Office of the Dean of Students Records

Spanning between 1928 and 2011, the records of the Office of the Dean of Students (280.35 linear feet) report on nearly ten decades of student life and residential services at Oberlin College. The records of this group mirror the creation of the Office of the Dean of Students in 1964, the evolution and expansion of its services, and the results of this office’s goal setting and policy determination. The breadth, richness, and changing nature of residential student life at Oberlin is also highlighted among these records which document student demands for cultural diversity on campus, increased individual autonomy, policy making involvement, and social activism.

Consisting of annual reports, budgetary records, calendars and message logs, and other printed material collected, created, or received by the Office of the Dean of Students, these records are especially fulsome in documenting the administration of Dean George H. Langeler, 1966-1988. A modest amount of material also exists from the tenures of Dean Bernard Adams, 1964-1966, and Dean Patrick Penn, 1989-1994. In addition, this record group incorporates records from its antecedent bodies (namely, the Office of the Dean of Men, and Office of the Dean of Women, 1928-1967). Arranged into eight subgroups, these records report on the functional work of the several units reporting to the Dean. In addition to the Dean’s Administrative files, 1954-1991, files exist for Career Development and Placement, 1964-1995; Health Services, 1964-1989; Psychological Services, 1965-1989; the Student Union, 1938-1979; Housing and Dining, 1929-1991; Developmental Services/Student Support Services, 1935-1988; and, Residential Life, 1928-1989. Users should note that many of these administrative units have undergone name changes or had their administrative functions and goals redefined over time.

This group itself does not document aspects of Oberlin College student life during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Prior to the creation of the Office of the Dean of Students in 1964, student life at Oberlin was administered in a decentralized fashion along the lines of “in loco parentis”. Oversight of student life activity was accomplished through a variety of smaller offices, at a time when the college faculty was fully engaged in the life and culture of the institution. Documentation from this period regarding campus-wide activities, housing allocations, student discipline procedures, and religious formation are scattered throughout other groups of institutional records held by the Oberlin College Archives. Users should refer to the Associated Materials Note for more information regarding those records that supplement this documentary base.

The administrative files of Dean of Students George H. Langeler, 1966-1988, comprise the most significant portion of documentation. Comprehensive in nature, these records detail central administrative planning, budget allocations, the hiring and evaluation of personnel, and the supervision and direction of those offices reporting to the Dean. Langeler’s annual reports, those of his predecessor, Dean Bernard Adams, and the staff meeting minutes, document how the mission of this office was molded and developed over a 25 year period to embrace an inclusive, modern, and secular approach to student life. Documentation relating to the evolution of these varied administrative duties are highlighted in Series 11, General Files, and in Series 12, Files Relating to Administrative Reorganization, 1975-1989. While the mission of the Dean of Students did evolve beyond simply enforcing rules regarding student behavior and conduct, student disciplinary oversight continue to remain a central responsibility of this office (re. Judicial System Files in Subgroup VIII, Residential Life Records.) The oversight of academic advising, however, remains a function of the Office of the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

This record group also provides fulsome documentation on the evolution of this office on the College’s administrative chart. Dean Langeler’s active role as a conduit between Oberlin students, and the college faculty, staff, and trustees legitimized this office and its functions. The interplay between Langeler and the College President is modestly documented in the correspondence series. The voluminous and rich committee files (Subgroup I, Series 3) highlight Langeler’s response to the many issues raised by both senior administrators and the student body. Material from the African American Committee, 1966-69; the Bigotry Committee, 1988; the Co-Op Advisory Council, 1965-68; the Special Committee on Gay and Lesbian Concerns, 1988-1989; the Sexual Harassment Grievance Committee, 1988; and the Women’s Committee, 1977, provide just a few examples of the breadth of interests and concerns addressed by this office.

Monitoring, and at times, redirecting student activism, was another new area of responsibility for this Office. During the tumultuous national events associated with the war in Vietnam and the changing cultural attitudes of the mid to late 1960s, students directed their attention to activist causes as well as in the participatory politics of college governance and policy making. The establishment of the Student Life Committee in 1966, marked the first time students were formally included in administrative policy making for the college. The files from this committee, 1966-1991, as well as those from the Student Finance Committee, 1966-1989, (Subgroup I, Administrative Records, Series 3, Committee Files) detail the growing expectations and insistence by Oberlin students that they be consulted on the larger administrative questions faced by the College.

The demands placed on this office to oversee and respond to student concerns and political activism are also well documented in the student life subject files of Subgroup I. Subject files from the 1960s and early 1970s document student demands for increased individual autonomy, coeducational dormitories, racial diversity, and the use of drugs and alcohol on campus. By the early 1980s, new social concerns and questions arose surrounding abortion, the HIV/AIDS virus, sexual harassment, substance abuse, and discrimination against Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual students. Students were equally ardent in vocalizing their concerns regarding political issues. Their protests against the United States’ military involvement in Korea (1950-1955) and Vietnam (1965-1975), as well as demonstrating against mandatory draft registration, loyalty oaths, and the presence of Marine recruiters on the Oberlin campus (1969) are documented here. Later issues which captured the interest and support of students include the College’s plan to divest its funds in South Africa, 1986-1989; racist incidents on campus, 1988; and overall student dissatisfaction with the college administration, culminating in the April 13, 1990 student march against bigotry at the home of Oberlin College President, S. Frederick Starr, 1983-1994.

Oberlin’s need to improve its housing and dining services became particularly acute after World War II because of increased student numbers and government funding of higher education (G.I. Bill). Files from the Boarding Halls Committee, 1929-1939; the Residences and Dining Halls Committee, 1940-1962; and, the Housing Allocations Committee, 1971-1986, chart the College’s evolving residential program, from its placement of students in boarding houses and dormitories scattered across the town of Oberlin, to a complex system with two distinct campus’ (North Campus and South Campus), program houses, and student cooperatives being developed after World War II. Ample detail also exists documenting the extensive administrative demands placed upon the Dean’s office in terms of coordinating building maintenance, programming, and staffing configurations. The Building Maintenance and Renovation Files (Subgroup VI, Series 6) not only document the routine matters of dormitory upkeep, but also provide an extensive account on the several dormitory renovation projects of the 1980s. Files regarding the development of the controversial and contested residential commons program, 1984-1989, are found among the general files of Subgroup I, and the Building Administration and Use files of Subgroup VI. These files document Oberlin’s mixed response to institutional efforts to bring together students, faculty, and staff for community building activities and meals at the highly criticized Stevenson Dining Hall. Constructed in 1989, this student life facility did not provide the expected atmosphere or community building opportunities as advanced by residential commons program planners. Significant documents regarding the planning, design, construction, and intended use of Stevenson Dining Hall are located in Subgroup VI, Series 6, Building Maintenance and Renovation Files.

Other records relating to community building and campus wide social activities are found primarily among the files of Subgroup V, Student Union Records, 1938-1989. Of special interest is the planning of campus wide social events, the bringing of guest speakers to the College, the chartering and governance of student organizations, and the College’s efforts to provide students with a central gathering place on campus. The series of renovations made to Wilder Hall, 1984-1989, are also documented here.

During the 1970s, in addition to responding to student activism, overseeing residential services, and organizing social activities, the Dean’s office had to grapple with the needs of a more diverse student body population. Files in Subgroup I, Administrative Records, regarding committees, program houses, student life, student cooperatives, and student organizations document the college’s effort to celebrate and support cultural diversity at Oberlin. Subgroup VII, Developmental Services/Student Support Services, report on the College’s educational enrichment programs designed for minority students, students from disadvantaged backgrounds, and those identified to be “at risk” for not completing a secondary education. The organizational files for these developmental initiatives, 1974-1985, document how they began as federally and privately funded projects but grew to receive a significant measure of prominence and administrative support from the College. In 1987, Patrick Penn was named Dean of Student Support Services. Further documented, however, is the eventual incorporation of these programs into the broader administrative goals of the Office of Student Life and Services, 1989-present, successor to the Office of Student Life. Very little information, however, exists for the Upward Bound program which began in 1979.

The earliest files in this record group date from 1928. They are represented by the records created and received by the separate offices of the Dean of Men and the Dean of Women. Of primary significance, because of their sheer volume, are the student name files (organized by class and thereunder by name). These files, 1928-1986, document the administrative duties assigned to the Dean of Men and Dean of Women in terms of overseeing student admissions, advising, financial aid awards, and general disciplinary matters. Early aspects of student residential life are reported upon in the files from the Boarding Halls Committee, 1929-1939, and the Residences and Dining Halls Committee, 1940-1962, found in Subgroup VI, Series 3. Committee Files.

This record group does not contain extensive documentation regarding the work performed by several of the offices reporting to the Dean. Files for the Office of Career Development and Placement, 1963-1995, only contain a small amount of material. Further information regarding career placement and advising is found in Record Group 39, Office of Career Placement, 1887-1975. Prior to 1964, this office operated under a succession of different names, as a separate unit from the Dean of Men and Dean of Women. Records from the Offices of Health Services and Psychological Services are also thin, but are supplemented by material found in the committee files, personnel files, general files, and student life subject files in Subgroup I, Administrative Records.

Finally, this group provides only a modest amount of information on the nature of religious life at Oberlin College. Until 1994, the Office of the Chaplains operated outside the Dean’s jurisdiction. Subgroup I, Administrative Records, Series 1, Annual reports, does contain some material from the YWCA director, 1964-1967, and, files exist from the Religious Interests Committee, 1970-1985. More extensive documentation held by the Oberlin College Archives regarding religious life at Oberlin is detailed in the Associated Materials note.