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Title: Adrian R. Dunn
Dates: 1946-2009
Collection Number: 11276
Quantity: .5 feet
Abstract: Consists of the papers of Adrian Dunn, executive director of the North Dakota Education Association from 1971-1986. Papers include correspondence, newspaper clippings, articles, family history, and political materials relating to the Democratic Convention of 1960. Includes correspondence with John F. Kennedy, Byron Dorgan, George A. Sinner, and Quentin Burdick. Articles include columns written by Adrian Dunn in the Bismarck Hi-Herald and North Dakota Outlook.
Provenance: Adrian R. Dunn’s wife, Luella, donated the collection to the State Historical Society of North Dakota on October 23, 2015.
Property rights: The State Historical Society of North Dakota owns the property rights to this collection.
Copyrights: Copyrights of the Burleigh F. Spalding Papers have been dedicated to the public. Consideration of all other copyrights is the responsibility of the author and publisher.
Access: This collection is open under the rules and regulations of the State Historical Society of North Dakota.
Citation: Researchers are requested to cite the collection title, collection number, and the State Historical Society of North Dakota in all footnote and bibliographic references.
HISTORICAL SKETCH
The longtime executive director of the North Dakota Education Association, Adrian R. “Dick” Dunn, 67, died March 20, 1986 at a Bismarck hospital. In February 1986, Dunn announced that he would be retiring in June 1986 from the position he had held with the NDEA for 15 years.
He was born December 3, 1918, in Fargo, and attended schools in White Earth and Stanley, where he graduated high school. He graduated from the University of North Dakota in 1942 and later earned a master’s degree there.
He married Luella Berg, October 29, 1944, at Stanley. She was the clerk of the North Dakota Supreme Court until she retired in 1992. They had one son, Woodrow.
Mr. Dunn began his teaching career in Bottineau, then moved to Bismarck, where he taught journalism and social studies at Bismarck High School. He joined the staff of the North Dakota Education Association in 1962 and was named executive director in 1971.
When Mr. Dunn announced his retirement, the president of the NDEA, Peg Portscheller, said that under his leadership the NDEA has established itself in such areas as professional negotiations, political action, financial services to members, increased legal protection for teachers and establishment of an insurance trust.
Mr. Dunn was active in the Democratic Party and numerous civic and community organization. A former state treasurer of the Democratic Party, he was also a former president of Heartview Foundation in Mandan and Bismarck Lions Club and a board member of the Bismarck-Mandan Orchestral Association, Capcare and Horace Mann Insurance Company.
Mr. Dunn has received numerous writing awards, many connected with his monthly column “North Dakota Outlook,” published in NDEA publication. He won the People’s Right to Know award from Sigma Delta Chi Journalism Society, honoring him for his efforts on behalf of the state’s open meetings law.
Source: Bismarck Tribune, March 21, 1986.
INVENTORY
Box/Folder/Description/Date
Box 1:
1 Dunn family history, circa 1970-1986
2 Remembrances of Adrian Dunn, circa 2003
3 Awards, circa 1972-1990
4 Correspondence, 1953-1985
5 North Dakota Education Association (NDEA), 1946-1985
6 Newspaper clippings & correspondence relating to North Dakota politics, 1952-1984
7 Newspaper clippings & correspondence relating to United States politics, 1959-2009
8 Democratic National Convention materials, 1960
9 Bismarck Hi-Herald, circa 1955
10 North Dakota Outlook articles by Adrian Dunn, 1972-1986
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