The records of the Association for Education in Journalism are not complete, nor are they all official records of the organization. Rather, the collection is an artificial creation consisting of a variety of material primarily from officers and members of the AEJ, the American Association of Teachers of Journalism and the American Association of Schools and Departments of Journalism. In addition, there is a significant amount of information concerning the National Council on Education for Journalism and the American Council on Education for Journalism, in which the AASDJ participated. The AEJ records constitute an important source of information on the development of journalism education in the United States. The collection is divided into five parts: general papers, convention records, University of Illinois files, correspondence files, and oral history tapes and transcripts.

The GENERAL PAPERS relate to the AATJ, AASDJ, and the ASJSA, as well as the AEJ. For each organization there are bulletins and newsletters, constitutions, directories, lists, and financial data. The greater part of this material pertains to the AEJ: minutes and reports of the executive committee and the advisory board; minutes, reports, newsletters, and directories of committees and divisions; reports and related material concerning a civil liberties project conducted by the AEJ with the Fund for the Republic, 1956-1959; manuals of operation, 1969-1976; and lists of officers and members. There is very little material relating to the ASJSA, but there is noteworthy documentation about the AATJ and the AASDJ.

Especially important for the AATJ are: copies of Journalism Bulletin and Journalism Quarterly annotated by editor Lawrence Murphy, who was AATJ president in 1931; a volume containing financial and other membership records, 1920-1930; a pamphlet on the classification of non-professional and pre-professional courses in journalism, 1935; and a report on salaries and working conditions in schools, colleges, and departments of journalism, 1948-1949. In addition to a draft history of the AASDJ, 1960, and an AASDJ report on a survey of textbooks used in schools of journalism, 1947, there is a significant amount of material on journalism accreditation through the NCEJ and the ACEJ. Located here are pamphlets, lists, financial data, minutes, and related material.

The CONVENTION RECORDS consists of programs, minutes, speeches, reports, tape recordings, and related material for most of the conventions held by the AATJ, the AASDJ, and the AEJ, 1912-1976. (The AATJ and the AASDJ not only held joint conventions from the 1920s onward, but also shared a secretary-treasurer after 1930.) There is official correspondence, primarily that of the secretary-treasurer. This is mainly from the earlier years and is generally routine. An exception is the 1964 convention file which has correspondence related to segregation at the University of Texas, the site of a proposed meeting. (In 1991, after consultation with the Board of Directors and the executive staff of the AEJMC, the archives staff weeded all conference papers from the collection.)

The UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS FILES contain correspondence and related material, including pamphlets and reports, of successive deans of the School of Journalism of the University of Illinois, 1912-1966. The files are in their original order and concern the AATJ, the AASDJ (including the NCEJ and the ACEJ), and the AEJ. Although the files are those of only one school of journalism, they do provide significant documentation of journalism education since many of the Illinois deans were also active on a national level. The files are perhaps best for the AASDJ and the AEJ from the mid-1930s through the mid-1960s. They generally deal with the accreditation of journalism and the operations of various committees and councils, though there are completed AASDJ questionnaires, 1935-1937, on journalism graduate study and school finances.

The CORRESPONDENCE FILES are divided into two sections. The first consists of the files of the chairmen and other officials of three AEJ groups: the Council on Communications Research, 1957-1964 (absorbed by the AEJ in 1964); the Council on Public Relations Education, 1956-1964; and the Advisory Board, 1971-1972. The second section consists of the files of twenty-five individuals, arranged alphabetically. Most of these people were active in the AEJ, although there is ss of the files of the chairmen and other officials of three AEJ groups: the Council on Communications Research, 1957-1964 (absorbed by the AEJ in 1964); the Council on Public Relations Education, 1956-1964; and the Advisory Board, 1971-1972. The second section consists of the files of twenty-five individuals, arranged alphabetically. Most of these people were active in the AEJ, although there is some representation of the AATJ and the AASDJ. In both sections there is related material, either with the correspondence or listed as miscellany.

The ORAL HISTORY TAPES AND TRANSCRIPTS include recorded interviews, 1970-1974, with eighteen AEJ members prominent in journalism education. The interviews were conducted by other AEJ members. As well as comments on participation in the AATJ, the AASDJ, and the AEJ, they contain remarks on trends and developments in journalism education dating from the early decades of the century. Also included is a later set of oral history interviews, 1981-1997, with thirty-five individuals who held leadership positions in the association. The transcripts for this later set of interviews are in Box 16, Folders 36-53, of Part 2 (M2003-034).

In 1991, after consultation with the Board of Directors and the executive staff of the AEJMC, the archives staff weeded all conference papers from the collection. Boxes 15-29 are no longer available.