The collection spans the life of James Earl Rudder. The bulk (1944-1970) of the materials roughly correspond to the chronology of James Earl Rudder's life, with additional materials collected mainly by his wife, Margaret Rudder. The collection includes materials from Rudder’s time in the service during WWII, clippings from newspapers, as well as posters, magazine issues, memorabilia, and Rudder’s awards.

This collection contains correspondence, organizational and financial documentation, meeting minutes, and reference materials from the Coalition for Support of Public Schools (CSPS).

The CSPS was a grassroots advocacy organization established in early 1995 to, quoting its mission statement, "give concrete support and assistance to public schools in our community and to the dedicated professionals who teach our children." Membership in the group was consciously diverse in religion, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic, and cultural backgrounds and dedicated not only to the independence and excellence of public schools in the Bryan/College Station, TX area but to the Constitutional principles of freedom of religion and speech and the separation of church and state.