of the school year and the Family Sponsors program, which introduced new students to an African American family within the Princeton community. In 1967 Fields helped coordinate the first Negro Undergraduate Conference with the new Association of Black Collegians organization on campus, which brought together black students from forty-one predominately-white universities. Fields also established the Frederick Douglass Award after attending the 1968 commencement exercises, which had the largest number of black students receiving a diploma in the history of the University. The Frederick Douglass Award is given to a student or students who exemplifies dignified behavior and contributed to the advancement of black ideals and the development of the University.
Fields left Princeton for a three-year Ford Foundation Fellowship, during which he served as the Planning Officer at the University of Zambia (UNZA). From 1974-1984 he became the principal partner and founder of the African Technical Educational Consultant Service (ATECS), where he served as a consultant for numerous organizations including the United Methodist Church, the Lilly Endowment, Inc., and the Hastings College of Law. From 1984-1987 Fields became the administrative officer of Riverside Church in New York City and from 1988-1989 was the associate director of the Bishop Tutu Southern African Refugee Scholarship Fund. Fields was an active member and officer of many other organizations throughout his lifetime, including the College Entrance Examination Board and the Association of Black Princeton Alumni (ABPA).
Fields was honored with numerous awards for his advocacy and active involvement in promoting minority education, including the University Service Award from the Association of Black Princeton Alumni in 1985, the President's Medal from St. John's University, the Leadership Award from the Princeton University Community House, and the Alumni Council Award at Princeton University in 1996.
Fields married Clarine Mayfield in 1942 and had two children: Carl, born in 1946, and Wayne, born in 1948. Fields married Hedda Lubin Levine on July 3, 1971. Fields passed away on July 20, 1998, at age 79. In 2002 the Third World Center at Princeton University was renamed the Carl A. Fields Center for Equality and Cultural Understanding in his honor.
The Carl A. Fields Papers consist of correspondence, reports, research material on race relations and minority education, handwritten notes, project proposals, and other papers that document his life and active career. The collection contains a large amount of material generated from the three years spent as the Planning Officer at the University of Zambia (through a Ford Foundation Fellowship), as well as his services as a consultant and founder of the African Technical Educational Consultant Service. There is also documentation related to Princeton University and the surrounding community, particularly during the years of Fields's administrative positions, although his continuous involvement in the Association of Black Princeton Alumni after he left Princeton is also well represented. Some material was collected posthumously, including correspondence to his wife and the programs and speeches from memorial services held in his honor.
Please see the individual series and subseries descriptions in the contents list for additional information.
This collection is arranged topically into the following series:
Gift of Mrs. Hedda L. Fields, March 2010.
For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.
This collection was processed by Nicole Milano in 2010. Finding aid written by Nicole Milano in July 2010.
Appraisal has been conducted in accordance with Mudd Manuscript Library guidelines. Materials separated from this collection during processing in 2010 include duplicate journals and books already represented in the Princeton University Library.
People
Organization
- Ford foundation
- Association of Black Collegians
- Association of Black Princeton Alumni
- United Methodist Church U.S.
- Riverside Church (New York, N.Y.)
- Lilly Endowment, inc., Indianapolis
- Hastings College of the Law
- Princeton University
Subject
- Publisher
- University Archives
- Finding Aid Author
- Nicole Milano
- Finding Aid Date
- 2010
- Access Restrictions
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The collection is open for research.
- Use Restrictions
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Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. The Trustees of Princeton University hold copyright to all materials generated by Princeton University employees in the course of their work. For instances beyond Fair Use, if copyright is held by Princeton University, researchers do not need to obtain permission, complete any forms, or receive a letter to move forward with use of materials from the Princeton University Archives.
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Collection Inventory
The Organizations and Activities series consists of reports, correspondence, brochures, research materials, notes, and other material that document Fields's active career.
Please see the individual subseries descriptions for additional information.
Divided topically into the following three subseries: General, Africa, and African Technical Educational Consultant Service (ATECS).
Physical Description12 boxes
The General subseries includes correspondence, planning notes, brochures, reports (including those located in the "Odds and Ends" folder), material on education reform (located in the "Dr. Fields" folder), and other documents from the many professional organizations, activities, scholarship funds, conferences, and committees Fields participated in throughout his lifetime, including the Riverside Church (where he served as the administrative officer) and the Bishop Tutu Southern African Refugee Scholarship Fund (where he served as the associate director). This series also includes speech transcriptions and articles by Fields.
Original folder titles were kept when available.
The folders are arranged in alphabetical order by topic.
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The folders are arranged in alphabetical order by topic.
The Africa subseries includes research material, correspondence, memoranda, brochures, photographs (found in the "Confidential" folder), and notes related to his advocacy and work for the continent of Africa (especially South Africa) throughout his life. Most predominant are the handwritten notes on development, administrative charts, architectural drawings (found in the "Ford Foundation Confidential" folder), and other documentation related to the University of Zambia (UNZA), where Fields served as the Planning Officer through a Ford Foundation Fellowship in the early 1970s.
Original folder titles were kept when available.
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The folders are arranged in alphabetical order by topic.
Founded by Fields in 1974, the African Technical Educational Consultant Service (ATECS) was a consultation service for organizations and communities whose primary concern was initiating or improving services and skills of ethnic minority urban and rural populations. This subseries contains correspondence, field visit notes, and program proposals related to projects under consideration for or completed by ATECS throughout the United States and parts of Africa from 1974-1984, including the Hastings College of Law Legal Education Opportunities Program and the United Methodist Church's School Feasibility Studies.
Original folder titles were kept when available.
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The folders are arranged in alphabetical order by topic.
The Princeton University series consists of documentation related to the University and the surrounding community, particularly during his time as administrator in the 1960s (although later material is also represented). This includes general correspondence, a large amount of clippings, promotional material and handwritten notes related to Fields's posthumously-publised book, Black in Two Worlds: A Personal Perspective on Higher Education, and material related to early African American organizations on campus and Fields's efforts at increasing minority admissions. This series does not include a significant amount of official administrative correspondence or institutional documentation. The series does contain material on Fields's involvement as Treasurer in the Association of Black Princeton Alumni, including conference preparatory material and programs, membership lists, correspondence, newsletters, and reports. There is also documentation related to Fields after his direct involvement in the organization, including scholarships named in his honor.
Original folder titles were kept when available.
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The Personal Materials series contains materials that fall outside the scope of the organizations and professional activities that are included in Series 1. This includes miscellaneous correspondence to Carl and Hedda Fields, high school and college documents (including alumni activities), military papers, and memorial service programs and correspondence received posthumously.
Original folder titles were kept when available.
The folders are arranged in alphabetical order by topic.
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Also includes the text of a 1996 lecture, "Changing Faces," by Georgia Nugent.
Physical Description1 folder