Westminster University Finding Aids (EAD)

Guide to the Westminster College President's Office records on the Board of Trustees

Table of Contents

Collection Overview

Collection Inventory+/-

Biographical Note/Historical Note

Content Description

Collection Use

Administrative Information

Subjects

Collection Overview +/-

Title: Westminster College President's Office records on the Board of Trustees
Dates: 1952-1979 (inclusive)
Collection Number: ACC-129
Summary: This collection consists of records maintained from 1952-1979 on former members of the Board of Trustees by the President's Office of Westminster College, Salt Lake City, Utah. The materials include biographical sketches, correspondence, curriculum vitas, letters of resignation, newspaper articles, obituaries, personal information cards, and photographs.
Repository: Westminster College, Giovale Library
Address:
1840 South 1300 East
Salt Lake City, Utah 84105
Phone: (801) 832-2250

Collection Inventory +/-

box 1, folder 1: Allred, Martin L.
box 1, folder 2: Auerbach, Fred F.
box 1, folder 3: Bainbridge, Warren S.
box 1, folder 4: Bamberger, Clarence
box 1, folder 5: Barwick, William S.
box 1, folder 6: Beason, Ross
box 1, folder 7: Behle, Calvin A.
box 1, folder 8: Bernolfo, Joseph E., Jr.
box 1, folder 9: Billings, Peter W.
box 1, folder 10: Black, Lawrence F.
box 1, folder 11: Board correspondence
box 1, folder 12: Brown, H. Ross, Sr.
box 1, folder 13: Brown, W. Stephan
box 1, folder 14: Buckham, Sidney H.
box 1, folder 15: Burrus, L. Gerald
box 1, folder 16: Carleson, Harry E.
box 1, folder 17: Carter, Robert S.
box 1, folder 18: Christiansen, Donald G.
box 1, folder 19: Clark, Geraldine M.
box 1, folder 20: Collins, James W.
box 1, folder 21: Coulter, Harry E.
box 1, folder 22: Critchlow, George A.
box 1, folder 23: Daniels, J. Graham
box 1, folder 24: Devlin, Robert
box 1, folder 25: Doidge, Robert E.
box 1, folder 26: Dougan, Paul M.
box 1, folder 27: Eskuche, Henry W.
box 1, folder 28: Fabian, Harold P.
box 1, folder 29: Fidlar, M. M.
box 1, folder 30: Gallivan, John W.
box 1, folder 31: Gift, Mack
box 1, folder 32: Grooters, Donald J.
box 1, folder 33: Hall, William B.
box 1, folder 34: Hansen, George T., Jr.
box 1, folder 35: Hansen, George T., Sr.
box 2, folder 1: Harris, Richard W.
box 2, folder 2: Hawes, Rev. C. T.
box 2, folder 3: Henderson, Allen N.
box 2, folder 4: Hogben, Margaret H.
box 2, folder 5: Johnson, Sheldon C.
box 2, folder 6: Kelly, Lincoln G.
box 2, folder 7: Kesler, Archie B., Jr.
box 2, folder 8: Landes, Herbert D., Jr.
box 2, folder 9: Lang, William A.
box 2, folder 10: Leveille, Richard R.
box 2, folder 11: Madsen, O. C. "Del"
box 2, folder 12: Malouf, A. B.
box 2, folder 13: McGivney, Clare
box 2, folder 14: McQuiddy, Arthur R.
box 2, folder 15: Nightingale, William T.
box 2, folder 16: Nye, Ralph
box 2, folder 17: O'Keefe, J. P.
box 2, folder 18: Otto, George W.
box 2, folder 19: Parr, Marcus S.
box 2, folder 20: Peak, E. Dale
box 2, folder 21: Persons, William R.
box 2, folder 22: Phillips, Earl W.
box 2, folder 23: Pinder, Lori
box 2, folder 24: Ray, Joseph R.
box 2, folder 25: Renley, E. William
box 2, folder 26: Roberts, Harry B.
box 2, folder 27: Rothermich, Arnold E.
box 2, folder 28: Skaggs, L. S., Jr.
box 2, folder 29: Spencer, R. B.
box 2, folder 30: Strike, Nicholas L.
box 2, folder 31: Sundquist, Raymond W.
box 2, folder 32: Sweeney, Edward S.
box 2, folder 33: Tyler, Brian W.
box 2, folder 34: Van Evera, DeWitt
box 2, folder 35: Van Klaveren, Richard
box 3 , folder 1: Walden, Forrest S.
box 3 , folder 2: Waldo, H. R., Sr.
box 3 , folder 3: Waldo, Harold R., Jr.
box 3 , folder 4: Waldo, Robert M.
box 3 , folder 5: Walker, Alex, Jr.
box 3 , folder 6: Wallace, John M., Jr.
box 3 , folder 7: Wampler, Walter C.
box 3 , folder 8: Watson, Richard S.
box 3 , folder 9: Wheatlake, B. C. J.
box 3 , folder 10: Wheeler, Charles L.
box 3 , folder 11: Wycoff, Milton S.

Biographical Note/Historical Note +/-

Westminster College Boards of Trustees: Trustees came from all areas of the college and community. Many Westminster presidents attended Board meetings, probably in an advisory non-voting role since the president reports to the Board of Trustees, which has the power to hire or fire a president. A few were either members before becoming president (such as B.C.J. Wheatlake), or went on to become members of the board as Presidents Emeritus. The trustees also included major donors, businessmen, community leaders, and ministers. Beginning in the 1970s, the names of some faculty, alumni, and students begin to appear in the list of trustees.

George W. Martin, a Presbyterian missionary, was an early trustee of Westminster College.

The Treasurers of Westminster College were officers of the Board of Trustees; Parke M. Pontz held this office from 1921-1954, followed by Ralph S. Gunn.

Harold R. Waldo, Sr. was Secretary to the Board from 1933-1965.

Below is a partial list of various categories of Trustees who served between 1946-1979, drawn from A short history of Westminster College, Salt Lake City: the first century, 1875-1975 by Emil Nyman, College Archivist, and subsequent college records. Nyman included a five-page "Appendix D. Trustees 1946-1974 (Alphabetical)" in his publication.

Chairmen of the Westminster College Board of Trustees from 1946-1974:

  • 1948-1957, John M. Wallace, Sr.
  • 1958-1964, Forrest Walden
  • 1965-1967, M.M. Fidlar
  • 1968, George T. Hansen, Jr.
  • 1968-1970, Haydon Morgan Calvert
  • 1970-1973, Joseph Bernolfo
  • 1973- , Charles T. Klein

Presidents:

  • Herbert Ware Reherd (1913-1939 as 4th President; 1939-1950 as President Emeritus)
  • Robert D. Steele (1939-1952 as 5th President)
  • J. Richard Palmer (1952-1956 at 6th President)
  • Frank E. Duddy (1956-1963 as 7th President)
  • W. Fredrick Arbogast (1963-1968 as 8th President)
  • B.C.J. Wheatlake (1933-1965; four months from May-Aug. 1952 as Interim President during a presidential search)
  • Manford A. Shaw (1940-1964 as a Westminster College 1920s alumnus; 1968-1976 as 9th President)
  • Helmut P. Hofmann (1976-1979 as 10th President)
  • James E. Petersen (Jan.-Aug. 1979 as 11th (Interim) President)
  • C. David Cornell (1979-1982 as 12th President)

Faculty:

  • Marcus Parr (1972-1973)
  • Mack Gift (1973-1974)

Alumni:

  • Martin Allred (1973-1975)

Students

  • Lori Pinder (1971-1972)
  • Stephen Brown (1972-1973)
  • Robert Devlin (1972-1973)
  • Kimball Duffin (1974-1975)

Donors:

  • A.B. Malouf (1953-1965) -- donor of Malouf Hall
  • Harry E. Carleson (1955-1965) and Fred A. Carleson (1966-1976) -- donor of the Men's dormitory
  • Lawrence "Biggie" Black (1960-1973) -- donor of the foot bridge across Emigration Creek
  • Mrs. George S. Eccles (1972- ) –- donor of Dolores Dore Eccles Art Center

Ministers of various churches:

  • Bishop A.W. Mouton, Episcopal Bishop of Utah (1942-1947)
  • Rev. W.M. Gwaltney, Minister of First Presbyterian Church (1946-1951)
  • Warren Bainbridge, Minister of First Methodist Church (1956-1968)
  • Rev. S.E. Clark (1958-1964)
  • Rev. E.W. Remley, Minister of First Presbyterian Church (1965-1967)
  • Rev. Thomas C. Jackson, Minister of First Presbyterian Church (1965-1968)

Other community and educational leaders:

  • Harold P. Fabian, lawyer (1960-1961)
  • Paul Fawley, professor of education, University of Utah (1965- )
  • A.B. Kesler, President and Chairman of Walker Bank (1967-1973)
  • John W. Gallivan, Publisher of the Salt Lake Tribute (1967-1978)
  • Virginia Frobes, retired Dean of Women, University of Utah (1974-1983)

Sources:

  • Westminster College of Salt Lake City : from Presbyterian mission school to independent college / R. Douglas Brackenridge. Logan Utah : Utah State University Press, 1998, p. 3-4 and 74.
  • A short history of Westminster College, Salt Lake City : the first century, 1875-1975, Appendix D. Trustees 1946-1974 / Emil Nyman.
  • Westminster College Dean Robert G. McNiece correspondence, 1891-1908 (ACC-003A).

Content Description +/-

This collection consists of records maintained from 1952-1979 on former members of the Board of Trustees by the President's Office of Westminster College, Salt Lake City, Utah. The materials include biographical sketches, correspondence, curriculum vitas, letters of resignation, newspaper articles, obituaries, personal information cards, and photographs.

Individual files were usually started with a letter of congratulations from the College President when the person joined the Board and then maintained on an ongoing basis while the member served on the Board. Its bulk concerns the board member's financial donations to the College. They consist of either the original transmittal letter sent with the check (the check stub is frequently attached), or a letter from the President thanking the member for the donation.

Other records in the series were generated in response to the college's specific queries of new Board members. Some files contain the original query (e.g. Auerbach, Nov. 2, 1964 and Madsen, Feb. 22, 1974), while others contain letters from the Trustee referencing the request. These queries related to the gathering of information on new Board members. First, a request was made for a black and white glossy photograph of the member, used for a display in the Administration Building. Second, a "Record of College Trustees," an undated (4 × 6) card that contains general information about the Trustee, including name, occupation, church membership, and the date their current term began was created. In July 1954, the information was collected on full sheets of paper (e.g. Wheatlake). Third, the college asked their Board members to send a brief biographical sketch or curriculum vita. And finally, the college requested information from new members concerning their height and cap size for the commencement exercises.

Since all files relate to former board members they usually end in two ways. Some conclude with either a letter of resignation or a letter noting its acceptance by the Board. When service is not ended by retirement from the Board, the last record pertains to the Board members death, with either an obituary, a letter of condolence to the family, a return letter from the family, or a notice in Utah Westminster. Occasionally, a resolution was adopted by the Board noting the retiring or recently deceased member's contributions to the college which was then forwarded by the President to either the retiree or the retiree's family.

One notable exception to this general pattern was that of George T. Hansen, Sr., a major contributor to the athletics program and the Dane Hansen Stadium. After his death, a conflict regarding a contribution to the school for lighting the stadium caused his wife to maintain continued contact with the school for many years.

A single file not relating to an individual board member contains general "Board Correspondence". It was used by the President's Office to maintain a copy of all letters and memoranda sent from that office to all members of the Board, not just individual members. The same file also contains memoranda from the Chairman of the Board to other members of the Board, as well as a few from other college departments to the entire Board.

Presidents of the college between 1952-1979 while the materials in this collection were being maintained by the President's Office were: Herbert Ware Reherd, Robert D. Steele, J. Richard Palmer, Frank E. Duddy, W. Fredrick Arbogast, C.J. Wheatlake, Manford A. Shaw, Helmut P. Hofmann, James E. Petersen, and C. David Cornell.

Collection Use +/-

Restrictions on Access:

Open to public research.

Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.

Twenty-four hours advance notice is encouraged.

Restrictions on Use:

It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.

Permission to publish material must be obtained from the director of the Giovale Library.

Preferred Citation:

Westminster College President's Office records on the Board of Trustees, 1952-1979, ACC-129, Giovale Library Archives, Westminster College, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Administrative Information +/-

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by the last name of the Board member, thereunder chronologically by date. The undated informational cards and the photographs were placed at the front of each file. The file “Board Correspondence” has also been inserted alphabetically.

Acquisition Information:

The files were placed in storage in April 1981 and transferred to the College Archives in October 2004.

Processing Note:

Processed May 2007 by Josh Jentzsch. The original order of these records was retained. Since a large proportion of tmaterials consisted of highly acidic carbon copy paper, preservation photocopying was started. This photocopying was temporarily concluded with J.W. Gallivan.

Creator:

Westminster College (Salt Lake City, Utah : 1902-1983). President's Office

Language:

Collection materials are in English.

Quantity:

1.2 linear feet

Language of the Finding Aid:

English.

Author of the Finding Aid:

Finding aid written May 2007 by Josh Jentzsch.

EAD Creation Date:

2013 November 16 by Sarah Shaw

Standard:

Describing Archives : A Content Standard (DACS)

Subarea:

Archives

Related Material:

Related collections in Giovale Library Archives:

Subjects +/-

Corporate Names:

Westminster College (Salt Lake City, Utah : 1902-1983). President's Office--Archives
Westminster College (Salt Lake City, Utah : 1902-1983)--History--Sources

Subject Terms:

College trustees--Utah
Presbyterian universities and colleges--Utah--History--Sources

Form or Genre Terms:

Administrative records
Articles
Biography files
Cards (informational artifacts)
Correspondence
Obituaries
Photographs
Resignation letters
Résumés (personnel records)

Geographical Names:

Salt Lake City (Utah)--History--Sources