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Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], John R. Hutcheson Family Collection, Ms2015-001, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
The John R. Hutcheson Family Collection was donated to Special Collections and University Archives in 2014.
The processing, arrangement, and description of the John R. Hutcheson Family Collection was completed in February 2015.
One of seven children, John Redd Hutcheson (1886-1962) was born to Robert Francis and Mary Claiborne (née Barksdale) Hutcheson near Charlotte Courthouse, Virginia, on January 13, 1886. Dr. Jack, as he was affectionately known, married Eleanor Parrott in 1917, and the couple had three children: Eleanor Barksdale (Mrs. Charles, III) Catlett, John Redd Hutcheson, Jr., and Robert Parrott Hutcheson, who died serving during World War II. Hutcheson served briefly during World War I, and he operated the Edgemont Farm with his brother T.B. Hutcheson.
John Hutcheson earned a B.S. degree in 1907 and M.S. in 1909 from Virginia Polytechnic Institute (VPI, now Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University or Virginia Tech) as well as honorary doctorates from Clemson College in 1937 and North Carolina State College in 1947. Following graduation from VPI, he taught and served as principal for schools in Virginia and Mississippi as well as lectured at the University of Virginia. In 1914, Hutcheson joined the Virginia Agricultural Extension Service (now the Virginia Cooperative Extension), becoming its director in 1919.
In 1945, Hutcheson succeeded Julian A. Burruss as VPI's ninth president, serving until the Board of Visitors elected Hutcheson to become VPI's first chancellor in 1947. The following year, the Board established the VPI Educational Foundation, Inc. (known today as the Virginia Tech Foundation, Inc.) and named Dr. Jack its first president. He left the chancellorship in 1956, while remaining the foundation's president until his death on January 23, 1962.
External Sources:
Kinnear, Duncan Lyle. 1972.
Robertson, Jenkins Mikell. 1972.
The John R. Hutcheson Family Collection, 1890-1969, documents Hutcheson's family and his career at the Virginia Agriculture Extension Service (VAES, now Virginia Cooperative Extension) and Virginia Polytechnic Institute (VPI, now Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University or Virginia Tech). Comprising correspondence, newspaper clippings, printed materials, photographs, and a scrapbook, the collection is divided into two series, Series I: Personal Papers and Series II: Professional Papers. The first series contains biographical sketches of John R. Hutcheson, legal documents, and printed material regarding his death and VPI. Correspondence discusses his and his son's war service, the Hutcheson and Barksdale genealogy, and his extended family. A scrapbook compiled by Eleanor P. Hutcheson covers family and local events, such as weddings, deaths, and faculty and staff appointments at the VAES and VPI. Photographs and a photograph album depict Hutcheson and his wife, friends and events at the university and in the local area, and Hutcheson's 1907 VPI football team.
The second series of Professional Papers is divided into three subseries: Subseries A: Appointments and Nominations, Subseries B: Virginia Agriculture Extension Service (VAES), and Subseries C: Virginia Polytechnic Institute (VPI). Appointments and Nominations contains correspondence and newspaper clippings regarding possible appointments for Hutcheson in the federal government and banking firms, his rejections of these offers in order to stay on at VAES and VPI, and his service as chairman on the Radford Area Defense Council. The VAES subseries documents his work as director, including the celebrations surrounding his 25th anniversary and the successes of the county agents and home demonstration workers in the program during the Great Depression. The VPI series concerns Hutcheson's appointment as president of the university and includes a report card from 1890, among other items.
The collection is arranged by type of material and chronologically.
See also the Records of the Office of the President, John Redd Hutcheson, RG 2/9, and Edgemont Farm Papers, Ms2003-022, at Virginia Tech Special Collections and University Archives. John R. Hutcheson Academic Regalia , Textile-2000-001
The guide to the John R. Hutcheson Family Collection by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (https://creativecommons.org/share-your- work/public-domain/cc0/).