Carolyn Rhodes Papers

Access and use

Location of collection:
Old Dominion University
3023 Patricia W. and J. Douglas Perry Library
Old Dominion University
4427 Hampton Blvd
Norfolk, VA 23529
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Jessica Ritchie
Phone: (757) 683-4483
Fax: (757) 683-5954
Restrictions:

Open to researchers without restrictions.

Terms of access:

Before publishing quotations or excerpts from any materials, permission must be obtained from Special Collections and University Archives, and the holder of the copyright, if not Old Dominion University Libraries.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Box [insert number], Folder [insert number and title], Carolyn Rhodes Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.

Summary

Extent:
2.80 Linear Feet and 7 Hollinger document cases boxes
Creator:
Rhodes, Carolyn H. (1925-2019)
Abstract:
Dr. Rhodes was an English and Women's Studies professor at Old Dominion University. The collection includes course descriptions, grant reports, meeting minutes from various women's groups, information pertaining to the Title IX hearings, books, journal articles, newspaper clippings, newsletters and photographs.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Box [insert number], Folder [insert number and title], Carolyn Rhodes Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection contains material from Dr. Carolyn Rhodes' academic and professional career, mostly pertaining to her time at Old Dominion University as a professor in the English and Women's Studies departments. Included in the collection are records related to the Women's Caucus, Women's Studies, gender discrimination at ODU, publications, and other material. Oral Histories of Dr. Rhodes' time at Old Dominion University can be found in the ODU Libraries Digital Collection's Oral Histories in Perry Library collection.

Biographical / historical:

Dr. Carolyn H. Rhodes was born Carolyn Hodgson on May 16, 1925 in Birmingham, Alabama. Her parents were Lester Rhodes Hodgson and Dolly Griffin Hodgson. Dr. Rhodes has Bachelor of Arts degrees in Psychology and English from the University of Alabama, a Master of Arts degree in Psychology from Columbia University and a Master of Arts degree in English from the University of Kentucky. She earned her Ph.D. in English in 1965 from the University of Kentucky. While in college, Dr. Rhodes administered psychometric tests for the Veterans Administration in Lexington, Kentucky and worked as an Editorial Assistant for Railway Age Magazine. She was a Haggin teaching fellow for nine semesters, from 1957-1963, and an instructor of English Language Orientation for Indonesian students from 1964-1965.

Dr. Rhodes moved to Virginia and began as an Assistant Professor at Old Dominion University (then Old Dominion College) in 1965. She became an Associate Professor in 1969 and a Professor of English in 1978. During her tenure at Old Dominion University, Dr. Rhodes worked as the Principle Investigator for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Pilot Grant in Women's Studies. The grant, which ran from May 1977 to August 1978, helped establish the Women's Studies program at ODU, the first of its kind in Virginia. Dr. Rhodes was also a co-founder of the Friends of Women's Studies organization, established in 1985 to provide monetary support to keep Women's Studies alive. From September 1982 to July 1983, Dr. Rhodes was a Fulbright Lecturer in American Literature at Babes-Bolyai University in Romania. She received a second Fulbright to lecturer in American Literature at Peking University in Bejing, from September 1986 to August 1987

Dr. Rhodes passed away in March of 2019 and had two children, Richard (b. 1949) and Babette (b. 1951).

Chronology

Date of Birth: May 16, 1925

Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, University of Alabama: 1945

Bachelor of Arts in English, University of Alabama: 1945

Master of Arts in Psychology, Columbia University: 1947

Master of Arts in English, University of Kentucky: 1959

Doctorate in English, University of Kentucky: 1965

Assistant Professor, Old Dominion University: 1965

Associate Professor, Old Dominion University: 1969

Principle Investigator, NEH Pilot Grant, Women's Studies: 1977-1978

Professor of English, Old Dominion University: 1978

Fulbright Lecturer, Romania: 1982-1983

Co-founder, Friends of Women's Studies: 1985

Fulbright Lecturer, Bejing: 1986-1987

Date of Death: March 24, 2019

Note written by Kelly C. Barbour

Acquisition information:

Dr. Carolyn H. Rhodes

Gift.

Processing information:

The collection was processed and finding aid created by Kelly C. Barbour in April 2006.

Arrangement:

The collection is organized into eleven series: Series I: Dr. Carolyn Rhodes; Series II: Women's Caucus; Series III: Women's Studies; Series IV: Other Courses; Series V: Speeches; Series VI: Publications; Series VII: Correspondence; Series VIII: Title IX; Series IX:: Multimedia; Series XI: Awards; and Series Xi: Miscellaneous Women's Events.

Accruals:

An addition to the collection was received on 10/22/2004.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard