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Purdue University. Office of the Dean of Women

 Organization

Dates

  • Existence: 1933 - 1974

Historical Information

"In 1933 Purdue hired its first full-time Dean of Women, Dorothy Stratton. Prior to this, the Dean of Women duties were carried out by Professor of English Literature Carolyn Shoemaker. When Helen Schleman took over as Dean in 1947, the office staff consisted of her, a placement officer, and an assistant dean seeing to the counseling, discipline, and administration needs of Purdue’s women students. As the number of women students at Purdue grew steadily, so did the size and responsibilities of the dean’s office, including placement services for women students, the SPAN Plan program to help nontraditional women return to education, and minority outreach programs to help the expanding diversity in the student body. Beverley Stone took over as Dean of Women after Schleman’s retirement in 1956, and in 1974 Stone became the first Dean of Students at Purdue when the Dean of Women and Dean of Men offices were combined."

Citation:
McConnell, Jonathan. "Finding Aid to the Dean of Women records." 2013. UA 41, Dean of Women records. Karnes Archives and Special Collections, Purdue University Libraries, West Lafayette.

Found in 5 Collections and/or Records:

Dean of Women records

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: UA 41
Scope and Contents The Dean of Women Office records (1958 – 1986; 6.35 cubic feet) document the official records of the Office of the Dean of Women, including correspondence, budgets, organization records, annual reports, and affiliated professional organizations. The Date File, which is a copy of outgoing mail from the Dean, offers researchers a glimpse into the day-to-day duties of the Dean of Women. However, any Date File that may have existed prior to 1960 is not included in these records, and there is a...
Dates: 1960-1974; Other: Date acquired: 11/04/2009

Other Purdue Material, 1940 - 1985

 Series — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSF 334, Series 6
Scope and Contents

This series contains miscellaneous materials related to Schleman's tenure at Purdue, including her advocacy for equal rights for women students and faculty. Of particular note are materials that document Schleman's nomination of ten women for President of Purdue in 1970, the Schleman Gold Medallion Award and the 1979 TIAA pension lawsuit.

Dates: 1940 - 1985

Purdue University Dean of Women records, addition 02

 Unprocessed Material — Communal accessions box 18, Folder: 1
Identifier: 20090518
Dates: circa 1934 - 1936

Research Files, 1938 - 1985

 Series — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSF 334, Series 7
Scope and Contents

This series contains clippings, reports, notes, and other resources on topics of interest to Schleman that she researched. Most of the files cover specific topics related to women's struggle for equal rights. General subject areas include women in higher education, women in the work force, motherhood, sex roles, volunteerism, and the women's movement.

Dates: 1938 - 1985

Helen B. Schleman papers

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSF 334
Scope and Contents The Helen Schleman papers document the life of Helen B. Schleman from her time as a student at Northwestern University in the 1920s up until her death in 1992. Much of the collection documents Schleman’s tenure at Purdue University as Head of the Women’s Residence Halls, Dean of Women, and Dean Emeritus, as well as her military service in the Coast Guard Women’s Reserve (SPARs) during World War II. Additionally, the collection contains Schleman’s collection of newspaper clippings pertaining...
Dates: 1920 - 2003; Majority of material found within 1934 - 1980