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VOLUME: 22 linear feet

Forms Part of Record Group No. 3, Records of the Office of the President

ACCESS: This collection is open to the public upon request. Several items are restricted due to privacy concerns. They are identified as such in this document.

COPYRIGHT: Please consult the archivist for information about duplication or publishing of any materials from this collection.

RELATED COLLECTIONS: Records of the Faculty Senate; University Publications; Records of the Dean of Faculties; Records of the Treasurer and Business Manager (William O. Nicholls)

Biographical Note

Hurst Robin Anderson was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sept. 16, 1904. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1926. He entered law school at the University of Michigan, but, upon realizing he would not have funds to complete his law degree, he enrolled in the master’s program in speech at Northwestern University. After attaining his M.A. he became professor of debate and English at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania in 1928. He married Marian Powell in 1932.

In the early 1930s, Allegheny’s new president, William P. Tolley, encouraged Anderson to pursue a career in college administration, so the latter began advanced graduate work toward a Ph.D. at the University of Chicago. However, his plans changed again in 1943 when Anderson accepted the presidency of Centenary College in Hackettstown, New Jersey, where he remained for the next five years. Subsequently he became president of Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota. He thus acquired extensive administrative experience prior to accepting the presidency of the American University in 1952, where he remained until 1968.

Anderson passed away on April 15, 1989, in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Anderson at American University

When Anderson arrived at the American University, the institution was in serious financial difficulties. Anderson took drastic measures to cut the deficit, and, with the assistance of the Methodist Church as well as business leaders, managed to balance the budget and to restore the academic standing of the university. He phased out the Downtown Center, and consolidated all programs on the main uptown campus.

During Anderson’s tenure the American University undertook an extensive building program to enlarge the campus facilities, including new classroom buildings and dormitories. More than twenty major construction projects were completed between 1952 and 1968. Several schools were added, including the first school of business administration in Washington (now the Kogod School of Business), the School of Government and Public Administration (now the School of Public Affairs), the School of International Service, and the School of Nursing. With the completion of the John Sherman Myers Law Building in 1964, the Washington College of Law was able to move uptown.

The American University grew considerably during Anderson’s presidency. When Anderson arrived in 1952, the faculty numbered 326; by 1966, two years before his retirement, there were 661 faculty members. The student enrollment in 1952 was 4,100; by 1967 it was 13,610. The net worth of the university in 1952 was $4,218,496; by the end of June, 1966, it was $26,597,610. The only operating deficit occurred the year Anderson arrived due to the pre-existing financial problems. The budget was continuously balanced after that. Concurrently, the university’s academic standing and its national and international reputation increased significantly.

Scope and Content Note

The Papers of Hurst Robin Anderson consist of articles, clippings, correspondence, manuscripts, memoranda, photographs, printed matter, reports, and speeches related to his presidency at the American University, as well as his involvement in numerous academic, civic, corporate, and religious organizations. The papers span the period from 1952 to 1968.

The materials on the Commission on Inter-Jurisdictional Relations of the Methodist Church include a history by James P. Brawley of African-Americans in the Methodist Church from colonial times to the 1960s.

Box & Folder Listing

Box 1

  • Accreditation
    • Middle States Association Reports, 1951-62 [5 folders]
    • National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE)
      • Correspondence, 1965
      • Report to NCATE, 1965
  • Act of Incorporation (as amended), 1963
  • Administrative Coordinating Committee, 1964-66

Box 2

  • Administrative Matters, 1951-63 [2 folders]
  • Admissions, 1959-65 [2 folders]
  • Advisory Corrections Council, 1953-57
  • Alumni Association
    • Alumni Association Activities, 1964-67
    • Alumni Council Roster, 1957-58
    • Correspondence 1953-55, 1961
    • Survey of Alumni in Science, 1949
  • American Association of University Professors, 1957-63

Box 3

  • American Association of University Women, 1949-62
  • American Council on Education (ACE)
    • Annual Report, 1966
    • Brochure on History and Activities of the ACE, 1959
    • Correspondence, 1955-61, 1965
    • Commission on Education and International Affairs, 1958-60
    • Committee for Understanding Abroad, 1958-60
    • Committee on Inter-American Schools Service, 1956-60
    • Committee on Relationships of Higher Education, 1956-60
    • Newsletters, 1967

Box 4

  • American Foundations Information Service, 1952-53
  • American Language Center, 1956-57
  • American Studies Program Proposal, 1958
  • American University (AU) Press, 1955
  • Anderson, Ann Gaskill (secretary), 1964
  • Anderson, Hurst R., President
    • Appointment to Presidency of AU, 1952
    • Articles, 1954-67 [several undated]
    • Biographical Information [2 folders]
    • Broadcasts, 1954, 1963
    • Correspondence, 1956-67
    • Events in His Honor, 1968
    • Inauguration as President of AU, 1953
    • Interview, 1984
    • Letters of Appreciation, 1961-64
    • Memberships, 1953-56

Box 5

  • Anderson, Hurst R., President (continued)
    • Membership in Iqbal Society [named after a Pakistani Muslim philosopher], 1960-64
    • Middle East Trips, 1954, 1956
    • Photographs
    • Retirement, 1968 [2 folders]
    • Special Events, 1966-67 [2 folders]
    • Speeches, 1952-68 [2 folders]
  • Anderson, (Mrs.) Marian Powell
  • Area Studies at American Universities, 1955

Box 6

  • Association of American Colleges, 1955-60, 1963-64 [2 folders]
  • Athletics, 1953-67
  • Atlas of Higher Education in the U.S., 1950
  • Bancroft, Jane, 1956-58 [student] [restricted]
  • Barron’s Profile of AU, 1969
  • Board of Trustees (BOT)
    • Agendas of the BOT, 1952-63 [restricted]
    • Amendments to the Bylaws, 1953, 1957 [restricted]

Box 7

  • Board of Trustees (continued) [restricted]
    • Budget Committee Reports, 1953, 1958-60 [restricted]
    • Committee on Faculty Relations, 1957
    • Letters to Mrs. John F. Kennedy, 1963
    • Members of the BOT, 1952-57 [restricted]
    • Minutes of BOT Meetings, 1952-53, 1965-67 [5 folders; restricted]
    • Minutes of the Executive Committee Meetings, 1952-62 [7 folders; restricted]
    • Reports of the Provost to the BOT, 1965-1967 [restricted]
    • Resignation of President Paul Douglass, 1951 [restricted]
    • Reports to the BOT, 1952-53 [4 folders; restricted]

Box 8

  • Board of Trustees (continued) [restricted]
    • Reports to the BOT (continued), 1960, 1963, 1965 [3 folders; restricted]
  • Bray, Richard M., Dean, School of Social Sciences and Public Affairs (SSSPA), 1954-56, 1958
  • Budget Data, 1953-58
  • Center for Liberal Studies Forum, 1966
  • Center for Research in Social Systems (CRESS), 1962-69 [2 folders]
  • Chamber Music Society, 1949, 1951-54, 1956
  • Cheng, Yu-Wei, Research Associate Economist, 1955-58

Box 9

  • Colladay & Colladay, Legal Counsel, 1950-60 [2 folders]
  • College Facts Chart, 1966-67
  • College Housing Programs, 1956-60
  • College of Arts and Sciences
    • Chemistry, 1960-67 [2 folders]
    • Chemistry Teacher’s Award Nomination, 196
    • Economics, 1965

Box 10

  • College of Arts and Sciences (continued)
    • Education, 1955-63
    • English, 1963-64
    • Philosophy and Religion, 1958, 1960, 1962-65 [6 folders]
    • Pre-engineering, 1955-58
  • College of Continuing Education, 1964-66
  • Community Chest Federation, 1955-56 [2 folders]

Box 11

  • Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area:
    • Pre-Consortium Studies, Reports, and Correspondence, 1962-63
    • Consortium Bylaws, 1966
  • Contracts, 1953-54, 1956-57 [2 folders]
  • Convocations, 1957-59
  • Corby, Mrs. William Steven: Correspondence and Articles, 1964, 1967, 1976
  • Correspondence, General
    • A, 1953-66 [2 folders]
    • B, 1954-66

Box 12

  • Correspondence (continued)
    • C, 1952-66 [2 folders]
    • D, 1954-62
    • E, 1953-61
    • F, 1954-65
    • G, 1954-64
    • H, 1953-64 [2 folders]
    • I, 1953-62

Box 13

  • Correspondence (continued)
    • J, 1954-61
    • K, 1954-61
    • L, 1955-64
    • M, 1954-63
    • N, 1954-66
    • O, 1955-60
    • P, 1951-62
    • Q, 1953, 1957
    • R, 1952-66

Box 14

  • Correspondence (continued)
    • S, 1954-64 [2 folders]
    • T, 1952-62
    • U, 1957-63
    • W, 1953-62
    • X-Y-Z, 1955, 1960
  • Degrees Awarded, 1926-68
  • Delong Scholarship Fund, 1957-64
  • Department of Defense, Policy on Deferments, 1956
  • Department of State, Board of Foreign Scholarships (Fulbright), 1958-62

Box 15

  • Derby, Donald, Vice-President, Dean of Faculties, Memos and Correspondence, 1958-67 [2 folders]
  • Development Programs
    • Arts Center, 1959-61
    • Budgets, 1952-53, 1957-58, 1960-61 [3 folders]
    • Building Projects, 1958, 1960, 1962, 1965-67 [3 folders]
    • Capital Campaign, 1941-43
    • Council Proceedings, 1962-66

Box 16

  • Development Programs (continued)
    • Conference on Wills, Annuities, and Special Gifts, 1952
    • Corporations, 1953-54
    • Correspondence with Board of Trustees, 1953-54
    • Foundations, 1953-61
    • Friends of the American University, 1960-65
    • Fundraising Correspondence, 1953-54, 1961-66 [4 folders]

Box 17

  • Development Programs (continued)
    • Gifts and Grants, 1953-67 [2 folders]
    • Index of Corporate Records, 1944-50
    • Industry Support, 1953
    • John Price Jones Co., Consultants for Institutional Financing and Public Relations, 1957-65 [4 folders]

Box 18

  • Development Programs (continued)
    • Library Data, 1953
    • Loomis Sayles & Co. [investors], 1953-56
    • Memos, 1953
    • Proposal and Surveys, 1952
    • Sustaining Fund, 1950, 1964-65 [2 folders]
  • District of Columbia Citizens for Better Public Education, 1964-67
  • Division of General and Special Studies, 1962-64
  • Emergency Hospital School of Nursing, 1949-51

Box 19

  • Episcopal Chaplain Report, 1962
  • Equitable Life Insurance Co., 1952-55
  • Evening Star Broadcasting Co., 1945-63 [on AU’s radio station; 2 folders]
  • Evening Star Faculty Research Grants, 1958-68
  • Faculty and Staff
    • Executive Committee Minutes, 1957-62

Box 20

  • Faculty and Staff (continued)
    • Faculty Chronological Files, 1953-68 [16 folders]
    • Faculty Information, 1954, 1964-66
    • Faculty Meeting Minutes, 1960-63

Box 21

  • Faculty and Staff (continued)
    • New Faculty, 1959-65
    • News and Developments, 1954, 1960-61
    • Policies and Procedures, 1953, 1955-60
    • Publications, 1963-67 [6 folders]
    • Receptions, 1961-62
  • Federal City Council: Agendas, Announcements, Correspondence, Minutes of Meetings, 1963-65

Box 22

  • Federal City Council (continued), 1963-65
  • Ford Foundation, 1953-68 [2 folders]
  • Foreign Students, 1959-62
  • Foundation Projects, 1952-53, 1961-68 [2 folders]
  • Fraternities, 1954-62
  • Fraternity and Sorority Self-Evaluations, 1953-63

Box 23

  • Freshman Testing Program, 1959-62
  • Friends of the United States of Latin America, 1962-66
  • Fuchs, Herbert: Investigation and Dismissal, 1955-58 [3 folders]
  • Fund for the Advancement of Education, 1956-60
  • Gondos, Victor and Dorothy, Gifts to AU, 1962-63
  • Graduate Consortium, 1964 [2 folders]

Box 24

  • Graduate School, 1954-65 [2 folders]
  • Graduate School of Social Service Administration Proposal, 1959
  • Graduate Regulations, 1960
  • Greater Washington Educational Television Association, 1953-64 [2 folders]
  • History of AU: Early Letters of Bishop Fowler, Bishop McCabe, and Franklin Hamilton
  • Hospitals in the District of Columbia, 1941-44
  • Housing for Students and Faculty, 1953
  • Institute of International Education, 1954-61

Box 25

  • Institute of International Education (continued), 1962-64
  • Institutional Studies, 1963-65
  • International Law, History and Theory Syllabus, 1963
  • Inter-University Cooperation, 1952-56, 1959-65 [2 folders]
  • Journalism, Dept. of, 1964-66
  • Kellogg Foundation, 1943-46, 1959, 1961-62

Box 26

  • Korean Cherry Trees, 1943-44, 1958
  • Kresge Foundation
    • Correspondence, 1960-69
    • Grant Application (n.d.)
    • Information, 1953, 1959
    • School of Business Administration Proposal [includes photographs of AU campus], 1966
  • Leonard, Adna Wright, 1967-68
  • Library, 1954-64
  • Lilly Endowment, 1953, 1960, 1962
  • Manual for Freshman Advisors, 1955
  • Mason-Dixon Intercollegiate Conference, 1959
  • McClain, Dayton E., Vice-President for Finances
    • Biographical Information
    • Correspondence, 1934-51 [2 folders]

Box 27

  • McClain, Dayton E., Vice-President for Finances (continued)
    • Correspondence, 1952-55 [3 folders]
  • Methodist Church
    • Agencies of the Methodist Church, 1954-55, 1962
    • Baltimore Annual Conferences, 1962-66 [6 folders]

Box 28

  • Methodist Church (continued)
    • Baltimore Conference Urgent Needs Crusade, 1963-68
    • Bicentennial of Methodism, 1961
    • Board of Education, 1952-65 [4 folders]
      • Report on an Experimental Intercultural Study-Travel Project (ca. 1965)
      • Study of Religious Cultivation at AU, 1959-60
    • Calendar of Meetings, 1961-66
    • Chautauqua Institution Lectures, 1960
    • Commission on Christian Higher Education, 1962-68

Box 29

  • Methodist Church (continued)
    • Commission on Church-State Relations, 1961-64 [2 folders]
    • Commission on Inter-Jurisdictional Relations, 1960-64 [5 folders]
    • Commission on Promotion and Cultivation of the Methodist Church:
      • Articles and Correspondence on the Establishment of the School of International Service, 1955-56

Box 30

  • Methodist Church (continued)
    • Commission on Study and Action of the Jurisdictional System, 1956-60 [4 folders]
    • Correspondence, 1957-67 [2 folders]
    • Correspondence on Concepts of International Politics by Charles D. Lerche and Abdul A. Said, 1963
    • Council of Protestant Colleges and Universities, 1957, 1962
    • Council on World Service and Finance, 1954-68
    • Dickinson College and the Baltimore Conference, 1957
    • Directory for Growth, 1959

Box 31

  • Methodist Church (continued)
    • General Conference, 1964, 1968 [5 folders]
      • Commission on Education Reports, 1957
      • Memorials on Education, 1960
    • National Conference of Trustees for Church Colleges Program, 1959

Box 32

  • Methodist Church (continued)
    • Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference, 1960, 1964 [4 folders]
  • Metropolitan Washington Board of Trade, Science Bureau Lecture Series, 1964-66
  • Meyer Foundation, Annual Reports, 1963, 1965
  • Meyerhoff Center of Political Psychology and Communication, 1966-68
  • Missionary Emergency Fund, 1953, 1959-64
  • Moore, Myrtle C. Heywood [student] [restricted], 1958-60

Box 33

  • National Academy of Foreign Affairs Proposal, 1962-63
  • National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, 1964-68
  • National Association of Manufacturers, 1953
  • National Collegiate Athletic Association, 1954, 1964-66
  • National Defense Education Act, 1958-61
  • National Science Foundation, 1954-63
  • Off-Campus Programs, 1958-62, 1964-67 [5 folders]

Box 34

  • Pfeiffer Research Foundation Grant Application, 1964-65
  • Posner, Stanley, Professor, School of Business Administration (SBA), 1956-60
  • Prentice, Alta Rockefeller (Mrs. Parmalee Prentice, donor), 1943-66 [2 folders]
  • President’s Committee on Education Beyond High School Report, [ca. 1957]
  • Prince George’s County, Study of Local Government by AU, 1954
  • Promotional Prospects File, 1951-53
  • Psychiatric Nursing Program at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, 1951
  • Registration Statistics, 1952-60
  • Residence Hall Counselors’ Workshop, 1963
  • Rosenwald, Lessing J., Foundation, 1953-54
  • Scholarships, 1956-61

Box 35

  • School of Business Administration
    • Annual Reports, 1958-64
    • Business Advisory Committee, 1953-60
    • Correspondence and Memos, 1954-65 [5 folders]
    • Faculty Meetings Minutes, 1964-68

Box 36

  • School of Communication
    • Foreign Affairs Program [includes photographs], 1947-51
    • Radio and Television Stations, 1954-55
    • Television Studio Proposal, 1958
  • School of Government and Public Administration (see SPA)
  • School of International Service
    • Correspondence and Memos, 1957-59, 1964-65 [2 folders]
    • Embassy Gifts, 1958-59
    • Founding History and Mission
    • Groundbreaking and Commencement, 1957
    • Luncheon for Ambassadors, 1958

Box 37

  • School of Medicine Proposal, 1954-64
  • School of Nursing, 1944-48, 1964 [2 folders]
  • School of Public Affairs (SPA)
    • Architectural Plans and Brochure, 1947-49
    • Center for Technology and Administration, 1964
    • Committee on Faculty and Curriculum, 1948, 1950-53
    • Correspondence and Memos, 1957-65
    • Downtown Center Facilities, 1956-61
    • Program Proposals, 1950, 1953
    • Report of the Committee on Buildings, 1941
  • School of Social Sciences and Public Affairs (see SPA)
  • School of Social Work Proposal, 1959-62

Box 38

  • Sibley Memorial Hospital, Board of Trustees Minutes, 1961-65 [2 folders]
    • Progress Report, 1962-63
    • Zoning Hearings, 1952-55 [3 folders]
  • Sibley News, 1962, 1964-66
  • Student Issues, 1960-62
  • Taft Memorial Foundation, 1954-55

Box 39

  • Tompkins, Charles H., Co., 1953-63
  • Tuition Exchange program, 1954-55
  • United Nations Day Coordinating Committee, 1954-59
  • University Council, 1954-57
  • University Facilities
    • Campus Development, 1956, 1957
    • Dedication of Men’s and Women’s Dormitories, 1967
    • Downtown Center: Hollis Report, 1956 [4 folders]
    • Residences, Naming of, 1967
    • Student Housing: McClean Gardens, 1961

Box 40

  • University Organizational Structure, 1951
  • University Policies and Procedures, 1956-66 [3 folders]
  • University Requirements, 1963-68 [2 folders]
  • University Senate, 1963-68 [2 folders]

Box 41

  • Unofficial Ambassadors, Inc. (non-profit educational organization), 1951-61
  • Washington Center for Metropolitan Studies, 1955-63 [4 folders]

Box 42

  • Washington College of Law (WCL)
    • Agreement Between WCL and AU [tentative draft], 1945
    • Building Campaign, 1959-64 [2 folders]
    • Building Site Proposal, 1957
    • Correspondence and Memos, 1962-65
    • Correspondence with John Price Jones Co. Consultants, 1959-61
    • Pre-Legal Education Program, 1954

Box 43

  • Westminster Theological Seminary Inauguration, 1956
  • White House Conference on Children and Youth, 1960
    • Finances, 1960 [3 folders]
    • Golden Anniversary, 1960 [2 folders]
    • Incorporation, 1950

Box 44

  • White House Conference on Education, 1954-56 [3 folders]
  • White House Program on Mental Retardation, 1964
  • Woods, George B., Scholarship Fund, 1958