Marsh, Charles Franklin
Papers, 1958-1968
4.6 cubic feet, in 6 boxes
Record Group 207
Charles F. Marsh became the seventh president of Wofford College on September 1, 1958. A 1925 graduate of Lawrence College in Appleton, Wisconsin, he took the Master of Arts from the University of Illinois in 1926, and the Ph.D. from Illinois in 1928. He was a faculty member at American University, and from 1930 to 1958, a professor of economics at the College of William and Mary. In his last six years at William and Mary, he was Dean of the Faculty. He was involved in civic affairs in Williamsburg, serving on several economic planning agencies. An active churchman, he was a member of several annual conference boards in the Virginia and South Carolina conferences and a member of the Methodist General Conference. Dr. Marsh also served as a member of the Methodist Commission on Church Union and as a member of the University Senate of the Methodist Church. Active in the affairs of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, he was a member of the SACS Executive Council at the time of the integration crisis at the University of Mississippi. Dr. Marsh retired from the presidency of Wofford in 1968, returning to Williamsburg to teach in the Graduate School at William and Mary.
Organization: Organized into six groups: 1: College Papers; 2: Church Papers; 3: South Carolina Higher Education Papers; 4: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Papers; 5: Correspondence; 6:Inauguration, Photographs, and Articles.
Access: Unrestricted
Summary: President Marsh’s office files contain correspondence relating to numerous aspects of Wofford College in the 1960s. Principally, the college papers consist of correspondence with the deans, Philip Covington and Frank Logan, with faculty, with alumni and donors, and with some students. Some of his speeches and statements are also included in this section. Two folders of his correspondence relate to the College’s 1964 decision to integrate. The church papers deal with his work on the Conference Board of Education and with his service for the University Senate as a counselor to two North Carolina Methodist colleges. His Southern Association work involved the evaluation and accreditation of Pikeville College in Kentucky, and his service on the executive committee during the integration of the University of Mississippi. Of particular interest are letters he received during the crisis from interested persons and his response to some of those letters. In addition to his papers are the records of his inauguration, a number of photographs, and newspaper clippings.
Cite As: Papers of President Charles F. Marsh
Location: Archives, Sandor Teszler Library, Wofford College, Spartanburg, SC 29303-3663
Related materials: Records of President Paul Hardin III
Finding Aid: Folder listing
Accessioned April 21, 1988, with further accessions in 2003 with the Joab Lesesne Papers.
Processed by Phillip Stone on July 29, 1998 and completed on July 21, 1999 by Phillip Stone and Peter Kay. Arrangement refined in 2005. Processing refined on July 6, 2011 by Phillip Mullinnix.
Folder listing
Folder Contents
1. Trustees
2. Wofford Associates
3. Dean of the College Philip S. Covington
4. Faculty
5. Dean S. Frank Logan and Student Affairs
6. Fraternity Affairs
7. Religious Life and Donald Stanton
8. Harold Smithyman and Finance
9. Edward Sydnor
10. Library Correspondence
11. Development Planning
12. Alumni Affairs
13. Portrait Committee Report, 1963
13A. Grace DuPre and Mason DuPre Portrait
14. Glee Club and John Coker
15. ROTC
16. Athletics and Eleven Club
17. Publications Board
18. National Merit Scholarships
19. Danforth Workshop and Foundation
20. Committee on the Superior Student
21. General Electric College Bowl
22. Commencement 1962, Controversy surrounding address by Charles Parlin
23. Commencement 1965
24. Speeches and Statements
25. Woodrow Ward Advocate Articles and response by Trustees and President Marsh
26. South Carolina Conference Board of Education
27. General Board of Education, the Methodist Church
28. Methodist Higher Education
29. 1964 General Conference
30. Methodist Higher Education Fund
31. University Senate of the Methodist Church
32. North Carolina Wesleyan College - UMC Senate
33. North Carolina Methodist College - UMC Senate
34. “Contributions of Wofford College to Methodism,” Address on July 1, 1964
35. Historical Society, SEJ, the Methodist Church
36. Commission on Church Union, the Methodist Church
37. Colin Simmons, Africa trip
38. South Carolina Foundation of Independent Colleges
39. South Carolina Association of Colleges
40-47. Southern Association of Colleges and Schools papers and minutes
48. SACS – Integration Crisis at the University of Mississippi
49. Southern Association of Colleges and Schools - Report on Pikeville College
50. Higher Education Facilities Act
51. Integration at Clemson
52. Kellogg Foundation
53. Correspondence
Correspondence-Gosnell, Cullen B.
53A. Correspondence-Roger Milliken, 1960-61
53B. Correspondence-Roger Milliken, 1962-64
53C. Correspondence-Roger Milliken, 1965-68
53D. Correspondence-Lusk Corp.
53E. Correspondence-US Steel Foundation
53F. Correspondence-Gulf Oil Corp. Foundation
53G. Correspondence-Quaker Oats Foundation
Correspondence-Demopoulos Scholarship Fund
Correspondence-Pettis, Charles S.
54. Integration: Letters supporting
55. Integration: Letters opposing
56. Articles by Dr. Marsh
57. Inauguration
58. Inaugural Greetings
59. Reports (to S.C. Annual Conference)
60. Photographs
61. Marsh Retirement and Honors
62. Personal
Additional materials about Dr. Marsh, includes newspaper clippings, post-presidential and retirement material. Also obituaries of Dr. and Mrs. Marsh.
Subjects: Wofford College--Education--20th Century; Wofford College--Administration; Marsh, Charles Franklin; Methodist Church - Education; Southern Association of Colleges and Schools; University of Mississippi--Integration;