May 5, 2014 – The University of Memphis has become the repository of the official papers from the administration of former Tennessee Gov. Winfield Dunn. Dunn served as governor from 1971-1975.

The Governor Winfield Dunn collection includes 35 linear feet of material. It contains correspondence, speeches, photographs, newspaper clippings and other items from the early 1970s to the late 1980s, including campaign literature. The collection also contains some audiovisual material.

“The University of Memphis is thrilled to become the repository of the official papers of the administration of Governor Winfield Dunn,” said Interim President Brad Martin. “The Dunn administration marked a time of substantive policy debate and significant change. From the introduction of statewide kindergarten to the political battles associated with the method of selection of Tennessee Supreme Court justices, students and historians will benefit from this enormous trove of information chronicling those fascinating times. We are grateful to Governor Dunn and the supporters of this initiative who have made it possible for the U of M to have this significant opportunity.”

Martin served as a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives during the 1973-74 period of the Dunn administration.

The U of M’s Oral History Research Office has a complete recorded history of the Dunn administration. “Every member of the Dunn cabinet was interviewed for the project,” said David Cox, executive assistant to the president. “Bringing the printed materials together with the recorded materials will provide a unique database from which to write about the issues and politics involved with, at that time, the first Republican elected governor in 50 years.”

The Dunn Collection will be housed in the Ned R. McWherter Library’s Preservation and Special Collections Department.