Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Series
Title
Dean's Office Files: Waldo S. Walker
Date(s)
- 1967-1977 (Creation)
Extent
Name of creator
Biographical history
Waldo Sylvester Walker was born in Fayette, Iowa in 1931. He received his B.S. from Upper Iowa Univesity and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Botany from the University of Iowa. His career at Grinnell College began in 1958 when he was hired as an Instructor in the Biology Department. By 1973 he had assumed the administrative position of Dean and Executive Vice-President of the College and served the College until his retirement in various administrative positions including acting President, Provost, Treasurer, Vice President for College Services and Director of Facilities Management. During his time as Dean he was instrumental in the development of such curricular innovations as the first-year tutorial, faculty writing workshops, and the Writing and Reading Labs.
As Dean of Administration, Mr. Walker's duties included preparation of the annual budget, control of expenditures within that budget, oversight of admissions, and general oversight of the administrative operations of the College (from a letter dated Octover, 1971)
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
Dean Walker's papers are generally arranged in chronological order and include official correspondence, recommendations, salary and personnel issues, budget, personal and professional correspondence, letters and memoranda regarding black students on campus, papers relating to his courses on Electron ZMicroscopy and Plan Physiology, Executive CouncilSubcommittee on Education Policies, curricular and departmental concerns, grade-change requests from faculty, and a few examples of his poetry.
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
Except for materials in Box 1, these records contain confidential material and may not be examined by any but authorized persons until 2032. The archivist may determine some items non-sensitive or may obtain permission from Mr. Walker for a researcher to examine selected folders prior to 2032.
Physical access
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Languages of the material
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Generated finding aid
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Immediate source of acquisition
These materials were donated to the Archives by Mr. Walker in 1984, 1995.