{"id":10165,"date":"2022-07-14T10:06:04","date_gmt":"2022-07-14T14:06:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=10165"},"modified":"2022-07-26T14:10:52","modified_gmt":"2022-07-26T18:10:52","slug":"processing-from-the-outside-in-care-of-betty-tillman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=10165","title":{"rendered":"Processing from the Outside In: Care of Betty Tillman"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post is one in a series about the Buchanan Papers processing project. The project is supervised by Buchanan Papers Project Archivist Rebecca Thayer and is grant funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.<\/em><\/p>\n

One of my favorite things about processing is learning about a person or organization through their papers. While I knew the basics about James M. Buchanan prior to beginning this project, I didn\u2019t know about the wider team that supported him and the Center for Study of Public Choice. There was one person in particular whose influence appeared across the collection \u2013 Betty Tillman.<\/p>\n

\"Square

James M. Buchanan (L) and Betty Tillman (R) at the Thomas Jefferson Center for Political Economy at the University of Virginia, 1967. James McGill Buchanan papers, C0246. Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Tillman was initially hired as administrative support at the Thomas Jefferson Center for Political Economy at the University of Virginia in 1961. That was the beginning of her over 45-year collaboration with James M. Buchanan. She worked with him at universities across the state of Virginia, heading to Blacksburg and what was then Virginia Polytechnic Institute (VPI, today Virginia Tech) in 1969 before joining the Center in its move to Fairfax and George Mason University in 1983. She remained at Mason, working with Buchanan and the Center until her retirement in 2007.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

After Buchanan\u2019s Nobel Prize win, Tillman became his scheduling agent, handling the incredible increase in requests for appearances at conferences and lectures around the globe. She responded to autograph requests, booked events on his behalf, set up his schedule, and in many cases accompanied him on his international trips to keep them flowing smoothly.<\/p>\n

\"Color

James M. Buchanan (L) and Betty Tillman (R) at the National Palace Museum in Taiwan, 1988. James McGill Buchanan papers, C0246. Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Besides her work assisting Buchanan, Tillman was also a fixture at the Thomas Jefferson Center and its successor, the Center for Study of Public Choice. Her affection for Center professors, visiting scholars, interview candidates, coworkers, and graduate students is obvious in her correspondence with them. \u201cMama Betty\u201d fondly referred to Center students as \u201cher boys\u201d or \u201cher boys and girls,\u201d and seemed to take particular joy in seeing them come back as professors and scholars of their own. She kept in touch with graduates by organizing Virginia School get-togethers at the annual meetings of the Southern Economic Association. At Mason, she hosted international visitors to the Center in her home. All this led to her monikers, \u201cthe mother of public choice\u201d and \u201cthe first lady of economics.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Hand-drawn

Hand-drawn award in one of Tillman’s files. The description reads: “Presented once annually to the individual contributing most to the survival of faculty members with early classes” James McGill Buchanan papers, C0246. Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Although Betty Tillman\u2019s name didn\u2019t feature in the background reading I did on Buchanan, I began to hear about her in discussions with researchers and archivists who previously worked on the collection. When I started to survey the papers myself, her importance and influence became obvious. From the \/bht<\/em> at the bottom of Buchanan\u2019s correspondence marking her typewriting, to detailed conference planning and scheduling, to the Center financials, Tillman\u2019s contributions were clear.<\/p>\n

While some of the materials created by Tillman were mixed in with files maintained solely by Buchanan by previous processors, I was able to identify and maintain some files that were solely hers as a Betty Tillman papers series. Although files kept by Tillman are scattered throughout the collection, maintaining her files independently where possible both mirrors what was likely the setup of her office and highlights her importance to researchers who might not know her name. A similar series has been created for Jo Ann Burgess, another Center employee and assistant for Buchanan from the early 1990s.<\/p>\n

\"Betty

Betty Tillman being honored by colleagues and friends at a public choice conference, circa 2000s.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

The importance of support work done by women that facilitates work of others is often forgotten. The importance of Tillman\u2019s work was recognized and celebrated by her Center friends, colleagues and graduates while she was alive, especially at her birthday\/retirement celebration in 2007, where her 46 years of contributions to the Center and public choice were honored. Tillman passed away in 2013. Researchers will still be able to learn about her and her contributions to Buchanan\u2019s career and to Center for Study of Public Choice through the Buchanan papers.<\/p>\n

Follow SCRC on Social Media and look out for future posts on our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts. To search the collections held at Special Collections Research Center, go to our website and browse the finding aids by subject or title. You may also e-mail us at speccoll@gmu.edu or call 703-993-2220 if you would like to schedule an appointment, request materials, or if you have questions.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This post is one in a series about the Buchanan Papers processing project. The project is supervised by Buchanan Papers Project Archivist Rebecca Thayer and is grant funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. One of my favorite things about processing is learning about a person or organization through their papers. While I knew […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101023,"featured_media":10184,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[882,883,3,5,121],"tags":[37,422],"class_list":["post-10165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-neh-buchanan-papers-project","category-neh-buchanan-papers-project-news","category-news","category-scrc-interest","category-scrc-picks","tag-james-buchanan","tag-processing"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/1983-Dry-Run-1-copy.jpg?fit=1467%2C844&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Ep5i-2DX","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9617,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=9617","url_meta":{"origin":10165,"position":0},"title":"NEH Buchanan papers project update – introducing GRA Rachel Barton","author":"admin","date":"September 7, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"We are now approaching six months of renewed processing work on the James M. 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We were informed that our application for a National Endowment for the Humanities grant to finish processing the James\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "GMU Fairfax Campus"","block_context":{"text":"GMU Fairfax Campus","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=272"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/buchananhouse_landscape-530x342-1.jpg?fit=530%2C342&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/buchananhouse_landscape-530x342-1.jpg?fit=530%2C342&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/buchananhouse_landscape-530x342-1.jpg?fit=530%2C342&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10193,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=10193","url_meta":{"origin":10165,"position":2},"title":"Processing from the Outside In: Ann Bakke Buchanan","author":"Rebecca Thayer","date":"July 27, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"This blog post was written by Rachel Barton, GRA for the Buchanan Papers processing project and is one in a series about the project. The project is supervised by Buchanan Papers Project Archivist Rebecca Thayer and is grant funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. When you work in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "NEH Buchanan papers project"","block_context":{"text":"NEH Buchanan papers project","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=882"},"img":{"alt_text":"Black and white photograph of three couples of men and women at a restaurant. 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Buchanan Papers","author":"Rebecca Thayer","date":"June 17, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Hello all and welcome to Processing from the Outside In: a new blog series where I\u2019ll be sharing with you updates from our National Endowment for the Humanities grant to process the papers of James M. Buchanan. I\u2019m Rebecca Thayer, the project archivist for the grant. James M. Buchanan (1919-2013)\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "GMU Fairfax Campus"","block_context":{"text":"GMU Fairfax Campus","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=272"},"img":{"alt_text":"James M. 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Buchanan Papers","author":"Amanda Menjivar","date":"May 5, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"This post was written by Processing Student Assistants for the NEH Buchanan Papers Processing Project, Vilma Chicas Garcia and Colin McDonald. Both students have contributed invaluable time and effort to the project - thank you Vilma and Colin! 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