This collection contains the papers of former Governor of Tennessee, Secretary of Education, and U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander. Currently, only the material predating Alexander's tenure as Senator (pre-2002) is processed for research use. Processing of the Senatorial Papers is expected to be completed in Fall 2023. Please contact Special Collections with access inquiries related to Senate materials.

This collection contains the papers of Roy Neel, Democratic operative and longtime top assistant to Vice President Al Gore, Jr. and President Bill Clinton. He served as Chief of Staff to Vice President Gore and Deputy Chief of Staff to President Clinton.

This collection contains the papers of John Seigenthaler, journalist, writer, and longtime editor of The Tennessean. Seigenthaler was a prominent advocate for First Amendment rights and founded the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University. Seigenthaler also worked for Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and was a longtime friend of the Kennedy family.

The Southern Politics Collection, given by Alexander Heard in February 1982, consists of drafts and research materials for Southern Politics in State and Nation by V.O. Key, Jr., and A Two-Party South?, by Alexander Heard, together with transcripts of interviews on Southern politics used in the preparation of both these works.

The James D. Squires (1943-) papers were donated to Vanderbilt University in 2005 and encompass his careers as a journalist and editor, as a political adviser, and as an author. The Nashville native graduated from Peabody College in 1966 and started his journalism career at the Tennessean.