Guide to the Harriet W. Sheridan office files, circa 1977-1992

John Hay Library , Special Collections
Box A
Brown University
Providence, RI 02912
Tel: 401-863-2146
email: hay@brown.edu

Published in 2013

Collection Overview

Title:	Harriet W. Sheridan office files
Date range:	circa 1977-1992
Creator:	Sheridan, Harriet W.
Extent:	11.5 Linear feet
Abstract:	The Harriet W. Sheridan office files contain materials compiled when Sheridan was a Dean and faculty member in the Department of English at Brown University. It includes general office files, materials regarding the Affirmative Action Monitoring Committee, appointment books, correspondence, speeches, and restricted materials regarding recommendations and evaluations. The files are dated from 1977 to 1992.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	John Hay Library , Special Collections
Collection number:	OF.1UF.S5

Scope & content

The Harriet W. Sheridan office files contain materials compiled when Sheridan was a Dean and faculty member in the Department of English at Brown University. It includes general office files, materials regarding the Affirmative Action Monitoring Committee, appointment books, correspondence, speeches, and restricted materials regarding recommendations and evaluations. The files are dated from 1977 to 1992. They have been organized into six series: Series I. General files are dated from 1977 to 1992 and are arranged alphabetically by topic. Series II. Affirmative action contains materials from the Affiramtive Action Monitoring Committee. It is dated from 1977 to 1992. Series III. Appointment books contains appointment books dated from 1987 to 1990. Series IV. Correspondence (chronological, individual, personal) is dated from 1987 to 1990. The outgoing correspondence is arranged chronologically. The individual correspondence is arranged alphabetically by name. Other correspondence in this series are grouped into outgoing and personal correspondence and includes letters both to and from Sheridan. Series V. Miscellaneous contains notes for speeches and issued to be discussed and some correspondence. It is dated from 1987 to 1990. Series VI. Restricted in undated and contains materials regarding recommendations and evaluations.

Access Points

Subject Organizations

• Brown University. Harriet W. Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning.
• Brown University. Office of the Dean of the College.

Subject Topics

• Affirmative action programs
• Universities and colleges--Administration

Document Types

• Appointment books
• Letters (Correspondence)
• Office files

Subject Topics

• Education

Arrangement

The Harriet W. Sheridan office files have been organized into six series: Series I. General files;Series II. Affirmative action; Series III. Appointment books; Series IV. Correspondence (chronological, individual, personal); Series V. Miscellaneous; Series VI. Restricted;

Biographical Note

Harriet W. Sheridan (1925-1992) was hired as Dean at Brown University in 1979 and remained in the post until 1987, when she resigned to return to her longtime career, the teaching of English. She later founded the Center for the Advancement of College Teaching at Brown and was noted for her course on literature and medicine, which was very popular with many medical students.

She had arrived at Brown from Carleton College in Minnesota, where she had spent 26 years and had served at various times as the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities, chairwoman of the English department and faculty chairwoman. She was also Carleton's acting president from January to August of 1977, succeeding Howard Swearer, who had resigned to become president at Brown.

A native of New York City, she received her bachelor's degree from Hunter College in 1944, a master's from Smith College in 1945 and a doctorate in medieval English literature from Yale University in 1950.

Professor Sheridan was chairwoman of the American Association for Higher Education and a member of many educational groups, including the American Council on Education's Commission on Women in Higher Education. She was a former director of the Association of American Colleges and a former member of the Commission on Higher Education of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	There are no restrictions on access, except that the collection can only be seen by prior appointment. Some materials may be stored off-site and cannot be produced on the same day on which they are requested.
Use of the materials:	Although Brown University has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. Researchers should note that compliance with copyright law is their responsibility. Researchers must determine the owners of the literary rights and obtain any necessary permissions from them.
Preferred citation:	Harriet W. Sheridan office files, OF.1UF.S5, Brown University Library.
Contact information:	John Hay Library , Special Collections Box A Brown University Providence, RI 02912 Tel: 401-863-2146 email: hay@brown.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared by Brown University Library staff.
Encoding:	This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2013 January 25
Descriptive rules:	Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)
Sponsor:	Processing funded by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

Additional Information

Inventory

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