6. Georgette Mayo Interim Administration, 2008-2010
Scope and Contents
The institutional records of the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture at the College of Charleston, established in 1985. Included are administrative and organizational records, records of archival holdings, and records reflecting the many programs and other outreach efforts enacted by Avery Research Center. The majority of materials are papers with a few published works, artifacts, and posters.
The records are arranged chronologically by earliest first date and divided into series by administration of ARC's leaders, reflecting the administrations of the seven directors/executive directors that ARC has had so far.
Each director's series is then further divided into three main sub-series: administration and operations, archival holdings, and outreach and programs.
Administration and operations are once again further divided by:financials (budgets and reports; grants; donations/fundraising; the College of Charleston Foundation, expenses, incoming, and gift shop); building (renovation, property, rental agreements, utilities and equipment), personnel (searches and general information, employee personnel files, volunteers and interns, and contact lists), correspondence (internal, College of Charleston, and external), policies, planning, and reports (policies and procedures; reports and planning; advisory board; staff meetings and retreats; statistics, surveys, and logs; and work schedules).
Archival holdings are divided into: policies and planning, inventories and collections, and reference and loan records.
Outreach and programs are divided into: publications (further subdivided by publication type), exhibits, Avery-run programs, collaborative programs, event calendars, scholarship and projects, student education, African American Museum, publicity and outreach, memberships and partnerships, and awards.
Dates
- Creation: 2008-2010
Creator
- From the Collection: Dulaney, W. Marvin, 1950- (Person)
- From the Collection: Glascoe, Myrtle Gonza (Person)
- From the Collection: Chandler, Karen A. (Person)
- From the Collection: Edison, Robert (Person)
- From the Collection: Williams Dockery, Patricia (Person)
Language of Materials
Materials are in English.
Access Restrictions
No restrictions apply.
Biography
Georgette Mayo served as interim director of the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture from 2008 to 2010. She assumed the role following the departure of Dr. W. Marvin Dulaney and led five full-time staff members and three funded graduate student interns. Mayo’s vision emphasized Avery’s mission of collecting, preserving, documenting, and exhibiting African American culture in the Lowcountry and beyond. Her tenure was marked by perseverance, promotion of scholarship, and support for emerging researchers. One of the first collections Mayo processed was that of Millicent E. Brown, a civil rights activist and educator who was among the first to racially integrate Charleston public schools in 1963. Mayo worked closely with the Avery Board, attending monthly meetings and providing reports on collection processing. She collaborated with staff to host events, expand programming, and strengthen the publication of The Avery Messenger. Expanding Avery’s network of aligned organizations was a priority; in 2009, the Center received the IMLS Laura Bush 20th Century Grant from The HistoryMakers, a $750,000 award that fully funded twelve African American museum professional positions across twelve repositories. Despite a two-year budget reduction in 2008, Mayo implemented the Lois A. Simms Volunteer Program to alleviate understaffing. Significant achievements of her tenure include the HistoryMakers partnership and the Mermaid & Merwomen in Black Folklore exhibit. Following her directorship, Mayo continued her contributions to Avery, establishing the Francis Consuela Book Club in 2016. Spanning over more than two decades, her work at Avery has reflected a sustained commitment to preserving African American history and culture and increasing public access to local history. She is still employed at Avery as the processing archivist.
Full Extent
From the Collection: 54.34 linear feet (125 document boxes, 1 slim document box, 1 oversize box)
Repository Details
Part of the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture Repository
125 Bull Street
Charleston South Carolina 29424 United States
843-953-7608
averyresearchcenter@cofc.edu