Vanderbilt librarians are sorting through memorabilia from Senator Lamar Alexander’s early political life. The university announced today it will house the former governor’s papers prior to being elected to the U.S. Senate.
The collection is much more than paper. There are campaign scrapbooks chronicling Alexander’s famous walk across the state. There are examples of the signature red and black plaid shirts Alexander wore during that campaign. The collection includes correspondence and rare video surrounding Alexander’s rushed swearing in. His predecessor Ray Blanton was thought to be granting pardons for cash.
Vanderbilt dean of libraries Connie Vinita Dowell says the early Alexander papers are a coup for the university.
“It puts us on the national stage when it comes to materials that are going to stand the test of time in terms of their value to researchers.”
The papers span from 1955 to 2002. While Alexander is a Vanderbilt alumnus, he was also president of the University of Tennessee. However, he has not said where the rest of his papers will land.
A year-long exhibit featuring Alexander’s papers opens September 17th. The Vanderbilt library has not announced when the material will be available to researchers.
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