Directors' Association of Oberlin College Records

The organization was formed in 1904 as the “Matrons’ Association of Oberlin College,” whose membership comprised women who operated boarding houses and dining halls for the College and approved by the faculty. Members were required to pay annual dues, beginning with ten cents in 1904. The object of the association, in the words of the 1904 constitution, “shall be to keep the matrons in touch with the College and with each other, and to promote a greater uniformity of method and management.” Twenty-two women signed their names under the document, held in a minute book.

In 1919 the minute book records fifty names of matrons under three different columns: college matrons, private matrons, and other matrons. The names include those of faculty wives and a female missionary returned from Shanxi, China. Meeting discussions and motions had primarily to do with regulations and charges for room and board. Occasionally association meetings were attended by deans or by the college president.

The constitution of 1936 states that the association “will be called the Directors’ Association of Oberlin College,” and the membership “will include the directors and dietitions of all college-owned or operated houses, of Gables, Cranford and Noble, the head of Graduate House, and as an ex-officio member, the Manager of Residences and Dining Halls.” Meetings were often occasions for a luncheon or picnic, as well as for agenda items for discussion. The 1950 constitution states that the purpose of the organization “shall be to provide opportunities for social enjoyment, for professional development, and for discussion and direction of policies affecting the House Directors and Dietitions of Oberlin College.” The minute books end with May of 1961.

In 1979, a member of the Association, Mrs. Katrine M. Baxley (1905-1981), offered the records to the College Archivist, William Edward Bigglestone (1924-2016), who wrote up a summary of his conversation with her. She stated that until the 1960s the directors had been ladies who received very low pay for their services and had no systematic advancement, remuneration or title. They were paid as members of the Buildings and Grounds Department. New directors were in some cases paid more than those who had served for many years. In about 1971 the directors asked for and received a meeting with a variety of deans, including George Harris Langeler (1928-2017), Dean of Students, and Rose Montag (1901-1987), Associate Dean of Students, in which they complained about these issues. Montag told the directors that their approach was Marxist in nature. Dean Langeler expressed surprise at their conditions of employment, and was concerned that they be improved. Changes in the relationship of the directors to the College stemmed from this meeting. It is not known precisely when this organization ceased.

Note written by Anne Cuyler Salsich.