Letters, reports, minutes, speeches, photographs, printed matter and other materials documenting Charles W. Cole's personal life and professional career as President of Amherst College (1946-1960) and as a member of a variety of committees and boards in the private and public sector. The collection also includes correspondence and other personal papers of Cole's first wife, Katharine. Charles Cole's personal papers include a large volume of correspondence with his parents and with Charles H. Morgan; also undergraduate material, family photographs and awards. Amherst College material is limited to speeches made as President and materials documenting his visit to Doshisha University, Japan, in 1953, including a photograph album. Cole's writings include mainly manuscripts for his 1935 book Colbert and a Century of French Mercantilism. The rest of the collection consists of files relating to Cole's service on a variety of boards and committees, including the Fund for the Republic, Committee on the National Security Organization, American Cancer Society, U.S. Air Force, Merrill Foundation for the Advancement of Financial Knowledge, Educational Testing Service, and Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association.

This collection is organized into fourteen series:

• 1. CORRESPONDENCE, 1921-1978
• 2. APPOINTMENT CALENDARS, 1938-1958
• 3. SPEECHES, 1938-1960 and n.d.
• 4. AMHERST COLLEGE, 1945-1954
• 5. PERSONAL AFFAIRS, 1906-1953 (bulk 1920-1953)
• 6. WRITINGS, 1920-1958
• 7. FUND FOR THE REPUBLIC, INC., 1952-1960
• 8. COMMITTEE ON THE NATIONAL SECURITY ORGANIZATION, 1948-1950
• 9. AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH GRANTS, 1956-1958
• 10. AIR FORCE COMMITTEE, 1949-1951
• 11. MERRILL FOUNDATION FOR ADVANCEMENT OF FINANCIAL KNOWLEDGE, INC., 1945-1958
• 12. EDUCATIONAL TESTING SERVICE, 1949-1956
• 13. TEACHERS INSURANCE AND ANNUITY ASSOCIATION, 1950-1955 (unsorted)
• 14. KATHARINE COLE PAPERS, 1916-1964