The Franklin B. Gault Collection is composed of six series: Correspondence, Faculty Minutes, Printed Materials, Typescripts, Miscellaneous, and Ledger. Unfortunately, the records for the Gault administration are very limited in scope.
The largest series in the Gault Collection is the Typescript series which includes university rules, disciplinary decisions for three students, and a draft for proposed state legislation.
The Correspondence series contains letters written by individuals requesting a catalog of courses or seeking admission into the university. Some of the correspondence is addressed to University presidents and high school superintendents regarding accreditation issues. General correspondence is contained in one folder entitled, “A-Z.” Incoming and outgoing correspondence for a person with more than 2 letters are contained in one folder; these are listed directly after “General” files.
The Printed Materials series includes certificates for free scholarships to students and a speech delivered by Gault at the opening of the second semester on Feb. 12, 1907 entitled, “Men in a World of Men.”
The Faculty Minutes series contains the minutes for university faculty meetings from 1908; these meetings were convened by the President’s Office during this period.
The Miscellaneous series includes articles about President Gault from the South Dakota Alumni Quarterly.
The Ledger series is one volume with material glued to the sheets of the ledger. This ledger contains interviews, correspondence, rulings, and material on the general administration of the university. It is restricted because it does contain individually-identifiable student and personnel information.