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The Norman Gambill Papers document the academic, administrative, and creative work of Dr. Norman P. Gambill, professor of art history and long-time head of the Visual Arts Department at South Dakota State University. The collection spans his professional career and includes materials that predate his tenure at SDSU. It comprises administrative files, curriculum materials, records of events and conferences, facilities planning documents, teaching files, grant and fundraising records, meeting files, personal and professional research, and extensive manuscript drafts.

Administrative files include correspondence, memos, calendars, departmental planning documents, and records related to staffing and enrollment. Curriculum materials reflect institutional program reviews, curricular development, and planning for general education and visual arts coursework. The collection also contains records from numerous departmental events, exhibitions, and fundraisers—including Evening for the Arts, DVAGI, and the TechSigns conference—as well as documentation related to the development and use of campus facilities.

Teaching materials include course outlines, study guides, and media, while the grants and fundraising series includes proposals, awarded grants, and event planning files. Meeting files span faculty, department head, and university-level committees, often overlapping in content and structure.

The research and activities series highlights Gambill’s scholarly interests and involvement in arts organizations, with materials such as correspondence, bibliographies, photographs, and conference participation. The manuscript series includes multiple annotated drafts of his unpublished works, most notably Ritz and American Mediocrity, Designing Hollywood: Productions of Harry Horner, and his Ph.D. dissertation, Citizen Kane: An Art Historical Analysis.

This collection provides a view of Norman Gambill’s intellectual legacy and contributions to art history, film studies, and arts administration. His leadership shaped the growth and visibility of SDSU’s Visual Arts Department, and his scholarship reflects deep engagement with American cultural history, design, and cinema. The materials offer valuable insights into curriculum development in the arts, interdisciplinary teaching, academic administration, and arts advocacy in the Midwest.

The Vigil in South Dakota Records document the organization’s mission, goals, and advocacy related to issues of censorship in South Dakota, particularly involving public broadcasting. Materials in Box 1 include internal documents such as mission statements, strategic plans, and board meeting minutes for Educational Telecommunications. The collection also contains correspondence and newspaper articles concerning the censorship of the television program Portrait of a Marriage and broader controversies in South Dakota Public Broadcasting. Included are responses and publications from allied organizations—such as People for the American Way, Friends of Public Broadcasting, and the Sioux Empire Gay/Lesbian Coalition—highlighting community and organizational perspectives on free speech, the arts, and representation in media. Legal and administrative records, including nonprofit reports and incorporation documents, provide insight into the group’s structure and advocacy efforts.

This collection is valuable for researchers studying freedom of expression, LGBTQ+ representation in media, and grassroots activism in South Dakota during periods of public debate over censorship. It documents both local and national responses to broadcast content controversies and highlights the advocacy strategies employed by organizations working to defend civil liberties in public media.