The papers document Wray’s professional life with the Rockefeller Foundation in Turkey, Colombia and Thailand; his later academic work at Harvard and Columbia; and consulting work done for organizations such as Save the Children and UNICEF/WHO.  The primary focus of the materials is pediatric nutrition and related public health concerns in developing nations; other notable topics include porphoryia turcica, a chemically-induced skin disease Wray encountered and studied during his time in Turkey; the boycott of Nestlé and other manufacturers of infant formula in the 1970s led by a variety of church groups, including the Southern California Interfaith Hunger Coalition, the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, the National Council of Churches, and the Infant Formula Action Coalition (INFACT) and related breastfeeding controversy; and Wray’s trips to China and Tibet between 1973 and 1993.

The bulk of the collection is comprised of three sets of overlapping correspondence. These were arranged as closely as possible to the order in which they were found, resulting in one set arranged chronologically and then alphabetically, and two sets arranged chronologically. The first set of chronologically-arranged correspondence is composed of carbon copies of Wray’s outgoing correspondence from his years with the Rockefeller Foundation as well as his time at Columbia and Harvard. The Rockefeller Foundation correspondence is additionally separated into the categories of “internal” (correspondents within the Foundation) and “external” (correspondents at other institutions). The alphabetical correspondence and the second set of chronological correspondence contain both incoming and outgoing correspondence.

Other types of materials in the papers include reports; copies of works to which Wray submitted chapters or articles; reprints of works by Wray and other authors; manuscript notes on a variety of topics; extensive research materials, most notably from a preschool nutrition survey in Colombia; Rockefeller Foundation field diaries from Colombia and Thailand; and some photographs taken in Thailand.

Series I:  Biogra​phical information.

Box 1

Curricula vitae and other autobiographical information prepared by Wray for purposes of introductions at speaking events; his 1971 medical license; both Stanford diplomas and certificate of professorship emeritus from Columbia University; and other mixed records, arranged chronologically.

Series II: Rockefeller Foundation reports and diaries

Box 1-2

Rockefeller Foundation time and expense reports and bound typescripts of diaries from Colombia and Thailand. The Rockefeller Foundation required field officers to prepare and submit regular “diaries” about their activities and experiences in the field, which were then reviewed and discussed at the home office in New York; arranged chronologically.

Series III: Correspondence, Alphabetical

Boxes 3-9

Incoming and outgoing correspondence with supervisors, co-workers, professional colleagues, students and family members; arranged chronologically and then alphabetically within sub-series. Other Rockefeller Foundation correspondence can be found in Series IV and V (Chronological correspondence – 1 and 2). This series is divided into the following sub-series:

Sub-series 3.1: Colombia, 1961-1966

(1.25 boxes, .33 cu feet)

Topics vary, but include matters relating to placement of graduate students, ongoing research, publications, conferences, local and world events, and internal Rockefeller Foundation business.

Sub-series 3.2: Thailand, 1967-74

(3.5 boxes, 1.25 cu. feet)

Topics vary, but include matters relating to placement of graduate students,
ongoing research, conferences, world events, and internal Rockefeller Foundation business.           

Sub-series 3.3: Harvard School of Public Health, 1975-76

(.25 boxes, 5 folders)

Topics vary, but include matters relating to placement of graduate students, ongoing research, publications, conferences, world events, and internal departmental business.

Sub-series 3.4: Columbia University, 1980-92

(1.25 boxes, .33 cu. feet)

Topics vary, but include matters relating to placement of graduate students, ongoing research, publications, conferences, world events, and the internal operations of the Center for Population and Family Health.

Series IV: Correspondence, Chronological files -1

Boxes 10-11

Carbon copies of letters sent from Wray to supervisors and co-workers at the Rockefeller Foundation in New York City, as well as copies of official correspondence from Way’s time at Harvard and Columbia; arranged chronologically. Other Rockefeller Foundation correspondence can be found in Series III and V (Correspondence, Alphabetical and Correspondence, Chronological -2).

This series is divided into the following sub-series:

Sub-series 4.1: Rockefeller Foundation, 1961-1974

(2 boxes, .66 cu. feet)

Copies of letters sent to individuals within the Foundation (“internal”), most often in New York City, and also to individuals outside the Foundation (“external”), topics vary, arranged chronologically.

Sub-series 4.2: Harvard School of Public Health, 1975-1985

(.25 boxes, 2 folders)

Topics vary, but include matters relating to graduate students, conferences, and other academic issues.

Sub-series 4.3: Columbia University School of Public Health, 1982-1985

(.25, 2 folders)

Topics vary, but document graduate student placement and recommendations, conferences and other academic issues.

Series V: Correspondence, Chronological - 2

Boxes 12-15

Incoming and outgoing correspondence with supervisors, co-workers, professional colleagues, students and family members, arranged chronologically. Other Rockefeller Foundation correspondence can be found Series III and IV (Correspondence, Alphabetical and Correspondence, Chronological -1).

This series is divided into the following sub-series:

Sub-series 5.1: Turkey and Colombia, 1957-1964

(3 boxes, 1 cu. foot)

Topics vary, but include matters relating to placement of graduate students, ongoing research, publications, conferences, local and world events, and internal Rockefeller Foundation business.

Sub-series 5.2: Thailand, 1974-76

(1 box, .33 cu. Feet)

Topics vary, but include matters relating to placement of graduate students, ongoing research, publications, conferences, local and world events, and internal Rockefeller Foundation business.

Sub-series 5.3: Harvard, Columbia and retirement, 1977-2001

(1 box and two folders, .33 cu. feet)

Topics vary, but include matters relating to placement of graduate students, ongoing research, publications, conferences, local and world events, and departmental business, and some personal matters.

Series VI: Research materials

Boxes 16-19

The raw materials of the research that occupied Wray’s entire career, including notes, graphs and raw data from a nutrition study in Candelaria, Colombia; demographic surveys in Thailand; manuscript notes on a variety of topics; and graphs and charts covering multiple areas of nutrition and pediatric interest.

This series is divided into the following sub-series:

Sub-series 6.1: Sample nutrition record forms, 1950s-90s

(.25 box, 4 folders)

Blank health registers and nutrition charts, cards and booklets from around the world, dating from the 1950s through the 1990s.

Sub-series 6.2: Nutrition study in Candelaria, 1962-67

(1.75 boxes, .5 cu. feet)

Graphs, notes, reports, instructions and raw data from a study of malnutrition
in pre-school children in Candelaria, Colombia.

Sub-series 6.3: Tha​i health and demographic surveys, 1969-1972

(1 box, .33 cu. feet)

Graphs and tables from demographic surveys performed in Bang-Pa-In, Tambon Ben Wah and Amphur Beng Pa-In, Thailand.

Sub-series 6.4: Rockefeller Foundation analyses, 1970-74

(.66 box, 4 folders)

Reports and analyses of Rockefeller Foundation programs in Colombia and Thailand.

Sub-series 6.5: Manuscript notes, 1965-1977

(.5 box, 7 folders)

Handwritten notes and some charts, topics vary, but focus on pediatrics and childhood malnutrition.

Sub-series 6.6: Graphs and charts, 1970s-1985

(1 box. .33 cu ft.)

Graphs and charts used in articles and presentations, topics include maternal nutrition and breast feeding, primary health care, and general malnutrition topics, featuring data from 1820-1985.

Series VII: Breastfeeding controversy/Nestlé Boycott

Boxes 20-21

Correspondence, reports, news articles, conference talks and other publications on the subjects of “bottle baby syndrome;” the boycott of Nestlé and other manufacturers of infant formula in the 1970s led by a variety of church groups, including the Southern California Interfaith Hunger Coalition, the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, the National Council of Churches; and the nutritional implications of widespread use of skim milk and baby formula produced and sold by multi-national corporations to mothers in developing nations.

Series VIII: Other special projects

Box 22

Sub-series 8​.1: China and Tibet, 1973-83

(.25 box, 4 folders)

Notes and diaries from the Wrays’ personal and professional trips to China and Tibet over a period of two decades. Includes Wray’s notebooks recording his observations of children, childhood, maternity and maternal and child health in China in the early 1970s.

Sub-series 8.2: Primary health care and consulting

(.75 box, 8 folders)

Reports and proposals for primary health care and consulting projects conducted for a variety of organizations, including Save the Children.

Series IX: Publications

Boxes 23-30

Bound and loose copies of reports and reprints authored by Wray; books, magazines and conference proceedings to which Wray contributed materials; and articles on numerous nutrition and pediatric topics by a variety of authors.

Sub-series 9.1: Publications - Wray - loose

(5 boxes, 1.66 cu. feet)

Reprints and copies of articles and book chapters on a variety of topics, authored by Wray; arranged chronologically.

Sub-series 9.2: Publications - Wray - bound volumes

(1 carton and 2 boxes, 1.66 cu. feet)

Scrapbooks of reprints created by Wray, also bound copies of books, magazines and conference proceedings to which Wray contributed work.

Sub-series 9.3: Other authors

(2 boxes, .66 cu feet)

Reprints and copies of articles written by people other than Wray; also on a variety of topics, may have been consulted as part of his research; arranged chronologically.