Kenyon Knopf papers, 1958 - 1991

Overview of the Collection

Title
Kenyon Knopf papers
Dates
1958 - 1991 (inclusive)
Quantity
1.5 linear feet, (4 boxes)
Collection Number
WCMss.754
Summary
Kenyon Knopf was an administrator and faculty member at Whitman College from 1967 to 1989. He served in a number of roles, including economics professor, Dean of Students, Provost, and Acting President. The collection spans from 1958 to 1991 and pertains to Dr. Knopf's roles as Dean of the College and as Acting President. The collection also includes documents detailing conservation efforts regarding Mill Creek.
Repository
Whitman College and Northwest Archives
Whitman College and Northwest Archives
Penrose Library, Room 130
345 Boyer Avenue
Walla Walla, WA
99362
Telephone: 5095275922
Fax: 5095264785
archives@whitman.edu
Access Restrictions

Partial contents of this collection are restricted. Student educational records such as credentials, grade sheets, correspondence, reports, notes, applications, and all other records pertaining to past and present students are governed by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 and are restricted for 75 years from the date of creation. Personnel related files of the college's faculty and staff, including search, review, promotion, reappointment, tenure, and disciplinary/grievance records, are restricted for 75 years from the date of creation. Additional restrictions may apply to other materials in this collection.

Languages
English

Historical NoteReturn to Top

Kenyon Knopf, Ph.D. was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1921. In 1942, he graduated from Kenyon College with honors in economics, then joined the Army Air Force, where he served from 1943 to 1946. After returning to the United States, Knopf would go on to receive his M.A. and Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University, then accept a position as an economics professor at Grinnell College. Knopf would hold this position for eighteen years, even serving as the Chairman of Faculty and the Acting Dean of Grinnell, until he was hired as the Dean of Students at Whitman College in 1967 by President Louis Perry.

Knopf would remain a member of Whitman's faculty for over two decades, holding various positions such Dean of Students, Provost, Acting President, and economics professor. Knopf was given the title of Provost in 1970, and would technically serve as Acting President three times: unofficially from 1967 to 1968 after President Perry's resignation, unofficially again from 1973 to 1974 when President Donald Sheehan was hospitalized, and officially from 1974 to 1975 following President Sheehan's passing. Additionally, Knopf held the title of Chairman of the American Conference of Academic Deans.

During the period where he was officially recognized as Acting President, Knopf would oversee and navigate Whitman through a slew of controversial events, both from internal issues with the faculty and external pressure from the student body to diversify and protect campus. On the whole, Knopf's background compelled him to focus on the financial aspects of the college, including the integration of pay scales to improve salaries, which he succeeded in implementing.

In the years prior to and following his retirement in 1989, Knopf would dedicate himself to his community in Mill Creek. When the city of Walla Walla pushed for a hydroelectric plant at the reservoir at Mill Creek, Knopf was an active member of the Mill Creek Glen Protection Association, or the MCGPA. On behalf of the MCGPA, Knopf contacted state representatives in both Washington and Oregon, contractors of the Federal Highway Administration, and community members in and around Mill Creek to protest the project. Knopf would go on to speak against the project in court in 1985. Eventually, he and his wife would move to La Conner, Washington, where he would live until his passing in 2013.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

This collection spans from 1958 to 1991 and pertains to Dr. Knopf's roles as Dean of the College and as Acting President. This collection also includes documents detailing conservation efforts regarding Mill Creek and Highway 107 in the years leading up to and immediately following Dr. Knopf's retirement from Whitman College. This collection includes newspaper articles, correspondence, legal proceedings, minutes, memos, and by-laws of various organizations, photographs and negatives, surveys, and maps and developmental plans of Walla Walla and the area surrounding Mill Creek.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Acquisition Information

Materials found in collection; provenance is unknown.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
3 8 ACAD [American Conference of Academic Deans] - Dismissal for cause [folder restricted until 2053] 1965-1978
1 11 Annual report: Dean of the college 1967-1968
1 12 Annual report: Dean of the college 1968-1969
1 3 Argonne National Laboratories--Programs with 1970-1972
3 1 Cooperative program 1972-1973
1 2 Cooperative Program of Education for College and University Teachers 1967-1968
3 9 Dismissal proceedings [folder restricted until 2051] 1958-1976
1 9 Ethnic minorities--Curriculum--"Hyphenated majors" 1970-1971
2 5 Highway 107/Mill Creek: Forest Service plans--Brochure 1986-1988
4 3 Highway 107/Mill Creek: Mill Creek Glen Protection Association 1969-1989
2 1 Highway 107/Mill Creek: Mill Creek Glen Protection Association--Administrative notes 1984-1986
2 4 Highway 107/Mill Creek: Mill Creek quarries 1972-1987
2 3 Highway 107/Mill Creek: Mill Creek Road 1984-1991
2 2 Highway 107/Mill Creek: Mill Creek Road--Foley-Hatfield et al. 1987-1989
4 4 Highway 107/Mill Creek: Mill Creek Sportsmen--Minimum stream flow 1984-1987
2 7 Highway 107/Mill Creek: Mill Creek Sportsmens Association 1985-1987
4 2 Highway 107/Mill Creek: Negotiations with city 1969-1986
2 6 Highway 107/Mill Creek: Oregon water resources BD materials for hearing 5/8-9/85 1978-1985
1 8 History of minority recruitment and programs 1971-1975
3 2 Ken Knopf materials 1967-1992
1 6 Lehmann case: Advisory-investigatory committee [folder restricted until 2051] 1974 March 25-1974 July 2
3 5 Lehmann case: Affidavits, interrogatories, and exhibits [1 of 2] [folder restricted until 2054] 1971-1978
3 6 Lehmann case: Affidavits, interrogatories, and exhibits [2 of 2] [folder restricted until 2054] 1972-1979
3 4 Lehmann case: Decision and publication [folder restricted until 2050] 1973-1975
3 3 Lehmann case: Hearing [folder restricted until 2052] 1973-1977
3 7 Lehmann case: Trial and procedure [folder restricted until 2053] 1958-1978
1 7 Military recruiters--Visit [partial contents restricted until 2043] 1968-1979
1 10 President Donald Sherwood 1974-1975
4 1 Student affairs--Drugs 1959-1974
1 5 Tenure 1963-1978
1 4 Tenure and discharge 1958-1976
1 1 Vertical file on Kenyon Knopf 1967-1989

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • College administrators