Anderson, E. Vernice Papers

Dates: 1944-2001

Personal Assistant to Philip C. Jessup, Ambassador-at-Large, 1948-1953; Administrative Assistant to the Director, National Science Foundation, 1953- 1971; Executive Secretary, National Science Board, 1971-1981

The papers of Vernice Anderson consist of correspondence, newspaper clippings, reports, photographs, invitations, programs, sound recordings, and other materials related to Ms. Anderson’s service with the Department of State and the National Science Board.

See also Vernice Anderson oral history.

[Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List]

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Size: 5 linear feet, 11 linear inches (about 11,000 pages).
Access: Open.
Copyright: Vernice Anderson has donated to the U.S. government her copyright interest in all unpublished writings in this collection. Documents created by U.S. government employees in the course of their official duties are also in the public domain. Copyright interest in other documents presumably belongs to the creators of those documents, or their heirs.
Processed by: Tammy Kelly, Jan Davis, Sharie Simon (2009).


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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

1921 (September 1)

  

Born, Mariaville, Nebraska

c. 1939-1942

  

Attended Hastings Business College, the University of Nebraska, and George Washington University

1942-1945

  

Secretary, Deputy Chiefs Air Staff, Headquarters, Army Air Forces

1946-1947

  

Secretary to Mr. Edwin Locke, Special Assistant to the President

1947-1948

  

Administrative Assistant to Garrison Norton, Assistant Secretary of State for Transportation and Communication

1948-1953

  

Personal Assistant to Dr. Philip C. Jessup, Ambassador-at-Large

1953-1971

  

Administrative Assistant to the Director, National Science Foundation and Secretary, National Science Board

1971-1981

  

Executive Secretary, National Science Board

2014 (December 15)

  

Died, Alexandria, Virginia
     
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COLLECTION DESCRIPTION

The papers of Vernice Anderson consist of correspondence, newspaper clippings, reports, photographs, invitations, programs, sound recordings, and other materials related to Ms. Anderson’s service with the Department of State and the National Science Board. The collection is arranged in two series.

The first series, the State Department File, is arranged chronologically and documents Ms. Anderson’s work at the State Department, along with some material regarding her work at the White House prior to moving to the State Department. The first folder in the series, “AZC’s Unofficial Notebook On the Second Nelson Journey to China” refers to Donald M. Nelson, War Production Board Chair. AZC is probably Alfred Z. Carr. After briefly working for Edwin Locke in the White House and Garrison Norton at the Department of State, Ms. Anderson became the personal assistant to Philip C. Jessup, Ambassador-at-Large. This position necessitated a good deal of travel, which is documented in this series. She regularly attended United Nations meetings with Jessup, and this series contains clippings documenting Jessup’s trips, travel documents and receipts, menus, travel guides, programs, and maps. There are also phone lists of United Nations delegates, press releases regarding various meetings, and some reports compiled at meetings. There is a diary from her trip to New York City in 1949 for the fourth session of the United Nations General Assembly. Many of the travel documents from her foreign trips are printed in French. Clippings from her foreign trips are also printed in various foreign languages.

Ms. Anderson attained some notoriety during this time through her involvement in President Truman’s trip to Wake Island to meet General Douglas MacArthur in October of 1950. Ambassador Jessup attended the meeting, and decided to bring along Ms. Anderson to serve as a secretary and stenographer for Jessup and the other men on the trip, and to assist with the preparation of the communiqué and Truman’s speech to the nation in San Francisco. While President Truman and General MacArthur conferred, Ms. Anderson was seated in an adjoining room, partly hidden behind a door. While the men talked, Ms. Anderson took stenographic notes of the meeting. When this fact came to light during the hearings surrounding Truman’s relief of General MacArthur, MacArthur and his allies gave the impression that Ms. Anderson was a “spy” for Truman and the administration. The folder regarding the MacArthur hearings contains many newspaper clippings regarding Ms. Anderson, as well as pieces of hate mail that she received. According to a note from Ms. Anderson, some of the mail was threatening enough to warrant forwarding it to the FBI. The controversy eventually died down, but was resurrected upon the publication of President Truman’s memoirs and a biography of General MacArthur. Mr. Jessup repeatedly came to Ms. Anderson’s defense regarding these charges, and kept her informed about his refutation of the allegations.

The second series, the National Science Board File, is arranged alphabetically by subject and documents Ms. Anderson’s long service with the National Science Board, as well as some personal material that dates to her service with the State Department. Much of the correspondence in this series is personal in nature – notes and thanks from members regarding birthday and anniversary letters sent by Ms. Anderson, updates from retired members of the National Science Board, and obituaries and memorial events for Board members who died. Ms. Anderson’s duties included planning National Science Board meetings and events, and this series contains documentation regarding those events, such as programs, invitations, invitation lists, and menus. Also in this series are reports and memoranda regarding various aspects of government funding for science research, science education at the high school, college, and post-graduate levels, and the development of national science policy. Ms. Anderson received these items from various members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Science Board, and the National Science Foundation, all of whom interacted with her. After her retirement from the National Science Board, Ms. Anderson worked to preserve the history of the National Science Board by conducting interviews with some early members. Transcripts of the interviews are in this series, as well as tape recordings of the interviews (which have been transferred to the Audio-Visual Collection).

Related collections at the Truman Library include the papers of Dean Acheson and George Elsey, and the Edwin Locke Files for Ms. Anderson’s years in the White House and State Department. The papers of William Golden, the Martin Friedman Files, and the Records of the Scientific Research Board (RG 220) document science policy during the Truman administration, prior to the creation of the National Science Foundation. Related oral histories include interviews with Vernice Anderson, William T. Golden, John Muccio, and Robert Nixon. Another related resource is the travel log from the trip to Wake Island.

[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List ]

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

Container Nos.

  

Series

1-4

   STATE DEPARTMENT FILE, 1944-1981
Newspaper clippings, printed materials, photographs, memoranda, correspondence, and other materials related to Vernice Anderson’s service with the Department of State. Arranged chronologically.

4-14

   NATIONAL SCIENCE BOARD FILE, 1946-2001
Reports, correspondence, memoranda, invitations, newspaper clippings, printed materials, photographs, sound recordings, and other items related to Vernice Anderson and her work as the Executive Secretary of the National Science Board. Arranged alphabetically by subject.

FOLDER TITLE LIST

STATE DEPARTMENT FILE, 1944-1981

Box 1

  • November 9-December 14, 1944, “AZC’s Unofficial Notebook On the Second Nelson Journey to China”
  • December 10, 1946, Judicial Reception at the White House
  • October 24-December 13, 1947, International Civil Aviation Organization, Commission on Multilateral Agreements, Geneva, Switzerland
  • July 1948, International Civil Aviation Organization Regional Meeting, Seattle, Washington
  • 1948-1953, Philip Jessup Material
  • 1948-1953, 1971, General State Department Material
  • April 4, 1949, Signature Ceremony, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Washington, D.C.
  • April-May, 1949, Third Session of the United Nations General Assembly, New York City
  • May-June, 1949, Sixth Session, Council of Foreign Ministers, Paris, France [1 of 3]
  • May-June, 1949, Sixth Session, Council of Foreign Ministers, Paris, France [2 of 3]

Box 2

  • May-June, 1949, Sixth Session, Council of Foreign Ministers, Paris, France [3 of 3]
  • September-November, 1949, Fourth Regular Session, United Nations General Assembly, New York City
  • December 12, 1949-March 15, 1950, Ambassador Philip Jessup’s Mission to the Far East [1 of 3]
  • December 12, 1949-March 15, 1950, Ambassador Philip Jessup’s Mission to the Far East [2 of 3]
  • December 12, 1949-March 15, 1950, Ambassador Philip Jessup’s Mission to the Far East [3 of 3]
  • April-June, 1950, Preparatory Conference for Tripartite Council of Foreign Ministers Meeting, Paris, France and London, England

Box 3

  • September-October, 1950, United Nations General Assembly, Tripartite Council of Foreign Ministers Meeting, and Fifth Session, North Atlantic Treaty Organization Council, New York City
  • October 1950, Wake Island Meeting
  • May 1951, MacArthur Hearings
  • September 1951, Seventh Session, North Atlantic Treaty Organization Council
  • November 1951-February 1952, Sixth Regular Session of the United Nations General Assembly, Paris, France
  • May 1952, Council of Foreign Ministers, Bonn, Germany
  • June-July 1952, Tripartite Consultations, London, England
  • August 1952, First ANZUS Council Meeting, Kaneohe, Hawaii

Box 4

  • October-December, 1952, Seventh Regular Session of the United Nations General Assembly, New York City
  • 1955-1956, 1979-1981, Wake Island and General Douglas MacArthur Controversy

NATIONAL SCIENCE BOARD FILE, 1946-2001

Box 4 (cont.)

  • Anderson, Vernice: Awards and Dinners
  • Anderson, Vernice: Farewell Letters
  • Anderson, Vernice: Personal Data
  • Anderson, Vernice: Personal Letters
  • Annual Reports, National Science Board
  • Antarctica: General [1 of 2]

Box 5

  • Antarctica: General [2 of 2]
  • Antarctica: Trip Made by Vernice Anderson, January 1977
  • Branscomb, Lewis M.
  • Bronk, Detlev W.
  • Brooks, Harvey
  • California Institute of Technology – Visit of Princess Margaret
  • Carter, Herbert E.
  • Correspondence with National Science Board Members, 1954-1956
  • Correspondence with National Science Board Members, 1960
  • Correspondence with National Science Board Members, 1961
  • Correspondence with National Science Board Members, 1962
  • Correspondence with National Science Board Members, 1963
  • Correspondence with National Science Board Members, 1963
  • Correspondence with National Science Board Members, 1965
  • Correspondence with National Science Board Members, 1966
  • Correspondence with National Science Board Members, 1967

Box 6

  • Correspondence with National Science Board Members, 1968
  • Correspondence with National Science Board Members, 1969
  • Correspondence with National Science Board Members, 1970
  • Correspondence with National Science Board Members, 1971
  • Correspondence with National Science Board Members, 1972
  • Correspondence with National Science Board Members, 1973
  • Correspondence with National Science Board Members, 1974
  • Correspondence with National Science Board Members, 1975
  • Correspondence with National Science Board Members, 1976
  • Correspondence with National Science Board Members, 1977

Box 7

  • Correspondence with National Science Board Members, 1978
  • Correspondence with National Science Board Members, 1979
  • Correspondence with National Science Board Members, 1980-1990
  • Dinners and Awards, National Science Board
  • DuBridge, Lee A. [1 of 2]
  • DuBridge, Lee A. [2 of 2]

Box 8

  • Fred, Edwin B.
  • Hackerman, Norman
  • Handler, Philip: Andrei Sakharov
  • Handler, Philip: Correspondence [1 of 3]
  • Handler, Philip: Correspondence [2 of 3]
  • Handler, Philip: Correspondence [3 of 3]
  • Handler, Philip: Speeches and Tributes
  • Harry S. Truman Centennial
  • Jessup, Philip C.
  • Mars

Box 9

  • Murray, Grover E.
  • National Academy of Sciences: General [1 of 2]
  • National Academy of Sciences: General [2 of 2]
  • National Academy of Sciences: Clippings
  • National Academy of Sciences: Publications
  • National Academy of Sciences: Speeches and Statements

Box 10

  • National Medal of Science [1 of 2]
  • National Medal of Science [2 of 2]
  • National Science Board Directories
  • National Science Board Meetings Outside of Washington, D.C. [1 of 2]
  • National Science Board Meetings Outside of Washington, D.C. [2 of 2]
  • National Science Board Membership [1 of 2]
  • National Science Board Membership [2 of 2]

Box 11

  • National Science Board Oral History Project: Administrative
  • National Science Board Oral History Project: Aberle, Sophie B.
  • National Science Board Oral History Project: Carter, Herbert E.
  • National Science Board Oral History Project: DuBridge, Lee A. And William A. Fowler
  • National Science Board Oral History Project: Gates, David M.
  • National Science Board Oral History Project: Gould, Laurence M.
  • National Science Board Oral History Project: Gross, Paul M.
  • National Science Board Oral History Project: McLaughlin, Donald H.

Box 12

  • National Science Board Oral History Project: Questions and Notes
  • National Science Board Oral History Project: Sears, Paul B.
  • National Science Board Oral History Project: Tyler, Ralph W.
  • National Science Foundation Act
  • National Science Foundation Directors: Richard Atkinson, Edward Knapp
  • National Science Foundation Directors: Leland Haworth, William McElroy, H. Guyford Stever
  • National Science Foundation History [1 of 2]
  • National Science Foundation History [2 of 2]
  • Notes for Discussion with Chairman, 1973-1974

Box 13

  • Policy [1 of 2]
  • Policy [2 of 2]
  • Publications
  • Smith Report, “The National Science Board and the Formulation Of National Science Policy”
  • Status Reports to National Science Board Chairman, 1980-1981
  • Vannevar Bush Award
  • Walker, Dr. Eric A.
  • Waterman, Dr. Alan T.

Box 14

  • White House Matters [1 of 2]
  • White House Matters [2 of 2]

 

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