Office of the President & Chancellor: James F. Kelley records
Scope and Contents
The James F. Kelley records contain personal papers, records of Seton Hall College, and both personal and business photographs.
The Seton Hall College records include correspondence relating to College business, meeting minutes from various committees, statistics of enrollment, departmental information, the expansion of the Seton Hall community, financial documentation, and athletic updates.
Msgr. Kelley's personal papers include correspondence and drafts for his memoir. There are some materials from Msgr. Kelley's college years at the University of Louvain continuing to his presidency at Seton Hall College, and concluding with his years at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Ridgewood, NJ. In addition, there are items once belonging to Msgr. Kelley including a pair of eyeglasses and a rolodex.
Finally there are personal photographs of Msgr. Kelley and his family, as well as numerous photographs of Msgr. Kelley at Seton Hall events, many after his retirement.
Dates
- Creation: 1910-1996
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open to researchers at the Msgr. William Noé Field Archives & Special Collections Center. Some items in the collection require special handling and can only be used for research with staff assistance. Advance appointments are required for the use of archival materials.
Conditions Governing Use
All materials available in this collection (unless otherwise noted) are the property of the Monsignor William Noé Field Archives & Special Collections Center and Seton Hall University, which reserves the right to limit access to or reproduction of these materials. Reproduction of materials or content is subject to United States copyright restrictions and may be subject to federal or state privacy regulations. Permission to publish exact reproductions must be obtained from the Director of the Archives and Special Collections Center.
Biographical / Historical
Msgr. James F. Kelley was the President of Seton Hall College (now Seton Hall University) from 1936 to 1949. Msgr. Kelley was born to James F. Kelley, Sr. and Frances Shaw Kelley in Kearny, NJ on July 27, 1902. As a child, Msgr. Kelley attended Seton Hall Preparatory School and later Seton Hall College graduating in 1920 and 1924, respectively.
After completing his degree at Seton Hall College, Msgr. Kelley went to study philosophy at the American College at University of Louvain in Belgium. He was ordained in 1928 and received a graduate degree from Louvain in 1935.
Msgr. Kelley was appointed President of Seton Hall College in 1936, ushering in various changes that would foster the growth of Seton Hall College, eventually earning the status of a University only a year after his presidential resignation. After he stepped down as President of Seton Hall in 1949, Msgr. Kelley was assigned to Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Ridgewood, NJ. Msgr. Kelley stayed at Our Lady of Mount Carmel until he retired in 1976.
Upon retirement, Msgr. James F. Kelley resided in Rumson, NJ. He died September 11, 1996.
Extent
8.75 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Msgr. James F. Kelley was the President of Seton Hall University from 1936 to 1949. The James F. Kelley records contain both personal records and records of Seton Hall College.
Arrangement
Arrangment of the collection
- College records
- Correspondence
- Personal papers
- Photographs
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Materials were transferred to the Archives and Special Collections Center from Seton Hall University. Terms of accession unknown.
Processing Information
Collection was processed and finding aid created by the Archives and Special Collections Center in 2010. Minor edits to coding, additional subject headings and user information by Tracy M. Jackson, 2012. Changed collection name to reflect office of president, 2013. Collection was reprocessed and finding aid updated by Patrick McCall in 2020.
- Title
- Office of the President & Chancellor: James F. Kelley records, 1910-1996
- Author
- Archives and Special Collections Center
- Date
- 2010
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Repository Details
Part of the The Monsignor Field Archives & Special Collection Center Repository
Archives, Walsh Library
400 South Orange Ave
South Orange NJ 07079 US
973-761-9476
archives@shu.edu
