NASHVILLE (AP) - Lamar Alexander is donating his pre-U.S. Senate papers his alma mater, Vanderbilt University.

The Commercial Appeal reports on Tuesday that the private university in Nashville plans to open an exhibit next month about the life of the former two-term Tennessee governor and Republican presidential candidate.

The collection includes correspondence, campaign materials, photos and a trombone Alexander played on Bourbon Street in New Orleans while clerking for a federal judge there.

The personal papers and memorabilia range are dated between 1955 and 2002, when Alexander was elected to the Senate.

Alexander chose Vanderbilt to receive the papers over the University of Tennessee, where he served as president from 1998 to 1991. The state's flagship public university holds the papers of several other former governors and prominent political figures.