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This collection has access restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
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Collection Overview
| Size | 367.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 287,700 items) |
| Abstract | The Provost is the university's chief academic officer, serving as liaison between the Chancellor and various deans and directors. Since its creation, this position has had administrative oversight responsibilities for the Division of Academic Affairs (established in 1954), and before 1966, was variously known as Chairman of the Division of Academic Affairs, Dean of the Faculty, and Vice Chancellor of the University. In 1965-1966 and since 1997, the Provost has also had oversight responsibilities for the Division of Health Affairs. In November 1988, the Office of the Provost was reorganized and charged with consolidating oversight for all educational activities at the university. The Provost became Provost/Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, while the Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs became Vice Provost/Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs. This arrangement lasted until April 1996, when a general reorganization of the university's administrative structure took place. At this time, the title reverted to Provost, and the position no longer shared responsibilities with the Vice Provost/Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs, who became the Vice Provost for Health Affairs. The Vice Provost for Health Affairs was eliminated in 1997, when the Provost assumed responsibility for both Academic Affairs and Health Affairs. Records include correspondence and other files relating chiefly to the administration of and programs in the Division of Academic Affairs (established in 1954) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Of particular importance are files on the research centers and institutes that report to the Provost and on matters affecting the faculty, including tenure, leaves, and salaries. Individuals who have served as Provost and who figure prominently in these records are Corydon P. Spruill, James Logan Godfrey, J. Carlyle Sitterson, C. Hugh Holman, John Charles Morrow, Samuel R. Williamson, John D. O'Connor, Richard L. McCormick, and Richard J. Richardson. Many of the files predate the 1954 establishment of the Division of Academic Affairs, probably because Corydon Spruill, its first administrator, had been Dean of the General College beginning in 1935. He continued in that capacity after he became Chairman of the Division of Academic Affairs. Undoubtedly some mixing of the files of the two offices occurred. |
| Creator | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Office of the Provost. |
| Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. University Archives. |
| Language | English |
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Information For Users
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Processing Information
Processed by: University Archives Staff, December 1978, August 1979, April 1980, June 1980, October 1980, April 1981, July 1981, November 1981, December 1981, February 1982, April 1982, July 1982, May 1983, November 1983, October 1984, November 1984, May 1985, November 1985, July 1986, September 1986, October 1986, May 1987, September 1987, February 1988, June 1988, June 1989, May 1990, May 1991, May 1992, January 1993, September 1994, January 1996, August 1996, September 1997, February 1998, December 1998, January 2000, September 2000, December 2000, June 2005, February 2008, May 2009, April 2016, March 2017, September 2017, December 2017
Encoded by: Lewis R. Dorman, IV, February 2005
Finding aid updated for addition by Nicholas Graham, Alex Japha and Gergana Abernathy, April 2016, by Carson Fish and Jaffa Panken, March 2017, by Carson Fish, Jennifer Coggins, and Laura Smith, September 2017, and by Jennifer Coggins and Laura Smith, January 2017
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Subject Headings
The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
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Historical Information
The Management Survey of 1953 recommended that instructional and research units in the university, exclusive of Health Affairs, be grouped in a division for administrative purposes with a chief officer responsible to the chancellor. Such an organization, headed by a Dean of the Faculty, was recommended by the chancellor and approved by the president in the spring of 1954. It was not possible at that time to secure budgetary support for the new deanship, and a chairman of the division was designated for the academic year 1954-1955. Support was later authorized, and Corydon P. Spruill became the first Dean of the Faculty on 1 September 1955. By action of the General Faculty, the office of Dean of the Faculty was incorporated into the Instrument of University Government, which also provided that the Dean should chair the Committee on Instructional Personnel. The title of the position has changed several times over the years: from Dean of the Faculty to Vice Chancellor of the University, 1965-1966; Provost, 1966-1988; Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, 1988-1996; Provost, 1996-2001; and Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost, 2001- .
At the time of its creation, the Division of Academic Affairs consisted of the College of Arts and Sciences (composed of the Divisions of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences, which brought together in functional groups the separately organized departments of instruction, curricula and programs); the General College; the Graduate School; the Schools of Business Administration, Education, Journalism, Law, Library Science, and Social Work; the Summer School; the Library; the Extension Division; the Institutes of Fisheries Research, Government, and Latin American Studies along with the Institute for Research in Social Science; the Research Laboratories of Anthropology; and the University of North Carolina Press. Eventually some of these units moved to other administrative divisions while new academic departments and research institutes became part of the Division of Academic Affairs. Among the latter were the Center for the Study of the American South, the Black Cultural Center, the University Center for International Studies, the Ackland Art Museum, the Morehead Planetarium; the North Carolina Botanical Garden, the Mathematics and Science Education Network, the Center for Teaching and Learning, the Model Clinical Teaching Network, the Principals' Executive Program, and the Small Business and Technology Development Center. From 1985 to 1996, and again from 1998 to the present, the Office of Institutional Research also has reported to the Provost.
Among the units that formerly were part of the Division of Academic Affairs and have moved to other divisions are Administrative Data Processing, which moved to the Division of Business and Finance; the Highway Safety Research Center, now located in the Division of Health Affairs; the Institute for Research in Social Science, which began reporting to the Vice Chancellor for Graduate Studies and Research in 1992; the Materials Research Center, which ceased in 1979; the Media Center, which was disbanded in 1986; and the University of North Carolina Press, which is now responsible to the General Administration of the UNC System.
The Provost was the official liaison between the chancellor and all deans and directors in the Division of Academic Affairs. He recommended to the chancellor all new programs and all appointments, promotions, leaves of absence, removals, and salary increases for the faculty of the division. He administered and enforced all regulations applicable to the division and advised the chancellor on policies affecting it, and he was sometimes designated by the chancellor to represent the university at meetings of educational associations. He chaired the Committee on Instructional Personnel, composed of the deans of the schools and colleges in the division. This body advised him on matters of educational policy for the Division of Academic Affairs. The Provost was also the officer responsible to the chancellor for the preparation and administration of the budget in the Division of Academic Affairs. In addition, he was the budget officer for academic personnel in the Graduate School, the Division of Student Affairs and the Division of University Relations. He is designated by the chancellor as the administrator responsible for initiating and directing long-range planning for the areas within his budgetary jurisdiction.
In November 1988 Chancellor Paul Hardin created a new Office of the Provost with responsibility for consolidating oversight of all educational activities that served the entire university. Acting Provost Dennis O'Connor was appointed Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs while Garland Hershey, who had been Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs since 1983, was named Vice Provost and Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs. In 1989, in accordance with this new, broader definition of the Provost's office, the offices of Undergraduate Admissions, Scholarships and Student Aid, and the University Registrar were placed administratively under it. In 1996, under Chancellor Michael Hooker, another administrative reorganization took place; and as a result, the above offices began reporting to the Executive Vice Chancellor, a position established by Hooker in 1995 and eliminated in 1998. Also as a result of this reorganization, Provost Richard J. Richardson assumed administrative oversight of the deans in the Division of Health Affairs in 1997 while continuing his oversight of Academic Affairs. In 1998 oversight of the offices of Undergraduate Admissions, Scholarships and Student Aid, and the University Registrar was again placed in the Provost's office.
Persons who have held the position are:
| 1954-1955 | Corydon P. Spruill |
| 1955-1957 | Corydon P. Spruill |
| 1957-1965 | James L. Godfrey |
| 1965-1966 | J. Carlyle Sitterson |
| 1966-1968 | C. Hugh Holman |
| 1968-1984 | John Charles Morrow, III |
| 1984-1988 | Samuel R. Williamson, Jr. |
| July-November 1988 | John Dennis O'Connor, Acting |
| November 1988-September 1991 | John Dennis O'Connor |
| September 1991-March 1992 | William F. Little, Acting |
| April-May 1992 | H. Garland Hershey, Acting Provost |
| April-May 1992 | William H. Graves, Acting Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs |
| June 1992-July 1995 | Richard L. McCormick |
| July 1995-April 1996 | Richard J. Richardson, Acting |
| April 1996-June 2000 | Richard J. Richardson |
| July 2000-January 2001 | Richard L. Edwards, Interim |
| February 2001-June 2006 | Robert Shelton |
| July 2006-July 2009 | Bernadette Gray-Little |
| July 2009-March 2010 | Bruce Carney, Interim |
| March 2010-June 2013 | Bruce Carney |
| July 2013- | James W. Dean Jr. |
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Scope and Content
The records of the Provost include orrespondence and other files relating chiefly to the administration of and programs in the Division of Academic Affairs (established in 1954) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Of particular importance are files on the research centers and institutes that report to, or have reported to, the Provost and on matters affecting the faculty, including tenure, leaves, and salaries. Individuals who have served as Provost and who figure prominently in these records are Corydon P. Spruill, James Logan Godfrey, J. Carlyle Sitterson, C. Hugh Holman, John Charles Morrow, Samuel R. Williamson, John D. O'Connor, and Richard L. McCormick. Many of the files predate the 1954 establishment of the Division of Academic Affairs, probably because Corydon Spruill, its first administrator, had been Dean of the General College beginning in 1935. He continued in that capacity after he became Chairman of the Division of Academic Affairs. Undoubtedly some mixing of the files of the two offices occurred.
Schools, centers, institutes, and other units that figure prominently in these records include Academic Computing Services, Administrative Data Processing, the College of Arts and Sciences and its constituent departments, the General College, the Ackland Art Museum, the Center for Urban and Regional Studies, the Division of Extension and Continuing Education, the Institute for Research in Social Science, the Institute of Government, the Institute of Marine Sciences, the Kenan-Flagler Business School, the Library, the School of Education, the School of Information and Library Science, the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, the School of Law, the School of Social Work, and the Sonja Haynes Stone Black Cultural Center. Though the Provost assumed oversight of the academic units in the Division of Health Affairs in 1997, records currently in the University Archives deal primarily with the Division of Academic Affairs and do not reflect the broader responsibilities of the office.
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Series Quick Links
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1. Division of Academic Affairs: Office of the Provost (Administrative Files),
1938-2001.
Arrangement: Boxes 1-32 contain general topical files, alphabetically arranged. Boxes 33-54 contain copies of the outgoing correspondence of the Provost's office, arranged chronologically.
These files contain material pertaining to responsibilities and duties of the Provost that are not restricted to any one of the administrative divisions of the university.
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2. Division of Academic Affairs: College of Arts and Sciences: Institutes,
Schools, Centers, Departments, and Curricula, 1937-1999.
Arrangement: Alphabetical by name of department.
These files contain material pertaining to responsibilities and duties of the Provost that are related to the College of Arts and Sciences and its constituent departments, programs, and curricula as well as the various institutes, schools, centers, and other units that reported to the Provost. See also the Records of the Office of the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences as well as the records of the individual schools, institutes, centers, and departments in the University Archives.
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3. Division Of Administration/Division Of University Affairs, 1936-1997.
Arrangement: Alphabetical by department name.
The Division of Administration was established in July 1973. It included the Personnel Department and the Office of the Registrar and Director of Institutional Research, the latter office having responsibility for the offices of Records and Registration, Student Aid, and Undergraduate Admissions. On 1 July 1980, the name of this division changed to University Affairs, and responsibility for the Personnel Department was shifted to the Division of Business and Finance. Effective 1 April 1985, the Office of Institutional Research was shifted to the Division of Academic Affairs. In 1989, the Offices of the Registrar, Student Aid, and Undergraduate Admissions were also placed administratively under the Provost and shifted to Academic Affairs. Effective 1 April 1996, they were placed under the Executive Vice Chancellor; with the elimination of that position in 1998, they returned to the Provost's supervision.
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4. Athletics, 1957-1996.
See also Series 2 for the Provost's files on the Department of Physical Education and Series 7 for files on the Faculty Committee on Athletics.
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5. Division of Business and Finance, 1947-1996.
For information on the responsibilities of the agencies of the Division of Business and Finance, see the University Business Manual. A copy is available in the Archives. Printed copies of the final authorized budget for each biennium are available in the North Carolina Collection. See also Salaries in Series 1.
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6. Division Of Development and University Relations, 1917-1996.
The Division of Development and University Relations (previously the Division of University Relations, 1981-1985, and Division of Development and Public Service, 1973-1981) includes the Development Office, the University Relations Office, the General Alumni Association, News Services, and WUNC-FM. The Office of Research Administration was a unit in this division from 1974 until 1978, when it moved to the Graduate School. From 15 April 1976 until 1 July 1985, the Division of Extension and Continuing Education was also in this division; now the Division of Continuing Education, it is part of the Division of Academic Affairs. And WUNC-TV, now part of the UNC (System) Center for Public Television, was located in this division until 1980. This series contains the Provost's correspondence with the offices of this division, especially the Division of Extension and Continuing Education.
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7. Faculty Affairs, 1937-1996.
This series contains the provost's files on the Faculty Council and on the standing and special committees of the faculty. See also the Records of the Office of Chancellor and the Faculty Affairs Records in the University Archives.
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8. Division of Graduate Studies and Research, 1951-1996.
This series includes the Provost's correspondence with the Division of Graduate Studies and Research, which includes the Graduate School. From 1972 to 1988 the vice chancellor of the division was also Dean of the Graduate School. The Office of Research Administration, formerly an agency in the Division of Development and Public Service, became administratively responsible to the Dean of the Graduate School in 1978; in 1983 its name changed to Office of Research Services. Material relating to research, research grants, funding agencies and fellowships can be found in the general files of this series as well as in the files on the Office of Research Services and the University Research Council. There is also material about the National Science Foundation Center for Excellence Grants and the Academic Year Institutes.
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9. Division of Health Affairs, 1951-1996.
This series includes the Provost's correspondence with the administrator or Vice Chancellor of Health Affairs and with the units of the Division of Health Affairs. Effective 1 April 1996, the Vice Chancellor's title changed to Vice Provost and the position began reporting to the Provost.
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10. Division of Student Affairs, 1940-1997.
This series contains the Provost's correspondence with the Dean of Students and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and with agencies of that division. See also the Records of the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, the Records of the Office of the Dean of Women, and Records of Student Government in the University Archives.
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11. Trustee Affairs, 1940-1996.
See also the Minutes of the Boards of Trustees and the Records of the Secretaries of the Boards of Trustees in the University Archives.
| Box 170 |
Trustees, General, 1940; 1955-1962; 1964-1975; 1986-1987; 1992-1996 |
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12. Outside Organizations, 1955-1997.
Arrangement: Alphabetical by organization name.
These files contain the Provost's correspondence with and about associations, institutes, conferences, boards, councils, colleges and universities that are external to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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Office Files, 1991-2003 (Addition of May 2009).
Arrangement: Arranged in three subseries: Units Reporting Directly to the Provost; College of Arts and Sciences Departmental Files; and Subject Files.
The files in Series 1-12, above, represent previous accessions of the Office of the Provost's records. With the addition of May 2009, processing staff discontinued the practice of dividing the Provost's files into twelve series based on their relationship to university functions and/or administrative divisions. The files listed below are arranged as they were received from the Provost's office, and for the most part, the original filenames have been retained. The bulk of these files date from 1997 to 2001. Many of them are continuations of files in Series 1-12.
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Units Reporting Directly to the Provost.
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College of Arts and Sciences Departmental Files.
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Subject Files.
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Restricted Items.
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Weldon Thornton's files on the Committee to Review the
Undergraduate Curriculum, 1978-1983, 1989 (Addition of April 2016).
RT 20160419.2
English Professor Weldon Thornton chaired the campus-wide Committee to Review the Undergraduate Curriculum, sometimes referred to as the "Thornton Committee." The committee formed in May 1978 and issued its final report in August 1979. The report addressed the concept of "general education" at UNC, proposed requirements for all freshman and sophomore students, and discussed foreign language and math requirements.
The committee received attention from across campus, with its final report published in its entirety in a special insert in the Daily Tar Heel. In addition to meeting agendas and minutes, these records include correspondence with campus administrators, faculty outside the committee who shared their thoughts on the curriculum, and reactions from students.
After the final report was published, the university held open hearings in fall 1979 to discuss the recommendations of the committee and the process for implementation. A revised "College Curriculum Report" was released in November 1980.
This addition consists of Dr. Weldon Thornton's files on the Committee to Review the Undergraduate Curriculum, which he chaired.
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Office Files, 1985-2017 (Addition of March 2017).
RT 20170331.1
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Alphabetical Subject Files, 1997-2014 (Addition of August 2017).
Transferred by the Office of the Provost, August 2017 (RT 20170830.1).
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Items Separated