Guide to the Records of the Director of Dormitories and Undergraduate Housing
| Collection Title: | Records of the Director of Dormitories and Undergraduate Housing |
| Dates: | 1937-1971 |
| Identification: | 30/12 |
| Creator: | Northwestern University (Evanston, Ill.). Undergraduate Housing Office |
| Extent: | 5 Boxes |
| Language of Materials: | English |
| Abstract: | The Director of Dormitories and University Housing oversaw the leasing, decorating, and maintenance of fraternity and sorority houses, dormitories, and dining halls. The Records of the Director of Dormitories and Undergraduate Housing fill four archival boxes and one drop-front box. The materials are arranged in two categories: administrative files and building files. Although the files span the years 1937-1971, the bulk of the materials falls within the 1940s and 1950s. |
| Acquisition Information: | The records in this series were transferred to the University Archives in two accessions. William Templemeyer of the Office of the Director of University Housing transferred Accession #81-193 on August 14, 1981 and Jim G. Carlton, Vice President for Student Affairs, transferred Accession #81-199 on September 22, 1981. |
| Processing Information: | Morgen MacIntosh, April 1998. |
| Separated Materials: | One inch of duplicates and receipts was discarded. |
| Conditions Governing Access: | None. |
| Repository: | Northwestern University Archives Deering Library, Room 110 1970 Campus Dr. Evanston, IL, 60208-2300 URL: http://www.library.northwestern.edu/archives Email: archives@northwestern.edu Phone: 847-491-3354 |
Biographical/Historical Information
For much of the first half of the twentieth century, undergraduate men and women not living at home were required to live in University housing, fraternity houses or sorority houses. The Director of Dormitories and University Housing oversaw the leasing, decorating, and maintenance of fraternity and sorority houses, dormitories, and dining halls. Between 1935 and 1974 three men served as Director of Dormitories: J. Leslie Rollins (1935-1942), Willard J. Buntain (1942-1968), and Anthony V. Capillo (1969-1974).
Scope and Content
The Records of the Director of Dormitories and Undergraduate Housing fill four archival boxes and one drop-front box. The materials are arranged in two categories: administrative files and building files. Although the files span the years 1937-1971, the bulk of the materials falls within the 1940s and 1950s.
The administrative files include requisitions for materials, furniture, and maintenance; decorating schedules, damage reports, work repair orders; summaries of operating costs and room capacities; internal memoranda and correspondence concerning fraternity leases; and correspondence regarding professional activities. The folders are arranged alphabetically by topic and, within each file, chronologically by date Four volumes, titled “Housing Book” (1943-1968), record expenses relating to parties and events, and statements summarizing income from men's and women's housing fees, guest fees, special groups, and summer institute programs. The binders holding the “Housing Books” were removed and the contents paced in folders.
Although the administrative files and the building files include similar types of materials, the latter are organized according to the individual buildings. These files contain requisitions, decorating schedules, building inventories, work repair orders, copies of leases, and internal memoranda regarding student's fees and charges that pertain to specific buildings. Folders are arranged alphabetically by building address and, within the folder, chronologically by date.
Of particular interest are the decorator's sketchbook in Box 5, which contains floor plans, furniture sketches, fabric swatches, and price information relating to the decoration of Willard and Scott Halls (ca. 1938), and the file on emergency housing (Box 3, Folder 13), which shows how the University met the problem of the post-war campus housing shortage.
Subjects
Corporate Name
Northwestern University (Evanston, Ill.). Undergraduate Housing Office
Subjects
College students--Housing--Illinois--Evanston
