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Central Washington University Archives

Guide to the Board of Trustees
  • Mary E. Davis Papers
  • RG 032, Series 08-15

    • Processed and Listed by: Dieter C. Ullrich
    Date: May 15, 2008

    Date Span: 1958-1972

    Size: 6.25 cubic feet.

    Number of Boxes: 11 letter sized document cases; 1 legal sized document case and 1 legal half sized document case.

    Type of material: Correspondence, memorandums, reports, etc.

    Physical condition: Good.

    Arrangement: Organized in alphabetical order by subject title of file folder. Chronological arrangement.

    Historical or Biographical Sketch: Mary Ellen (O’Connor) Davis was born on March 28, 1923 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Her early childhood years were spent in Ohio. After her parents died in 1930 she relocated to California. In 1954, she graduated from the University of California Los Angeles with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. The following year she attended Law School at UCLA but did not graduate. In 1956, Ms. Davis became editor of the Tacoma Star. Her husband, Frederick W. Davis, was an administrative engineer for Weyerhaeuser and served as director of Potlatch Forests, Inc. They had six children together. She was appointed by Governor Albert D. Rosellini as a Board of Trustee member at Central Washington State College in 1960. She served through 1968, ultimately as chair. The same year as her appointment, Ms. Davis was Public Information Director for the Washington State Legislature's Citizens' Study of Education in Washington State, which later gave rise to the Interim Committee on Education. From 1961 to 1964, she was an advisor to the Interim Committee on Education as part of its Higher Education Subcommittee. As a Central trustee, Ms. Davis participated in the Association of Governing Boards of State Colleges and Universities, and from 1963 to 1968 she was a member of the Association of Governing Boards of State Colleges and Universities Educational TV Committee. Ms. Davis is retired and presently resides in Kirkland, Washington and Wailua, Kauai.

    Scope and Content Note: The collection contains the personal files of Mary Ellen Davis that relate to her serving as a Board of Trustee member of Central Washington State College (presently Central Washington University) from 1959 to 1968. The collection consists of correspondence, reports, memorandums, etc. produced or received by Ms. Davis during her years as a board member. Included in the files are Board of Trustee agendas, meeting minutes and notes kept by Ms. Davis (1960-1968), building plans and campus construction records, reports on faculty and classified staff activities, annual reports from college divisions, correspondence and meeting minutes of the Interim Committee on Education (1959-1964), Joint Board of Trustees meeting minutes and notes (1960-1968), Student Government Association meeting minutes (1964-1968), reports from the Teacher Education Program (1961-1965) and various committee and sub-committee meeting minutes and notes. Other files worth noting are those on the Gus Hall Affair, Civil Rights and Student Demonstrations, Freedom of Speech Policies, Drug Scandals and Union Activities on campus.

    Research Note: Open to the public for educational research.
    Inventory List:
    Box 1
    1. AAUP – College Governance, 1960-1961
    2. Administration Building – Proposal for Remodeling, 1966
    3. Academic Affairs Committee, 1961-1965
    4. Alumni, 1961-1962
    5. American Indians – Workshops, 1967
    6. An Analysis of the State of Washington’s Method for Coordinating Higher Education – Extracts, 1968
    7. Appointment – Board of Trustees, 1959-1965
    8. Association of Governing Boards of State Universities and Allied Institutions, 1961
    9. Association of Governing Boards of State Universities and Allied Institutions, 1962
    10. Association of Governing Boards of State Universities and Allied Institutions, 1962
    11. Association of Governing Boards of State Universities and Allied Institutions, 1963
    12. Audiovisual Library – Annual Report, 1962-1963
    13. Audiovisual Library – Annual Report, 1963-1964
    14. Auxiliary Services – Annual Report, 1964
    15. Auxiliary Services Buildings – Floor Plans, 1967
    16. Bassetti and Morse, Architects – Library, 1960
    17. Biographical Information
    18. Board of Trustees – Meeting Agendas, Minutes and Notes, October, 1959 – February, 1960
    Box 2
    1. Board of Trustees – Meeting Agendas, Minutes and Notes, March, 1960
    2. Board of Trustees – Meeting Agendas, Minutes and Notes, April, 1960
    3. Board of Trustees – Meeting Agendas, Minutes and Notes, May – June, 1960
    4. Board of Trustees – Meeting Agendas, Minutes and Notes, July – August, 1960
    5. Board of Trustees – Meeting Agendas, Minutes and Notes, September – October, 1960
    6. Board of Trustees – Meeting Agendas, Minutes and Notes, November – December, 1960
    7. Board of Trustees – Meeting Agendas, Minutes and Notes, January – February, 1961
    8. Board of Trustees – Meeting Agendas, Minutes and Notes, March – April, 1961
    9. Board of Trustees – Meeting Agendas, Minutes and Notes, May – June, 1961
    10. Board of Trustees – Meeting Agendas, Minutes and Notes, July – August, 1961
    11. Board of Trustees – Meeting Agendas, Minutes and Notes, September – November, 1961
    Box 3
    1. Board of Trustees – Meeting Agendas, Minutes and Notes, January – April, 1962
    2. Board of Trustees – Meeting Agendas, Minutes and Notes, May – July, 1962
    3. Board of Trustees – Meeting Agendas, Minutes and Notes, August – October, 1962
    4. Board of Trustees – Meeting Agendas, Minutes and Notes, November – December, 1962
    5. Board of Trustees – Meeting Agendas, Minutes and Notes, January – March, 1963
    6. Board of Trustees – Meeting Agendas, Minutes and Notes, April – May, 1963
    7. Board of Trustees – Meeting Agendas, Minutes and Notes, June – July, 1963
    8. Board of Trustees – Meeting Agendas, Minutes and Notes, October – November, 1963
    9. Board of Trustees – Meeting Agendas, Minutes and Notes, January – February, 1964
    Box 4
    1. Board of Trustees – Meeting Agendas, Minutes and Notes, March – May, 1964
    2. Board of Trustees – Meeting Agendas, Minutes and Notes, June – August, 1964
    3. Board of Trustees – Meeting Agendas, Minutes and Notes, September – November, 1964
    4. Board of Trustees – Meeting Agendas, Minutes and Notes, February – May, 1965
    5. Board of Trustees – Meeting Agendas, Minutes and Notes, June – July, 1965
    6. Board of Trustees – Meeting Agendas, Minutes and Notes, September – November, 1965
    7. Board of Trustees – Meeting Agendas, Minutes and Notes, January – March, 1965
    8. Board of Trustees – Meeting Agendas, Minutes and Notes, April, 1966
    9. Board of Trustees – Meeting Agendas, Minutes and Notes, May – July, 1966
    10. Board of Trustees – Meeting Agendas, Minutes and Notes, August – December, 1966
    Box 5
    1. Board of Trustees – Meeting Agendas, Minutes and Notes, January – March, 1967
    2. Board of Trustees – Meeting Agendas, Minutes and Notes, April – June, 1967
    3. Board of Trustees – Meeting Agendas, Minutes and Notes, July – December, 1967
    4. Board of Trustees – Meeting Agendas, Minutes and Notes, January – February, 1968
    5. Board of Trustees – Meeting Agendas, Minutes and Notes, April, 1968
    6. Board of Trustees – Meeting Agendas, Minutes and Notes, June – July, 1968
    7. Board of Trustees – Meeting Agendas, Minutes and Notes, August – September, 1968
    8. James E. Brooks, 1963-1966
    9. James E. Brooks, Mock Faculty Minutes, 1963
    10. Building Plans and Information, 1968
    11. Campus Construction, 1962-1968
    12. Campus Projects Progress Report, 1964
    13. Campus Site and Development Committee, 1961-1964
    14. Capital Improvements, 1967
    15. Central Stores Building Proposals and Plans, 1960
    Box 6
    1. Central Washington State College Foundation, 1961-1968
    2. City of Ellensburg – Fire Protection for New Dorms, 1968
    3. Civil Rights – Student Activities, 1965-1968
    4. Classification Plan for Classified Staff Service, 1961
    5. Classified Staff – Annual Report, 1964
    6. Collective Bargaining – University Personnel, 1967-1968
    7. Committee of Nine, 1960-1961
    8. Constitution – Board of Trustees, 1961
    9. Construction Proposal – Residence Halls, 1964
    10. Conversion of Existing Library Building, 1961
    11. Cost Study, 1961-1962
    12. Council of Presidents, 1961-1964
    13. Paul Creston – Hiring, 1968
    14. Curriculum, 1961-1971
    15. Dean of Instruction - Annual Report, 1964
    16. Dean of Students – Annual Report, 1962-1963
    17. Dean of Women – Annual Report, 1962-1963
    18. John W. Dearinger Case, 1964
    19. Demonstrations Policy – Riots
    20. Division of Education – Annual Report, 1963
    21. Drug Scandal, 1967
    Box 7
    1. Evergreen Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Minutes, 1965-1968
    2. Extension and Correspondence – Annual Report, 1962-1963
    3. Extension and Correspondence – Annual Report, 1963-1964
    4. Faculty Issues, 1963-1968
    5. Faculty Participation in Academic Governance, 1967
    6. Faculty Records, 1963-1964
    7. Faculty Salaries, 1962-1965
    8. Faculty Senate, 1961-1968
    9. Fees and Admissions, 1961-1968
    10. Food Facilities Warehouse – Proposal, 1968
    11. Food Services, 1965-1967
    12. General Education Committee, 1962-1963
    13. Graduate Degree Programs, 1961-1964
    14. Guidelines for Improving the Curriculum, 1968
    15. Gus Hall Affair – Freedom of Speech, 1963-1964
    16. Health Center – Annual Report, 1963
    17. Hebeler Elementary School – Annual Report, 1963-1964
    18. Higher Education Sub-Committee – Meeting Transcripts, September, 1967
    19. Higher Education Sub-Committee – Meeting Transcripts, November, 1967
    20. Housing, 1962-1968
    Box 8
    1. Institutional Research – Information File, 1967
    2. Instructional Television, 1962-1964
    3. Inter-institutional Committee on Business Officers, 1965
    4. Interim Committee on Education – General Information, 1967-1969
    5. Interim Committee on Education – Meeting Minutes, 1964
    6. Interim Committee on Education – Report and Recommendations, 1960
    7. Interim Committee on Education – State Legislature, 1960
    8. Interim Committee on Education – Weyerhaeuser Foundation, 1960
    9. Interim Study of Education, 1959-1960
    10. Interim Study of Education – Subcommittee Studies, 1959
    11. Interim Study of Education – Working Papers, 1960
    12. Joint Boards of Trustees and Presidents – Meeting Minutes and notes, 1960
    13. Joint Boards of Trustees and Presidents – Meeting Minutes and notes, 1961
    14. Joint Boards of Trustees and Presidents – Meeting Minutes and notes, 1962
    15. Joint Boards of Trustees and Presidents – Meeting Minutes and notes, 1964
    Box 9
    1. Joint Board of Trustees – Meeting Notes, 1964
    2. Joint Board of Trustees – Meeting Notes, 1965
    3. Joint Board of Trustees – Meeting Notes, 1966
    4. Joint Board of Trustees – Meeting Notes, 1967
    5. Joint Board of Trustees – Meeting Notes, 1968
    6. Joint Board of Trustees – Meeting Minutes, Reports, etc., 1960-1963
    7. Joint Board of Trustees – Meeting Minutes, Reports, etc., 1964-1968
    8. Legislative Budget Committee, 1961-1963
    9. Library, 1961-1963
    10. Library, 1960
    11. Memorials, Gifts, and College Building Names Committee, 1961-1964
    12. Milwaukee Railroad – Building and Land Proposal, 1961-1962
    13. Music Building – Proposal, 1960
    14. Music Building and Library Remodeling Proposal, 1960
    15. New Four Year State College – Board Minutes, 1964-1968
    Box 10
    1. Pay Plans – Civil Service Employees, 1965-1968
    2. Pedestrian Traffic Count – Ellensburg (Consumer Buying Habits), 1961
    3. Personnel Committee Minutes, 1961-1968
    4. Personnel Issues, 1968
    5. Physical Education Building, 1961
    6. Physical Plant Development – Annual Report, 1964
    7. Placement Activities – Annual Report, 1967-1968
    8. Placement Office – Annual Report, 1961-1962
    9. Preliminary Sketches – Men’s Residence Hall, 1961
    10. Presidential Search – Archie S. Wilson correspondence, 1961
    11. President’s Report, 1964
    12. Progress Report – Women’s Residence Hall, 1960
    13. Proposed Personnel Rules for the Classified State Service, 1961
    14. Proposed Position Classification and Pay Plans, 1961
    15. Regulations Regarding the Master’s Degree – Proposal, 1962
    16. Reports, Memos, etc. – Miscellaneous, January – February, 1965
    17. Research Development Center, 1966
    18. Thomas J. Rice expulsion, 1962
    19. Safety Division – Manual of Procedures, 1967-1968
    20. Science Building – Proposal (Dean Hall), 1965
    21. Speakers’ Policy, 1963-1964
    22. Speech – Freedom of, 1963
    Box 11
    1. Student Activities – Annual Report, 1963
    2. Student Government Association Council – Annual Report, 1963-1964
    3. Student Government Association – Faculty Evaluation, 1968
    4. Student Government Association – Meeting Minutes, 1964-1968
    5. Student Personnel Services – Annual Report, 1963-1964
    6. Student Union Building Remodeling, 1960
    7. Survey on Granting Resident Credit to Military Personnel, 1962
    8. Symposiums, 1963-1966
    9. Teacher Education Program, 1961-1963
    10. Teacher Education Program, 1964-1965
    11. Teacher Education Program, No dates
    12. Teacher Education Program – Annual Report, 1967
    13. Teacher Placement – Annual Report, 1960-1961
    14. Tenure and Re-Employment Decisions, 1962
    15. Testing and Counseling Center – Annual Report, 1962-1963
    16. United Nations Association – Correspondence
    17. Voluntary Coordination in Non-Academic Affairs, 1963
    18. Mary E. Whitner, 1963-1966
    Box 12
    1. Admissions, 1962-1965
    2. Blueprints and Drawings – Campus Buildings, 1962-1964
    3. Campus Master Plan, 1960
    4. Constitution and By-laws – Board of Trustees, 1961
    5. Enrollment, 1965
    6. Gus Hall Affair – Freedom of Speech, 1963
    7. Interim Committee on Education – Correspondence, 1961
    8. Interim Committee on Education – Drafts and Loose Records, 1960
    9. Interim Committee on Education – Press Releases, 1960
    10. Interim Committee on Education – State Legislature - Press Releases, 1960
    11. Seattle Foundation, 1958-1964
    12. Union Activities – Washington State Employees, 1968
    Box 13
    1. United Nations Association – Newspaper clippings (Washington State), 1966
    2. United Nations Week, 1966
    3. Whitner v. Davis, 1966-1971
    4. Whitner v. Davis, 1968
    5. Whitner v. Davis, 1969-1972

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