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Willis D. Weatherford, Jr. papers

 Collection
Identifier: RG 03-3.06

Scope and Contents

The collection includes correspondence, printed material, reports, writings, speeches, and other material relating to the professional and personal life of Willis D. Weatherford, sixth president of Berea College.

Dates

  • created: 1966-1996

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Records can be accessed through the Reading Room, Berea College Special Collections and Archives, Hutchins Library, Berea College.

Conditions Governing Use

Some records, due to the personal information they contain, may be restricted.  Otherwise, there are no known restrictions on the collection other than federal copyright regulations.

Extent

45.80 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Official and personal papers of Willis D. Weatherford, Jr., sixth president of Berea College.

Arrangement Note

The collection is arranged in six series: Series 1: Biographical: Series 2: General Correspondence (1967-1975); Series 3: General Correspondence (1975-1984); Series 4: Academic and Administrative Divisions; Series 5: Subject Files; and Series 6: Speeches

Bibliography

Dr. Willis D. Weatherford, Jr. was the sixth president of Berea College, serving from 1967–1984.  Born in western North Carolina in 1916, Weatherford earned his B.A. at Vanderbilt in 1937 and his B.D. from Yale in 1940.  Weatherford went on to earn his M.A. (1943) and Ph.D. (1952) in Economics from Harvard and taught economics at Swarthmore from 1948 until 1964. Weatherford became a dean at Carleton College in 1965.  In addition to his scholarly work, Weatherford served in Europe and Africa during WWII on behalf of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). From 1950-51, Weatherford spent a year in India with the AFSC and returned to India in 1954-55 to conduct land tenure research on a Ford Foundation grant. Working with the United Nations in 1959-1960, Weatherford served as an advisor on rural development in Malaya. Dr. Weatherford’s intellectual background, service and experience were a good fit for Berea as he strongly believed in in transforming the lives of Berea students in the ideals of racial justice, civic responsibility, and Christian service. Weatherford married Anne Smith in 1954—they raised five children together, all of whom graduated from Berea College. Dr. Weatherford passed away in Black Mountain, North Carolina, on May 22, 1996 at 79 years old.
Title
Willis D. Weatherford, Jr. papers Aid Title
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
eng

Revision Statements

  • 09099999: The finding aid was created in July 2014 by Lori Myers-Steele, Collection Archivist, with the assistance of student archivists Katie Grindstaff and T.J. Luster and updated in November 2014 by archives assistant Sam Gleaves.   Additional records were added to the collection, and the finding aid updated, in May of 2015.

Repository Details

Part of the Berea College Special Collections and Archives Repository

Contact:
Hutchins Library
100 Campus Drive
Berea Kentucky 40404 US
859.985.3262