NTDMG341 Guide to the Herbert Sydney Duncombe Papers 1962-1988 Duncombe (Herbert Sydney) Papers Finding aid prepared by Judith Nielsen; updated by Hinana Kobayashi 2026 Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. University of Idaho Library, Special Collections and Archives ©1991
libspec@uidaho.edu
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2026-04-06. Finding aid is in English Finding aid based on DACS (Describing Archives: A Content Standard), 2nd Edition. University of Idaho Library, Special Collections and Archives Herbert Sydney Duncombe papers MG 341 1.0 cubic feet 1962-1988 Correspondence, memoranda, reports, course outlines and evaluations, and other materials concerning the organization of the Idaho Political Science Association, the teaching of political science, and research on Idaho election statistics. English 1

The University of Idaho's "man of many hats," Herbert Sydney Duncombe was born in New York, where from 1950 to 1954 he worked for the State Division on the Budget. He earned a B.A. degree from Yale University in 1948, an MPA in 1955 from Syracuse, and a Ph.D. from the University of Washington in 1963. He taught Political Science at the University of Idaho from 1962 until his retirement in 1988 at the age of 61, with a one year break in 1971 when he worked in Boise as Budget Director of Idaho.

At the University he was known for his innovative teaching style in which he donned different hats and assumed different characters to illustrate events in the world of politics. He was also director of the Bureau of Public Affairs Research. Active in university affairs, he served on the Committee on Committees, the Truman Scholarship Committee, the Committee for the Institute for Pacific Northwest Studies, and the Academic Committee of the University Centennial Committee. He has written five books, contributed chapters to ten others, and has a long list of publications in scholarly journals. He was active in the Idaho Political Science Association, the Pacific Northwest Political Science Association, the American Society for Public Administration, Phi Delta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi. His honors include the Boyd A. Martin Award given annually by the Association of Idaho Cities for exceptional contributions to city government in Idaho and the Marvin Kimberling Award given by the Idaho City Clerks and Finance Officers Association. He now resides in Veneta, Oregon.

The papers of Sydney Duncombe span the years 1962 to 1988, with the bulk of the material covering the years 1974 to 1986. Included are materials related to the organization of the Idaho Political Science Association, memoranda, correspondence and reports reflecting his involvement as chairman of the Academic Subcommittee of the Centennial Committee, course outlines, self evaluations of his teaching and courses, research materials for his work on Idaho election statistics, and mimeographed articles by Duncombe.

Approximately one cubic foot of material with the original Duncombe accession was transferred to the University Archives accessions to be processed with the Bureau of Public Affairs Research records.

The papers of Herbert Sydney Duncombe were donated to the University of Idaho Library in May 1988.

 Elections--Idaho--Statistics Political science--Study and teaching (Higher)--Idaho Idaho Colleges and Universities Government and Politics Series I: Idaho Political Science Association 6 items Organizational materials 1974-1975 1 1 Minutes 1 item 1979 1 2 Conference 4 items 1980-1981 1 3 Idaho Journal of Politics 4 items 1973-1980 1 4 University of Idaho Centennial 34 items 1985-1986 1 5 Academic Committee 41 items 1985-1986 1 6 Centennial Review 26 items 1986-1987 1 7 Correspondence and memos 3 items 1968-1980 1 8 Notes on books read 1 item undated 1 9 Tax information 4 items 1984 1 10 Form for internships and directed study 8 items 1988 1 11 Political Science course outlines 2 items 1986 1 12 Local government lecture notes and worksheets 9 items 1986 1 13 Political Science 471 17 items Intergovernmental relationships, syllabus and notes undated 1 14 Self evaluations 15 items 1962-1986 1 15 Requirement matrix 5 items 1984-1985 1 16 Current MPA and NASPA documents 3 items 1974-1984 1 17 Political Science alumni address 51 items 1986 1 18 Abstracts of Idaho primary election votes 28 items 1912-1982 1 19 Abstracts of Idaho general election votes 47 items 1890-1982 1 20 Election statistics and SES documentation 9 items 1960-1972 1 21 Elections in Idaho, 1962-1970, Western Political Quarterly articles 14 items 1963 1 22 Documentation for election statistics 3 items 1975 1 23 Procedure/timetable for election statistics for Idaho 1 item 1977 1 24 Idaho election statistics, complete copy with corrections 1 item 1978 1 25 Election statistics corrections 11 items 1979 1 26 Election statistics corrections 17 items 1979 1 27 Election results 10 items 1980-1982 1 28 Election statistics preparation procedure 18 items 1980 1 29 Election statistics 44 items 1982 1 30 Election statistics 6 items 1982 1 31 1982 election statistics instructions 13 items 1983 1 32 Duncombe, Sydney, "Summary of changes made in title IV of the Social Security Act by Public Law 90-248..." 1 item 1968 1 33 Mimeographed articles by Sydney Duncombe 7 items 1968-1981 1 34 Series II: Pamphlet about H. Sydney Duncombe's Life 1 items 1993 1 35 Idaho Information for Police Study 5 items 1973-1975 1 36 Sources for Police Information 7 items 1976 1 37 Police Productivity Information 2 items 1975 1 38 Police Budgets 5 items 1974-1977 1 39 Washington Info for Police Study 1 items 1973 1 40 Southeastern WASH. Police Study 4 items 1974-1976 1 41 Party Officers 15 items 1976-1978 1 42 FY 1983 Appropriations 3 items 1982 1 43 Expenditures 1 items 1976 1 44 Community Rank-and-File Sample 1 items undated 1 45 Policy Analysis 1 items 1973 1 46 Handbook for Idaho Politics Coding Information 3 items 1950-1976 1 47 Criminal Investigation Political Science 204 6 items 1983 1 48 Legislative District Returns 4 items 1972-1976 1 49 Location of Legislative Districts-Biographies 2 items undated 1 50 Public Health Districts Volume 1 1 items 1969-1970 2 51 Civil Defense 1 31 items 1979-1982 2 52 Civil Defense 2 18 items 1964-1982 2 53 Papers; correspondence, hour examination 7 items 1983 2 54 Economic Development 4 items 1984 2 55 County Government in Idaho 8 items undated 2 56 Reports 4 items 1970-1971 2 57 Political Science 600 (1) 1 items 1960 2 58 Political Science 600 (2) 1 items 1961 2 59 Political Science 552 1 items 1959 2 60 Bureau of Public Affairs Research 15 items 1968 3 61 Duncombe Dissertation 1 1 items 1963 3 62 Duncombe Dissertation 2 1 items 1963 3 63 Duncombe Thesis 1 items 1955 3 64