Collection context
Summary
- Creator:
- Shaffer, Robert Howard, 1915- and Shaffer, Marjorie, 1917-1987
- Abstract:
- Robert H. Shaffer was affiliated with Indiana University for nearly 40 years. He served as Dean of Students from 1955 to 1969 before returning to faculty work full-time. This collection encompasses Robert and Marge Shaffer's personal collection of scrapbooks, with many of them containing newspaper clippings from his time as Dean and photographs from his travels across the world.
- Extent:
- 7.3 cubic feet
- Language:
- English .
- Preferred citation:
[Item], Robert H. and Marge Shaffer scrapbooks, Collection C704, Indiana University Archives, Bloomington.
Background
- Biographical / Historical:
Robert H. Shaffer was born on September 13, 1915 in Delphi, Indiana. Upon graduation from high school in 1932, Shaffer received a Rector scholarship to DePauw University, where he was backup quarterback on the 1933 football team. Shaffer was active in the Sigma Chi fraternity, president of the Interfraternity Council, and the founding president of Alpha Phi Omega's DePauw chapter. Shaffer graduated from DePauw in 1936 with a degree in social science and then earned his master's degree from Colombia University in 1940. He joined the faculty of the Indiana University School of Business in 1941.
He met Marjorie Jane Fitch at the International House in New York City, and they married in 1940. They remained married for 47 years until her death in 1987. Marjorie appears in many of these scrapbooks and helped create them.
After serving in the Army during World War II, Shaffer received his PhD from New York University in 1945. He resumed work at IU, with positions in the School of Business and School of Education. In 1955, Shaffer was appointed Dean of Students. Shaffer's tenure as Dean occurred during a period of great growth at IU, as post-World War II expansion, driven by the G.I. Bill, drove attendance figures up fivefold. The 1960s ushered in a wave of student activism; and as Dean of Students, Shaffer acknowledged the growing emphasis on student expression and diversity. Among his accomplishments as Dean include the creation of numerous campus offices, such as counseling, veterans' affairs, and international studies. Shaffer resigned as Dean in 1969.
Shaffer then returned to full-time faculty work in the School of Education, where he remained until his retirement from IU in 1981. Shaffer received two honorary doctorate degrees in his lifetime: Doctor of Laws from DePauw University in 1976 and Doctor of Laws from Indiana in 1981. The Association of Fraternity Advisors named an award in his honor, and IU has honored his legacy with the creation of an alumni award and an internship program bearing his name. Shaffer passed away on April 21, 2017, at the age of 101.
- Scope and Content:
The Robert H. and Marge Shaffer scrapbooks span over 50 years of his life, with a significant portion focusing on his time as Dean of Students from 1955 to 1969. The first scrapbooks are focused on his academic career, including his time at Indiana and his achievements following his retirement from the university in 1981. Shaffer's scrapbooks from his tenure as Dean provide a rich, firsthand account of student life throughout the 1960s, a decade marked by drastic social transformation. Throughout these scrapbooks are newspaper clippings documenting the changes in student life on campus. Also included are interviews with Shaffer regarding the changing demographics of the typical college student of the 1960s, and his views on best handling student protests, including his belief it is not productive to subdue protesters through the use of force.
The remaining scrapbooks highlight the travels of Shaffer and his wife, Marge, throughout the world between 1961 and 1987. Several of these trips were made to countries such as Afghanistan and Thailand as a part of university business. One of Shaffer's trips to Thailand is noteworthy as he worked with Thai officials to set up and implement guidelines for the counseling of students. A letter from the U.S. embassy in Thailand to IU President Herman B Wells commends Shaffer for his work in Thailand. Also included in these scrapbooks are numerous photographs of world landmarks, including the Parthenon in Greece, the pyramids of Giza, the Great Wall of China and the Taj Mahal in India.
- Custodial history:
Accessions: 2018/116, 2018/139
- Processing information:
Processed by: Matt Meyer Finding Aid Completed: November 2018
- Arrangement:
This collection is arranged chronologically.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed Terms
Access
- RESTRICTIONS:
-
Collection is open for research. Advance notice required.
- TERMS OF ACCESS:
-
The donor(s) of this collection have transferred their copyrights for the materials to the Trustees of Indiana University. This collection was donated by Margaret Vegeler, Shaffer's daughter-in-law, who signed the 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.
Digital reproductions of archival materials from the Indiana University Archives are made available for noncommercial educational and research purposes only. If you are the copyright holder for any of the digitized materials and have questions about its inclusion on our site, please contact the Indiana University Archives staff.
- PREFERRED CITATION:
-
[Item], Robert H. and Marge Shaffer scrapbooks, Collection C704, Indiana University Archives, Bloomington.
- CAMPUS:
- Indiana University Bloomington
- LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
-
Herman B Wells Library E4601320 East Tenth StreetBloomington, Indiana 47405-7000, United States
- CAMPUS:
- Indiana University Bloomington
- CONTACT:
-
812-855-1127archives@indiana.edu