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Consists of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra organizational archives, the Virginia Symphony Board archives, artifacts concerning premieres and other notable performances, and season programs.

John Davison (Jay) Rockefeller IV (b. 1937) represented West Virginia in the United States Senate for five terms. He was elected as a Democrat to the Ninety-ninth Congress and served from January 15, 1985, to January 3, 2015. He was not a candidate for reelection in 2014. Rockefeller previously served in the West Virginia House of Delegates (1966-1968); as Secretary of State of West Virginia (1968-1972); president of West Virginia Wesleyan College (1973-1976); and Governor of West Virginia (1977-1985). From 1964-1966, he was a volunteer in the Volunteers In Service To America (VISTA) program in Emmons, West Virginia. The bulk of the Senator John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV papers document his 30-year career in the United States Senate with additional materials related to his earlier political career.

Nick Joe Rahall II (b.1949) represented West Virginia's Third District in the United States House of Representatives for nineteen terms. He was elected as a Democrat to the Ninety-fifth Congress and served from January 3, 1977-January 3, 2015. From 2007-2011, he was chair of the Committee on Natural Resources. From 1971-1974, he was a staff member in the United States Senate Office of the Majority Whip, and he was a delegate to both the 1972 and 1976 Democratic National Conventions. The bulk of the Congressman Nick Joe Rahall II papers document his 38-year career in the United States House of Representatives.

The extensive collection documents the life and work of Richmond-born photographer and educator Louis Draper (1935–2002). Manuscript and photographic materials document Draper's experience and work as an African American photographer, including his recognition of his photography as a form of "engaged resistance" that not only bore witness to leaders of the civil rights movement, but also offered a richer and more diverse perspective of African American life than provided by the mainstream media. In 1963, he was a founding member of the Kamoinge Workshop, a collective of African American photographers, and the collection includes significant materials from the early years of the Kamoinge Workshop and document his perspective on the professional challenges that he and the collective confronted in the process of finding publications that would publish photographs of African Americans made by African Americans. His photographs of significant 20th-century artists, writers, musicians, and performers reflect the wide array of personal connections that Draper made after moving to New York from Richmond, Virginia in 1957. Printed photographs and contact sheets in Draper's archive show a broad view of city life and the everyday interactions between people and also offer a unique vision of African American neighborhoods in the 1960s and 1970s.

The M. Rupert Cutler Papers includes personal and professional correspondence, records of Cutler's participation in a variety of clubs, boards, and committees, documents pertaining to local Roanoke issues and events, speeches, articles, and other writings by Cutler, news clippings pertaining to Cutler's interests, photographs, audio cassettes, CDs, VHS cassettes, and awards and certificates. The collection provides a comprehensive history of the personal and professional activities of M. Rupert Cutler from 1981-2021, and also contains some records from 1962-1980. Most records from before 1977 are housed at the Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan. Records from his service in the Carter Administration, 1977-1981, are housed at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library in Atlanta.

The collection consists of the administrative files and photographs of the James Madison University Alumni Association, all referring to the individual graduated classes of JMU, Madison College, and the State Normal School.