Guide to the Cook College and Theological School Records

The collection contains administrative records, audiovisual materials, correspondence, financial records, photographic materials, printed materials and publications, student files, subject files, and other records created by Cook College and Theological School (CCTS) and its predecessor and successor entities, administrators, staff, and students during the school's operation. There are also records, to a lesser degree, of the Women's Auxiliary group/organization.

The Cook College and Theological School (CCTS) Records series, circa 1890-2010, is the bulk of the collection and contains materials created and compiled by CCTS administrators, staff, and students. Records pertain to school administration, governance, and planning; departmental operations; school programs and programmatic matters; education and coursework in a Christian and Indigenous school setting and in extension sites; special events; the school's creation of publicity and educational resources; and the school's history.

The Departmental / Organizational Records subseries, circa 1890-2010, contains office files and other operational records created and collected by specific departmental units and entities within CCTS. Materials are arranged by the following unit/entity: the Board of Directors / Trustees files, which include correspondence, minutes, reports (annual and quarterly), and other administrative records of the Board; the Business Office files, which include budget materials, correspondence, estate materials, reports, and other financial records; Committees files, which include administrative records of assorted school committees, including Admissions and Review, Cabinet, Coordinating Council, Curriculum, Faculty, Financial Aid, Spiritual Life, Staff, Student Body / Government, and other committees; the Conference Center files, which mainly include materials pertaining to volunteers and the Center's operations; the Dean of Students files, which are chiefly subject files and correspondence of Harry A. Van Dam; the Development Department / Public Relations files, which include alumni information, background/history information on CCTS, biographical information on staff and students, CCTS telephone directories, and other publicity and development materials; the Developmental Learning Lab (DLL) files, which chiefly pertain to educational resources created, collected, and utilized by the DLL at CCTS (especially educational resources created by the Institute for the Development of Indian Law (IDIL)) and the DLL's operations (the DLL became the Individualized Learning Center (ILC)) and the work of its staff (including Dave Campbell); the Library / Archives files, which include materials pertaining to the Library's collections and operations, historical materials related to CCTS, and the files of Mark Thomas and Jeremy Schmidt; the Office of the President files, which include groups of correspondence, memoranda, reports, subject files, and other materials created, collected, and maintained by CCTS presidents, including Cecil Corbett, Emerson Falls, Larry R. Norris, George A. Walker, Henry S. Randolph, George W. Smart, Alonzo T. Spang, J. David Pierce, Joseph A. Dudley, and Howard L. Rice; the Resident (Residential) Life / Instruction files, which include class/course/curriculum materials, correspondence, printed materials and publications, residency program materials, subject files, and other materials pertaining to residential life and instruction at CCTS; the Theological Education By Extension (TEE) files, which include correspondence, printed materials and publications (including the "Extension Lines" newsletter), and other operational files pertaining to the TEE program, including a group of "Closed Courses" files (these files are arranged alphabetically by instructor/teacher and include attendance rosters, correspondence, course/site applications and profiles, student applications and grades, and other student records); the Vacation Bible School (VBS) files, which are chiefly educational resources and publications; Vice Presidents / Deans files, which are chiefly subject files and correspondence of Gary Kush (vice president), Richard C. Polk (dean), Gene Straatmeyer (vice president), and other vice presidents/deans; the Winter Term files, which include correspondence, evaluation reports, packets, registration information, and other materials pertaining to CCTS's Winter Term courses and programming; the Youth Ministry Internship Program and Project / Native American Summer Internship files, which are arranged by year and include applications, correspondence, photographs, planning calendars, printed materials and publications (including newsletters), reports and other materials documenting the youth program and its operations.

The Publications / Printed Materials subseries, circa 1923-2008, includes a group of publications and printed materials created and/or collected by CCTS and sent to the school's library/archives. Specific CCTS-created materials include catalogs/catalogues, chapel/church worship service bulletins/programs, employee/staff handbooks, issues of the "Indian Highways" newsletter, student handbooks, issues of the "This Week at Cook School" bulletin/newsletter, yearbooks, and other CCTS educational publications. Of note are also staff/student creative/devotional writings, including "Eaglespeak" and "On Eagle's Wings"/"On Eagles' Wings." [Please note: Publications and printed materials exist in other series and subseries of the collection, but many are housed in this subseries.]

The Student Files subseries, 1942-2009, includes files of student records, chiefly arranged as alphabetical files. These files mostly contain educational records, including transcripts, applications for enrollment, and semester/term reports. Some files also include biographical information, correspondence, and photographs. Some files, specifically the files of full-time CCTS students, are more robust than others. Many files only include applications or semester/term reports for students' participating in Theological Education By Extension (TEE) courses or Winter Term courses. Often files' contents, especially applications and semester/term reports, include students' tribal names/designations. At the end of the subseries are assorted student records (these students did not have an original CCTS student file folder) and hardcopy printouts of an alumni/registrar's database. [Please note: Student files and student records exist in other subseries of the collection, but most are housed in this subseries.]

The Photographic Materials subseries, 1908-2006, includes negatives, photograph albums, photographic prints, scrapbooks, and 35mm slides, chiefly documenting CCTS and its staff and students. Major subjects/topics include specific graduating classes (folders are titled "Class of ..."), graduations, and Winter Term. See the Collection Inventory for more specific descriptions. [Please note: Photographic materials exist in other series and subseries of the collection, but many are housed in this subseries.]

The Audiovisual Materials subseries, circa 1927-2009, includes audiocassettes, filmstrips, kits, open reel audiotapes, open reel videotapes, phonograph records, transparencies and artwork, video / motion-picture film (Super 8), and videocassettes (Betacam SP, U-matic, and VHS) created and/or collected by CCTS. Of note are phonograph records (Gospel Recordings Incorporated) that include audio (possibly spoken word and songs) in the Dakota, Navajo, and Pima (O'odham) languages and open reel audiotapes of the Gila River Trails radio program, which includes segments in the Pima (O'odham) language. See the Collection Inventory for item-level descriptions.

The Women's Auxiliary Records series, 1938-2005, includes correspondence, membership lists, minutes, newspaper clippings, photograph albums, photographs, reports, scrapbooks, and yearbooks documenting the activities and history of the CCTS Women's Auxiliary group.