The Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center is a nonpartisan institution devoted to teaching and research related to the United States Congress and, more broadly, to strengthening representative democracy through engaged and informed citizens. Located at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma the Center is a living tribute to the ideals, leadership, and accomplishments of Carl Albert - native Oklahoman, University of Oklahoma alumnus, Rhodes Scholar and 46th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
History
The Carl Albert Center was founded by Professor Ron Peters and established in 1979 by the Oklahoma Regents for Higher Education and the Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma. Supported by private, foundation and public funds, the Center has grown into one of the largest and most comprehensive congressional studies centers in the country. The Center's early federal funding proved to be controversial, as a "yearlong battle" occurred in Congress before it approved a $2-million appropriation in 1982. Of the eight members in Oklahoma's congressional delegation that year, seven supported federal funding for the Carl Albert Center, with only Don Nickles opposing it. Nickles argued that the "Senate won't buy" the idea of federal funding for the Center, while Dave McCurdy (one of the seven in support) termed Nickles' opposition "unfortunate" and contended that the institution was "good for the University of Oklahoma" and "of national importance". In 1982, the Center contained 40 sets of congressional papers, 36 of which were from Oklahomans; however, a number of Oklahoma lawmakers wanted it to eventually become, in the words of journalist Denise Gamino, "the premier national repository for congressional papers".
Congressional and political collections
The Carl Albert Center now houses the largest collection of political and congressional papers in the state of Oklahoma; the Center's Archives contain manuscripts, photographs, and oral histories, including the papers of 61 former Congress members and 25 political leaders, congressional staffers, and others related to congressional history and scholarship, including scholars, journalists, former political aides, and organizations. Besides the papers of Carl Albert himself, the Carl Albert Center also holds the collections of numerous United States Senators and Representatives from Oklahoma, including Dewey F. Bartlett, Page Belcher, John Newbold Camp, Fred R. Harris, James R. Jones, Robert S. Kerr, Dave McCurdy, Dick T. Morgan, A. S. Mike Monroney, Tom Steed, and Elmer Thomas. Beyond these Oklahoma-related materials, the Center also includes the papers of a number of congressional representatives from other states, including Jeffery Cohelan and Helen Gahagan Douglas of California, Millicent Fenwick and Cornelius Edward Gallagher of New Jersey, Carl Hatch of New Mexico, Dick Armey of Texas, Elbert D. Thomas of Utah, and Andrew Biemiller of Wisconsin. The institution additionally holds the papers of many people related to the history and study of Congress, including UPI reporter Harry Culver, historians Danney Goble and Richard N. Lowitt, presidential advisor Bryce Harlow, political scientist Ronald M. Peters, Jr., former Mayor of Norman and political scientist Cindy Simon Rosenthal and press secretaries Jim Monroe, Beth Campbell Short, and Malvina Stephenson.
The Carl Albert Center is also home to the Julian P. Kanter Political Commercial Archive, a depository for over 100,000 political television and radio commercials.
In addition to its congressional collections, the Carl Albert Center holds materials relating to state politics in Oklahoma, including oral history interviews with state senators. The Center also contains a number of collections of thematic interest, such as on the Great Depression and the relationship between Native Americans and public policy. These congressional and political collections encompass over 100 years of American History, from Oklahoma's territorial days to the turn of the century, with the largest amount of materials created between the 1930s and the 1990s.
The Carl Albert Center's Congressional Archives sponsor exhibits, including traveling and online exhibits on the Mingo Creek flooding in Tulsa, OK, the creation of Lake Thunderbird in Norman, as well as travel grants for visiting scholars. Former exhibits at the Carl Albert Center have included such subjects and collections as the relationship between Washington politicians and Hollywood actors, Easter greeting cards, Oklahoma's representatives in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, the New Deal, and the history of Speakers of the U.S. House of Representatives.