M. Ellwood Smith Papers, 1913-1961

English Professor and Dean of the Lower Division M. Ellwood Smith came to Oregon Agricultural College in 1919 to be Dean of Basic Arts and Sciences. After the reorganization of Oregon higher education in 1932, he served as Dean of the Lower Division until his retirement in 1949. Smith earned his B.A. degree from Syracuse University in 1906 and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard University in 1909 and 1912. He returned to Syracuse University as a faculty member after completing his graduate degrees and remained there until 1919.

Throughout his administrative career at Oregon State College and for several years after his retirement (until 1953), Smith continued to teach courses in Shakespeare, Tennyson, Browning, and the Great Books. He was an authority on the English fable and published extensively in philological and educational journals.