The Library and Archives of the Center for Process Studies Have a New Physical Home!

Wm. Andrew Schwartz
December 5, 2024

For nearly half a century, the Center for Process Studies (CPS) was located in Claremont, California. In summer of 2020, CPS joined other parts of Claremont School of Theology (CST) in moving to Oregon with the intent of becoming part of Willamette University (WU). When the CST/WU integration failed, CPS needed a new home for its substantial library/archives. In summer of 2022, the CPS materials were boxed up and stored at a church in Portland, Oregon. By this time, CPS was already functioning as a remote organization with programs being conducted either online or in-person through partnership with a host institution, so these physical changes didn’t make a significant difference to day-to-day operations. And yet, the world’s largest collection of materials in process thought was now unavailable to scholars, collecting dust until a more permanent solution could be found.

In May 2023 CPS became an independent non-profit, separating from Claremont School of Theology. This newfound autonomy empowered CPS to pursue new partnerships, including partnership with Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (SIUC)—the new physical home of the Center for Process Studies library and archives! The 4-year odyssey has ended, thousands of miles from where it began, thanks to the help of many people, especially George Lucas, Randall Auxier, David Fleming, (who did the driving and much of the loading), Andrew and Isaac Schwartz, and John Fritzman, who loaded on the Oregon end, and a small army of SIU graduate students and colleagues, who did the unloading.

With the cooperation and consent of the various boards and stakeholders concerned in this matter, we are pleased to announce the successful transfer of the physical holdings of the Center for Process Studies, along with the Whitehead papers (which belong to George Lucas), and the personal library of John Cobb to Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The materials are being housed at Faner Hall on the SIU campus, where processing and sorting is occurring. There is also sorting and inventory of the Cobb library being done at the American Institute of Philosophical and Cultural Thought (AIPCT) in nearby Murphysboro.

The sorting process will take some time. Some of these materials need to be absorbed into the Special Collections of Morris Library. The original copies of Whitehead’s, Hartshorne’s, Cobb’s, and other notable process philosophers will, in time, be moved to the Morris Library, where they will join the Dewey Papers, the Open Court Collection, the Paul Weiss Papers, the archives of the Creativity Societies, and the Highlands Institute of American Religious and Philosophical Thought, the H.N. Weiman Papers, the Stephen C. Pepper Papers, and other notable holdings of the Morris Library. Some of the valuable books, e.g., rare, or importantly annotated, will also be moved permanently to the Morris Library for proper conservation. We all know there are many priceless treasures in these contents, and we assure everyone they will receive the highest level of conservation while preserving access by the community of researchers. SIUC was already a great destination for process-oriented researchers, and has become far more attractive now. Many of you will already be aware that the Center for Dewey Studies is at SIUC, under the Directorship of Matthew Brown, as well as the Library of Living Philosophers, edited by Randall Auxier, and the independent AIPCT co-directed by Auxier, John Shook, and Larry Hickman.

As many of you know, much in the CPS collection has already been digitized, and the rest will be. We will be interfacing the CPS digital files with those of the Morris Library, and we will be creating a site within the SIU domain for the holdings overseen by the College of Liberal Arts. In the next two years, these projects should be coming to fruition. We do need your support.

The SIUC College of Liberal Arts has invited George Lucas to be Director of these processes, being the first to assume the title of A.N. Whitehead Visiting Professor and Director, CPS Archives. He will make decisions in coordination with the stakeholders and assist CPS and SIU staff to guide grant-writing, fundraising, and soon, receiving of visiting researchers. It is expected that there may be another location near campus that serves as a research center, with the aim of sorting and keeping together what needs to be sorted and kept together, and also to provide room for growth. An MOU between CPS and SIUC has been signed, taking a major step toward a permanent and fruitful cooperation, and your on-going support will help. It is a big project. Donations to support this work can be made here.

We hope to be well along in time for the next International Whitehead Conference, to be held in Carbondale in summer 2026. The dates will be announced soon. This conference will be organized by George Lucas and Randall Auxier, and with the help of the International Process Network and its many affiliates, we will have an occasion for all of you to come and visit the new physical home of the CPS Archives. CPS will continue to operate as it has over the past few years, and the only difference is that now there is a place you can come to do research—as soon as we can get it ready and open.

Sincerely,