The University of Chicago Library > The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center > Finding Aids > Guide to the William Scott Gray Papers 1916-1960
© 2007 University of Chicago Library
| Title: | Gray, William Scott. Papers |
|---|---|
| Dates: | 1916-1960 |
| Size: | 2 linear ft. (4 boxes) |
| Repository: |
Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center |
| Abstract: | The William Scott Gray Papers include Gray's personal correspondence, professional correspondence, and miscellaneous papers accumulated during the later years of his career. |
No restrictions.
When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Gray, William Scott. Papers, [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library
William Scott Gray (1885-1960), Professor of Education and Dean of the College of Education, was born in Coatsburg, Illinois. After studying at Illinois State Normal University, the University of Chicago, and Columbia University Teachers College, Gray returned to Chicago to earn his Ph.D. in 1916. Gray's dissertation on standardized reading tests was among the earliest reports on elementary school reading performance and propelled him into a leading position in the national movement for educational measurement. As Dean of the College of Education from 1917 to 1931, Gray conducted further investigations in reading and encouraged the use of quantitative tests in other areas of educational research.
When the College was dissolved in 1931, Gray became Director of Teacher Education in the School of Education. Two years later, when the School itself was disbanded and responsibility for teacher education dispersed to individual academic departments, Gray was appointed executive secretary of the Committee on the Preparation of Teachers, a group charged with coordinating teacher-training requirements and curricula. From 1933 to 1945, during a period of shifting educational policy, Gray was able to offer the Committee insights from his long administrative experience and serve as a bridge to earlier institutional structures.
In addition to his administrative duties, Gray taught regular courses in the Department of Education, organized an Annual Reading Conference from 1938-1952, and directed the University's semi-annual teacher education conferences from 1933 to 1950. His publications on reading and other topics in education were voluminous, and amounted to more than 400 books and articles by the time of his retirement in 1950. For the last ten years of his life, Gray was Director of Research in Reading and Professor Emeritus in the Department.
The William Scott Gray Papers include Gray's personal correspondence, professional correspondence, and miscellaneous papers accumulated during the later years of his career.
| Box 1 Folder 1 | Personal correspondence, 1916-1919 |
| Box 1 Folder 2 | Personal correspondence, 1920-1921 |
| Box 1 Folder 3 | Personal correspondence, 1922 |
| Box 1 Folder 4 | Personal correspondence, 1923-1926 |
| Box 1 Folder 4a | Personal and professional correspondence, 1930 |
| Box 1 Folder 5 | Professional correspondence, 1931-1933 |
| Box 1 Folder 6 | Professional correspondence, 1935-1939 |
| Box 1 Folder 7 | Professional correspondence, 1940-1945 |
| Box 1 Folder 8 | Bibliographies of WSG publications, 1933-1960 |
| Box 1 Folder 8a | Biographical materials |
| Box 1 Folder 9 | Notes on teacher education and administration |
| Box 1 Folder 10 | Miscellaneous lecture notes |
| Box 1 Folder 11 | "The Preparation of Teachers of Chemistry" |
| Box 1 Folder 12 | "A Study of the Characteristics of Teachers" |
| Box 1 Folder 13 | Student papers, 1931 |
| Box 1 Folder 14 | Student papers, 1936-1945 |
| Box 1 Folder 15 | Student papers, undated |
| Box 2 Folder 1 | Dept. of Education faculty minutes, 1938-1939 |
| Box 2 Folder 2 | Dept. of Education syllabi, Edu 233 to 296 |
| Box 2 Folder 3 | Dept, of Edu 351 to Edu 466 |
| Box 2 Folder 4 | Committee on the Preparation of Teachers, general reports |
| Box 2 Folder 5 | Committee on the Preparation of Teachers, reports on academic fields |
| Box 2 Folder 6 | Teacher training at other institutions |
| Box 2 Folder 7 | Teachers College Conference topics, 1933-1934 |
| Box 2 Folder 8 | Teachers College Conference papers, Jan 1934 |
| Box 2 Folder 9 | Teachers College Conference papers, Mar 1934 |
| Box 2 Folder 10 | Teachers College Conference papers, May 1934 |
| Box 2 Folder 11 | Teachers College Conference papers, Jan 1935 |
| Box 2 Folder 12 | Teachers College Conference papers, Oct 1935 |
| Box 2 Folder 13 | Teachers College Conference papers, Jan 1936 |
| Box 2 Folder 14 | Teachers College Conference papers, Jan 1937 |
| Box 2 Folder 15 | Teachers College Conference papers, May 1937 |
| Box 2 Folder 16 | Teachers College Conference papers, Oct 1937 |
| Box 2 Folder 17 | Teachers College Conference papers, Jan 1938 |
| Box 2 Folder 18 | Teachers College Conference papers, May 1938 |
| Box 3 Folder 1 | Teachers College Conference papers, Feb 1940 |
| Box 3 Folder 2 | Teachers College Conference papers, May 1940 |
| Box 3 Folder 3 | Teachers College Conference papers, Oct 1940 |
| Box 3 Folder 4 | Teachers College Conference papers, Feb 1941 |
| Box 3 Folder 5 | Teachers College Conference papers, May 1941 |
| Box 3 Folder 6 | Teachers College Conference papers, Oct 1941 |
| Box 3 Folder 7 | Teachers College Conference papers, Feb 1942 |
| Box 3 Folder 8 | Teachers College Conference papers, May 1942 |
| Box 3 Folder 9 | Teachers College Conference papers, Oct 1942 |
| Box 3 Folder 10 | Teachers College Conference papers, Mar 1943 |
| Box 3 Folder 11 | Teachers College Conference papers, May 1943 |
| Box 3 Folder 12 | Teacher Education Conference papers, May 1944 |
| Box 3 Folder 13 | Teacher Education Conference papers, Oct 1944 |
| Box 3 Folder 14 | Teacher Education Conference papers, Apr 1945 |
| Box 3 Folder 15 | Teacher Education Conference papers, Oct 1945 |
| Box 4 Folder 1 | Teacher Education Conference papers, Apr 1946 |
| Box 4 Folder 2 | Teacher Education Conference papers, Oct 1946 |
| Box 4 Folder 3 | Teacher Education Conference papers, Apr 1947 |
| Box 4 Folder 4 | Teacher Education Conference papers, Oct 1947 |
| Box 4 Folder 5 | Teacher Education Conference papers, Apr 1948 |
| Box 4 Folder 6 | Teacher Education Conference papers, Oct 1948 |
| Box 4 Folder 7 | Teacher Education Conference papers, Apr 1949 |
| Box 4 Folder 8 | Teacher Education Conference papers, Oct 1949 |
| Box 4 Folder 9 | Teacher Education Conference papers, Apr 1950 |
| Box 4 Folder 10 | Conference papers, undated |