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Administrative Records of Albany College (Oregon) President, William Thomas Bibb, 1929-1938

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Bibb, Thomas William, b. 1884
Title
Administrative Records of Albany College (Oregon) President, William Thomas Bibb
Dates
1929-1938 (inclusive)
Quantity
3 cubic feet, (2 boxes)
Collection Number
OLPa082BIB
Summary
This collection is made up of materials relating to the administration of Albany College (Oregon) during the administration of President Thomas William Bibb, who served as College President from 1929-1938.
Repository
Lewis & Clark College, Special Collections and Archives

Aubrey R. Watzek Library
615 S. Palatine Hill Rd.
Portland, OR
97219
Telephone: 5037687758
Fax: 5037687282
archives@lclark.edu
Access Restrictions

This collection has no restrictions and is open for research.

Languages
English
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Biographical Note

Thomas William Bibb was born in 1883 in Missouri. Bibb earned a bachelor's degree at William Jewell College (Liberty, Missouri) in 1908. In 1910 he moved to Tacoma, Washington to take a job as a teacher, and in 1918 he took a job as the superintendent of schools in Grays Harbor County, Washington. In 1928 Bibb took a job at Ellensburgh Normal school (later Central Washington University) as head of the department of physical sciences and dean of men. During this time, Bibb also completed is Ph.D. in education at the University of Washington. Bibb's dissertation, "The History of Early Common School Education in Washington" was a landmark study of education in the Pacific Northwest. In 1929 Albany College hired Bibb as its president. Bibb's job was a difficult one. As a "self-help" school, Albany's students lacked funds to pay tuition, a situation which had become financial burden for the institution. Bibb was tasked with phasing out the self-help program, increasing enrollment, improving the faculty, and raising funds in the midst of the Great Depression. Although the number of students increased during the Depression, fundraising failed to meet the goals of the Board of Trustees. During Bibb's tenure at Albany, the college became a member of the Northwest Association of Secondary and Higher Schools and the Northwest Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. In 1934, the Board of Trustees and the Synod recommended that Albany College establish a satellite program in Portland on a tentative basis. This program proved to be popular and a source of revenue. As a result, the Board of Trustees made the satellite program permanent. In 1936 a commeittee of trustees issued a report recommending that the Portland program be expanded and a permanent Portland campus should be acquired. In June of 1938 the Albany campus was closed permanently and accreditation was lost. Upon receiving notice of the Board's decision, Bibb resigned and took a job as president of Missouri Valley College (Marshall, MO). Bibb died at the age of 97 in Littleton, Colorado.

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Content Description

Reports, correspondence, and clippings.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Permission to publish, exhibit, broadcast, or quote from materials in the Watzek Library Archives & Special Collections requires written permission of the Head of Archives & Special Collections.

Preferred Citation

The Administrative Records of Albany College (Oregon) President, Thomas William Bibb (OLPa082BIB), Lewis & Clark College Aubrey Watzek Library Archives & Special Collections, Portland, Oregon.

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Administrative Information

Location of Collection

College Archives, GXIX

Processing Note

Processed prior to 1990.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Personal Names

Corporate Names

Geographical Names

College Archives Staff
2012

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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