Cone, Bonnie E., 1907-2003

Scope and Contents The J. Murrey Atkins Library Records document the history and functions of UNC Charlotte’s Atkins Library and its predecessor, the library at Charlotte College. This collection consists of correspondence, memoranda, meeting minutes, annual reports, newsletters, statistics, working papers, subject files, photographs, building plans, and memorabilia. Also included are accession books and financial ledgers from the Charlotte College library dating from 1957 to 1964 and audio-visual recordings...

Summary

Records of the Office of the Chancellor, largely from the period when Dean W. Colvard held the office.

Summary

Records of Charlotte College. Consists primarily of Bonnie Cone's files including speeches and correspondence, but also includes files relating to the Board of Trustees, financial matters, the development of campus, growth of academic programs, and the transition of the college from temporary to permanent junior college status and on to its establishment as the fourth campus of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Abstract

Personal papers of Cone, director and president of Charlotte College (1947-65) and vice chancellor of student affairs and community relations, UNC Charlotte (1966-73). Includes correspondence, biographical material, files relating to local civic organizations, records as trustee of Coker College, and cassette recordings and transcripts of interviews.

Scope and Contents In this interview H. Parry Bliss, Jr., alumnus of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, shares memories of his time as a student at the university, particularly of his senior year in 1969. He recalls his impressions of Bonnie Cone and recounts an interaction between her and Stokely Carmichael during an event Mr. Carmichael held on UNC Charlotte’s campus. He comments on civil rights at the university, the decision to bring fraternities and football to UNC Charlotte, particular...

Scope and Contents In this second of four interviews, Harold Pulley, UNC Charlotte alumnus, recounts his college and military careers, discussing his time at Livingstone College, Gaston Technical Institute, and UNC Charlotte, as well as in the Navy Reserve and the Air Force. He comments on feelings in the local African-American community about UNC Charlotte, particularly in relation to Johnson C. Smith University, and describes his student experience at UNC Charlotte, including coursework, social connections,...

Scope and Contents In this third of four interviews, Mr. Harold Pulley discusses his student experience at UNC Charlotte during the late 1960s and his connection to the civil rights movement in North Carolina. He describes Bonnie Cone’s manner of speaking and interacting with students, and comments on how she handled race issues on campus. He also describes the faculty as a whole, recalling both acceptance and latent racism or anti-semitism among various members of the faculty. Specific faculty he describes...

Scope and Contents In this fourth of four interviews, Mr. Harold Pulley resumes where he left off in the previous interview discussing Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination, specifically regarding the reaction at UNC Charlotte. He traces the history of black uprisings, describes the racial climate in New England, and contrasts Charlotte and Boston, both in terms of general culture and specifically of the black communities in each city. He discusses Dr. King’s dissertation and its effect on his own perspective...

Scope and Contents In this interview, James G. "Jim" Babb, long-time Charlotte resident and student at Charlotte College in the 1950s, recalls his early years in New York City, Boston, and Charlotte, North Carolina; his school days at Dilworth Elementary School, O'Donohue School, and Central High School in Charlotte; his employment at The Charlotte News, The Charlotte Observer, and WBTV; his service in the United States Army during the Korean War; and his education at Newberry College, the University of North...

Scope and Contents In this interview, John Erickson, the first dormitory student at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, shares an anecdote of the then Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, Bonnie Cone. He recalls her bringing him a plate of brownies his first night in his room, his mistaken assumption that she was custodial staff taking special care of new students, his surprise to realize her real identity during student orientation, and Dr. Cone’s recollection of the event some twenty years later...

Scope and Contents In this first of two interviews, Dr. Larry Mellichamp, graduate and long-time faculty member at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, reflects on his time as a student in the 1960s and as a faculty member from the 1970s to 2010s. He traces the history and development of the botanical gardens and greenhouse, describes the influence of professors Dr. Hechenbleikner and Dr. Matthews on his life, and explains Dr. Hechenbleikner’s involvement in managing the landscaping on campus. He...

Scope and Contents In this second of two interviews, Dr. Larry Mellichamp, long-time faculty member at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, continues to share about his experience managing the university’s botanical gardens and describes his relationship with Bonnie Cone. He recalls her love of gardening and interest in the gardens on campus, comments on her relationships with donors such as the McMillans, recounts some of her common sayings and the lessons he learned from them, and describes her...