Wesley G. Pippert Papers

SC-56
Pippert, Wesley G., 1934-
166 Boxes (110 linear feet)
1947-1992 (bulk:1956-1986)

Introduction
The Wesley G. Pippert collection is comprised of materials related to the life and work of this journalist/author, political press secretary, professor and lay pastor.

Provenance: Wheaton College was selected to be the repository of this collection in 1993.

Restrictions: There are no restrictions on this collection. Duplication may be restricted if copying could cause damage to items.

Collection Description
The Wesley G. Pippert collection is comprised of materials related to the life and work of this lay pastor, journalist/author, and professor. The collection is arranged in seven series--biographical information, publications, speeches/sermons, reporting research on projects, individuals and special collections, and secondary information about Pippert dating from 1950 to the present. The bulk of the material resides in the three reporting research series which include both research information and manuscripts by Pippert. Unique to the biographical series is the documentation of Pippert's personal and professional activities, containing a master file of letters, memos, as well as some manuscripts from 1978 to 1986. Other correspondence in the collection has been filed with its related subject or individual. Series II--Publications, subdivided into articles and books, includes both research and correspondence related to Pippert's publications. The articles are arranged in alphabetical order according to the title of the periodicals in which they are published. The book subseries contains correspondence, drafts, research material, and galleys of Pippert's books. Three of Pippert's books, the John B. Anderson book, The Spiritual Journey of Jimmy Carter, and Land of Promise, Land of Strife: Israel at 40, are filed with their related individuals or subject areas. Series III--Speeches/Sermons, arranged alphabetically by audience, includes correspondence and background material for speaking engagements which is arranged by date. Series IV--Special Reporting Projects, including both research material and manuscripts by Journalist Pippert is a major strength of this collection. Subseries contain materials on the Nixon-Humphrey race in 1968, including the "Answer Desk" project and the Republican National Committee. The McGovern Campaign in 1972 and his come-back 1974 campaign in South Dakota as well as what is probably the first national story written about McGovern in 1956. Rep. John B. Anderson and source material used for Pippert's 1980 never-completed revision of a book, speeches by Anderson arranged chronologically, as well as material about and by John B. Anderson. And, Pippert's coverage of Congress from 1981 to 1983 reflects his focus on special issues including abortion, adoption, and aging and includes copies of committee and subcommittee hearings on these issues. Several other sub-series cover Pippert's coverage of selected politicians. These men include watergate defendant Charles Colson, President Gerald Ford, Sen. Mark Hatfield, Rep. Paul Henry, and Sen. Charles H. Percy. Pippert was Percy's first press aide in 1967-68. Series V--Research Reporting of Individuals (e.g. Billy Graham and Rep. Morris K. Udall) includes ten boxes with research and reporting materials arranged alphabetically by last name. See the container list for a detailed inventory for each individual. Series VI--Special Collections are the most extensive of Pippert's research and reporting on specific subject areas and include source material as well as numerous manuscripts written and/or collected by Pippert. Significant sub-series include: VI A--Watergate: This collection includes Pippert's stories filed chronologically by year and a few by topics, correspondence relating to Watergate and his unpublished manuscript "Misguided Loyalty," as well as drafts for this manuscript. Pippert's research for Watergate is filed alphabetically by subject. This collection also contains the official bound hearings of the Senate Watergate Committee--Hearings Before the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, 93rd Congress, and Presidential Campaign Activities of 1972. VI B--Jimmy Carter, President: this sub-series includes Presidential Documents for the Carter administration from 1977-81; correspondence, manuscripts, and galleys for Pippert's book, The Spiritual Journey of Jimmy Carter; Pippert's notebooks from 1976-81 as well as his stories for the Carter campaigns and presidency; Pippert's subject files on Carter; and White House press releases, texts of press conferences and speeches, and minute-by-minute logistical instructions for some of the trips in the 1980 campaign. These files are arranged chronologically by year and in reverse chronological order within the year. VI C--Israel: UPI correspondent to Israel from 1983 to 1986. Pippert's special collection on Israel also included a collection of English-language Jerusalem Post for 1983 to 1986. VI D--UPI, 1955-67, 69-86: The collection is divided according to various news bureaus in which Pippert worked. The first includes his files and stories from the Midwest bureaus in Minneapolis, Bismarck, Pierre, and Chicago from 1955 to 1966. The next group of files includes Pippert's research reporting in Washington from 1966 to 1987. Included in these files is his coverage of the White House in 1975 and from 1977 to 1981. Pippert stayed in Washington and covered Congress from 1981 to 1983. His dispatches from this time are included in this section. The final box of this section contains Pippert's notebooks for covering Congress from 1981 to 1983.

Biographical/Historical Sketch
Wesley Gerald Pippert was born on May 13, 1934. He was fifth among seven children born to Mr. and Mrs. Harry V. Pippert. His parents were farmers near Mason City, Iowa. For the first eight years of his education, Pippert attended a one-room rural schoolhouse. He later attended the University of Iowa, where he graduated with honors and a B. A. in editorial journalism in 1955. Soon after graduating from college, Pippert began working with United Press International (UPI). From 1955 to 1966, he worked at various UPI bureaus including Minneapolis, Bismark, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Chicago. During this time, he also served as a lay pastor of two Methodist churches in South Dakota as well as continuing his schooling. In 1964, Pippert attended the Near East School of Archaeology in Jerusalem and worked on the Dothan Excavation. He completed a four-year United Methodist Pastoral Course of Studies at Garrett Theological Seminary in 1966. Pippert also graduated from the Wheaton College Graduate School in 1966 with an M.A. degree in Old Testament in which his thesis was titled, "Politics of the Judges." Pippert continued his education in 1966 by becoming a Congressional Fellow of the American Political Science Association. Following this experience, he became the first press aide of Senator Charles H. Percy (Republican, Illinois) from 1967 to 1969. In 1969, Pippert rejoined UPI in Washington as the overnight editor, continuing in this position until 1971. From 1971 to 1973, Pippert served as the cultural affairs reporter in Washington. During that time he was also assigned to the McGovern Campaign in 1972. Pippert was the principal UPI reporter on Watergate from 1973 to 1975. In 1975, Pippert became a Journalism Fellow at the University of Michigan on a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). He returned to Washington in 1976 in order to cover Jimmy Carter's presidential campaign as the principal UPI reporter. Pippert followed Carter to the White House and was assigned there from 1977 to 1981. He continued in Washington by reporting on Congress from 1981 to 1983. In 1978, Pippert married Rebecca Manley, a national consultant on evangelism for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. They have one daughter and one son. Pippert left Washington in 1983 and traveled as a UPI correspondent to Israel, serving as manager from 1983 to 1986. In 1986, he was appointed the Senior Middle East correspondent. Returning to the United States in 1987, he became a Fellow in both the Institute of Politics, and the Center for Press, Politics, and Public Policy at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Pippert served as a special assistant to Rep. Paul B. Henry (Republican, Michigan) in 1989. He is currently a faculty member at the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism. Over the years, Pippert has spoken on more than 60 college campuses as well to numerous professional and religious organizations. In addition to the tens of thousands of stories he wrote for United Press International, Pippert has also written more than 100 articles in 50 publications. Some of these publications include the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune Sunday magazine, Vital Speeches, Quill, Christian Century, and Christianity Today. Pippert has spoken and written extensively on the relationship and integration of biblical faith and the mass media. He has authored several chapters in books which include American Evangelicals and the Mass Media, Letters to Graduates, Jaws of Victory, and Dictionary of Christian Social Ethics. In addition, Pippert has written many books that include: Missions and Reconciliation (1969), Faith at the Top (1974), Memo for 1976: Some Political Options (1974), The Spiritual Journey of Jimmy Carter: In His Own Words (1978), Land of Promise, Land of Strife: Israel at Forty (1988), An Ethics of News: A Reporter's Search for Truth (1989) and The Hand of the Mighty: Right and Wrong Uses of Our Power (1991). Pippert has received several professional honors and awards. He received special mention in the editorial category of the Associated Church Press 1981 Awards of Merit for his article "The Presidency -- Measuring Up," in The Interpreter, November-December 1980. He received first place in the reporting category of the Evangelical Press Association's 1983 contest for Higher Goals in Christian Journalism for "How the Abortion Legislation Was Aborted" in Eternity magazine, November 1983. Lastly, in 1987, he received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Gordon College for teaching at that institution.

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