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Vice President for Academic Affairs. Dean of Faculty. Administrative Files, bulk: 1944 - 2017

 Series
Identifier: RG03-01-01

Scope and Contents

The files begin during C.K. Brown's administration and continue through Robert Williams. They contain reports, correspondence, minutes, and memoranda relating to all aspects of the Dean's office. Topics include athletics, chapel, alumni, policies relating to faculty appointments, sabbaticals, and tenure, foundations and grants, summer school, exchange programs, church relations, and grading policies. In the C.K. Brown files correspondence relating to the cut system or absence policies can be found in the A folder along with correspondence from the Office of Price Stablization. In the Personal folders is correspondence referring to Davidson's policies on women students as well as the Dean's response to a student publication critiquing the college. In the Currie and Hi-Hu folders is additional material on cooperative engineering education programs, often referred to as the 3-2 Plan. The Haa-Har file contains information on the Good Housekeeping ranking of colleges. The M file contains a listing of the duties of the Dean as well as J. Rupert McGregor's report on Davidson in Medicine. The N-O file contains an article on North Carolina transportation written by Brown while the T file contains correspondence on the Davidson Economics Department and a defense of economic theories. Correspondence in the W file discusses policies relating to faculty children attending Davidson, particularly faculty daughters. The Faculty Information files contain surveys completed by faculty members giving basic biographical information.

Dates

  • Creation: Majority of material found within 1944 - 2017

Creator

Biographical / Historical

On May 29, 1928, The Davidson College Board of Trustees created the position of Dean of Instruction and appointed history and economics professor J. Moore MacConnell (class of 1899) as the first Dean. MacConnell served as Dean from 1928 to 1935. His successor was economics professor, C. K. Brown (class of 1921), who held the position until 1952. Clarence J. Pietenpol, a member of the Physics Department, was appointed Dean in 1953 and served until 1958. Frontis Johnston succeeded him and held the position until 1969. The office was renamed Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty in 1970. John Morgan Bevan, a Davidson College faculty member in the 1940s and 1950s, returned to the College in 1970 to fill the position. Upon Bevan's resignation in 1975, Frontis Johnston returned to administrative duties and served until 1977. T. C. Price Zimmerman served as Vice President for Academic Affairs form 1977 to 1986. Robert C. Williams succeeded Johnston in 1986. The Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty oversees the academic departments, the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, the Dean Rusk Program in International Studies, Office of Grants and Contracts, Information Technology Services, Library, Love of Learning Program, Office of Study Abroad, Teacher Education Program, and the Registrar's Office. This office is one of five vice presidents for the college and reports directly to the president.

Extent

34.00 boxes_oversize (34 boxes + oversize )

Language

English

Arrangement

The files are arranged topically within chronological periods that correspond to individual dean's tenure in office. There is considerable overlap in the files for Pietenpol, Johnston, and Bevan as well as between Zimmerman and Williams.

Physical Location

Range B Sections 4-5

Mapstand B-1

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Transferred from office, letter to Frank Simmons, 1947 - 2004-31

Repository Details

Part of the College Archives Repository