Suffolk University - Collections

The interviews are used to identify or solicit observations and opinions regarding key events and issues in Congressman Moakley’s life and career. The first oral history interview occurred in 2001 when Professors Robert Allison and Joseph McEttrick interviewed Congressman Moakley.

The project continues to collect recordings of audio- and videotaped interviews with family, friends, staff, colleagues, political opponents, political leaders and his constituents. The master tapes, transcriptions and supporting documentation make up the Moakley Archive Oral History Project Collection.
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Subject Terms

Boston Harbor Islands (Mass.)
Busing for school integration
El Salvador -- Politics and government -- 1979-1992
Legislators -- Massachusetts.
Massachusetts -- Politics and government--1950-2001.
Moakley, John Joseph, 1927-2001
United States -- Congress -- House.
United States--Politics and government--1973-2001.

MS100 Congressman John Joseph Moakley Papers, 1926-2001

Collection Description

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.
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MS103 Jamaica Plain Committee on Central America Collection, 1982-1989, 2001

Collection Description

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. Finding aid available (.pdf)

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
Price, Fran
Pryor, Carol
Zanger, Ginny
El Salvador

MS104 Enemies of War Collection

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. This collection is currently unprocessed and not available for research.

MS105 Mary P. Burke U.N. Women's Conference Collection, 1975-1995

Collection Description

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. Finding aid available (.pdf)

Mary P. Burke 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

MS106 Thomas F. Lambert Jr. Papers, 1946-1995

Collection Description

The papers of Thomas F. Lambert Jr., torts scholar and Suffolk University Law Professor, include research materials related to the Nuremburg Trials and his law school notebooks. Finding aid available. (.pdf).

Subject Terms

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

MS108 Gleason Leonard Archer Personal Papers, 1790-1999

Collection Description

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. Finding aid available (.pdf) Bibliographies available.

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

MS109 Margaret Collins Weitz Papers, 1945-2006

Collection Description

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. Finding aid available (.pdf).

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 back to top^

MS110 Frederick Wilkins Papers,1899-2005

Collection Description

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.

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-

Finding aid available (pdf)

MS111 Harry Hom Dow Papers, 1911-1985

Harry Hom Dow is a 1929 law school graduate. His personal papers consist of immigration case files from his private law practice and subject files from his work as a community activist. This collection is closed while it is processed. For more information please read his biography or view this portrait of Harry Hom Dow. back to top^

Records of Suffolk University

Collection Description

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

Suffolk University Oral History Project

Collection Description

The Archive collects and curates oral history interviews that relate to the subjects and issues in the University’s archival and special collections. The Oral History Project includes interviews with University founder Gleason Leonard Archer, long-time staff and faculty members, such as Dottie "Mac" McNamara and Patricia "Pat" Brown, and faculty panel discussions. These and other interviews within the collection allow researchers a more personal look at the University and the individuals who have helped shape Suffolk into the University it is today. More info