Chancellor Alexander C. Ewing Collection
Scope and Contents
The collection includes material produced and collected by Alexander Cochran Ewing. The material documents Ewing's time as fifth Chancellor of the North Carolina School of the Arts from 1990-2000 where he oversaw the establishment of the School of Filmmaking and the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts. The bulk of the collection is comprised of writings by Ewing, particularly speeches and addresses to campus and community audiences, as well as editorials, personal toasts, and correspondence.
Meeting materials, newspaper and magazine clippings and articles, and photographs are also present in the collection. Of particular note are nine scrapbooks created by Ewing's wife, Sheila Cobb Ewing, commemorating his life and career at NCSA, and one scrapbook documenting the publication of his book, Bravura!: Lucia Chase and the American Ballet Theatre, describing his mother's life and career with American Ballet Theatre.
Dates
- 1961-2017
Creator
- Ewing, Alexander (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Archives collections may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information which is protected under federal or state privacy laws, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in the collections without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina School of the Arts assume no responsibility.
Biographical Note
Alexander Cochran Ewing, son of Lucia Chase and Thomas Ewing, Jr., was born on 25 February 1931 and grew up in New York City. His mother was a principal dancer and founding member of Ballet Theatre, later known as the American Ballet Theatre (ABT), and rose to become co-director of the company. After graduating from Yale University, Ewing became one of the founding directors of the City Center Joffrey Ballet, now simply the Joffrey Ballet, in 1965. In the early 1970s, after the passing of his first wife Carol Sonne Ewing, Ewing left the Ballet to be present with his children in Millbrook, New York. Ewing began a new career in cattle farming and became one of the leading breeders of Polled Hereford cattle in the United States, owning and operating ACE Land and Cattle Company.
In 1990 Ewing was appointed Chancellor of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, succeeding Chancellor Jane E. Milley and Interim Chancellor Phillip F. Nelson. Ewing had been involved with the school since 1985 when he was asked to chair the Board of Visitors, and had established the Lucia Chase Endowed Fellowship for Dance in memory of his mother in 1988. Ewing served as Chancellor of the school for ten years, during which time he saw the opening of the School of Filmmaking, the founding of the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts, and many changes to the campus environment including the rerouting of Waughtown Street and the creation of a new main entrance to the campus.
Upon his retirement in 2000, the Ewings received the school's highest honor, the Giannini Award, and Ewing was awarded an honorary doctorate from the school in 2003. Ewing continued to be involved with the school, serving as Chancellor Emeritis and Interim Dean of Dance from 2007-2008. In 2009, Ewing published Bravura!: Lucia Chase and the American Ballet Theatre, describing his mother's life and career with ABT. Ewing continued to live in Winston-Salem and support UNCSA until his death on 27 December 2017.
Extent
7.77 Linear Feet (6 document boxes, 12 oversize folders, 10 scrapbooks, 9 bound volumes)
6 Photographic Prints
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The collection includes material produced and collected by Alexander Cochran Ewing, fifth Chancellor of the North Carolina School of the Arts from 1990-2000. The bulk of the collection is comprised of writings by Ewing, particularly speeches and addresses to campus and community audiences, and ten scrapbooks created by Ewing's wife, Sheila Cobb Ewing, commemorating his life and career at NCSA. Also included are toasts, letters to the Friends of NCSA, newspaper and magazine clippings, correspondence, and meeting materials.
Arrangement
The collection has been arranged into four series: Series 1. Scrapbooks; Series 2. Student Talks, Friends Letters, Speeches, and Other Writings; Series 3. Correspondence; and Series 4. Meeting Materials. Series 2 has been further divided into two subseries: 1. Writings by Alexander C. Ewing and 2. Writings by Other Authors.
Within each series, materials are arranged in rough chronological order. Some items have been removed from their bindings for space and preservation; these materials are held in their original order.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Ewing's son, Alexander Ewing Jr., in June 2018 with an additional donation in November 2021.
Separated Materials
One copy of A Passionate Preference by Leslie Banner was removed to the publications collection.
Processing Information
The collection was arranged into series based on types of material, with descriptive folder titles supplied by the archivist. Materials were placed in acid-free folders and boxes.
- Ballet Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Baronova, Irina
- Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Correspondence Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Dance (performing arts genre) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Education, Higher Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Invitation cards Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Programs Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Scrapbooks Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Semans, James H.
- Semans, Mary Duke Biddle Trent
- Speeches Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Thomas S. Kenan III Institute for the Arts
- Toasts (Speeches) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Universities and colleges -- Faculty Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- University of North Carolina School of the Arts. School of Filmmaking
- Title
- Guide to the Chancellor Alexander C. Ewing Collection
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Laura Silva
- Date
- November 2021
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Repository Details
Part of the UNC School of the Arts Archives Repository
