Virginia Association for Adult and Continuing Education (VAACE) records

Access and use

Location of collection:
Virginia Commonwealth University, Cabell Library
James Branch Cabell Library
Virginia Commonwealth University
P.O. Box 842003
901 Park Avenue
Richmond, VA 23284-2003
Contact for questions and access:
POC: SCA Staff
Phone: (804) 828-1108
Fax: (804) 828-0151
Restrictions:

The collection is open to research.

Terms of access:

There are no restrictions.

Preferred citation:

Virginia Association for Adult and Continuing Education (VAACE) records, 1964-2019, Collection # M 572, Special Collections and Archives, James Branch Cabell Library, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA.

Summary

Extent:
4.33 Linear Feet 4 record storage boxes
Creator:
Virginia Association for Adult and Continuing Education
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Virginia Association for Adult and Continuing Education (VAACE) records, 1964-2019, Collection # M 572, Special Collections and Archives, James Branch Cabell Library, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA.

Background

Scope and content:

The Virginia Association for Adult and Continuing Education (VAACE) records includes administrative records (including meeting minutes, committee documents, reports, member lists, and presidents' files), correspondence (including letters, emails, and memoranda), outreach and education materials (including conference schedules, newsletters, information and fact sheets, results of studies, and other reports), and some photographs.

The earliest item in the collection was created in 1964 (13 years after the organization was founded), although the bulk of the collection was created between 1990 and 2010. The collection contains a good run of organizational newsletters, conference schedules, leadership meeting minutes, membership directories/rosters, and financial documentation. While there are some committee reports and other committee documentation, their representation in the collection is fairly inconsistent.

Biographical / historical:

The Virginia Adult Association for Adult and Continuing Education (VAACE), originally called the Adult Education Association of Virginia (AEAV) was founded on October 12, 1951 at a conference sponsored by University of Virginia. Some of the original founding members of the organization were members of the Southeastern Adult Education Association (SAEA) who had attended an SAEA conference held in Charlottesville, VA, in 1950. VAACE was a racially diverse organization since its founding and its organizing committee included at least one Black educator, Dr. Margaret Dabney, who later was the Dean of Teacher Education at Virginia State University.

Since 1973, VAACE has worked to educate its members on the legislative process and the importance of working to shape legislation that would impact adult and continuing education. In 1984, members advocated for a new constitution for the organization that would allow for the creation of interest groups in order to have the authority (and organizational backing) to advocate for legislative change and advance other aims. At the same time, the organization changed its name to the Virginia Association for Adult and Continuing Education.

VAACE continues to serve as a professional organization for adult educators in Virginia through advocacy work, leadership, and by providing professional development opportunities.

Acquisition information:
Donated by Virginia Association for Adult and Continuing Education by Sandy Parker, VAACE Historian, 2018 and 2022.
Arrangement:

Upon donation, the collection was largely arranged by the year or decade in which the materials were created. The exceptions to this included materials in the Organizational History (the foldering for this series was maintained), Presidents' Files series (which were in separate binders), as well as the photos in the Photos series (which were in two photo albums).

Series list
Series 1
Organizational History
Series 2
Presidents' Files
Series 3
Committee materials, minutes, and reports
Subseries 3.1
Early Years: 1960s-1989
Subseries 3.2
1990-1999
Subseries 3.3
2000-2009
Subseries 3.4
2010-2019
Series 4
Correspondence
Subseries 4.1
Early Years: 1960s-1989
Subseries 4.2
1990-1999
Subseries 4.3
2000-2009
Subseries 4.4
2010-2019
Series 5
Outreach and education
Subseries 5.1
Early Years: 1960s-1989
Subseries 5.2
1990-1999
Subseries 5.3
2000-2009
Subseries 5.4
2010-2019
Series 6
Photos
Series 7
Newsclippings
Physical facet:
Collection includes color photograph prints
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard