United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia records - Addendum B

The researcher should be aware not only of the interrelatedness between Groups 11A and 11B, but also of the interrelatedness betweeen the series within Group 11B. Some cross referencing has been used to point out cases of diffused documentation, but a general awareness of its prevalence in this collection is also advised. Eight additional pages of cross-references are included in a folder preceding Folder 1.

This record group documents the operations and program of the United Board for Christian Education in Asia, but also provides insight into a variety of more general topics. Detailed reports and correspondence document Asian nationalism in the 1960s and 1970s, the universities as fomenters of radical movements against right-wing governments in Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Indonesia, and the role of churches in supporting these radical movements. The role of families such as the Rockefellers and Luces in the interplay of American Christianity and philanthropy is documented. Insight is provided on American cold war attitudes toward Southeast Asia and how they were sustained. An interesting set of fact sheets regarding human rights issues is filed under Korea in Series I.

Series II represents the office files of the New York headquarters of the United Board. The materials remain in their original arrangement, filed alphabetically by the names of individuals, organizations, countries, or subject headings. There are in this Series some materials relating to various colleges, listed under the names of the countries in which they are located. The United Board had less extensive interaction with these colleges listed in Series II, compared to the colleges listed in Series IV, College Files. Prominent correspondents in Series II include: John K. Fairbank, William P. Fenn, Sidney and Elizabeth Gamble, Lyman Hoover, Walter Judd, Henry R. Luce, Henry Luce III, Elisabeth Luce Moore, I. M. Pei, and Henry P. Van Dusen.

While the Consolidated General File of Series II is primarily correspondence, Series III, New File, contains primarily official papers, minutes, and reports. There are, however, Executive Director reports filed under Paul T.Lauby in Series II. Minutes of the Board of Trustees and various standing and specialized committees in Series II provide an overview of the activities and programs of the United Board. Of particular interest is a collection of correspondence and documents relating to the Communist takeover of the China colleges and universities in 1950-1951.

Correspondence, minutes, reports and publications in Series IV, College Files, document the policy and programs of colleges and universities in Asia which were associated with the United Board. Material from twenty institutions is included, but the files are most extensive for the following schools:

A complete listing of institutions documented can be found on page 58.

Materials from or concerning related organizations, such as those found in Series VI of Record Groups 11 and 11A, are located in Series II, the Consolidated General File, of this record group.