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Finding Aid for the Kenneth Rush Papers, 1930-1991


MS-2417

University of Tennessee Special Collections Library, Knoxville, TN


Encoded by: Elizabeth Dunham, July 13, 2006.

Summary Information
Title: Kenneth Rush Papers

Date/Date Range :   1930-1991

Extent: 0.5 linear feet

Abstract:
This collection, the Kenneth Rush Papers, 1930-1991, contains correspondence from Rush or UT administrators (e.g., Ed Boling, Charles Brakebill, Andy Holt, and Joe Johnson) between 1962 and 1991, news articles on Rush, and other miscellaneous documents, such as a copy of Rush's UT grade report from 1930, copies of his 1962 commencement speech, biographical sketches, and a photograph.

Call number: MS-2417

Repository: University of Tennessee Special Collections Library, Knoxville, TN

Access and Use
Aquisition Information:
Collection acquired from Charles F. Brakebill at the UT Office for Development.
Access Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Copyright:
The copyright interests in this collection remain with the creator. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library.
Preferred Citation:
[Identification of Item], Kenneth Rush Papers, MS-2417. University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Special Collections Library.

Arrangement

Collection consists of five folders divided into three series: Correspondence, Newspaper and Magazine Clippings, and Miscellaneous.


Biography / History

Kenneth Rush (1910-1994) was raised in Greeneville, TN. He graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1930, and received his law degree from Yale two years later. After school, Rush practiced law in New York City and taught law at Duke University. In 1937, he joined Union Carbide Corporation, of which he became Vice President in 1949, director 1958, executive Vice President 1961, and President 1966. He resigned from all private positions in 1969 to be Ambassador to Germany. President Richard Nixon appointed him the Deputy Secretary of Defense for 1972, and the next year Rush became Deputy Secretary of State. From 1974 to his retirement on March 15, 1977, he served as Ambassador to France. Over all those years, Rush remained loyal to his alma mater and served as a member and committee chairman of the UT Development Council from 1963 onward.


Collection Scope and Content Note

This collection, the Kenneth Rush Papers, 1930-1991, contains correspondence, news articles, and other miscellaneous documents. Series I -- Correspondence, 1962-1991, includes three folders of letters and memos from Rush or UT administrators (e.g., Ed Boling, Charles Brakebill, Andy Holt, and Joe Johnson), generally pertaining to the Development Council of the University of Tennessee, of which Rush was a member, or his donations over the years. Series II -- Newspaper and Magazine Clippings, contains various articles on Rush, some of which are mentioned in letters of this collection. Series III -- Miscellaneous, 1930-1973, includes a copy of Rush's UT grade report from 1930, three copies of his 1962 commencement speech, two biographical sketches, and a picture of Rush (two other pictures of Rush with a 1972 letter are in Folder 2 -- Correspondence, 1970-1979). The bulk of this collection spans the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.

Subject Terms

  • Rush, Kenneth, 1910-1994.
  • Union Carbide Corporation.
  • Diplomats -- United States.
  • United States -- Politics and government -- 1969-1974.
  • United States -- Politics and government -- 1974-1977.
  • University of Tennessee (System).
Contents List
   

Series I: Correspondence, 1962-1991
Box   1     Folder   1    
Correspondence, 1962-1969

Scope Note:

This folder contains about 75 letters to, from, or about Kenneth Rush, while he was executive Vice President and President of the Union Carbide Corporation. Other correspondents include UT President Andy Holt, Vice President for Development and Vice President Edward J. Boling, Executive Director for Development Charles F. Brakebill, Senator Herbert S. Walters, and Caryl Reid, Secretary to Rush. Most of the letters pertain to the UT Development Council, of which Rush was a member starting in 1963. Some letters also discuss annual monetary gifts, including reference to his membership in the Presidents Club, started in the 1967-68 school year.
Box   1     Folder   2    
Correspondence, 1970-1979

Scope Note:

This folder contains about 90 letters to, from, or about Kenneth Rush, while he was Ambassador to Germany and to France, Deputy Secretary of Defense and of State, and after retirement in 1977. Other correspondents include President Emeritus Andy Holt, President Edward J. Boling, Vice President Joseph E. Johnson, Vice President for Development Charles F. Brakebill, and Caryl Reid, Secretary to Rush. Letters congratulate him on all of these positions; discuss his son John Rush's attendance to the UT College of Law (1971-72); and mention articles from the Nashville Tennessean , Nashville Banner , and Government Executive (all of which can be found in Folder 4 -- Newspaper and magazine clippings). The majority of the letters pertain to the UT Development Council, of which Rush was a member starting in 1963. In 1977, Rush and John Harper became co-chairmen of the Foundations Division of the Development Council and much of the correspondence discusses the "Tennessee Tomorrow" campaign for money. Some letters also reference his annual monetary gifts, and there are many handwritten or copies of handwritten letters from Rush. There is also a letter from Louise Davis, the author of several articles about Rush, with two photographs of him in Germany, as well as a few letters from Lanthe Rush Campbell, sister of Ken Rush, about her visit to UT with Rush in August 1977.
Box   1     Folder   3    
Correspondence, 1980-1991

Scope Note:

This folder contains about 30 letters to, from, or about Kenneth Rush. Other correspondents include President and President Emeritus Edward J. Boling, Vice President and President Joseph E. Johnson, and Vice President for Development Charles F. Brakebill. Most of the letters include information about visits to Delray Beach, Florida, in the late 1980s and 1990s with the Rushes, the Brakebills, and the Bolings. There are also notes about financial gifts and a few handwritten letters from Rush.
   

Series II: Newspaper and Magazine Clippings, 1962-1977
Box   1     Folder   4    
Newspaper and Magazine Clippings, 1962-1977

Scope Note:

This folder contains about 30 magazine and newspaper articles between 1962 and 1977, most of which are from 1968 through 1974. There are several articles about Rush's appointments as president of Union Carbide Corporation, as Ambassador to Germany, and as Deputy Secretary of State and of Defense. There are also copies of items about his speeches to UT in 1977 and to Tusculum College in Greeneville, TN, in 1974.
   

Series III: Miscellaneous, 1930-1973
Box   1     Folder   5    
Copy of grade report on Rush, with handwritten notes from 1962, 1930 June 9
Box   1     Folder   5    
Copy 1 of Rush's commencement speech, "Education for a Life of Accelerating Change," 1962 December 15
Box   1     Folder   5    
Copy 2 of Rush's commencement speech, "Education for a Life of Accelerating Change," 1962 December 15
Box   1     Folder   5    
Copy 3 of Rush's commencement speech, "Education for a Life of Accelerating Change," 1962 December 15
Box   1     Folder   5    
Biographical data on Rush with handwritten notes, 1963 June 26
Box   1     Folder   5    
Picture of Deputy Secretary of State Rush, 1973 March 6
Box   1     Folder   5    
Copy of memo from Charles F. Brakebill to Stanley R. McAnally, with biographical data on Rush (another copy resides in Folder 2 -- Correspondence, 1970-1979), 1973 March 9