Eileen L. Sears papers

Collection

Identifier: UASC-027

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Eileen L. Sears papers include research materials and draft manuscripts of her 1990 Civil War novel, Born a Rebel, programs of plays and musicals that she directed, photographs, correspondence, newsclippings, and materials pertaining to her education and her marriage to H. Troy Sears.

Dates

Creation: 1912-1993

Creator

Sears, Eileen L. (Person)

Access to Materials

This collection is open and available to the public for research in the University Archives and Special Collections reading room. The materials are non-circulating.

Copyright Notice

The materials in this collection may be protected by copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code). The materials are available for personal, educational, or scholarly use. It is the responsibility of the researcher to locate and obtain permission from the copyright owner or his or her heirs for any other use, such as reproduction and publication.

Biography of Eileen L. Sears

Eileen Lancaster Sears was a music and physical education instructor at the University of Dayton from 1944-1947, director of the student union in the 1950s, and a music educator in the Dayton Public Schools for 40 years. For many years she and Dr. Maurice Reichard, then chair of the Music Department, staged a Christmas pageant on campus. She also served as educational director and director of the children's and chapel choir at Christ Episcopal Church in Dayton. In 1990, Mrs. Sears published the Civil War novel, Born a Rebel.

Mrs. Sears received a B.S. in Education from the University of Missouri in 1922 and an M.A. in Music from The Ohio State University in 1931. She also completed studies at the Devinshawn School of Dancing in Los Angeles (Summer 1925) and the McPhail Conservatory of Music in Minneapolis (Summer 1928). Her husband, H. Troy Sears, was a 1940 graduate of the University of Dayton.

Troy and Eileen Sears donated $4.7 million to the University of Dayton to establish the H. Troy and Eileen L. Sears Scholarship Fund for students and $1.3 million in 1992 to construct the 183-seat H. Troy and Eileen L. Sears Recital Hall in the Jesse Philips Humanities Center on campus. Mr. Sears died in 1999 at the age of 91, and Mrs. Sears died on September 12, 2005 at the age of 103.

Extent

0.7 Linear Feet (2 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Papers of music and physical education instructor, Eileen L. Sears, who also served as director of the student union in the 1950s. This small collection includes photographs, correspondence, performance programs, clippings, and research and draft manuscripts of Sears' published Civil War novel, Born a Rebel (1990).

Arrangement

The Eileen L. Sears papers are alphabetically arranged at the folder level.

Acquisition Information

The Eileen L. Sears papers were acquired in two donations from the University of Dayton Development Office. The first (accession 1993-016) was received on September 13, 1993, and the second (accession 2000-004), on May 12, 2000.