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Stapleton interviews about Courtney Smith

 Collection — othertype: RG6-X-OH-2
Identifier: SFHL-RG6-X-OH-2

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of 36 taped interviews on 43 audiocassette tapes, created by Darwin H. and Donna Heckman Stapleton from 1991 to 1999 as research for their 2004 biography, Dignity, Discourse, and Destiny: The Life of Courtney C. Smith. Interviews were conducted with Swarthmore College faculty, staff, students, and Board members, as well as personal friends and family members of Courtney Smith. An asterisk* in the inventory below indicates access or use restrictions exist as of 2016.

Dates

  • 1991 - 1999

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Approximately half of the interviews are open and available for researcher access as of 2016. Some interviews are currently restricted, until the decease of the interviewee. Access to some interviews is restricted because there is no signed release form.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright has not been assigned to the Friends Historical Library. Most interviewees signed a release form permitting citation or quotation without restriction following the interviewee's decease. Use of some interviews is temporarily restricted (until the decease of the interviewee) or permanently restricted (due to specifications on the release form or due to the lack of a release form).

Biographical / Historical

Courtney C. Smith was born on December 20, 1916, in Winterset, Iowa. He went to public schools in Des Moines and then attended Harvard University in 1934 where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He graduated in 1938 and was named a Rhodes Scholar, travelling to Merton College in Oxford University in 1938-1939. Upon his return, he married Elizabeth Proctor and was named a Teaching Fellow and English Tutor at Harvard University, a position he held until 1943. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1944. From 1946 to 1953 he was an Instructor, Assistant Professor, and Bicentennial Preceptor in English at Princeton University. In 1953 he was named the American Secretary of the Rhodes Scholarships, directly succeeding former Swarthmore President Aydelotte, and also was named ninth President of Swarthmore College. While at Swarthmore, he joined the Society of Friends.

Under the presidency of Smith, Swarthmore gained the reputation as one of the finest small liberal arts colleges in the country. While the College began its ride to the top primarily under Swain, Aydelotte, and Nason, it was under Smith's presidency that the college gained it full reputation and flourished. Smith set in motion a thorough re-evaluation of the College and increased the financial stability of the school. He appealed to the Ford Foundation as well as alumni to raise faculty salaries. In 1955 he initiated a Faculty Research Fund which provided funding for professors to pursue independent research.

Smith changed the physical campus as well. Under his presidency, McCabe Library, Sharples Dining Hall, DuPont Science Building, and Worth Health Center were built, and the old library became Tarble Social Center. Another evaluation of the College was initiated in the fall of 1966 to study all aspects of the college. Most academic changes were accepted, including reducing the number of Honors seminars, and incorporating the library into the academic life of the college.

In June of 1968 Smith announced his resignation effective the fall of 1969 in order to head the Markle Foundation. Before he left, however, the campus was tense with the social concerns and anti-war sentiments that typified the 1960s. The social rules imposed by the Board were one source of controversy. Another major concern was negotiations with the Swarthmore African-American Student Society (SASS) to increase the presence of black students on campus. On January 9, 1969, members of SASS occupied the Admissions Office and demanded that the College take a more active role in the admission and recruitment of African-American students, including those seen as high-risk students. On January 16, President Smith died of a heart attack in his office. He was 52 years old. At the time, some blamed the actions of SASS for precipitating the President's death, while others saw it as a sad coincidence.

Extent

1 Linear Feet (1 flat box)

Language

English

Overview

This collection consists of audiocassette tapes of interviews created by Darwin H. and Donna Heckman Stapleton from 1991 to 1999 as research for their 2004 biography, Dignity, Discourse, and Destiny: The Life of Courtney C. Smith. Interviews were conducted with Swarthmore College faculty, staff, students, and Board members, as well as personal friends and family members of Courtney Smith. Courtney Smith (1916-1969) was the 9th president of Swarthmore College, 1953-1969. While a time of great growth and accomplishment, his presidency was marked by increasing tension from anti-war sentiment, pressure to increase the number of African American students, and changing social standards.

Arrangement

Tapes are arranged in alphabetical order by interviewee. An asterisk* in the inventory below indicates access or use restrictions exist.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Darwin H. and Donna Heckman Stapleton, 2010.

Related Materials

Darwin H. and Donna Heckman Stapleton also donated copies of the photographs that were used in their book. These photos can be found with the Courtney Smith photographs in PA 100.

See also Courtney C. Smith Papers, RG6/D09, Swarthmore College Archives, Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College.

Processing Information

This collection was processed in 2016 by FHL student employee Constance Hawley and staff member Celia Caust-Ellenbogen.

Date
2016 December
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Find It at the Library

Most of the materials in this catalog are not digitized and can only be accessed in person. Please see our website for more information about visiting or requesting reproductions from Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College Library

Contact:
500 College Avenue
Swarthmore Pennsylvania 19081 USA