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Leah Smith office files

 Collection
Identifier: SFHL-RG6-E10

Scope and Contents

This collection is made up of materials amassed by Leah J. Smith in her role as Assistant to the President (also included are some materials carried over from the Assistant to the President prior to Smith). This collection is comprised of documents sent, received, and collected, such as: letters and memorandums; agreements and other legal documents; financial documents such as budgets, notes, and receipts; literary materials such as speeches, excerpts of biographies, essays, and research notes; printed material including newspaper clippings, journal/periodical articles, and flyers; photographs; and assorted charts, diagrams, and graphs. Materials pertain either to Executive Level functioning of Swarthmore College or to College responses to community and campus events. Common topics addressed by materials in this collection include: administrative structure of the College and resource allocation; funding issues including fundraising, grants, and tuition and scholarships; enrollment and financial statistics; College responses to new legislation or national issues in higher education; the scheduling of speakers and other events on campus; the administrative response to controversial issues on campus such as sexual harassment, the draft, hate speech, and faculty benefits; curriculum planning and departmental reviews; and College relations with donors and alumni.

The materials in this collection are organized into two series: Series 1, Executive Level; and Series 2, Swarthmore Community. The collection includes correspondence, memorandums, reports, and other records. Files are arranged alphabetically within each series.

Series 1, Executive includes materials relating to high-level functioning of the College and interactions outside of the immediate College community. Topics include: committees (outside the College); visits to the campus; visits made by the college president; outside reviews of departments; architectural/construction/renovation plans; community projects; outside scholarships; alumni; inaugurations, nationwide comparisons of College programs to other schools'; general correspondence; facilities planning; salaries; lecturers; outside scholarships; maternity leave; sabatical; and more.

Series 2, Swarthmore Community pertains to functions within the College and Swarthmore Borough community. Topics include: annual reports; curriculum proposals; admissions reports; ethics considerations; legislative and judicial reviews; faculty procedures; commencement speakers; staff reports, decisions, retreats, meetings, conferences; borough correspondence; tri-college issues; Title IX; tuition; women's concerns; and more.

Dates

  • Creation: 1971-1996

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research with the understanding that certain confidential materials may be redacted. Please contact the repository for more information.

Physical Access Note

All or part of this collection is stored off-site. Contact Swarthmore College Archives staff at archives@swarthmore.edu at least two weeks in advance of visit to request boxes.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright has not been assigned to Friends Historical Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to the Director. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Friends Historical Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by reader.

Biographical / Historical

Leah Smith was an administrator at Swarthmore College, at various times holding the positions of Assistant to the President and Director of Institutional Research, as well as Acting Associate Provost and Acting Dean of the College. Before her involvement with the Swarthmore College administration, Leah Smith's academic career included time spent at the Marine Policy and Ocean Management Program of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; many of her research publications relate to topics of aquaculture development and management.

Extent

12.7 linear ft. (31 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Leah Smith was an administrator at Swarthmore College, at various times holding the positions of Assistant to the President and Director of Institutional Research, as well as Acting Associate Provost and Acting Dean of the College. This collection is made up of materials amassed by Leah J. Smith in her role as Assistant to the President (also included are some materials carried over from the Assistant to the President prior to Smith).

Arrangement

The materials in this collection are organized into two series: Series 1, Executive Level; and Series 2, Swarthmore Community. Series 1, Executive Level includes materials relating to high-level functioning of the College and interactions outside of the immediate College community. Series 2, Swarthmore Community pertains to functions within the College and Swarthmore Borough community. Files are arranged alphabetically within each series.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Boxes retrieved from Records Storage Room in Parrish with the permission of the President's Office, 2015.

Related Materials

David W. Fraser papers, Swarthmore College Archives, RG6/D12, Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College

Theodore Friend Papers, Swarthmore College Archives, RG6/D11, Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College

Alfred H. Bloom papers, Swarthmore College Archives, RG6/D13, Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College

Separated Materials

1 box of Board of Managers-related materials was removed to RG6/C Board of Managers of Swarthmore College records

1 box of committee materials was removed to RG6/L3 Swarthmore College faculty and staff committees records

Materials containing personal information about individuals, non-Swarthmore publications, draft documents, and routine office management and office communications documents were removed from this collection prior to accessioning and shredded.

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Constance Hawley under the supervision of Celia Caust-Ellenbogen in 2016.

In 2015, 15 boxes labeled "Leah Smith Correspondence Archive" were retrieved for review by the Swarthmore College Archives. The 15 boxes were originally labeled with numbers ranging between 1 and 20, so it is clear that some of the original boxes were missing. Approximately 2/3 of the papers available in 2015 were selected for accessioning into the College Archives. The following materials were generally discarded for shredding: documents containing personal information about individual students (such as correspondence about a financial aid decision), staff members (such as salary or benefits information, job applicant/search files), or donors (such as confidential prospect research reports); publications or reports issued by other entities besides Swarthmore College (such as newspaper clippings, publications/reports/data from/about other colleges, investment prospectuses, publications by professional/trade organizations, etc.); draft versions of documents, especially when the final copy is present; bills, receipts, and other documentation of office management; routine communications.

After accessioning, 1 box of Board of Managers-related materials was removed to RG6/C Board of Managers of Swarthmore College records, and 1 box of committee materials was removed to RG6/L3 Swarthmore College faculty and staff committees records.

Prior to processing, the "Leah Smith Correspondence Archive" was organized in a near-alphabetical order and seemed to be divided into two topics--one dealing with College-external matters and one dealing with College-internal matters. This order was retained, with out-of-place folders returned to alphabetical order, and the series renamed.

Title
Leah Smith office files, 1971-1996
Author
FHL staff
Date
2016
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 repoductions from Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College Library

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Swarthmore Pennsylvania 19081 USA