William Edward Stevenson Presidential Papers

The records, which consist of correspondence, minutes, appointment books, reports, and printed materials, are divided into five subgroups: I.  Administrative Files of the Office of the President, 1943-60; II. Board of Trustees Records, 1946-61; III. Faculties, College Division, Programs, and Administrative Units, 1928-60; IV.  Student Life Records, 1937-60; and V.  Files of External Organizations, 1944-61. The collection was rearranged in 1991 to accommodate later accessions and to create hierarchical units within the A to Z alphabetical arrangement in order to make possible the creation of a USMARC AMC record. The initial arrangement was comprised of four general series; two of them remain intact: Series 2, Correspondence, now a part of Subgroup I, and Series 3, Personal Files, now integrated into Subgroup I, Series 7. The subgroups reflect the administrative relationships within the Stevenson administration, and the records themselves document areas of administrative oversight and implementation of institutional policies. Within subgroups, the papers are subdivided into series alphabetically arranged to reflect internal hierarchies; thereunder papers are arranged alphabetically or chronologically.

Both in terms of quantity and quality, the records of Subgroup I, Administrative Files of the Office of the President, are the most significant. Files relating to the operation of the office include appointment books, budgetary records, name files, and records of Stevenson's outside representation of Oberlin College. Series 4, Subgroup I, Administrative Correspondence, 1946-59, consists of nearly thirty-five percent of the collection. In addition to the usual correspondence relating to administrative matters, documentation exists of broader issues such as academic freedom, higher education, and international academic exchange. Evidence of Stevenson's numerous business and philanthropic affiliations is provided in Series 7, Personal Files. Included is correspondence with the New York law firm of Debevoise Plimpton and McLean and correspondence relating to Stevenson's service as a trustee at Phillips Academy and Princeton University.  Files document Stevenson's work as Director of the Commonwealth Fund of New York, beginning in 1934, and his close involvement with numerous other charitable organizations. The subject files of Series 8, especially those relating to foreign visitors and Hungarian student refugees (1956-57), report on Stevenson's role in bringing foreign students to this country following World War II.

Remaining subgroups are comprised of the President's working files.  The records of the Board of Trustees (1944-61), Subgroup II by no means as comprehensive as those of Record Group 1, Records of the Board of Trustees of Oberlin College, reflect the initiatives undertaken by the Board during the Stevenson administration. Board of Trustee Committee files (1944-61) document the trustees' leadership in the areas of new building construction, staff appointments, trustee-faculty relations, and honorary degree nominations.  Records of the Trustee-Faculty Conference Committee (1945-49) illuminate a dispute between the two bodies. Trustee meeting minutes, while mingled with related documentation, are consecutive (1946-59) except for the period 1955-56. Of particular importance for tracing the history of Oberlin's administrative structure and financial position are the reports commissioned by President Stevenson and presented to the Board of Trustees by the consulting firms of Arthur Andersen (1954-58) and Cresap, McCormick, and Paget (1950-59). These reports provided the basis for the recommendations made by Bernard Gladieux in the 1961 "Report of the Trustee Committee on Administrative Organization," and carried out by the Robert Kenneth Carr administration.

Of the record series in Subgroup III, Faculties, College Divisions, Programs, and Administrative Units, Series 3, Academic Departments and Programs is the least well documented. Departmental records exist only for the Speech and Art Departments, despite the fact that Stevenson was instrumental in returning the Department of Religion to the College of Arts and Sciences and in adding East Asian and Judaic studies to the liberal arts curriculum.  Files in Series 1, Faculties, are also thin. College Faculty Council minutes exist only for the period 1954-59.  Salary and Benefits Files are mainly useful for establishing faculty retirement policies and for comparing Oberlin salaries with those offered at comparable institutions. The most important series of Subgroup III is Series 4, Administrative Units, which includes extensive materials on various construction projects completed by Stevenson, including Hall Auditorium (1943-55), cooperative student housing (1950-55), and women's dormitories (1945-55). Files for the Development Office (1934-59), housed in Series 4, Administrative Units, include a run of Stevenson's letters to donors (1953-55).

Subgroup IV, Student Life Records, contains materials relating to commencement arrangements and to student activities, organizations, and assemblies. Files document the selection, scheduling, and accommodation of speakers and performers. Related materials concerning campus visitors are housed in Subgroup I, Series 5, Name Files.

Subgroup V includes the files of national, state, regional, and local groups with which Stevenson was affiliated by virtue of his post at Oberlin.  The majority of the files document his involvement with national organizations devoted to the causes of higher education, academic research, foreign relations, and philanthropy, particularly the Institute of International Education (1946-57). Files of state organizations, notably the Ohio College Association and the Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges document Stevenson's involvement in the field of education administration in Ohio.