Nathan Pusey Presidential Papers

Collection

Identifier: LU-RG03-007

Staff Only

This collection is composed of the papers that document the presidency of Nathan Pusey, president of Lawrence University from 1944-1953. Materials include both incoming and outgoing correspondence of Pusey, speeches he gave while at Lawrence University, and photographs of Pusey while he was at Lawrence and when he visited Lawrence after leaving as president. The inauguration of Pusey is documented through programs, photographs, and correspondence. Articles, correspondence, and photographs of when Pusey was president of Harvard University are also included. Biographical materials are also contained in the collection. The correspondence consists of letters sent to Pusey and Pusey's reply to the sender of the letter. Letters are from other colleges and presidents of other colleges including Victor Butterfield, the president of Wesleyan University. parents of students, members of the faculty, members of the Appleton community, and committees and organizations of which Pusey was a part. The correspondence covers a variety of topics, including programs at Lawrence, speeches and public appearances of Pusey's, Convocation speakers at Lawrence, and new buildings at Lawrence. Correspondence also includes invitations for Pusey to attend public events, and in some cases, serve as the speaker of the event. Letters of recommendation Pusey wrote for Lawrence faculty and students are also included. The Lawrence centennial in 1947 is also a topic of the correspondence. Letters between Pusey and Lucia Briggs, president of Milwaukee-Downer College, is also included.

Dates

1925-2005

Creator

Pusey, Nathan M. (Nathan Marsh) (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Lawrence University does not hold the copyright for all materials in this collection. Uses beyond those allowed for fair use under U. S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) require the researcher to secure permission from the copyright holder.

Extent

6.65 Linear Feet (6 boxes)

Additional Description

Abstract

Biographical or Historical Information

Nathan Marsh Pusey, president of Lawrence University from July 1944-June 1953, was born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on April 4, 1907. Pusey received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University in 1928. He went on to receive a Masters of Arts degree, and then a Ph.D. degree in ancient history from Harvard in 1937. He served as a sophomore tutor at Lawrence University from 1935-1938. After graduating from Harvard, Pusey taught history and literature at Scripps College and served four years as an associate professor of classics at Wesleyan University. During his years as Lawrence president, Pusey was active in the school's curriculum and in the fall of 1945, introduced a new course known as Freshman Studies, which all freshmen take at Lawrence to this day. Freshman Studies is likely Pusey's best-known Lawrence legacy. He was known as the "faculty's president' and considered to be one of Lawrence's most outstanding presidents. Pusey received an honorary degree from Ripon College in January 1945. Pusey received national attention during the 1950s for his public clashes with Senator Joseph McCarthy. Pusey left Lawrence in 1953 to become the 24^th president of Harvard University. He received an honorary doctor of laws degree from Yale University in November 1953, and an honorary doctor of laws degree from Brown University in June 1954. He returned to Lawrence in November 1954 to receive an honorary degree from the university. Following his retirement from Harvard in 1971, Pusey became president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and served in this role for four years. He was then president of the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia from 1979-1980. He returned to Lawrence in April 1963 and May 1987 to give the annual Honors Days Convocation. Pusey received an honorary doctor of letters degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in June 1967. Nathan Pusey died on November 14, 2001 in New York City.

Arrangement Note

Series 1 is arranged chronologically by Pusey's selection as Lawrence president, his time as president, and his selection as Harvard president and his departure from Lawrence. Correspondence in Series 2 is arranged by subject, and the rest is arranged chronologically. Materials are arranged chronologically at the file level.

Method of Acquisition

The donor and date the collection was transferred to the University Archives are unknown. It was donated to the University Archives prior to July 2005.