Duke University. Baldwin Federation

The Baldwin Federation was an undergraduate organization uniting Alspaugh, Bassett, Brown and Pegram Residence Halls on the East Campus of Duke University from around 1971 to the early 1980s.

From the description of Baldwin Federation records, 1971-1985. (Duke University Library). WorldCat record id: 57225814

The Baldwin Federation was composed of Alspaugh, Bassett, Pegram and Brown Residence Halls on Duke University's East Campus and was active from about 1971 until the early 1980s. Federation members established small special interest groups, hosted "Joe Baldwin" events, arranged concerts, and performed many one-act and full-length plays. Their residential education program featured several credit courses on subjects concerning twentieth-century American literature, sexuality, health care, and student relationships.

Three other Federations existed on campus around the early 1970s to the early 1980s: the Edens, Few, and Kilgo Federations. For the first time, independent living groups in several of the quadrangles on East and West campuses banded together to form college-type communities within the university setting. Faculty endorsed federations for their potential to help students realize their personal educational goals. Students supported federations because they provided a wider base for friendships and a variety of opportunities for involvement. A federation supplemented the on-campus living experience with a variety of house courses, occasional educational programs, festivals, dances, and parties. Each federation was headed by faculty who were responsible for organizing new programs, guiding governance of the federation structure, and facilitating partnerships among living groups.

In the early 1980s, federations were abolished in order to improve balance between men and women, and between selective and independent living groups on campus. While individual living groups were chartered and occasionally dissolved, the system of selective living, within the parameters of a program of residential living groups within residence halls, remained intact.

From the guide to the Baldwin Federation Records, ., 1971 - 1985, (University Archives, Duke University)