The Vice-President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty is responsible
for supporting the faculty of the College in their teaching, professional
activity, and service to the community and for maintaining the centrality of
academic affairs in the strategic and budget planning processes of the College.
The office administers programs and allocates resources in the form of
departmental budgets, library materials, office and teaching space, travel and
research funding, international study programs, grants and contracts assistance,
and equipment.
Information in the Davidson College Archives from the office of the
Vice-President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty may be divided into
the following topics: (1) faculty committees,
(2) course schedules and syllabi, (3) academic department files,
(4) the Dean Rusk Program, (5)
academic concentrations, and (6)
faculty social clubs.
(1) Faculty Committees
The Vice-President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty oversees the
activities of the college's faculty committees. The Archives has information on
more than ninety faculty committees. The responsibilities of these committees
involve all aspects of the college. The Student Life Committee (RG 3/1.2.90),
for example, was established to examine the quality of student life on the
campus, with particular concern for social life, religious life, the operation
of the student government and student publications. The Non-Western Studies
Committee (RG 3/1.2.69) was established to develop Davidson's Non-Western
Studies Program and to provide international scholarships for students. One of
Davidson's largest and most influential committees was the Blue Sky Committee (RG
3/1.2.8), established in 1966-1967. This committee was charged with studying
various aspects of the academic and social programs and of the college itself.
Major academic and policy changes were made following the final report of this
committee.
In the list of archives collections at the end of this essay, the larger faculty
committee collections have been included. Please contact the Archives for
information on committees not listed.
(2) Course Schedules and Syllabi
The Archives has syllabi that date from the 1961-1962 academic year and
represent a sampling of course descriptions from the 1960s to the present.
Please see Syllabi, RG 3/1.6. In addition, the Archives has a collection of
Davidson College course catalogs (RG 3/3.2) from 1851 to the present. The catalogs
contain information about the Trustees, Faculty, Administration and students as
well as descriptions of the course of study offered, student activities, and
scholarships.
(3) Academic Department Files
The Davidson College Archives has information on the Music Department, the
Theater Department, and the Psychology Department. The majority of information
in the Music Department collection (RG 3/5.12) involves the tours of the Male
Chorus and Concert Band, musical programs, samples of musical examinations, and
the Cunningham Fine Arts Building. In the Theater Department collection (RG
3/5.19), researchers will find information on the Summer Playhouse, the Davidson
Community Players, the Children's Workshop, and playbills, programs and
bulletins from various theater productions performed since 1920. Information on
the Broughton Hospital summer program, the Workman Award, Project Match, and the
Davidson Cornelius Day Care Center project can be found in the Psychology
Department collection (RG 3/5.16).
(4) Dean Rusk Program
Founded in 1985, the Dean Rusk Program in International Studies (RG 3/6) is the
umbrella organization for international activities on campus. The Rusk Program
is responsible for inviting speakers, sponsoring Foreign Affairs Forums,
organizing conferences, providing student grants for international study,
working with the Study Abroad Office, assisting international students, advising
students on study abroad, and working with students who are pursuing a
Concentration in International Studies. The Davidson College Archives has the
administrative and historical records of the program, its correspondence files,
and information on its conference series. In addition, the Archives has a
collection of materials on the Dean Rusk Program Faculty Advisory Committee (RG
3/1.2.26), a committee designed to advise the Dean Rusk Program on issues
ranging from application for financial grants, fund-raising, international
awareness at Davidson, and the international studies concentration.
(5) Academic Concentrations
The Medical Humanities Concentration (RG 3/12.1) was approved in 1989. An
interdisciplinary program, courses for Medical Humanities are taught by Davidson
faculty and visiting faculty. In addition to coordinating and developing
courses, the Medical Humanities program sponsors and annual Speas Colloquium on
Medical Ethics and other speakers in conjunction with the Charlotte Area
Bio-Ethics Resources Group and the Area Health Education Center. The Archives
has the administrative records of the Medical Humanities program as well as
information on the Speas Colloquium and the Fullerton Foundation.
(6) Faculty Social Clubs
Officially founded on November 17, 1922, the Quadranglers Club (RG 3/1.10a) was
Davidson's first faculty social club. Membership was open to any member of the
faculty of Davidson College. Members generally gathered one night a month to
listen to speeches and to discuss relevant topics. The club ended in 1957. The
Archives has the minutes of the club's meetings and its official constitution.
Listing of Record Groups from the
Vice-President for Academic Affairs
Blue Sky Committee (RG 3/1.2.8)
Catalogs of Davidson College (RG 3/3.2)
Commission on Curricular Reform (RG 3/1.2.16)
Course Schedules (RG 3/3.6)
Dean Rusk Program (RG 3/6)
Dean Rusk Program Faculty Advisory Committee (RG 3/1.2.26)
Educational Policy Committee (RG 3/1.2.27)
Faculty Committee on Admissions and Financial Aid (RG 3/1.2.32)
Faculty Committee on Campus and Religious Life (RG 3/1.2.36)
Faculty Committee on Fine Arts (RG 3/1.2.41)
Faculty Committee on Fraternities, Clubs and Social Life (RG 3/1.2.43)
Foreign Study Committee (RG 3/1.2.59)
Library Committee (RG 3/1.2.67)
Medical Humanities Concentration (RG 3/12.1)
Music Department (RG 3/5.12)
Non-Western Studies Committee (RG 3/1.2.69)
Psychology Department (RG 3/5.16)
Quadranglers Club (RG 3/1.10a)
Self-Study Committee (RG 3/1.2.85)
Social Life Evaluating Committee (RG 3/1.2.87)
Student Life Committee (RG 3/1.2.90)
Syllabi (RG 3/1.6)
Theater Department (RG 3/5.19)
