National Campus Ministry Association Records
Collection
Call Number: RG 64
Scope and Contents
The original collection, Series I, dates from the NCMA's planning stages in 1964 to 1987 and includes correspondence, minutes, reports, material pertaining to various committees, consultations, and conferences, related organizations, financial material, and printed material. The material is divided according to academic years, beginning with 1964-1965. The material dating from 1968-1969 through 1972-1973 was received in an organized state and the NCMA filing system has been kept intact, except in a few (noted) instances where labeled folders contained no material. The material prior to 1968-1969 and after 1973 has been arranged to correspond with the NCMA filing system.
Series II and III represent additional materials received from the National Campus Ministry Association to document its ongoing activities. Series IV and V contain material from a participant in the NCMA, John S. Duley, who was a campus minister from 1948 to 1968.
The National Campus Ministry Association has served as an important channel of communication for campus ministers, providing supportive fellowship for individual members and a unified voice to the outside world. Consultations on complex, timely topics such as problem pregnancies, styles of ministry, and criminal justice have given members opportunities to exchange viewpoints, knowledge and expertise in dealing with a variety of problems. Some of the services the Association currently provides its members include a newsletter, sponsorship and co-sponsorship of regional and national conferences, information on job openings and continuing education opportunities, and other material about and for campus ministry.
Series II and III represent additional materials received from the National Campus Ministry Association to document its ongoing activities. Series IV and V contain material from a participant in the NCMA, John S. Duley, who was a campus minister from 1948 to 1968.
The National Campus Ministry Association has served as an important channel of communication for campus ministers, providing supportive fellowship for individual members and a unified voice to the outside world. Consultations on complex, timely topics such as problem pregnancies, styles of ministry, and criminal justice have given members opportunities to exchange viewpoints, knowledge and expertise in dealing with a variety of problems. Some of the services the Association currently provides its members include a newsletter, sponsorship and co-sponsorship of regional and national conferences, information on job openings and continuing education opportunities, and other material about and for campus ministry.
Dates
- 1959-2014
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
The materials are open for research.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of the National Campus Ministry Association and of John S. Duley
Arrangement
- I. NCMA Filing System
- II. 1997 Addendum
- III. 2010 Addendum
- IV. 2013 Addendum (John S. Duly papers)
- V. 2015 Addendum (John S. Duly papers)
Extent
12.75 Linear Feet (32 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Overview
The main body of records dates from the NCMA's planning stages in 1964 to 1987 and includes correspondence, minutes, reports, material pertaining to various committees, consultations, and conferences, related organizations, financial material, and printed material. A number of addenda include additional records through 2014. The Association was formed to serve campus ministers by fostering their educational development, offering opportunities for support and communication, and providing channels for relating the resources of the university world to the shaping of the Church's policies and strategies for mission.
Biographical / Historical
The National Campus Ministry Association (NCMA) was founded in October 1964 at St. Louis, Missouri. Its first national conference was held in June 1965 at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. The NCMA was formed by a merger of the Association of Presbyterian University Pastors, the Campus Ministry Association, the Fellowship of Campus Ministry, and the National Association of College and University Ministers. Organizers of the NCMA recognized that campus ministers needed a clearer sense of support from their professional colleagues. The Association was formed to serve those in campus ministry by fostering their educational development, by offering opportunities for support, communication, celebration and personal growth, and by providing channels for relating the resources of the university world to the shaping of the Church's policies and strategies for mission.
At the time of the NCMA's formation there was a close tie between the United Ministries in Higher Education (UMHE) and the new Association; most of the NCMA's financial support came initially from the denominational boards involved in UMHE In 1967, the UMHE-related grants were combined into a contribution to the NCMA budget, and UMHE staff were "loaned" to the NCMA to aid in the Association's development. Gradually, however, the NCMA felt that it needed to establish its own autonomy and direction. At a NCMA-UMHE Consultation held in February, 1972, it was decided that beginning in 1973, UMHE would no longer fund the NCMA as an organization, but would contribute financially to selected projects in the area of continuing education for ministers in higher education, an area of common concern. Since this decision, the NCMA budget has relied upon membership dues as its major source of income.
The National Campus Ministry Association has been the most inclusive and ecumenical of the professional campus ministry groupings. The Association has served as the bridge agency to the Lutheran Campus Ministry Association, the Catholic Campus Ministry Association, the Jewish Hillel Society, the United Ministries in Higher Education, and other similar groups. Many campus ministers are members both of the NCMA and a separate denominational campus ministry professional organization. The biennial conferences of the NCMA are held in cooperation with these other organizations. Through the NCMA, the Women's Campus Ministry Caucus and the Ministries to Blacks in Higher Education Caucus were represented at the national level.
In its early years, the accent within the NCMA was on vocational status and academic responsibility, and the Association sent representatives to many of the academic professional societies. The emphasis then shifted to "advocacy" and "action-research" projects, some of which failed for lack of interest. Historically, the strongest response has been to continuing education projects in the area of theology or family structure. The NCMA publishes a newsletter and sponsors conferences, seminars, and convocations. At present, its membership is primarily composed of personnel from the United Church of Christ, the United Presbyterian Church, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the American Baptist Churches, the United Methodist Church, and the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
For more information, see the History of the NCMA booklet in Box 28, Folder 201.
At the time of the NCMA's formation there was a close tie between the United Ministries in Higher Education (UMHE) and the new Association; most of the NCMA's financial support came initially from the denominational boards involved in UMHE In 1967, the UMHE-related grants were combined into a contribution to the NCMA budget, and UMHE staff were "loaned" to the NCMA to aid in the Association's development. Gradually, however, the NCMA felt that it needed to establish its own autonomy and direction. At a NCMA-UMHE Consultation held in February, 1972, it was decided that beginning in 1973, UMHE would no longer fund the NCMA as an organization, but would contribute financially to selected projects in the area of continuing education for ministers in higher education, an area of common concern. Since this decision, the NCMA budget has relied upon membership dues as its major source of income.
The National Campus Ministry Association has been the most inclusive and ecumenical of the professional campus ministry groupings. The Association has served as the bridge agency to the Lutheran Campus Ministry Association, the Catholic Campus Ministry Association, the Jewish Hillel Society, the United Ministries in Higher Education, and other similar groups. Many campus ministers are members both of the NCMA and a separate denominational campus ministry professional organization. The biennial conferences of the NCMA are held in cooperation with these other organizations. Through the NCMA, the Women's Campus Ministry Caucus and the Ministries to Blacks in Higher Education Caucus were represented at the national level.
In its early years, the accent within the NCMA was on vocational status and academic responsibility, and the Association sent representatives to many of the academic professional societies. The emphasis then shifted to "advocacy" and "action-research" projects, some of which failed for lack of interest. Historically, the strongest response has been to continuing education projects in the area of theology or family structure. The NCMA publishes a newsletter and sponsors conferences, seminars, and convocations. At present, its membership is primarily composed of personnel from the United Church of Christ, the United Presbyterian Church, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the American Baptist Churches, the United Methodist Church, and the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
For more information, see the History of the NCMA booklet in Box 28, Folder 201.
- Title
- Guide to the National Campus Ministry Association Records
- Author
- Compiled by Martha Lund Smalley
- Date
- 1988, 2002, 2010, 2013, 2015
- Description rules
- Finding Aid Prepared According To Local Divinity Library Descriptive Practices
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Part of the Yale Divinity Library Repository