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Papers of George E. MacLean Access and Restrictions: This collection is open for research. Digital Surrogates: Except where indicated, this document describes but does not reproduce the actual text, images and objects which make up this collection. Materials are available only in the Special Collections Department. Copyright: Please read The University of Iowa Libraries' statement on Property Rights, Copyright Law, and Permissions to Use Unpublished Materials. Use of Collections: The University of Iowa Libraries supports access to the materials, published and unpublished, in its collections. Nonetheless, access to some items may be restricted by their fragile condition or by contractual agreement with donors, and it may not be possible at all times to provide appropriate machinery for reading, viewing or accessing non-paper-based materials. Please read our Use of Manuscripts Statement. Acquisition and Processing Information: These papers were transferred to the University Archives from the Office of the President; date undetermined. Guide posted to the Internet December 2006. Photographs: |
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Biographical Note
George Edwin MacLean served as the eighth president of the University of Iowa, from 1899 to 1911.
Under MacLean's leadership, the University of Iowa moved to the forefront of America’s public universities. The university received high rank for the first time in a 1911 survey of the nation’s universities conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Education.
MacLean received his A.B. at Williams College and, in 1874, his B.D. degree from the Yale Divinity School. After several years in the ministry, he studied at the universities of Leipzig and Berlin, receiving his Ph.D. degree at Leipzig in 1883. After serving 12 years as a member of the faculty at the University of Minnesota, he became chancellor of the University of Nebraska in 1897 before arriving in Iowa City two years later.
New colleges were organized at Iowa during MacLean’s administration, including the College of Applied Science (later renamed Engineering), the College of Education, and the Graduate College. Most notable were his efforts to raise academic standards, including admission requirements and the level of scholarship at both undergraduate and graduate levels.
MacLean was born in Rockville, Connecticut, on August 31, 1850, and married Clara Stanley Taylor on May 20, 1874. MacLean died in Washington, D.C., on May 3, 1938, at age 87.
[D. McCartney; 12/2006]
Related Materials
Johnson, Ellen Elizabeth. "A History of the State University of Iowa: The Administration of President MacLean." M.A. thesis, University of Iowa, 1946. 95 pp. Archives.
MacLean, George E. "Jottings: Fragmentary Notes on the MacLean Administration, 1899-1911, of the State University of Iowa." N.p., 1934. 38 pp. Archives, in Historical Papers Collection (RG 01.01.03).
Pound, Louise. "MacLean, George Edwin." Dictionary of American Biography, suppl. 2 (1936-1940): 419-420. Main reference.
Box Contents List
Box 1
Letter-Books, i.e., copies of outgoing typed letters
1 September 13, 1899 -- January 31, 1900
2 February 5, 1900 -- August 13, 1900
3 August 14, 1900 -- April 12, 1901
4 April 12, 1901 -- November 5, 1901
5 November 6, 1901 -- May 18, 1902
6 May 18, 1902 -- October 4, 1902
7 October 4, 1902 -- April 20, 1903
Box 2
Letter-Books, i.e., copies of outgoing typed letters, cont.
1 April 21, 1903 -- September 16, 1903
2 September 16, 1903 -- September 30, 1903
Box 3
Correspondence
September 1899 -- December 1899
1 Miscellaneous
2 Board of Regents
3 Faculty
4 High Schools
5 MacLean
January 1900 -- March 1900
6 Miscellaneous
7 Board of Regents
8 Faculty
9 MacLean
April 1900 -- June 1900
10 Miscellaneous
11 Board of Regents
12 Faculty
13 MacLean
July 1900 -- August 1900
14 Miscellaneous
15 Board of Regents
16 Faculty
September 1900 -- December 1900
17 Miscellaneous
18 Board of Regents
Box 4
Correspondence, cont.
January 1901 -- March 1901
1 Miscellaneous
2 Faculty
3 MacLean
April 1901 -- June 1901
4 Miscellaneous
5 Board of Regents
6 Faculty
July 1901 -- September 1901
7 Miscellaneous
8 Board of Regents
9 Faculty
October 1901 -- December 1901
10 Miscellaneous
11 Board of Regents
12 Faculty
1902 Correspondence (includes some 1903)
13 Miscellaneous -- W
14 Miscellaneous -- S1
Box 5
1902 Correspondence, cont.
1 Miscellaneous -- S2
2 Miscellaneous -- S3
3 Board of Regents -- W
4 Faculty -- C
5 ----. various
6 MacLean -- W
7 1903 Correspondence
8 MacLean, 1903
9 ----.
Box 6
1903 Correspondence, cont.
1 Correspondence (incoming carbons)
2 ----.
3 ----.
4 ----.
5 ----.
6 January 1904 -- April 1904 (outgoing carbons)
7 May 1904 -- July 1904 (outgoing carbons)
Box 7
Correspondence, cont.
1 August 1904 -- December 1904 (outgoing carbons)
2 T -- W (1904 outgoing carbons)
1904 Correspondence (incoming carbons)
3 B -- E
4 F -- L
5 M -- P
6 R -- S
Box 8
1905 Incoming Correspondence
1 A -- D
2 E -- P
3 R -- Y
4 S -- Y
1905 Outgoing Correspondence
5 A -- B
6 C -- G
7 H -- L
Box 9
1905 Outgoing Correspondence, cont.
1 M -- R
2 S -- T
3 U -- Y
1906 Incoming Correspondence (includes several 1907 and 1908 letters)
4 A -- M
5 N -- Z
1906 Outgoing Correspondence
6 A -- B
Box 10
1906 Outgoing Correspondence, cont.
1 C -- E
2 F -- H
3 I -- M
4 N -- S
5 T -- Y
Box 11
1907 Incoming Correspondence
1 A -- F
2 G -- M
3 M -- W
1907 Outgoing Correspondence
4 A -- B
5 C -- D
6 E -- G
7 H -- K
Box 12
1907 Outgoing Correspondence, cont.
1 L -- P
2 R -- S
3 T -- Z
1908 Incoming Correspondence
4 A -- C (Carnegie includes 1906)
Box 13
1908 Incoming Correspondence, cont.
1 D -- G
1908 Outgoing Correspondence
2 A
3 B
4 C
5 D -- G
Box 14
1908 Undivided Correspondence
1 H
2 HAR -- HY
3 I -- J
4 K
5 L
Box 15
1908 Undivided Correspondence, cont.
1 MA
2 MY
3 N -- 0
4 P -- PO
5 PR -- RE
6 RI -- RU
Box 16
1908 Undivided Correspondence, cont.
1 S -- SE
2 SH -- SP
3 ST -- SW
4 T -- TO
5 TR -- V
Box 17
1908 Undivided Correspondence, cont.
1 W -- WE
2 WH -- WO
3 WR -- Z
Box 18
1909 Correspondence
1 A
2 B -- BA
3 BE -- BRI
4 BRO -- BY
5 C -- CH
Box 19
1909 Correspondence, cont.
1 CI -- CU
2 D -- DA
3 DE -- DU
4 E
5 F
6 Flexner Investigation
7 G
Box 20
1909 Correspondence, cont.
1 H -- HA
2 HE -- HOL
3 HOM -- HU; HA -- HE
4 I -- J
5 K
6 L
7 M -- MAC
Box 21
1909 Correspondence, cont.
1 MAG -- ME
2 MI -- MY
3 P -- PE
4 PH -- PU
5 R -- RIE
6 RIG -- RY
7 S -- SE
Box 22
1909 Correspondence, cont.
1 SH -- SK
2 SL -- SP
3 ST -- SW
4 T -- TR
5 TU -- V
6 W -- WH
7 WI -- Z
Box 23
1910 Correspondence
1 A
2 B -- BE
3 BI -- BO
4 BR -- BY
5 C
Box 24
1910 Correspondence, cont.
1 D
2 E
3 F -- FL
4 FO -- FU
5 G
6 H -- HE
Box 25
1910 Correspondence, cont.
1 HI -- HO
2 HU -- HY
3 L
4 MA
5 ME -- MY
6 North Central Association
Box 26
1910 Correspondence, cont.
1 P -- PH
2 PI -- PU
3 R -- RI
4 RO -- RU
5 S -- SE
6 SH -- SP
Box 27
1910 Correspondence, cont.
1 ST -- SY
2 T
3 U -- V
4 W -- WH
5 WI -- WY
6 Y -- Z
1911 Correspondence
7 A
8 B
Box 28
1911 Correspondence, cont.
1 C
2 D
3 E
4 F
5 G
6 H
7 L
8 M
9 P -- Q
10 R
Box 29
1911 Correspondence, cont.
1 S
2 T
3 U -- V
4 W
Copies of Correspondence
5 1900, 1902 -- 1903
6 1904
7 1905
8 1906 -- 1908
9 Miscellaneous Correspondence, 1900, 1902, 1911 -- 1912
Box 30
Correspondence, cont.
Subject Folders
1 Coordination of state educational institution's Committee of Fifteen, 1910
2 National Association of State Universities, 1902 -- 1911
3 ----.
4 ----.
5 National Conference Committee on Standards of Colleges and Secondary Schools, 1907 -- 1909
6 Religious Education Association, 1905 -- July 1908. Correspondence after July 1908 filed in General Correspondence files.
Box 31
Correspondence, cont.
1 Religious Education Association, 1906 -- 1909
2 State Educational Board of Examiners, Department of Public Instruction, 1906 -- 1911
3 Preparation and certification of teachers
4 Steere, Kenneth D., 1904
Box 32
1 President MacLean speeches, 1897 -- 1906
2 ----. 1907 -- 1909
3 ----. 1910 -- 1911
4 President MacLean Articles and Publications
5 President MacLean speeches and publications
Box 33
1 MacLean, George
2 Lecture "English Life and Letters of Today"
Box 34
MacLean inaugural address, 1899
Box 35
1 MacLean investigation, 1904
2 President MacLean's addresses and articles, 1909 -- 1910
3 ----. 1904 -- 1908
4 ----. 1903 -- 1904