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Wells' academic legacy being remembered; his archive now available to researchers
Sept. 19, 2000
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Indiana University Bloomington Libraries will host a symposium on Thursday (Sept. 21) to celebrate the contributions of IU Chancellor Herman B Wells to higher education and to formally open the chancellor's papers to the public.
The symposium, rescheduled from last spring, will take place at 4 p.m. in the lobby of the Main Library at the corner of 10th Street and Jordan Avenue. The public is invited to attend.
Wells, an educational visionary who helped transform IU into an internationally recognized center of research and scholarship, died in Bloomington on March 18 at the age of 97. He was the only person in the university's 179-year history to lead it three times, serving as acting president in 1937-38, as president between 1938 and 1962, and as interim president for three months in 1968. From 1962 until his death, he served as the university's chancellor.
Several nationally renowned scholars will discuss Wells' legacy and contributions to higher education. They include Hugh Hawkins, professor of history at Amherst College; Robert O'Neil, director of the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression at the University of Virginia; Helen Horowitz, professor of American studies at Smith College; Roger Geiger, professor of education at Pennsylvania State University; and John Thelin, professor in the College of Education at the University of Kentucky.
IU President Myles Brand and IU Bloomington Chancellor Kenneth Gros Louis will offer their remembrances of Wells.
"Chancellor Wells long valued libraries, and Indiana University is far better for it," said Suzanne Thorin, Ruth Lilly University Dean of University Libraries. "Making his papers available to researchers is reason to celebrate. We are proud to be custodians of such an impressive body of work that documents Wells' achievements, influence and vision."
As president of IU, and later as chancellor, Wells generated and acquired a comprehensive assortment of papers, correspondence, meeting notes and records. From transcripts of commencement speeches to letters from foreign dignitaries, the materials document the contributions, achievements and vision of IU's renowned leader.
Wells' materials are now organized, categorized and available to scholars at the IU Archives. The papers document Wells' activities from 1921 to 1990, comprising more than 1,100 linear feet and filling roughly 600 file drawers.
The IU Archives, part of the IU Bloomington Libraries, is the largest and most comprehensive source of information on the history and development of the university. The IUB Libraries support and strengthen teaching, learning and research by providing the collections, services and environments that lead to intellectual discovery.
(Eric Bartheld, IU Libraries, 812-856-4817, ebarthel@indiana.edu)