Collection ID: C110
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Collection context

Summary

Creator:
Smith, Henry Lester, 1876-1963
Abstract:
Henry Lester Smith was a long-time professor and administrator at the Indiana University School of Education. In addition to teaching and other administrative positions, Smith served as the dean of the School of Education from 1916 until his retirement in 1946. Throughout his life and career, Smith served in a variety of other roles including as Superintendent of Schools in the Canal Zone, as an active member of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, as chair of the local Red Cross chapter, as an active member of the National Education Association, and as Secretary-General of the World Federation of Education Associations. This collection consists largely of correspondence relative to his national and international educational work, materials developed in connection with his teaching, and research materials and writings in his main interest areas of international education, school administration, and character education.
Extent:
11.8 cubic feet (14 boxes)
Language:
Materials are in English .
Preferred citation:

[Item], Henry Lester Smith papers, Collection C110, Indiana University Archives, Bloomington.

Background

Biographical / Historical:

Henry Lester Smith was Dean of the Indiana University School of Education from 1916-1946. He was born April 2, 1876 in the Bloomington, Indiana area, attended rural area schools and Bloomington High School, then served as teacher and principal in Hayden and Brookville, Indiana, while completing his bachelor's and master's degrees at Indiana University. In 1905 he became a supervising principal in the Indianapolis Public Schools. During the 1908-1909 academic year, Smith served as Superintendent of Schools in the Canal Zone (Panama). He was principal of Bloomington High School from 1909 to 1915, teaching courses at IU as well, and was assistant superintendent of the Minneapolis Public Schools in 1915-1916. Upon completing his doctorate from Teachers College Columbia University in 1916, he returned to IU as Dean of the School of Education, a position he held until his retirement in January 1946. His thirty years of service were interrupted only by a brief period of service with the Federal Board of Vocational Rehabilitation in 1918-1919. Throughout his deanship, Smith worked closely with the Indiana Department of Public Instruction, conducting experimental county school work in the 1920s, with a specific focus on building needs. He created the IU Bureau of Educational Research and made it the means of disseminating the best in educational thinking to Indiana educators and others through regular publication of its Bulletins.

Smith's life encompassed religious and community commitments as well as extensive national and international work in the field of education through a wide range of professional associations. He was an active lifelong member of the Reformed Presbyterian Church and chair of the local Red Cross chapter for most of his professional life. He spearheaded constitutional reform of the Indiana State Teachers Association in the early 1920s and was an active member of the National Education Association (NEA) and the World Federation of Education Associations (WFEA) throughout his career. He served as president of the National Council of Education of the NEA in 1925-31, as president of the NEA itself in 1934-35, and as secretary-general of the World Federation of Education Associations from 1941-1946. In this last capacity he was involved in drafting documents to create the educational branches of what would become UNESCO.After his retirement from IU, Smith remained active in upgrading school buildings during the postwar period through a position with the Indiana Department of Public Instruction.

Smith taught throughout his administrative career, focusing particularly on school administration and international education, often combining the two in an effort to broaden the views of his Indiana students. He wrote and spoke widely on all dimensions of public schooling, from character and citizenship education to school buildings and the purpose of the university. His notion of educational leadership included both solid grounding in the practicalities of administration and a vision based upon moral and spiritual ideals.

Smith married Johnnie Rutland on February 3, 1915. While her husband was at IU, Johnnie served as an instructor and lecturer and earned a master's degree and a Ph.D from IU. The couple had three children: Martha Elisabeth (born 1917), Ruth Charlotte (born 1919), and Henry Rutland (born 1922). Henry Lester Smith died on October 25, 1963 at the age of 87 and Johnnie Rutland Smith died on July 17, 1977 at the age of 88.

Scope and Content:

The Henry Lester Smith papers consist largely of documentation on Smith's professional life, with a substantial amount on his year of service as Superintendent of Schools in the Canal Zone in 1908-1909, his work with the National Education Association and other national organizations, and the World Federation of Education Associations. Research materials, including files of student-collected popular press materials on wartime education in England, Japan, and the USSR, comprise a major portion of the collection. Drafts of extensive course syllabi and study guides, and drafts of textbooks growing out of his teaching, including an unpublished textbook on school administration, constitute another major component of the collection. There are numerous research files and writings on character education, educational research, peace education, and school buildings as well as lesser numbers of items on postwar planning, ethics in education and other topics. The collection contains a small number of private and family papers, including a draft autobiography and family history, and papers related to Smith's activity in the Reformed Presbyterian Church. A few files relating to Johnnie Rutland (Mrs. Henry L.) Smith's participation in two national educational conferences in 1955 and 1960 have been transferred to a separate collection.

The papers have been received over a number of years in several accessions, with varying degrees of organization. Any order which appeared to be original to Smith has been retained, but in many cases the disarray was such that pages belonging to a single manuscript were dispersed throughout the collection. Thus to a large degree order had to be imposed on this collection.

The papers are organized into twelve series: Personal and family history, 1897-1963; Reformed Presbyterian Church, 1921-1958; Canal Zone school superintendency, 1903-1910; Indiana state and community service, 1916-1960; National educational service, 1917-1960; World Federation of Education Associations, 1923-1958; Teaching, 1921-1945; Research projects, notes and materials, 1915-1945; Writings, 1916-1962; Correspondence (General), 1900-1964; Publications, 1917-1946; and Indiana University School of Education Dean's records, 1916-1951.

Within the Personal and family history series, files are arranged alphabetically, with groupings of files under the headings of Autobiography, Biography, and Correspondence. Within the last are included items that were marked "personal" in Smith's handwriting or were clearly of a personal nature. Prominent subjects or names include Guy Bogart, Johnnie Rutland Smith, Columbia University, and A.E. Winship.

The Reformed Presbyterian Church series is also arranged alphabetically. Notable within this series is Smith's correspondence with R. H. Martin and John W. Pritchard as well as writings for the Covenanter Witness.

The Canal Zone superintendency series consists of administrative files and research files which Smith appears to have created for a planned history of the Canal Zone schools. Material that is prominently included in this series includes the publications The Canal Record and Spotlight as well as records of the Isthmian Canal Commission. The series is arranged alphabetically by folder title.

The Indiana State and community service series is likewise arranged alphabetically but with chronological sequences for the larger subjects areas of Indiana Council of Education, Indiana State Teachers Association and the Monroe County Red Cross.

The National educational service series is divided into two sub-series, the first for the National Education Association (NEA) and the second for Other national service. Both sub-series are arranged alphabetically, but the NEA sub-series has extensive chronological sequences under both Correspondence and Presidency: Correspondence. In the latter case, Smith's own arrangement also included separate files for several frequent correspondents, which have been retained, resulting in some overlap within the overall NEA Correspondence files (see folder list below). Prominent names or subjects include Willard Givens, National Association of Colleges and Departments of Education, and the Palmer Foundation.

The World Federation of Education Associations series is arranged alphabetically, but has chronological sequences within the Correspondence files and the Meetings files. This series also includes writings for the publication World Education.

The Teaching series is arranged by course number, retaining Smith's system, with files arranged alphabetically within each course group. Some course titles included are "School Buildings, Grounds, and Equipment"; "Comparative Education"; "School Administration"; and "School Surveys."

The Research projects, notes and materials series is divided into five sub-series: Character education, International education materials collected/created by H .L. Smith, International education materials collected/created by students, School administration, and General research materials. All files within these sub-series are arranged alphabetically.

The Writings series consists of manuscripts or drafts divided into eight major subject sub-series: Character education, Citizenship education, Educational research, Ethics in education, Peace education, School administration, School buildings, and General writings. Arrangement within each of these is alphabetical.

The Correspondence (General) series retains all of the remaining professional correspondence and is arranged chronologically.

Publications are published items which are divided into Article/Offprints and Books sub-series. They are filed chronologically within those sub-series.

The Indiana University School of Education Dean's records, 1916-1951, are arranged alphabetically, with major groupings under the headings Graduate Work, Space, and Surveys. As these records comprise only .6 cubic feet, barely documenting the work Smith did during his tenure as Dean, it was decided they would remain with his personal papers, with hopes that the Archives will receive a transfer of his records from the School of Education at a later date.

Acquisition information:
Gift; Johnnie Rutland Smith 1963-1964, 1969; Accessions 9245-9262, 0914, 0685, 0676, 0674, 2011/012.
Processing information:

Processed by Kate Cruikshank.

Completed in 2006.

Updated with additions by Elizabeth Peters, April 2017.

Arrangement:

The Henry Lester Smith papers have been arranged by subject into thirteen series and several sub-series within these. The first series is Personal and family history; series two is Reformed Presbyterian Church; series three is Canal Zone school superintendency; series four is Indiana state and community service; series five is National Educational Service; series six is World Federation of Education Associations; series seven is Teaching; series eight is Research projects; series nine is Notes and materials; series ten is Writings; series eleven is Correspondence (General); and series twelve is Publications, which has been divided into two sub-series: sub-series one is Articles/Offprints and sub-series two is Monographs. The final series consists of Smith's files while serving as Dean of the Indiana University School of Education. Please note that all oversized materials are in Box 11.

Online content

Access

RESTRICTIONS:

This collection is open for research.

Advance notice is required.

TERMS OF ACCESS:

The donor(s) of this collection have transferred their copyrights for the materials to the Trustees of Indiana University through a Deed of Gift. For more information, please contact the Indiana University Archives staff.

The Indiana University Archives respects the intellectual property rights of others and does not claim any copyrights for non-university records, materials in the public domain, or materials for which we do not hold a Deed of Gift. Responsibility for the determination of the copyright status of these materials rests with those persons wishing to reuse the materials. Researchers are responsible for securing permission from copyright owners and any other rights holders for any reuse of these materials that extends beyond fair use or other statutory limitations.

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PREFERRED CITATION:

[Item], Henry Lester Smith papers, Collection C110, Indiana University Archives, Bloomington.

CAMPUS:
Indiana University Bloomington
LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
Herman B Wells Library E460
1320 East Tenth Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47405-7000, United States
CAMPUS:
Indiana University Bloomington
CONTACT:
812-855-1127
archives@indiana.edu