Dean of Women records

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: UA 41

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Dean of Women records contain the official records of the Office of the Dean of Women, including correspondence, budgets, organization records, annual reports, and affiliated professional organizations. The Date File, which is a copy of outgoing mail from the Dean, offers researchers a glimpse into the day-to-day duties of the Dean of Women. However, any Date File that may have existed prior to 1960 is not included in these records, and there is a sizable gap between 1961 and 1969. The Annual Reports offer summaries of and statistics about the office’s responsibilities. Purdue’s Deans of Women were important contributors to the National Association of Women Deans, Administrators, and Counselors (NAWDAC), and this collection contains the history of that organization and its relationship with Purdue.

Dates

Creation: 1948 - 1974
Creation: Majority of material found within 1960 - 1974

Creator

Purdue University. Office of the Dean of Women (Organization)

Language of Materials

Collection materials are in English.

Access Information

The majority of the collection is open for research. Access to privileged student information, including grades, recommendations, financial assistance, and discipline records has been placed in Box 6 and is restricted until 70 years from the date of creation. Please consult an archivist for details.

Copyright and Use Information

Some material in this collection are in the public domain, while other material copyrights are held by Purdue University. Consult with Purdue University Archives and Special Collections prior to reproduction of materials.

Historical Information

In 1933 Purdue hired its first full-time Dean of Women, Dorothy Stratton. Prior to this, the Dean of Women duties were carried out by Professor of English Literature Carolyn Shoemaker. When Helen Schleman took over as Dean in 1947, the office staff consisted of her, a placement officer, and an assistant dean seeing to the counseling, discipline, and administration needs of Purdue’s women students. As the number of women students at Purdue grew steadily, so did the size and responsibilities of the dean’s office, including placement services for women students, the SPAN Plan program to help nontraditional women return to education, and minority outreach programs to help the expanding diversity in the student body. Beverley Stone took over as Dean of Women after Schleman’s retirement in 1956, and in 1974 Stone became the first Dean of Students at Purdue when the Dean of Women and Dean of Men offices were combined.

Extent

5.78 Cubic Feet (Three cubic foot boxes, six letter-size full-width manuscript boxes, one letter-size half-width manuscript box, and one flat box)

Additional Description

Arrangement

The Dean of Womens records is arranged into the following series:

Annual Reports
Date File
Budget and Miscellaneous materials
NAWDAC records
Artifacts

Custodial History

These records were created by Helen Schleman and Beverley Stone while serving as Deans of Women at Purdue University. The records were inherited by Barbara Cook and then donated to Purdue University Karnes Archives and Special Collections by Betty Nelson and Sally Watlington, along with other personal papers.

On June 13, 2013, two Bibles and a Dean of Women sign were transferred to the Archives and Special Collections from the Dean of Students office. One Bible apparently was given to Carolyn Shoemaker by her husband. The other Bible is known as “The Deans’ Bible”, an artifact that was originally owned by Shoemaker. Dorothy Stratton started the tradition wherein the outgoing Dean of Women or Dean of Students bequeaths the Deans’ Bible to her or his successor. Each of the Dean’s names is written in the Bible, along with a favorite passage.