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President Ronald R. Thomas manuscripts, "Detective Fiction and the Rise of Forensic Science", c. 1999
Overview of the Collection
- Title
- President Ronald R. Thomas manuscripts, "Detective Fiction and the Rise of Forensic Science"
- Dates
- c. 1999
- Quantity
- .8 linear feet, (2 archival document boxes)
- Collection Number
- Mss.109
- Summary
- Ronald R. Thomas served as the 13th President of the University of Puget Sound from 2003-2016. He had an academic background in Victorian literature and culture and was the author of numerous scholarly publications, including chapters for more than fourteen books and three books of his own on a wide range of subjects. This collection consists of three versions of the manuscript for his work, Detective Fiction and the Rise of Forensic Science (1999).
- Repository
-
University of Puget Sound, Archives & Special Collections
Collins Memorial Library
1500 N. Warner St.
CMB1021
Tacoma, WA
98416-1021
Telephone: 2538792669
archives@pugetsound.edu - Access Restrictions
-
Collection is open to researchers.
- Languages
- English
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Ronald R. Thomas served as the 13th President of the University of Puget Sound from 2003-2016. During his tenure, he led the University of Puget Sound in three critical initiatives: a 20-year master plan for campus development; a strategic plan to position the university as a national leader in liberal arts education; and an ambitious, comprehensive capital campaign to realize these objectives.
Thomas was born in Orange, New Jersey, to Doris R. and Robert L. Thomas. His mother was an elementary school teacher and his father worked in accounting and administration at Monmouth University. Thomas grew up in Neptune Township, New Jersey and graduated from Neptune High School in 1967. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature (magna cum laude) from Wheaton College (1971) and a Master of Arts (1978) and PhD (1983) in English and American literature from Brandeis University.
Prior to his appointment at the University of Puget Sound, Thomas held administrative and faculty positions at Trinity College, Harvard University, The University of Chicago, and Brandeis University. While at Trinity University, Thomas met Mary Domingo, the dean of students and lecturer in Classics. The couple was married on June 15, 1991 at the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Italy.
Thomas' academic background was in Victorian literature and culture. His published works include Dreams of Authority: Freud and the Fictions of the Unconscious (1990), Detective Fiction and the Rise of Forensic Science (1999), and Nineteenth Century Geographies: The Transformation of Space from the Victorian Age to the American Century (2002). Additionally, he published chapters in 14 books as well as numerous articles, lectures, and book reviews. An incomplete publications list is available upon request.
Thomas was a member of the Modern Language Association, the Society for the Study of Narrative Literature, the Dickens Society, the Northeast Victorian Studies Association, and the Interdisciplinary Nineteenth-Century Studies Association. In 1986 he was awarded the Margaret Church Modern Fiction Studies Memorial Prize. He was also awarded two honorary doctorates: a doctor of humane letters, honoris causa, from Trinity College in 2002, and another from the University of Portland in 2016. Both were awarded for outstanding contributions to scholarship and teaching and for national leadership in higher education and public service. Ronald Thomas died on April 17, 2023, at the age of 74.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
This collection includes three versions of the manuscript for Thomas' work, Detective Fiction and the Rise of Forensic Science (1999). The earliest of the three manuscripts is titled, Investigating Bodies: Nineteenth-Century Detective Fiction and the Devices of Truth while the remaining two are titled Detective Fiction and the Rise of Forensic Science. Also included are a floppy disk with the final version of the manuscript from 1998; an invitation to a book signing at the Gallows Hill Bookstore on the Trinity College Campus; and a letter regarding the cost to use a photograph from the 1946 movie, The Big Sleep as an illustration in the book.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Preferred Citation
[Name of document, date.] President Ronald R. Thomas manuscripts, Mss.109. University of Puget Sound Archives & Special Collections. Tacoma, Washington.
Restrictions on Use
Property rights reside with the University of Puget Sound. For information about permission to reproduce or publish, please contact Archives & Special Collections.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box | Folder | ||
| 1 | 1-3 | Manuscript, "Investigating Bodies: Nineteenth- Century Detective Fiction and the Devices of Truth" | undated |
| 1 | 4-5 | Edited manuscript, "Detective Fiction and the Rise of Forensic Science" | c. 1998 |
| 2 | 2-4 | Manuscript, "Detective Fiction and the Rise of Forensic Science" | c. 1998 |
| 2 | 5 | Floppy disk, final version of "Detective Fiction and the Rise of Forensic Science" | December 1, 1998 |
| 2 | 6 | Book signing event invitation and image use request letter | 1998 |
October 15, 2024
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
