The Thomas and Margaret Melady papers in Archives and Special Collections: a Window to Africa of the ’60s and ’70s.

Thomas and Margaret Melady papers, Mss 0072
Thomas and Margaret Melady papers, Mss 0072

Ambassador Thomas P. and Dr. Margaret B. Melady have been involved in diplomatic and international affairs since the 1950s, particularly on the continent of Africa. Ambassador Melady has held multiple diplomatic posts for the United States, including Ambassador to Burundi, Ambassador to Uganda, and Ambassador to the Holy See, and is the new Interim Dean of the Whitehead School of Diplomacy and International Relations here at Seton Hall University. Dr. Melady is an alumnus of Seton Hall, a former President of the American University in Rome, and is now the President of Melady Associates, a firm specializing in public affairs and educational counseling. The couple have written multiple books on politics in Africa, including Ten African Heroes: The Sweep of Independence in Black Africa, published in 2011.

The correspondence and personal papers that formed the core of the research for that book are a part of a new archival collection held at the Archives and Special Collections Center, the Thomas and Margaret Melady papers, 1959-2010 (bulk 1960-1975). The collection is the gift of Ambassador and Dr. Melady, and documents their involvement with many of the individuals responsible for the vast political changes that took place over the whole continent of Africa in the 1960s and 1970s. In addition to the ten men featured in the book, who feature prominently in the collection, there are letters from dozens of other individuals and organizations, photographs, and newsclippings documenting that turbulent time.

Thomas Melady first went to Africa in the 1950s while working for the Foreign Service. He and Margaret Badum married in 1961, and the couple spent a great deal of their time in Africa throughout the 1960s and 1970s, deeply involved in diplomatic and political events all over the continent.  Thomas Melady also started the Africa Service Institute, an organization dedicated to the education and advancement of students and leaders in Africa. The materials in the Thomas and Margaret Melady papers cover 36 nations and areas from Angola to Zimbabwe, and cover a range of topics from the intensely personal to the course of nations. Correspondents include political leaders, such as Léopold Sédar Senghor, William V.S. Tubman, and Kenneth David Kaunda; Catholic officials such as Archbishop Jean Zoa of Yaoundé and Archbishop Luc-Auguste Sangare of Bamako; fellow diplomats from and to the United States or the United Nations; students, academics, priests, and many others. Topics include political events in Africa and the United States, the role of racism in politics of the day, requests for assistance from the Africa Service Institute, personal notes of thanks and updates, and a wide variety of conversational subjects.

This rich collection was described in detail by the Meladys before coming to the Archives, and that original description forms the majority of the finding aid. While no materials from the collection have yet been digitized, the entire original collection is available at the Archives and Special Collections Center, on the first floor of Walsh Library. Please see our Plan Your Visit page to find Hours and Directions, or Contact Us to make an appointment.

The book Ten African Heroes is also available in the Archives and Special Collections Center.

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ANNUAL COPYRIGHT EVENT FRIDAY APRIL 26th

THINK COPYRIGHT IS BORING?  THINK AGAIN!

What is protected by copyright law?  What about patents? What is Fair Use?

I can be sued or go to jail for copyright violation?!?

How can I benefit from copyright law?

PLEASE JOIN US FOR A LIVELY DISCUSSION OF COPYRIGHT LAW

AND HOW IT CAN IMPACT YOU!

GUEST SPEAKER:  James Wallace

Technology Education Teacher at South Orange & Maplewood School District

STUDENTS, FACULTY AND STAFF ARE ALL INVITED TO ATTEND.

 

When:    Friday, April 26, 2013.  3.15-4.30

Where:  Beck Rooms (first floor of Walsh Library)

RSVP to Lisa.rose-wiles@shu.edu

Light refreshments will be provided.

To those with inquiring minds, here is some background reading.

 Sponsored by TLTR Copyright Committee & University Libraries

WE ARE PROUD TO BE PART OF THE 17th ANNUALPETERSHEIM ACADEMIC EXPOSITION  

Share, Honor, Unite”

Marietta Patricia Leis: Earthly Pleasures | Opening Reception: Thursday, March 14th – 5pm to 8pm

Monday March 11 – April 5, 2013

Opening Reception:  Thursday, March 14th – 5pm to 8pm

Earthly Pleasures_Postcard_Front_FINAL

Earthly Pleasures, a solo exhibition of paintings by Marietta Patricia Leis will be hosted by Seton Hall University’s Walsh Gallery.  Curated by Jeanne Brasile, the exhibition features Leis’ oil paintings which are lushly rendered abstractions inspired by her extensive travels and love of nature.  The paintings are, in part, evocative of landscapes, seascapes, plant forms, weather patterns or micro-organisms and can be concomitantly seen as many of these phenomena.  Nuances of color and light palpably depict a range of imagery that encapsulates a life of experience, serving as complex memory portraits that tap into emotions and feelings, both past and present.

An avid traveler, Leis has visited such locales as Thailand, Spain, Antarctica, Portugal, Italy, Finland and Greece.  Having experienced a variety of settings around the globe, she is inspired by our planet’s variety of light and color conditions.  She strives to depict this beauty in abstract terms that capture nature’s bounty in the formal language of painting.  Leis is also inspired by her childhood memories and her time spent in Newark and Montclair, New Jersey while growing up.  Her grandmother’s artistic background and reverence for nature was a formative influence during that period and continues to inspire Leis’ work.

For 150 years, Seton Hall University has been a catalyst for leadership, developing the whole student, mind, heart and spirit. Seton Hall combines the resources of a large university with the personal attention of a small liberal arts college. Its attractive suburban campus is only 14 miles by train, bus or car to New York City, with the wealth of employment, internship, cultural and entertainment opportunities the city offers. Seton Hall is a Catholic university that embraces students of all races and religions, challenging each other to better the world with integrity, compassion and a commitment to serving others. For more information, see www.shu.edu.  Seton Hall University is located at 400 S. Orange Avenue, South Orange, New Jersey, 07079.   The Walsh Gallery is open 10:30am to 4:30pm Monday through Friday.