Juanita Morris Kreps was born January 11, 1921, in Lynch (Harlan Co.), Kentucky. She was Professor of Economics at Duke University (1958-1977), where she held the James B. Duke professorship (1972-1977), also serving as Dean of the Woman's College (1969-1972) and University Vice President (1973-1977). She then was appointed U.S. Secretary of Commerce in 1977 for the Carter Administration and served for two years. Kreps's papers span the years 1921-2001, and contain incoming and outgoing correspondence (1968-1979), many speech drafts (1967-1997), twenty photograph albums, fifteen scrapbooks, 692 color and 595 black-and-white loose photographs, and over 100 negatives. There are also briefing books, reports, notes, minutes, appointee recommendations, speech drafts, and other documents relating to Kreps's cabinet-level work. The audience for her speeches included university students as well as alumni and women's organizations; speech topics focus on education for women, the value of women's work, age and gender in economics and economic markets, and leisure and economic growth. Other correspondence documents Kreps's career positions, some more fully than others, including Secretary of Commerce; Duke University Dean of the Woman's College, especially relating to the merger of the Woman's College and Trinity College; Public Director of the New York Stock Exchange Board; and Women's Research and Education Institute Board of Directors. Photograph albums and scrapbooks detail visits to the USSR, China, and Japan and contain clippings regarding her cabinet position.
