]
]
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.
Expand/collapse
Collection Overview
| Size | 184.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 146,800 items) |
| Abstract | The dean has administrative responsibility for the university's College of Arts and Sciences and its constituent, the General College, which together provide the curricula leading to most baccalaureate degrees. The College of Arts and Sciences was created in 1935 by the merger of the College of Liberal Arts and the School of Applied Science. The General College was a separate entity until 1961, when it was merged into the College of Arts and Sciences. The collection includes correspondence and other files relating to curricula, faculty, and budget matters in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Also included are historical records reflecting changes in the duties of the dean and the development of the administrative structure of the college. Past deans who figure significantly in these records include C. Hugh Holman, J. Carlyle Sitterson, John Charles Morrow, Raymond H. Dawson, James R. Gaskin, Samuel R. Williamson, Gillian T. Cell, and Stephen S. Birdsall. |
| Creator | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. College of Arts and Sciences. Office of the Dean. |
| Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. University Archives. |
| Language | English |
Expand/collapse
Information For Users
Expand/collapse
Processing Information
Processed by: University Archives Staff, October 1980, June 1981, November 1981, March 1982, August 1982, October 1982, June 1984, November 1984, November 1985, June 1986, October 1986, February 1988, September 1988, July 1991, March 1994, September 1995, October 1996, October 1997, February 2000, November 2000, December 2001, November 2005, February 2008, October 2008, April 2010, December 2017; Nicholas Graham and Dawne Howard Lucas, April 2022, September 2022; Dawne Howard Lucas, Jessica Venlet, and Rebecca Stubbs, February 2023
Encoded by: Sherrie A. Bowser, November 2005
Back to Top
Expand/collapse
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.
Expand/collapse
Related Collections
Expand/collapse
Historical Information
The College of Arts and Sciences grew out of the College of Liberal Arts (1909-1935) and the School of Applied Science (1908-1935). The former was established in 1909 by President Venable, who separated the duties of administering what was known then as "The College" from those of the dean of the university. The previous year, 1907-08, the Department of Applied Science, which had grown out of the School of Mines, had been renamed School of Applied Science. In 1922 the School of Engineering was established; it maintained close academic ties to the School of Applied Science, though it was administered separately.
Following the appointment of Frank Porter Graham as president of the university in 1930 and the Act of Consolidation in 1931, the faculty undertook a major review of the undergraduate curriculum, especially the freshman-sophomore portion of it. In 1935, simultaneous with the transfer of the School of Engineering to North Carolina State College in Raleigh (Sanitary Engineering remained in Chapel Hill at the School of Public Health), the General College was established at Chapel Hill. It was administratively and academically responsible for the freshman and sophomore curriculum. The General College was a separate academic and administrative entity until 1961, when it was merged into the College of Arts and Sciences. Entering freshmen, except those in the Dental Hygiene curriculum, are still enrolled in the General College.
Also in 1935, following the transfer of the School of Engineering, the College of Liberal Arts and the School of Applied Science were merged to form the College of Arts and Sciences. The faculties within the College were organized into divisions based on academic discipline: humanities, natural sciences and social sciences. In 1963 the Division of Fine Arts was added.
Below is a list of the individuals who have served as Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, the General College, the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Applied Science, and the School of Engineering.
| 1904-1907 | Joshua Walker Gore |
| 1907-1908 | Joshua Walker Gore |
| 1908-1911 | Charles Holmes Herty |
| 1911-1928 | Andrew Henry Patterson 1911-1928 |
| 1928-1929 | James Munsie Bell, Acting |
| 1929-1934 | James Munsie Bell |
| 1934-1935 | Ralph Walton Bost, Acting |
| 1922-1930 | Gustave Maurice Braune |
| 1930-1931 | Herman Glenn Baity, Acting |
| 1931-1933 | Herman Glenn Baity |
| 1933-1936 | William Jasper Miller, Acting |
| 1909-1913 | Edward Kidder Graham |
| 1913-1914 | Marvin Hendrix Stacy, Acting |
| 1914-1919 | Marvin Hendrix Stacy |
| 1919-1922 | George Howe |
| 1922-1925 | James Finch Royster |
| 1925-1926 | Addison Hibbard, Acting |
| 1926-1930 | Addison Hibbard |
| 1930-1935 | Allan Wilson Hobbs |
| 1935-1946 | Allan Wilson Hobbs |
| 1946-1951 | William Smith Wells |
| 1951-1952 | Cliford Pierson Lyons |
| 1953-1955 | C. Hugh Holman, Chairman |
| 1955-1961 | Joseph Carlyle Sitterson |
| 1935-1955 | Corydon Perry Spruill |
| 1955-1961 | Cecil Slaton Johnson |
| 1961-1966 | Joseph Carlyle Sitterson |
| 1966-1967 | Frank Marion Duffey, Acting |
| 1967-1968 | John Charles Marrow III |
| 1968-1972 | Raymond Howard Dawson |
| 1972-1977 | James Reuben Gaskin |
| 1977-1985 | Samuel Ruthven Williamson |
| 1985-1991 | Gillian Townsend Cell |
| 1991-1992 | Stephen S. Birdsall, Acting |
| 1992-1997 | Stephen S. Birdsall |
| July 1997 | Thomas B. Clegg, Acting |
| August 1997-June 2003 | Risa Ileen Palm |
| July 2003-March 2004 | Richard Solaway, Acting |
| March 2004-June 2006 | Bernadette Gray-Little |
| July 2006-June 2007 | Madeline G. Levine, Acting |
| July 2007-June 2008 | Holden Thorp |
| July 2008-2009 | Bruce W. Carney, Acting |
| 2009-2015 | Karen Gil |
| 2016-2019 | Kevin Guskiewicz |
| 2019-2020 | Terry Rhodes, Acting |
| 2020-2022 | Terry Rhodes |
| 2022- | James W. C. White |
Expand/collapse
Scope and Content
The records described here are the official records of the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. They reflect the dean's duties and responsibilities as senior administrative officer of the College of Arts and Sciences and the General College, which are the units in the Division of Academic Affairs responsible for academic programs for undergraduate students.
These records contain material related to faculty personnel matters, budget, course assignments, and teaching loads. In addition, they contain the dean's correspondence with and about the academic departments, curricula, programs, and institutes that comprise the College of Arts and Sciences. There is also correspondence and other material derived from the dean's dealings with other divisions of the university such as University Affairs, Student Affairs, and Health Affairs; and there is considerable material relating to the committees of the faculty.
The historical files in Series 2 of these records reflect the changing nature of the dean's responsibilities and the development of the present administrative structure of the College of Arts and Sciences.
Back to Top
Expand/collapse
Series Quick Links
Expand/collapse
Series 1. General Files, 1922-2002.
This series contains files of a general or topical nature pertaining to or affecting the College of Arts and Sciences as a whole. Files pertaining to individual units of the College and to other divisions of the university will be found in Series 2-8.
Expand/collapse
Series 2. Academic Programs, College of Arts and Sciences and General College, 1917-2002.
This series contains the dean's files relating to the departments, curricula, programs, institutes, and offices in the college that offer academic programs for undergraduates. Also included are records pertaining to the General College and the Honors Program, which are academic units of the College of Arts and Sciences. Records reflecting the relationship between the College of Arts and Sciences and other units of the university offering undergraduate academic programs are located elsewhere: in Series 1, for programs in Academic Affairs; and in Series 7, for programs in Health Affairs. In addition, this series contains the historical files of the College of Liberal Arts, the School of Applied Science, and some material derived from the School of Engineering and the College for War Training. Note that there is also material related to departments, curricula, and other units of the college in the files on Planning in Series 1. The latter include individual program plans prepared by the departments, curricula, and other units as part of college-wide planning efforts.
Expand/collapse
Subseries 2.1. Historical Files, 1920-1946.
Expand/collapse
Subseries 2.2. Departmental Files, General, 1917-2002.
Expand/collapse
Subseries 2.3. Departmental Files, General (Addition of October 2022), 1992-2017.
Acquisitions information: Transferred to University Archives in October 2022 (RT 20221024.1).
Expand/collapse
Series 3. Division of University Affairs (formerly Division of Administration), 1900-1995.
This series reflects the relationship between the College of Arts and Sciences and the offices that formerly comprised the university's Division of University Affairs. It contains material related to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, the Office of Institutional Research, the Office of the University Registrar, and the Office of Scholarships and Student Aid. These offices have been realigned several times in administrative reorganizations. In 1985 the Office of Institutional Research became part of the Division of Academic Affairs. In 1989 Undergraduate Admissions, Scholarships and Student Aid and the University Registrar were placed under the newly redefined Office of the Provost. In 1996 all four offices began reporting to the executive vice chancellor of the university. For convenience, however, we have kept them together in this series. The series is divided into four subseries.
Expand/collapse
Subseries 3.1. Office of Undergraduate Admissions, 1953-1990.
See also Admissions Advisory Committee, Series 5.
| Box 3:1 |
General Files, 1964-1987; 1989-1990 |
Advanced Placement, 1962-1974 |
|
Application Fees, 1969-1972 |
|
Departmental Liaisons, 1985 |
|
Experimental Admissions, 1968-1972 |
|
Freshman Class Profiles, 1964-1977; 1981 |
|
Minority Admission, 1977-1978: 1981; 1986; 1988(see also Minority Student Recruitment Program, under Affirmative Action, Series l) |
|
Policies and Procedures, 1953-1977 |
|
Readmissions, 1987; undated |
Expand/collapse
Subseries 3.2. Office of Institutional Research, 1962-1995.
On 1 April 1985, this office began reporting to the provost.
| Box 3:2 |
Correspondence and Reports, 1962-1977; 1979; 1982-1984; 1988-1991; 1994-1995 |
Expand/collapse
Subseries 3.3. Office of the University Registrar, 1900-1992.
Includes former Office of Records and Registration; see also Registration Committee in Series 5.
Expand/collapse
Subseries 3.4. Office of Scholarships and Student Aid, 1970-1989.
Expand/collapse
Series 4. Division of Development and University Relations, 1955-1997.
The files in this series reflect the relationship of the College of Arts and Sciences and General College to the offices of the university's Division of Development and University Relations. This division was formerly titled University Relations and, prior to that, Development and Public Service. Its vice chancellor was at one time director of development. Five subseries are listed below.
Expand/collapse
Subseries 4.1. Office of the Vice Chancellor, 1973-1997.
| Box 4:1 |
Correspondence, 1973-1984; 1986; 1989; 1991-1995; 1997(see also Development Office, below) |
University Fact Book, 1975 |
Expand/collapse
Subseries 4.2. Continuing Education [VACANT].
This subseries is now vacant. Previously it contained material on the Division of Continuing Education, but since that division is no longer part of University Relations, the files have been moved. See Continuing Education, Division of, in Series 1.
Expand/collapse
Subseries 4.3. General Alumni Association, 1967-1985.
General, 1971-1985 |
|
Alumni Distinguished Professor of Freshman Instruction, 1967-1976 |
|
Carolina Annual Giving, 1972-1983 |
Expand/collapse
Subseries 4.4. Development Office, 1955-1996
See also Office of the Vice Chancellor, above; and Arts and Sciences Development Committee and Arts and Sciences Endowment Committee in Series 1.
Expand/collapse
Subseries 4.5. News Services, 1970-1991
Expand/collapse
Series 5. Faculty Affairs, 1920-1998
This series contains the dean's files relating to the standing and special committees of the university faculty.
Expand/collapse
Series 6. Division of Graduate Studies and Research, 1960-1997.
These files pertain largely to the Graduate School, especially to graduate students and their responsibilities as teaching assistants, part-time instructors, and teaching fellows in the College of Arts and Sciences and in the General College.
Expand/collapse
Series 7. Division of Health Affairs, 1941-1992.
This series reflects the relationship of the College of Arts and Sciences and General College to the units of the Division of Health Affairs. Files on undergraduate curricula in Health Affairs are included here.
Expand/collapse
Series 8. Division of Student Affairs, 1921-1997.
This series reflects the relationship of the College of Arts and Sciences and General College to the units of the Division of Student Affairs.
Expand/collapse
Series 9. Outside Organizations, 1929-1998.
This series includes files on many of the external associations, foundations, institutes, councils, boards, colleges, and universities with which the College of Arts and Sciences has had relationships. Files on agencies and foundations that supported programs in individual departments will be found with the other files relating to the department in Series 2.