Records of the President

As its chief administrative officer, the president of the university serves at the pleasures of the university’s board of trustees. Because of the president's position as a medium of communication between the board and the rest of the University, the records in this group provide material on virtually every aspect of University life. This collection includes reports from the various academic and non-academic departments, publications, and correspondence with faculty, staff and students discussing issues of importance within and beyond the university community. The records also reflect the impact of local, state, and national events and movements on the University community, such as World War I, the Roaring Twenties and prohibition, the Great Depression, World War II, the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, and the growth and expansion of the university during the 1970s and 1980s.

Administrations represented include those of Samuel Chiles Mitchell; 1909-1913, 4.0 linear feet; Andrew Charles Moore; 1913-1914 (Acting President), .5 linear feet; William Spenser Currell; 1914-1922, 3.0 linear feet; William Davis Melton; 1922-1926, 4.5 linear feet; Davison McDowell Douglas; 1927-1931, 5.5 linear feet; and Leonard Theodore Baker; 1932-1936, 12.0 linear feet.

Later administrations are represented by the following series: James Rion McKissick; 1936-1944, 35 linear feet; Norman Murray Smith; 1945-1952, 30 linear feet; Donald Stuart Russell; 1952-1957, 29 linear feet; Robert Llewellyn Sumwalt; 1959-1962, 27 linear feet; Thomas F. Jones; 1962-1974, 108 linear feet; William Herman Patterson; 1974-1977, 28 linear feet; James Bowker Holderman; 1977-1990, 200+ linear feet (unprocessed).

Records series from 1907 to 1922 have been microfilmed.

Records are arranged by administration and academic years.

The first President of the University was elected in 1804, but few records survive from the administrations prior to 1907. Of the surviving 19th century records, most are in collections of personal papers housed at the South Caroliniana Library, though some documents are contained in other records series at the Archives.