Guide to the Rhode Island School of Design. Office of Academic Affairs. Administrative Officers records, 1927, 1963-1977

Rhode Island School of Design Archives
Fleet Library at RISD
20 Washington Place
Providence, RI 02903
Tel: 401-709-5922
Fax: 401-709-5932
email: risdarchives@risd.edu

Published in 2009

Collection Overview

Title:	Rhode Island School of Design. Office of Academic Affairs. Administrative Officers records
Date range:	1927, 1963-1977
Creator:	Rhode Island School of Design. Office of Academic Affairs
Extent:	3.5 linear feet
Abstract:	Correspondence and memoranda dominate the records of Academic Affairs administrative officers. The bulk of the series contains the records of Donald M. Lay, Jr. (1965-1975).
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	Rhode Island School of Design Archives
Collection number:	7.01

Scope & content

Correspondence and memoranda dominate the records of Academic Affairs administrative officers. The bulk of the series contains the records of Donald M. Lay, Jr. (1965-1975). His correspondence and memorandums document his activities as Dean of the College, 1968-1974, as well as Acting President, 1968-1969. The structure of his files mirrors those of Presidents Talbot Rantoul and Lee Hall. The Thomas L. Reed records, 1963-1964, document his work with President Albert Bush-Brown and includes his letter of appointment (1963), correspondence with Bush-Brown's secretary Pauline Burke, and letters of a personal - professional nature.

Merlin Szosz's records (1963-1975) document his activities as Associate Dean (1972-1975) as well as an instructor (1963-1971) and include letters and memoranda exchanged with Lay and RISD Treasurer Murray Danforth. Records for Associate Provost C. Fenno Hoffman, Jr. (1977-1978) document his work in 1977 as Chair of the Special Committee on Faculty Governance as well as development of a faculty notebook with extensive notes by Hoffman. There is one file for Dean Roger Gilman (1919-1929) regarding teacher certification (1927) that is maintained in the Historical Records collection, 1877-1947.

Access Points

Subject Organizations

• Rhode Island School of Design. Office of Academic Affairs

Subject Topics

• Rhode Island School of Design--Administration
• Rhode Island School of Design--Faculty

Subject Topics

• Education

Document Types

• Correspondence
• Memorandums
• Reports

Arrangement

This series is organized into five series:

• I. Dean Roger Gilman records, 1927
• II. Dean of the Faculty Thomas L. Reed records, 1963-1964
• III. Dean Donald M. Lay, Jr. records, 1968-1974
• IV. Associate Dean Merlin Szosz records, 1972-1974
• V. Associate Provost C. Fenno Hoffman, Jr. records, 1977

Historical note

The Executive Committee and the President created the Office of the Dean of the College in 1960. The Dean, previously the Assistant to the President (1958-1960), served as a Vice-President of the Corporation, 1960-1963, and the chief administrative officer of the School with responsibility for the academic programs and policies of the School. Replaced by the Dean of the Faculty who was responsible for instruction, admissions, and the Registrar, 1963-1966, the Office of the Dean of the College returned in 1966 with oversight of the Deans of the Faculty and Students, Admissions, Registrar, and Library.

Reorganization of the administrative structure in 1975 created the present Office of Academic Affairs and the position of Provost. Further changes in 1978 replaced the Provost with the Vice-President for Academic Affairs, 1978-1993. The Office of the Dean of Students became the separate Office of Vice-President for Student Affairs from 1978 to 1995 when it returned to the Academic Affairs office.

Academic Affairs Officers

Dean of the College:

• David L. Strout, 1960-1963
• Donald M. Lay Jr., 1967-1975

Provost:

• Merlin Szosz (Acting), 1976
• Jack Stewart, 1976-1977
• Bruce Helander (Acting), 1977-1978

Associate Dean of the College:

• Merlin Szosz, 1972-1975

Associate Provost:

• Merlin Szosz, 1975-1977
• C. Fenno Hoffman, Jr. (Acting), 1977-1978

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	The use of certain documents and collections may be restricted. Records may be closed to researchers to protect the privacy of individuals. Please consult the Archives staff for further details.
Use of the materials:	Permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from archival materials must be obtained in writing from the Archives. The researcher assumes full responsibility for use of material and for conformity to all applicable laws, including copyright.
Preferred citation:	Rhode Island School of Design. Office of Academic Affairs. Administrative Officers records, Rhode Island School of Design Archives.
Contact information:	Rhode Island School of Design Archives Fleet Library at RISD 20 Washington Place Providence, RI 02903 Tel: 401-709-5922 Fax: 401-709-5932 email: risdarchives@risd.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Acquisition:	All records were transferred from the Office of Academic Affairs.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared by Douglas Doe.
Encoding:	Finding aid encoded by Jessica Bitely 2009 May 15
Revisions:	2023 May 3 Douglas Doe created a separate resource record for migration to ArchivesSpace.
Descriptive rules:	Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Additional Information

Inventory

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