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Dean of Faculty Records, 1962-1988

By Finding aid prepared by Karl McCreary.

Collection Overview

Title: Dean of Faculty Records, 1962-1988

Predominant Dates: 1963-1968

ID: RG 160

Primary Creator: Oregon State University. Office of the Dean of Faculty

Extent: 2.0 cubic feet. More info below.

Arrangement: Due to differences in the series designations between the paper and microfilm records in this group, the microfilm reels are described separately in the scope and content note and in the inventory. The paper records are organized into four series: 1. Correspondence; 2. Committee Records; 3. Reports; and 4. Legal Case File. Microfilmed records consist of two series: 1. Awards and 2. General Files.

Languages of Materials: English [eng]

Abstract

The Dean of Faculty Records document the activities of the Dean of Faculty regarding faculty appointments and promotions including tenure and salaries. The Dean of Faculty was established in 1964 to serve as the principal academic officer of Oregon State Univeristy reporting to the President. David Nicodemus was Dean of Faculty from 1966 until 1986, when the Office of the Provost was etablished.

Access to the Jeanne Dost vs. OSU case file in Series 4 and the President Jensen materials on microfilm reel 2 is restricted due to the presence of confidential information. All requests for access to this material should be directed to the University Archivist. Digitized copies of unrestricted materials on reel 2 are available in the SCARC reading room upon request.

Scope and Content Notes

These records were generated by the Office of the Dean of Faculty and document the administrative functioning of the office.

The correspondence primarily documents interaction between the Dean and other OSU offices and pertains to the organization of conferences, OSU research centers and institutes, and cooperation between OSU and regional community colleges. The committee records consist of correspondence and reports generated by university committees and address the topics of higher education for older women, new student programs, and the distribution and review of statements on student rights. Series III consists of reports pertaining to continuing education in Oregon and faculty instruction at OSU. The legal case file pertains to Economics Department faculty member Jeanne Dost and her complaint and legal action against the university.

There are two series in the microfilmed records: 1. Awards and 2. General Files. Series I pertains to the Mosser Plan for Awarding Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching and includes correspondence, articles and newspaper clippings, publications, and reports. In addition to a list of the recipients of the Mosser Award, there are records relating to the development of the award as well as the controversy involved in its implementation.

The General Files, Series 2, include correspondence, grant proposals, meeting minutes, memoranda, newspaper clippings, and reports. Among the topics addressed in these records include the development of new academic programs and curricula, instructional use of television in the classroom, pesticide research, student employment, and the Peace Corps program.

Biographical / Historical Notes

The office of the Dean of Faculty was established in 1964 to serve as the principal academic officer of the university reporting to the President. Advising the President on all recommendations from the Deans and Directors for faculty appointments, faculty promotions, and tenure and salaries, the Dean of Faculty also served as the President's representative in the Faculty Senate. In 1985, an administrative reorganization shifted the functions managed by the Office of the Dean of Faculty to the newly created Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. The vice president is the university's chief academic officer and oversees special instructional programs, faculty personnel policies, and other academic support programs. There have been two people in the position of Dean of Faculty, Edmund H. Volkart (1964-1966) and David Nicodemus (1966-1986).

Named for State Representative John Mosser, the Mosser Plan for Undergraduate Teaching Awards was established in 1965 by the Oregon Legislature to recognize excellence among instructors of undergraduates. Under the plan, recipients determined by student ballot received cash payments of $1000 each with 47 of the awards granted to OSU faculty in 1965/66. The Dean of Faculty was responsible for the administration of the award and reporting on its operation to the State Board of Higher Education. Under fire from faculty for the possible subjectivity of the student voting, the OSU Faculty Senate decided not to recognize the plan and the subsequently refused to accept grant funding for it. The Legislature stopped funding the plan the next year.

Administrative Information

More Extent Information: 3 boxes; 2 microfilm reels

Statement on Access: Access to the Jeanne Dost vs. OSU case file in Series 4 and the President Jensen materials on microfilm reel 2 is restricted due to the presence of confidential information. All requests for access to this material should be directed to the University Archivist. Digitized copies of unrestricted materials on reel 2 are available in the SCARC reading room upon request. All other materials in this collection are open for research.

Related Materials: In addition to the Academic Affairs Record (RG 022), the Special Collections and Archives Research Center has other documentation relating to the Office of the Dean of Faculty in the record groups for the President's Office Records (RG 013), College of Forestry Records (RG 139), College of Engineering Records (RG 062), Library Records (RG 009), Department of Physics Records (RG 037), and the Biochemistry and Biophysics Department Records (RG 178). The Center also has the David B. Nicodemus Papers (MSS Nicodemus), former Dean of Faculty.

Preferred Citation: Dean of Faculty Records (RG 160),Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Other URL: A preliminary container list was created for this collection on or before Decemeber 11, 2015.

Creators

Oregon State University. Office of the Dean of Faculty

People, Places, and Topics

Community colleges--Oregon.
Dost, Jeanne
Nicodemus, David Bowman
Oregon State College--Faculty.
Oregon State University--Administration.
Oregon State University. Office of the Dean of Faculty
Universities and colleges--Faculty--Rating of.
Universities and colleges--Oregon--Corvallis--Administration.
Volkart, Edmund Howell, 1919-


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