Universities and colleges -- Pennsylvania -- Swarthmore

Overview Rebecca Chopp was the 14th President of Swarthmore College (2009-2014). She is a well-known scholar of religion and American culture. While at Swarthmore, Chopp researched changing structures and cultures of higher education, the role of liberal arts in a democratic society, and religion and higher education. She resigned from Swarthmore College in 2014 to become the 18th Chancellor of the University of Denver. This collection includes correspondence, speech texts, and other documents from...

Abstract

This collection of correspondence and reminiscences concerns the early history of Swarthmore College including its founding, formative years, and student life.

Overview

The collection contains photographs taken by George A. Hoadley, long-time professor of physics at Swarthmore College and secretary of the Franklin Institute. A founder of the Swarthmore College Camera Club, he was a avid amateur photographer. Approximately 2,000 of his glass negatives were preserved in the family home; they illustrate Swarthmore College and local homes and sites from circa 1899-1929.

Overview

Dora Ann Gilbert (1869-1964), was Quaker librarian and genealogist from Chester, Pennsylvania. She graduated from Swarthmore College in 1893. The collection contains chiefly biographical and genealogical materials relating to the Gilbert, Strickland, Trego, and allied families, together with memorabilia relating to Swarthmore College Class of 1893, of which Gilbert was a member.

Overview Jesse Herman Holmes (1864-1942), was a Quaker philosophy professor at Swarthmore College, 1900-1937. Holmes was an active participant in AFSC relief after World War I, travelling to oversee work in reconstruction throughout Europe. Holmes was the president of the National Federation of Religious Liberals and an active member of the Socialist party. Collection contains correspondence, biographical data, writings, and sermons. Also audio cassettes of reminiscences of friends, former students,...

Overview Charles Palmer (1863-1966) was a Quaker teacher, lawyer, and real estate broker from Chester, Pennsylvania. The collection includes family correspondence, including that of Palmer as a student at Swarthmore College, diaries of Palmer's father, Lewis Palmer (1837-1917), mother, Hannah H. Palmer (1836-1917), and other family members in Chester and Delaware counties, Pa., account books, business and legal papers, essays, poetry, clippings, memorabilia, and other papers. Includes material...

Overview Samuel Copeland Palmer (1874-1961) was Professor of Botany at Swarthmore College, Pa., from 1909 to 1942 and a lifelong member of the Society of Friends. In 1929, he served as botanist in Bowdoin-Baffin Land expedition under the command of Donald B. MacMillan, and after his retirement from teaching, he worked on a project to illustrate all plant species in Delaware County, Pa. This collection contains biographical material, writings, correspondence, and Swarthmore College memorabilia. It is...

Overview David Hutchinson Scull (1914-1983) was a Quaker businessman and civil rights activist in Virginia. He graduated from Swarthmore College in 1936, joined the Society of Friends while a student, and served on the Swarthmore College Board of Managers from 1974-1977. He was president of Turnpike Press, a family publishing company, and an insurance executive. He also was clerk of Baltimore Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends and a founder of Partnership for Productivity, a Quaker...

Overview Benjamin Sharp (1858-1915), a zoologist who was primarily affiliated with the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, attended Swarthmore College (1876) and earned a M.D. and Ph. D. from the University of Pennsylvania. A birthright member of the Society of Friends (Quakers), Dr. Sharp was the son of Benjamin and Hannah B. (Leedom) Sharp of the Germantown section of Philadelphia, Pa. He was married to Virginia May of Ridley, Mass. The family moved to Massachusetts in the early 20th...

Scope and Contents

The collection is divided into two series: 1) Data, primarily surveys and data sheets, ranging in topic from the facilities and programs at Swarthmore College to the students attending and financial aid; 2) Reports, especially accreditation reports and self-studies.