Office of the Registrar, John C. Weldin

University of Rhode Island, University Archives and Special Collections
15 Lippitt Road
Kingston, RI 02881-2011
Tel: 401-874-4632

email: archives@etal.uri.edu

Published in 2002

Collection Overview

Title:	Office of the Registrar, John C. Weldin
Date range:	1906-1966
Creator:	Weldin, John C.
Extent:	8 box(es) (4.25 linear feet)
Abstract:	Contains records relating to the activities of John C. Weldin while he was Registrar for the University of Rhode Island. Other materials included come from his time serving on university committees, as Dean of Freshman and the Dean of Administration.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	University of Rhode Island, University Archives and Special Collections
Collection number:	Rec. Gr. 7.1

Scope & content

The records of John C. Weldin span the eleven year period in which he served as Registrar of the University of Rhode Island. They consist primarily of the administrative files maintained by Weldin during that time, in addition to numerous committee files of which he was either a member or held an interest. The records are divided into four series:

Series I, Subject File, consists of files pertaining to Weldin's duties as Registrar, in addition to duties as Dean of Freshmen and Dean of Administration. This series of records consists of departmental budgets, enrollment, conferences he attended, general correspondence, registration procedure, and general administrative files.

Series II, Committees, is a grouping of the various committees and subcommittees of which Weldin was a member or had interest. The records in this series include meeting minutes, reports, policies, and correspondence, covering the years 1938-1966.

Series III, Undergraduate Scholarships, consists of records maintained by Weldin during his term as Secretary of the Undergraduate Scholarship Committee. They are comprised mainly of meeting minutes, along with lists of scholarship awardees and lists of suggested candidates. Also included in this series is a correspondence file notifying students of their awards and a file devoted to their responses. The records document the years 1945, 1952-1959.

Series IV, Scholarship Cup, is devoted to records that support the awarding of the Rowell-Schattle Memorial Cup for scholastic excellence. The records are primarily annual reports from individual fraternities, sororities, and other recognized university groups listing members and their scholastic standings.

The condition of these records runs from good to poor; many are very brittle. The bulk of the material spans 1946-1957, however, there are records in this group that date back to 1906 and extend to 1966. There is also a small amount of transitional material to be found in many folders that was generated by Lucy Comins Tucker, (Registrar 1930-1946) Weldin's predecessor, and James W. Eastwood, his successor.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged into four series as follows:

• 1. Subject File
• 2. Committees
• 3. Undergraduate Scholarships
• 4. Scholarship Cup

Historical note

John Chilcote Weldin served as Registrar of the University of Rhode Island from 1946 until his retirement in 1957, ending a thirty-year career with the University. He was born in Washington, Iowa, on August 4, 1891. From the elementary and secondary schools of his native state, Dr. Weldin went on to Iowa State College from which he graduated with high honors in 1916. Following a period of war service, he returned to Iowa State and earned an M.S. degree in 1923, and a Ph.D. in Bacteriology in 1926. While in graduate school, he established himself both as an outstanding student and also as an excellent instructor in bacteriology.

John Weldin came to URI in September of 1927 to serve as Professor of Bacteriology and Chief of the Division of Animal Breeding and Pathology, Experiment Station. He would serve as Professor of Bacteriology until, in 1939, rapidly increasing administrative duties pulled him away from the classroom. In 1932, while still serving as Professor of Bacteriology, he was appointed Chairman of the Freshman Advisors Committee and in August of 1933 he was appointed Vice-Dean of Freshmen. In 1935 he was named Director of Summer School. By September of 1938 his appointment had been changed to Dean of Freshmen and Professor of Bacteriology and by the fall of 1939 he became Dean of Administration, at which time he relinquished his teaching duties. In 1946 he would agree to accept the demanding duties of Registrar and was appointed Dean of Administration and Registrar, the post he would retain until his retirement in 1957.

Throughout the thirty-year span of his career at URI, Dean Weldin played a significant and inspiring role in the social and intellectual life of the University. He guided the Registrar's Office through the growing pains of development from a small college to an expanding University. As Dean of Administration, he served on numerous committees (see Series II), skillfully bridging the gap between the opposing interests of diverse groups, earning him the title "Mr. Committeeman." Known for his extraordinary patience and sense of humor, he openly welcomed students and their problems. He constantly offered his assistance to the University honor societies in their recognition of worthy students (see Series IV.)

Illness would force his retirement from University service in 1957. He was subsequently accorded the title of Dean of Administration and Registrar, emeritus, in May of 1957 and in May of 1958 he received the URI Award. Further honors bestowed upon him include a scholarship cup in his name presented annually by Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society for academic excellence, and the dedication of a residence hall built in October of 1963 as Weldin Hall.

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	Any qualified person doing scholarly research is permitted to use material housed in the Special Collections Unit.
Use of the materials:	Terms governing use and reproduction: Photocopying and scanning of materials is a fee based service available in the repository and is allowed at the discretion of the Archivist when in compliance to the Unit's policy on copyright and publication.
Preferred citation:	Office of the Registrar, Records of John C. Weldin, Rec. Gr. 7.1, University of Rhode Island, University Archives and Special Collections.
Contact information:	University of Rhode Island, University Archives and Special Collections 15 Lippitt Road Kingston, RI 02881-2011 Tel: 401-874-4632 email: archives@etal.uri.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Acquisition:	The files were transferred to the Special Collections in 2002.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared by Maureen Ricapito and Sarina Rodrigues.
Encoding:	Finding aid encoded by Maureen Ricapito and Sarina Rodrigues 2002, update by Mark Dionne on 2020 April 27.
Descriptive rules:	Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Additional Information

Related material:

See also the Lucy Comins Tucker collection, RcG.132.

Inventory

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Inventory