Discontinued Offices & Programs. Office Of The Dean Of Men (University Of Maine) Records

Record Group

Identifier: UA RG 0007-013

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The records mainly contain textual information created and curated by the University of Maine Dean of Men Office, but there are also photographs of students at Maine Day events.

The record series Correspondence and Subject Files are mostly from the files of Dean Lambert Seymour Corbett who was dean of men from 1929-1945. Corbett's correspondence is with academic colleagues, representatives from various organizations, University of Maine faculty, staff, students, and parents on a range of subjects including: student admissions, transfers, withdrawals, scholarships, exams, employment, discipline, references for employment and World War II postings, military training, staffing issues, student groups, housing, events, University of Maine rules, policies and procedures, and various requests for information. Also, includes copies of various student group publications including from The Maine Christian Association and fraternities, commencement programs and class and sports schedules, programs from various University of Maine events, The Maine Bulletin, telephone directories for UMaine and Bangor, and lists of students. There are also copies of the publications "The University of Maine" (1929) which provides a description of the history of the University of Maine and a summary of its purpose and needs and also a publication on plans for the Alumni Memorial.

The record group Fraternity Records includes: correspondence with and regarding the administration of various University of Maine fraternities, information regarding Dean Lambert Seymour Corbett’s attendance at National Interfraternity conferences, including: travel documents, conference booklets, and copies of various National Interfraternity publications on subjects such as sexual health. The series also includes material from University of Maine’s Fraternity Alumni Advisers' meetings, including: lists of advisers, correspondence with other academic institutions, meeting minutes, reports, and results of fraternity house inspections.

The record group Men’s Student Senate Records includes: Senate correspondence and meeting minutes, copies of the Senate’s constitution, information on the honor system, and results of class elections.

The record series Health Service Records contains correspondence regarding the health and treatment of individual University of Maine students and the use of equipment, also budget and payroll information, reports containing patient statistics and information regarding the ailments of specific students, and data regarding the University of Maine's tuberculosis program including regarding the examination of specific students.

The record series Maine Day Records contains reports, correspondence, and photographs of students, copies of skits, clippings, posters, programs, and lists of projects, refreshments, details of floats, equipment, various planning meeting and publicity material.

Dates

Creation: 1924-1968
Creation: Majority of material found within 1929-1945

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Kept at Fogler Library's offsite storage facility. One week's notice required for retrieval. Personal identifiable and sensitive information will be redacted before release.

The HIPAA Privacy Rule protects the individually identifiable health information about a decedent for 50 years following the date of death of the individual. Since the health information in this record group is from the 1930s specific health service records will remain restricted until 2060.

Conditions Governing Use

Information on literary rights available in the Raymond H. Fogler Library Special Collections Department.

Biographical / Historical

The Dean of Men reported to the Director of Student Services (and Registrar) and was later part of the Student Affairs Office. The dean was responsible for student housing and discipline and oversaw the many male student groups on campus including fraternities. There was also a dean of women who had similar responsibilities for female students. Part of the role of dean of men was to also chair the University of Maine Health Service and Athletic Board.

The majority of the records (Boxes 1-9) were created during the tenure of Dean Lambert Seymour Corbett who was dean from 1929-1945. Corbett first came to the University of Maine in 1913 as a professor in the Animal Industry Department, a department he would later chair until 1939. Corbett died in office on February 8, 1945. In 1947 the men's dormitory Corbett Hall was named in honor of Corbett.

In 1945 California native Elton Ewart "Tad" Wieman was appointed as Corbett's full time successor. Wieman who started at the University in 1946 was also the director of physical education and athletics. Wieman resigned from the University of Maine in 1951 to go the University of Denver. Wieman would receive many awards and honors including being inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Wieman died on December 26, 1971 at the age of 75.

In 1951, Wieman was succeeded by Maine native John Emmons Stewart. Stewart had joined the University of Maine in 1928 as an associate professor in mathematics. Stewart retired from the University of Maine in June 1969 with emeritus status. The former Stewart Dining Commons was named in honor of Stewart. Much of the content of Box 10 is from during the tenures of Wieman and Stewart.

In 1970, the offices of dean of men and women were combined into the office of the dean of students.

Extent

10 boxes

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement

The Records Group is broken down intellectually into the following record series: 1. Correspondence & Subject Files, 2. Fraternity Records, 3. Men's Student Senate Records, 4. Health Service Records, and 5. Maine Day Records.

Physically the records are primarily arranged by subject and secondary by year in chronological order. However, some file names and dates were changed to make them more meaningful and to correct errors. Material was separated and divided into multiple sub-folders where necessary. Material still needs to be rehoused into archival quality storage.

Box numbers have changed:

Old Box #141 (New Box 1)
Old Box #142 (New Box 2)
Old Box #143 (New Box 3)
Old Box #144 (New Box 4)
Old Box #145 (New Box 5)
Old Box #146 (New Box 6)
Old Box #146a (New Box 7)
Old Box #146b (New Box 8)
Old Box #146c (New Box 9)
Old Box #27 (New Box 10)

Accruals

Accruals from the Office of the Dean of Men are not anticipated because the office has been discontinued.

Related Materials

There are Faculty/Staff files for the deans of men that include: photographs, correspondence, clippings, and obituaries.

Processing Information

Processed by Matthew Revitt, December 2017, Raymond H. Fogler Library Special Collections Department. Processing involved a collection survey and intellectual arrangement into series and the creation of this finding aid. Material was rehoused into appropriate archival folders and the boxes and folders numbered and titled using information from ArchivesSpace.