Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections

Archival Inventory

4 boxes (1.46 linear feet)

Historical Sketch:
The first documented named professorship at Mount Holyoke was the Florence Purington Visiting Professorship which existed between 1947 and 1989. Other dates include the Mary Lyon Professorship (1958-1966), the Andrew W. Mellon Chair in the Humanities (established in 1971), the Henry R. Luce Professorship in Cosmology (1972-1979), the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professorship (established in 1976), the Mary E. Woolley Chair (proposed in 1981), the Irene Kaplan Leiwant Chair in Jewish Studies (1983-1989), the Cyrus R. Vance Professorship in International Relations (established in 1988), and the Ford Foundation Chair in History (established in 1990).

Description of Records:
The Named Professorships records include information on most of the named professorships at Mount Holyoke College. The records are comprised of written descriptions of named professorships, memos, flyers and announcements, brochures, newspaper articles, press releases, audio cassettes, photographs, invitations, correspondence, prospective candidate nomination lists, biographical sketches, financial planning and decisions, committee agendas, news letters, pledge lists, resumes and cover letters of prospective candidates, letters of recommendation, letters of solicitation for future nominees, committee notes, applicant itineraries, lecture abstracts and transcripts, syllabi, course lists and descriptions, fundraising postcards, expense vouchers and reports, faculty ballots, annual budget reports, progress reports on professorship searches, guidelines for selection of named professors, lecture series' schedules, thank you letters from visiting lecturers, seminar transcripts, faculty seminar proposals, and letters of inquiry regarding named professorship chairs. The named professorships included in the records are the Andrew W. Mellon Chair in Humanities, the Cyrus R. Vance Professorship in International Relations, the Ford Foundation in History, the Irene Kaplan Leiwant Chair in Jewish Studies, the Florence Purington Visiting Professorship, the Mary Lyon Professorship, the Mary E. Woolley Chair, the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professorship, and the Henry R. Luce Professorship in Cosmology. In general, the records deal with all aspects of the formation and funding of the above named professorships as well as committee and college proceedings regarding the search for appointees. In addition, the records provide accounts of individuals' duties performed while named professors. There is significantly more information on the Irene Kaplan Leiwant Chair in Jewish Studies, the Mary Lyon Professorship, and the Henry R. Luce Professorship in Cosmology. These folders include summaries of committee meetings, faculty perceptions of the professorships and candidates, financial reviews, lectures and symposiums offered to promote the professorships, and correspondence between applicants and college representatives. Significant correspondents include Irma L. Rabbino, Elizabeth Kennan, Joseph Ellis, David Truman, D.W. Sciama, and Abner Shimony. Of particular note are a letter from Amos Oz, correspondence to and from Carl Sagan and a description of his visiting lecture at Mount Holyoke, and a biographical sketch of Isaac Asimov.

Cite as: Named Professorships Records, Mount Holyoke College, Archives and Special Collections, South Hadley, MA

Access Restrictions: Records restricted to use by office/department of origin for 25 years from date of record creation; access to personnel records restricted.