Lora Lee Rackstraw Papers
Scope and Contents
Professor Rackstraw's papers consist of two groups. Boxes 1 through 4 are organized into one alphabetical subject file. The subjects covered include, among others, the Department of English Language and Literature, course materials in the humanities and creative writing, scholarly research, environmental studies and concerns, and women's issues and studies. Boxes 5 through 8 are organized into broad subject areas. Professor Rackstraw's papers are strong in her area of special research: the work of Kurt Vonnegut. That portion of her papers includes many secondary sources as well as her own research and writing. Her papers also provide an excellent look at the way in which the university offered the Humanities I course in the General Education sequence in the 1980s and 1990s.
Dates
- 1960-1996
Creator
- Rackstraw, Loree, 1931- (Person)
Language of Materials
Materials entirely in English.
Conditions Governing Access
Most materials are open for research. Materials related to the confidentiality of personnel, student, medical, and other legally protected records are CLOSED to researchers for 70 years from the date of creation. Consult the archivist with any questions or concerns.
Technical Access
Some materials was recorded using obsolete technology, such as audiotapes and reel-to-reel tapes. This material has not been transcribed or digitized.
General Use, Reproduction, and Copyright Policies
Many items housed in the Rod Library Special Collections & University Archives, including unpublished images and manuscripts, may be protected by copyright, publication rights, trademarks, or model release rights which the library does not own and for which the library cannot grant permission or licensing. Materials currently under copyright are usually still available for research and limited reproduction under Fair Use laws. However, it is the sole responsibility of the patron to determine whether or not their use of a given material falls within Fair Use guidelines and to obtain permission for said use from the rightful copyright owner.
Sensitive Materials Statement
Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy or similar laws, and the Iowa Open Records Law (see Iowa Code ยง 22.7). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of Northern Iowa assumes no responsibility.
Biographical / Historical
Lora Lee Pugh Wilson Rackstraw was born on June 27, 1931, in Omaha, Nebraska. She graduated from Clear Lake High School in 1949. She continued her education at Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa, where, in 1953, she received a B. A. in Psychology. She also studied Philosophy and English at Grinnell College. She took graduate work at the Iowa State Teachers College, now the University of Northern Iowa, in 1959 and 1960, but did not complete a degree. She finished her graduate coursework in 1966 at the University of Iowa and was awarded a Master of Fine Arts degree in English.
Lora Lee Rackstraw began work at UNI in 1961 as an Information Assistant in the College Relations Office. She remained in this position until 1964 or 1965. In 1966, Professor Rackstraw became a faculty member of the Department of English Language and Literature at the University of Northern Iowa, when she was hired as an Instructor of English. In 1969 she became Assistant Professor of English. In 1975 she was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor. She retired from the faculty in 1996.
Extent
10.54 Linear Feet (9 boxes)
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Professor Rackstraw gave the contents of Boxes 1-4 to SC&UA when she retired in 1996 and Boxes 5-8 in February and March 2011.
Processing Information
Boxes 1 through 4 arranged and finding aid created by Library Assistant Susan Witthoft; January 1997; Boxes 5 through 8 arranged by University Archivist Gerald L. Peterson, February-April 2011. Updated by Library Associate Dave Hoing, January 2018 and April 2018. Linear feet updated September 13, 2017.
- Title
- Lora Lee Rackstraw Papers
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script