Norfolk Division of the College of William and Mary and Old Dominion College Collection

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], Norfolk Division of the College of William and Mary and Old Dominion College Collection, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.

Summary

Extent:
15.00 Linear Feet and 41 Hollinger document cases boxes
Creator:
College of William and Mary. Norfolk Division, Old Dominion College, and Old Dominion University
Abstract:
These papers documents the college's early years as a two-year branch campus, the industrial training courses during World War II, the creation of the Evening College and Technical Institute, and its transition to an accredited university. Included in the records are correspondence, newspapers, reports, college histories, building plans, bulletins, course descriptions and syllabi, newspaper clippings, and scrapbooks.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Box [insert number], Folder [insert number and title], Norfolk Division of the College of William and Mary and Old Dominion College Collection, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.

Background

Scope and content:

The bulk of the collection contains records pertaining to the Norfolk Division of the College of William and Mary and Old Dominion College. Included in the records are correspondence, newspapers, reports, college histories, building plans, bulletins, course descriptions and syllabi, newspaper clippings, and scrapbooks.

Biographical / historical:

In 1930, the College of William and Mary developed a two-year campus in Norfolk, located in the former Larchmont grade school on Hampton Boulevard. Initially known as the Norfolk Division of the College William and Mary, the college's name changed as its course offerings expanded and contracted. In 1931, "Virginia Polytechnic Institute" was added to the school's title as it began offering engineering classes. In an effort to increase enrollment during World War II, the school began teaching industrial and academic war training courses for the Navy. After the war, these courses were expanded into the Technical Institute, a new division of the college. The Technical Institute, at times part of the Evening College, was created to provide non-credit trade and industrial education for white men and a few courses for white women. In 1958, as the college became increasingly focused on academic instruction, "Virginia Polytechnic Institute" was dropped from the school's name. Moving towards independence, the school became the "Norfolk College of William and Mary" in 1961. Finally, in 1962 it broke formal ties with the College of William and Mary and became accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) as a separate college with a new name, Old Dominion College. Two years later the college admitted its first African-American student. In 1969, the college expanded its graduate offerings and became Old Dominion University.

Note written by Mel Frizzell

Acquisition information:

Unknown

Some of the material was gathered by the faculty Committee on Archives and Records in the 1950s and 1960s. Other portions were collated by Dr. Robert C. McClelland and librarian Benjamin Franklin Clymer.

Arrangement:

The collection is organized into thirteen series: Series I: War Training Files; Series II: Administrative Files; Series III: H.H. Sisson Director of Administration Correspondence; Series IV: Evening College; Series V: Director of Admissions and Registration; Series VI: Academic Files; Series VII: Technical Institute; Series VIII: Student Activity Files; Series IX: Faculty Advisory Committee; Series X: Music Concert Series; Series XI: College Newsletters and Publications; Series XII: College Expansion; and Series XIII: General Correspondence, Notes, Reports, Speeches, Studies, and Summaries.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard