This sub-series includes materials associated with Dr. Tidwell's academic career. It includes records related to Tidwell's promotion and tenure processes at both the University of Miami in Ohio and the University of Kansas in Lawrence, as well as records Tidwell gathered regarding KU, its English Department, and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Also in this sub-series are teaching files, topical and writer files Tidwell kept related to African American authors he researched and wrote about, records related to Tidwell's research, and files related to the Kansas Humanities Council and its Speakers Bureau, of which Tidwell was a member for several years. Materials in this sub-series are grouped chronologically/by when they occurred in Tidwell's career, as well as thematically.

Promotion and tenure materials, as well as materials Tidwell gathered for his annual evaluation, may include thank you notes, news clippings and publicity materials, notes for speeches and presentations, conference proceedings, etc.

Records regarding the English department may include miscellaneous committee meeting agendas and minutes, sometimes annotated by Tidwell; flyers about departmental events; memoranda; notes; and other materials related to Tidwell's involvement in the department, as well as with the African and African American Studies Department at KU.

Research files mostly consist of applications and related materials for General Research Funds (GRF) from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Teaching files are predominantly from Tidwell's career at KU and include syallabi, sample exams and discussion questions, exercises, lecture notes, copies of some readings, drafts of exams and exercises, flyers from relevant events being held at KU or other geographically close institutions, etc.

Topical and writer files include draft and annotated copies of speeches and talks Tidwell gave, copies of authors' works, correspondence about conferences and lectures on those authors, conference and symposium programs, reference materials gathered for presentations and publications, correspondence, etc. These files mostly concern Gordon Parks and Langston Hughes; files solely related to Frank Marshall Davis have been added to Dr. Tidwell's collection located at MS 353.

Kansas Humanities Council (KHC) materials include observer evaluations of Tidwell's Speakers Bureau presentations, reports, news clippings and other publicity, agreement forms, tips and reminder sheets from the KHC, correspondence, copies and drafts of presentations, gathered reference material in preparation for Tidwell's talks, brochures and tourist information from Kansas desintations Tidwell was visiting, and other items related to Tidwell's involvement with the KHC.

Most folder titles are original from Tidwell; when there was no folder or when Spencer staff added information to a title, this information is in [brackets].