University of Tennessee
AR 4
Finding Aid for Presidents Papers, 1880s-1946
Contact Information:
Hoskins Library
1401 Cumberland Avenue
Knoxville, TN 37996-4000
865-974-4480
e-mail: special@aztec.lib.utk.edu
(c)The University of Tennessee Special Collections Library
Linear feet: 72 linear feet
Abstract: This collection includes papers from the presidencies of Charles W. Dabney (1887-1904), Brown Ayres (1904-1919), Harcourt Morgan (1919-1934) and James D. Hoskins (1934-1946). The bulk of the materials come from the presidencies of Morgan and Hoskins. Included is correspondence, subject files, and materials related to university activities covering the period from the early twentieth century to the end of World War II.
Administrative Information
Statement of Provenance: This collection encompasses materials from taken from the office of the president during the presidencies of Charles W. Dabney (1887-1904), Brown Ayres (1904-1919), Harcourt Morgan (1919-1934), and James D. Hoskins (1934-1946). The Office of the President transferred the collection to the Archives. These papers formerly were referred to as the Transferred Files (No. 1-799) and the Retired Files (No. 800-1012).
Copyright statement: Copyright (c) 2001. The University of Tennessee Libraries. All Rights Reserved. Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute these materials for educational, research, and not-for-profit purposes, without fee and without a signed licensing agreement, is hereby granted, provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph appear in all copies, modifications, and distributions. For commercial license to use contact, University of Tennessee Libraries, Office of the Dean, Permissions, 1015 Volunteer Boulevard, Knoxville, TN 37996-1000.
Biographical Note/Information: After nearly five years without a president, in 1887 the Board of Trustees appointed Charles W. Dabney to the post. As the first president with a Ph.D., Dabney did much to make the century-old institution on the Hill a university in fact as well as in name. He built a research institution with new laboratories, dormitories, a gymnasium, a library, and further developed the College of Agriculture. He re-organized the faculty and in 1893 women were officially admitted to the University. The Summer School of the South was also implemented during his tenure.
Brown Ayers became the next president in 1904 and continued to expand the University. During his fifteen year administration Ayers created the colleges of Law, Medicine, and Dentistry, oversaw the building of the Carnegie library building in 1911, raised entrance requirements, received its first appropriation from the state legislature, reorganized the Board of Trustees to include gubernatorial-appointed members from the entire state, provided scholarships based on electoral districts, moved the Medical and Dental colleges to Memphis, and enlarged the Agricultural College to meet the needs of rural families in all parts of Tennessee.
Harcourt Morgan, an agricultural expert and Dean of the Agricultural College, succeeded Ayres as UT president in 1919. As president, Morgan repeatedly emphasized UT's role in statewide affairs, arguing that "the entire state is its campus," with farms, factories, schools, and homes included in the University's services and responsibilities. With the help of the state legislature he managed to secure significant funds for new buildings on the Knoxville campus, including an engineering building, two women's dormitories, and Shields-Watkins football field. Morgan's political savvy and concern for the financial fortunes of the University led him to exercise caution with respect to those issues which he publicly supported or opposed. In 1925 the Tennessee legislature passed a bill forbidding the teaching of evolution in public schools. Many people believed that because of his statewide popularity, UT's president could have influenced the debate and prevented the act from becoming law. Morgan feared, however, that a public stance one way or the other would jeopardize legislative funding for the University, and declined to take a public stand. In a similar matter Morgan declined to intervene in the dismissal of seven UT faculty members, despite his own reservations about the propriety of the actions, because he did not want to come into open conflict with the deans who had recommended the action. Morgan left in 1933, to take a position as one of three board members on Franklin D. Roosevelt's Tennessee Valley Authority.
Morgan's successor was James D. Hoskins, a professor of history and
economics, dean of the University, and acting president on two separate
occasions. As
dean and president, he witnessed an explosion of new physical facilities
including Ayres Hall (1921), Sophronia Strong dormitory (1925); the Home
Economics building (1926), Dabney Hall (1928-1929), the Physics and Geology
building (1928), Ferris Hall (1930); the library (1931), Henson Hall (1931),
the Alumni Memorial Gym (1934), the Hesler biology building (1935), and
Melrose Hall (1946). During his presidency, Hoskins reiterated a
suggestion first made by President Harcourt Morgan in 1922 that a regular
faculty retirement plan be instituted, and in 1941 realized that goal.
Under Hoskins's leadership, the University weathered the Great Depression
and World War II. By the end of that conflict, Hoskins was seventy-six
years old, and in June 1946, he finally retired. He retained an office
on the campus, continued to be visible, and worked on a history of the
University. In 1950, the library that had been built while he was dean
was named after him.
Scope and Content Note: This collection includes official papers from the presidencies of Charles W. Dabney (1887-1904), Brown Ayres (1904-1919), Harcourt Morgan (1919-1934) and James D. Hoskins (1934-1946). Included is correspondence, subject files, and materials related to university activities covering the early twentieth century to the end of World War II. These files record the growth of the university and cover an enormous number of subjects.
To locate folders holding materials on specific subjects patrons should use the 3" by 5" cards labeled "Index-Transferred Files." The cards are located with the collection, but patrons will also be able to use the transcribed text of the cards though an online alphabetical index. Researchers are cautioned that there was a good deal of misfiling, and it is therefore advisable to check nearby folders or related subjects for misplaced items. *** marks mean that the text on the cards is indecipherable
There are numerous related collections that accentuate this important collection of materials. The most important related collections include: AR-1 Presidents Papers, 1867-1954; AR-144 Presidents Thomas Humes and Charles Dabney Papers; AR-5 Presidential Papers, 1919-1957; AR-138 President James Hoskins Papers, 1897-1954; AR-91 Board of Trustees Records, 1808-1982; AR-89 Board of Trustees, 1920-1960; AR-81 Treasurer's Reports, 1905-1928; AR-364 Treasurer's Account Books, 1858-1934.
LCSH:
College presidents - Tennessee.
Universities and colleges - Tennessee - Presidents.
University of Tennessee, Knoxville - Presidents.
Hoskins, James Dickason, 1879-1960.
Dabney, Charles William, 1855-1945.
Ayres, Brown, 1856-1919.
Morgan, Harcourt Alexander, 1867-1950.
Keywords: Please see online alphabetical index listed after
the container list
Container List:
Series I: Numbered Files
Box 1
Folders 1-20
Box 2
Folders 21-30
Box 3
Folders 31-47
Box 4
Folders 48-66
Box 5
Folders 67-81
Box 6
Folders 82-94
Box 7
Folders 95-103
Box 8
Folders 104-121
Box 9
Folders 122-150
Box 10
Folders 151-180
Box 11
Folders 181-209
Box 12
Folders 210-239
Box 13
Folders 240-262
Box 14
Folders 263-275
Box 15
Folders 276-289
Box 16
Folders 290-321
Box 17
Folders 322-328
Box 18
Folders 329-345
Box 19
Folders 346-364
Box 20
Folders 365-391
Box 21
Folders 392-411
Box 22
Folders 412-438
Box 23
Folders 439-444
Box 24
Folders 445-459
Box 25
Folders 460-468
Box 26
Folders 469-485
Box 27
Folders 486-500
Box 28
Folders 501-506
Box 29
Folders 507-543
Box 30
Folders 544-572
Box 31
Folders 573-593
Box 32
Folders 594-613
Box 33
Folders 614-637
Box 34
Folders 638-649
Box 35
Folders 650-679
Box 36
Folders 680-687
Box 37
Folders 688-703
Box 38
Folders 704-729
Box 39
Folders 730-771
Box 40
Folder 772
Box 41
Folders 773-799
Box 42
Folders 800-807
Box 43
Folders 808-815
Box 44
Folders 816-823
Box 45
Folders 824-842
Box 46
Folders 843-868; 901-921
Box 47
Folders 922-989
Box 48
990-1012
Online Index to AR 4 (click on letter to access the index)
Alphabetical Subject and Name Index to Numbered Folders:
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