University of Mississippi Libraries,
Verner S. Holmes Collection
MUM00571
Table of Contents
- Summary Information
- Biographical & Historical Note
- Scope and Content Note
- Administrative Information
- Related Materials
- Controlled Access Headings
- Access Restrictions
- PURL
- Collection Inventory
- Personal
- Mississippi Higher Education
- Integration in Higher Education
- Interviews
- Galley, Graphic Materials
- Board Minutes & Reports
- Scrapbooks and Miscellaneous
- Newspapers
Access Restrictions
This collection is stored at an off-site facility. Researchers using this collection must contact Archives and Special Collections at least two business days in advance of their planned visit to request box transfers.
PURL
http://purl.oclc.org/umarchives/MUM00316/
Summary Information
- Repository
- University of Mississippi Libraries
- Title
- Verner S. Holmes Collection
- ID
- MUM00571
- Date [inclusive]
- 1910-1990 (bulk 1956-1980)
- Extent
- 6.26 Linear feet (15 boxes)
- Mixed materials [Boxes]
- 1-15
- Abstract
- Material pertaining to higher education in Mississippi and the 1962 integration crisis at The University of Mississippi collected by Dr. Verner S. Holmes, a member of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning from 1956 to 1980. Includes minutes, scrapbooks, printed material, newsclippings, and oral history transcripts.
Preferred Citation
Verner S. Holmes Collection, Archives and Special Collections, J.D. Williams Library, The University of Mississippi
Biographical & Historical Note
Dr. Verner Smith Holmes is a sixth generation Mississippian whose ancestors emigrated from Ireland, by way of the Old Dominion to the new settlements in Georgia, and thence to the Old Southwest when Mississippi was still a wilderness territory. His forebears settled in Walthall County in 1806. He attended school in Lexie and earned his bachelor's degree at Mississippi. Holmes then took the two year medical course at the University of Mississippi before receiving his medical degree from Tulane University. Dr. Holmes is an otolaryngologist.
During World War II Dr. Holmes served in a general hospital which was established near Utah Beach after the Normandy invasion. When Dr. Holmes returned to Mississippi after the war, he anticipated living the quiet life of a country doctor and enjoying the solitude of his log cabin along the banks of the Bogue Chitto River. But that was not to be. In 1956 he accepted the appointment to the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning. In 1968 he was reappointed for a second twelve year term. Dr. Holmes is the only individual in the Board's history to serve two terms and was twice elected President of the Board.
In accepting the appointment to the college board, Dr. Holmes accepted the public trust which that appointment entailed and few men in Mississippi history have honored their trust with more fidelity or served it with more dignity. Although a man of deep convictions, Holmes was always ruled by reason rather than passion, and during a critical period in Mississippi's history, the civil rights movement and James Meredith crisis, when wise and reasoned leadership was so needed, Dr. Holmes provided that kind of leadership. Dr. Holmes' tenure on the Board of Trustees ended in May 1980.
A recent study of higher education in Mississippi has recognized Dr. Holmes' contributions to higher education in general and to medical education in particular. That study cited Dr. Holmes as one of the most significant influences in shaping the early years of the University of Mississippi Medical Center and for safeguarding the academic integrity of that institution from political and other external interference.
Scope and Content Note
In his long and distinguished career as a surgeon, and during his twenty-four year tenure on the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning from 1956 to 1980, Dr. Holmes accumulated a wealth of written material bearing on the history of Mississippi. These materials have been donated to the University of Mississippi Department of Archives and Special Collections.
Among Dr. Holmes' papers are a complete set of minutes of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning from 1956 to 1980 and several interviews with other board members and public officials which cover a wide range of issues bearing on higher education in Mississippi since World War II. Also included in the Holmes Collection is important material on the James Meredith crises and integration of the University of Mississippi.
Administrative Information
Publication Information
University of Mississippi Libraries, 8 May 2006
Access Restrictions
The Verner S. Holmes Collection is open for research.
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.
Additions
No further additions are expected to this collection.
Processing Information
The Institute of Museum and Library Services supported the digital encoding of this finding aid through a National Leadership Grant for Libraries. Initial encoding by Laura Helton, 2006. Finding aid updated, 2009 and 2015.
Related Materials
Separated Material
Photographs and framed items have been removed to Collection Photographs for preservation.
Controlled Access Headings
Corporate Name(s)
- University of Mississippi -- History
Personal Name(s)
- Holmes, Verner S.
- Sansing, David G.
- Silver, James W. (James Wesley), 1907-
Subject(s)
- Higher education
- Mississippi. Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning
- Segregation in education -- Mississippi -- Oxford
Collection Inventory
Personal |
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Box 1 |
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Folder 1: Verner Holmes, Personal, Correspondence, 1958-1984 |
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Folder 2: Verner Holmes, Personal, Newsclippings, 1955-1980 |
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Folder 3: Verner Holmes, Personal, Programs, 1961-1984 |
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Folder 4: Verner Holmes, Personal, Miscellaneous, with some genealogical information |
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Folder 5: Emma Holmes, Personal, Correspondence, Newsclippings, Miscellaneous, Plus Sansing Interview w. Mrs. Holmes (3/24/79), 1935-1985 |
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Folder 6: Manuscript 1940 Scope and ContentRegarding Holmes family genealogy by Katie Jones Holmes. |
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Box 2 |
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Folder 1: Verner Holmes Collection, U. M. Archives |
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Folder 2: Verner Holmes Learning Resource Center, University of Mississippi Medical Center |
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Folder 3: Verner Holmes, B/W Photographs, (temp. undated) Separated Materials notePhotographs have been removed to Collection Photographs for preservation |
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Folder 4: J. P. Coleman Gubernatorial Campaigns, 1955 and 1963 (cp) |
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Folder 5: Democratic National Convention, Chicago, 1956 |
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Folder 6: Loose Scrapbook Pages |
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Folder 7: Newspapers, McComb Enterprise Journal, August 16 and 17, 1978 |
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Mississippi Higher Education |
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Box 3 |
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Folder 1: Newsclippings, 1910's |
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Folder 2: Newsclippings and some correspondence, re. Gov. T. Bilbo |
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Folder 3: Newsclippings, 1930's, 1940's |
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Folder 4: Newsclippings, 1950's |
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Folder 5: Newsclippings, 1960-1964 |
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Folder 6: Newsclippings, 1965-1969 |
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Folder 7: Newsclippings, 1970-1974 |
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Folder 8: Newsclippings, 1975-1979 |
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Folder 9: Newsclippings, 1980-1984 |
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Folder 10: Newsclippings, 1985-1989 |
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Folder 11: Newsclippings, not dated |
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Folder 12: Newsclippings and some correspondence, Gulf Coast Research Lab |
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Folder 13: Newsclippings and some correspondence, Nursing School Move, Natchez to Alcorn |
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Box 7 |
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Bound Volume: Program Review: A Structure for Mississippi's Public Universities, 1979 |
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Bound Volume: Report on Functions of State Institutions of Higher Learning in Mississippi, 1933 |
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Bound Volume: Strengthening Mississippi's Higher Education Through Diversity, Cooperation, Coordination, 1966 |
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Bound Volume: Chronology of Events in Mississippi Higher Education, 1950's-1970's |
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Folder 1: Board of Trustees, Financial Matters, 1960-1987 |
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Folder 2: Board of Trustees, Miscellaneous Correspondence and Reports, 1959-1985 |
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Folder 3: Board of Trustees, Unbound Minutes, 1977-1978 |
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Folder 4: Biographical - Board Members, Chancellors, University Presidents, etc. |
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Folder 5: Medical School Misc. |
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Folder 6: Sansing Correspondence, 1978-1985 |
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Folder 7-10: Research Papers, students of Dr. Sansing |
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Integration in Higher Education |
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Box 4 |
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Folder 1: Alumni Allegations Concerning UM Staff and Faculty, the charges relate to communism and integration, 1952-1959 |
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Folder 2: Clyde Kennard, photocopies of newsclippings and Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission correspondence, 1958-1962 |
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Folder 3: James Meredith and UM Integration, newsclippings |
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Folder 4: James Meredith and UM Integration, national press coverage |
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Folder 5: James Meredith and UM Integration, telegrams (from Attorney Gen. RFK) |
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Folder 6: James Meredith and UM Integration, speeches |
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Folder 7: James Meredith and UM Integration, miscellaneous |
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Folder 8: James Meredith and UM Integration, W. H. Mounger meeting in Jackson |
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Folder 9: Student Newspaper, UM, 1960's |
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Folder 10: Rebel Underground, Southern Review, Bumper Stickers |
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Folder 11: Speaker Ban and Censorship Matters, newsclippings, correspondence, legal papers, 1960's and 1970's |
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Folder 12: Ayer vs. Gov. Allain (class action suit regarding continued discrimination in higher education), February 1990 |
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Interviews |
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Box 5 |
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Bound Volume |
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Dr. Holmes/Dr. E. R. Jobe, 1956-1968 |
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Dr. Holmes & Dr. Sansing/Dr. E. E. Thrash, 1968-1970 |
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Folder 1 |
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Sansing/Porter Fortune, University, 8/23/79 |
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Sansing/Bobby Garraway, Lumberton, 6/12/80 |
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Sansing/Charles Jacobs, Cleveland, 8/11/80 |
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Folder 2 |
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Sansing/Dr. Reece McLendon, Senatobia, 9/21/81 |
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Sansing/Dr. Marston, 3/18/82 |
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Sansing & Lucy Bridgeforth/Dr. Norman Nelson, 9/12/80 |
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Folder 3 |
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Sansing/Travis Parker, Drew, 8/11/80 |
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Sansing/J. L. Scott, Jackson, 2/6/80 |
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Sansing/Miriam Simmons, Hattiesburg, 6/12/80 |
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Folder 4 |
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Sansing/Mike Sturdivant, Glendora, 8/11/80 |
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Sansing/E. E. Thrash, Jackson, 10/24/78 |
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Sansing/George Watson, Pass Christian, 6/11/80 |
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Sansing/Gov. William Winter, Jackson, 9/26/80 |
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Box 6 |
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Bound Volume |
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Sansing & Lucy Bridgeforth/Dr. William Giles, Starkville, 30 May 1979 |
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Sansing/Charles Capps, Cleveland, 5 July 1979 |
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Sansing/Dr. David Pankratz, Oxford, 25 May 1979 |
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Sansing/Dean Robert Farley, Oxford, 15 May 1979 |
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Sansing/McCain, Sansing/McCain Sansing/W. H. Mounger, Jackson, 21 September 1978 |
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Sansing/Walter, Sansing/ Walter Sansing/Dr. Harold House, Ocean Springs, 29 January 1979 |
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Sansing /Gov. Paul Johnson, Hattiesburg, 29 October 1978 |
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Sansing/Lt. Gov. Bidwell Adam, 22 August 1978 |
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Bound Volume |
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Sansing/S. R. Evans, Vaiden, 13 October 1978 |
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Sansing/Thomas Tubb, West Point, 18 September 1978 |
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Sansing/M. M. Roberts, Hattiesburg, 23 September 1978 |
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Sansing/William Stone, Jackson, 20 September 1978 |
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Sansing/Charles Fair, Louisville, 18 September 1978 |
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Sansing/Mrs. Harry Carpenter, Rolling Fork, 12 December 1978 |
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Sansing/Tally Riddell, Quitman, 10 June 1980 |
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Sansing/Bobby Chain, Hattiesburg, 10 June 1980 |
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Sansing/Mrs. Miriam Simmons, Hattiesburg, 12 June 1980 |
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Bound Volume |
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Sansing/J. P. Coleman, Oxford, 16 June 1979 |
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Galley, Graphic MaterialsSeparated Materials noteFramed materials have been removed to Collection Photographs for preservation |
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Box 8 |
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Folder 1: Making Haste Slowly, Uncorrected Long Galley |
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Folder 2: Framed "Resolution of Appreciation to Dr. Verner Holmes" |
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Folder 3: Framed of the Board of Trustees |
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Board Minutes & Reports |
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Box 9 |
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Bound Volumes: Board of Trustees, Minutes, 1956-1964 |
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Box 10 |
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Bound Volumes: Board of Trustees, Minutes, 1964-1970 |
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Box 11 |
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Bound Volumes: Board of Trustees, Minutes, 1971-1975 |
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Box 12 |
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Bound Volumes: |
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Board of Trustees, Minutes, 1976-1980 |
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Synopsis of Board Minutes, 1930-1979 |
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Board of Trustees, Annual Report, 1976/77 |
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Scrapbooks and Miscellaneous |
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Box 13 |
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Scrapbook: James Meredith and UM Integration, mostly newsclippings |
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Scrapbook: J. P. Coleman, newsclippings |
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Magazine: Look Magazine, "How A Secret Deal Prevented A Massacre at Ole Miss", 31 December 1962 |
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Broadside: J.P. Coleman Printed Broadside: "The Handshake that Sealed the Bargain" |
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Box 14 |
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Scrapbook: Verner Holmes Day (McComb, Mississippi), 16 August 1978 |
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Scrapbook: General with some newsclippings pertaining to Meredith and Coleman |
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Newspapers |
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Box 15 |
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J. P. Coleman Gubernatorial Campaign, July/August 1963 |
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J. P. Coleman Campaign Literature "The Statesman" |
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Mississippi State Capitol Medal (in honor of 1983 rededication of the building). |
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