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Roland E. Wolseley Papers

An inventory of his papers at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: MRC
Date: 26 Aug 2010

Biographical History

Roland Edgar Wolseley (1904-1998) was an American journalist, author, and journalism professor whose career spanned more than six decades.

Born in New York City as Rolando, he was known throughout his life as Roland. An only child, he traveled extensively with his parents during early childhood. When his parents separated when he was 12, he never saw his biological father again. His mother remarried Alfred J. Thompson, a man who had little interest in having a child in the home, leading Wolseley to spend much of his teenage years living with relatives or in foster care.

Wolseley attended Schuylkill Seminary (now Albright College) in Reading, Pennsylvania, where he began his journalism career by writing for both the school and local newspapers. He later earned a master's degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, where he also taught for eight years. His tenure at Medill ended when he was dismissed for his outspoken pacifist views during World War II.

In 1946, Wolseley joined the faculty at Syracuse University, where he would go on to teach journalism for more than 25 years. Known as a demanding yet respected educator, he mentored generations of students, two of whom went on to receive Pulitzer Prizes. His leadership and reputation helped elevate the Newhouse School to national prominence and played a key role in attracting publisher Samuel Newhouse to invest in the school during the early 1960s.

Beyond the classroom, Wolseley was a prolific writer and researcher. He published more than 1,000 articles, and wrote, co-wrote, and edited over 25 books. From 1952 to 1954 he served as a Fulbright instructor in India where he helped establish journalism schools and wrote on Indian journalism. He also served for 65 years as book review editor for Quill and Scroll magazine.

A pioneer in the study of the Black press in America, Wolseley founded the first university-level course on the subject at Syracuse University. Frustrated by the lack of textbooks available on the subject, he authored Black Press U.S.A in 1972, one of the earliest comprehensive surveys of African American journalism.

Besides his professional life, Wolseley was married to his wife Bernice for over 30 years until her death in 1980. They had no children. He later married Isabel, and they remained married until his death. He had personal interests in stamp collecting and tennis. While at Syracuse University, he often played doubles tennis with fellow journalist professor Philip Burton, university administrator Frank Wingate, and Chancellor William Tolley. "Tolley hated to lose," Wolseley once remarked, "so we let him win often."

Wolseley died in Syracuse, New York on May 31, 1998 at the age of 94.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Roland E. Wolseley Papers span the entirety of Wolseley's professional and personal life, and includes academic materials, biographical materials, correspondence, memorabilia, photographs, printed material, subject files, and writings.

Academic materials documents Roland's experiences as both a student and professor. It includes faculty reports, lecture notes, reports, and transcripts. The series also contains conference materials such as articles, correspondence, newsletters, and pamphlets.

Biographical materials consists of biographical sketches, clippings, correspondence, diary entrees, identification cards, his resume, and a memorial book. The correspondence includes condolence letters sent to Wolseley's widow, Isabel, following his death. The diary entrees document his 1958 trip Cuba.

Correspondence comprises both personal and professional correspondence. The correspondence is primarily outgoing. There is correspondence with institutions, colleagues, friends, and publishers. There is also correspondence while he was a Fulbright Scholar in India from 1952-1954.

Memorabilia contains awards, certificates, an honorary degree academic hood, printing plates, travel pamphlets, and a wax stamp with Roland's face on it.

Photographs features images of Wolseley and his family, including photos of his mother's house in Havana, Cuba.

Printed material consists of clippings, academic journals, magazines, newsletters, and newspapers, primarily relating to the Black press.

Subject files covers the topics of Black journalists, journalism, and religious journalism. Wolseley was also a stamp collector, so there are several folders relating to postage stamps.

Writings comprises the majority of the collection and is divided into articles, books, and speeches. Articles address topics such as journalism in India, the Black press, freedom of the press, public relations, and race. Files related to Books include correspondence, drafts, manuscripts, illustrations, photographs, promotional material, reviews, and research material. Additional materials include book covers, scrapbooks, and publishing agreements. Books represented include The Black Press, U.S.A (1971), Careers in Religious Communications (1977), The Changing Magazine (1973), The Modern Viking: The Story of Fridtjof Nansen (unpublished), Understanding Magazines (1969), and Writing for the Religious Market (1956). Speeches primarily focus on the Black press.

Wolseley’s original organization and folder titles have been largely retained, which means that material on a given topic may appear in multiple places. The researcher is advised to review the entire inventory to ensure they locate all relevant materials.

Arrangement of the Collection

Correspondence is arranged alphabetically mainly by name of correspondent, although in the middle of the series are correspondence related to Wolseley's time in India. Writings are subdivided by type and within each type arranged alphabetically by title. All other series are arranged alphabetically by topic or type of material.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advance notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Related Material

More than 400 books were removed from the collection and sent to Rare Books for cataloging. Please refer to Libraries Search to locate these items (search on "Gift of Roland Wolseley" or "Gift of Roland E. Wolseley").

Subject Headings

Persons

Bates, Daisy.
Beasley, Delilah L. (Delilah Leontium), 1871-1934.
Bennett, Gwendolyn, 1902-1981.
Bluford, Lucile H.
Dunnigan, Alice Allison, 1906-1983.
Giddings, Paula.
Kent, Ruth.
Lewis, Ida E., 1934-
Talbot, William Henry Fox, 1800-1877.
Wolseley, Roland Edgar, 1904-

Corporate Bodies

Quill and Scroll Society.
S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.

Subjects

African American journalists -- Study and teaching.
African American newspapers.
African American periodicals.
College teachers -- United States.
Journalism -- India.
Journalism -- Religious aspects -- Christianity.
Journalism -- Study and teaching.
Journalism -- United States.
Journalists -- United States.
Stamp collecting.

Genres and Forms

Articles.
Bibliographies.
Books.
Certificates.
Clippings (information artifacts)
Correspondence.
Faculty papers.
Illustrations (layout features)
Journals (periodicals)
Lecture notes.
Magazines (periodicals)
Manuscripts for publication.
Pamphlets.
Photographs.
Research notes.
Scrapbooks.
Speeches (documents)

Occupations

Authors.
Educators.
Journalists.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Roland E. Wolseley Papers,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Roland E. Wolseley and Isabel C. Wolseley Torrey, 1999-2009.

Table of Contents

Academic materials

Biographical materials

Correspondence

Memorabilia

Photographs

Printed materials

Subject files

Writings

Inventory