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Rice University James A. Baker College Masters' Records

 Collection
Identifier: UA 069
Finding aid note: Stored off-site at the Library Service Center. Please request this material via woodson@rice.edu or call 713-348-2586.

Scope and Contents

Rosters, correspondence files, room assignments, rules and regulations, committee records, fellows records, roommate questionnaires and more, relating to Baker College daily business and special events such as Baker Night and Shakespeare Week, orientation. Materials were created and/or maintained by masters of Baker College, and are arranged in chronological order. Dates range from 1955-2008.

Dates

  • 1955 - 2008

Creator

Access Restrictions

Stored off-site at the Library Service Center. Please request this material via woodson@rice.edu or call 713-348-2586.

Conditions Governing Access

This material is open for research.

Use Restrictions

Permission to publish material from the Baker College Masters' Records must be obtained from Woodson Research Center.

Biographical/Historical note

As codified by the Committee on Student Housing in the 1950s, each residential college has a master, often a husband and wife team. The college masters "would be the primary ones responsible for achieving the goals of social concern and intellectual curiosity. It was therefore important to choose the masters with great care; the committee recommended that they be chosen from the ranks of full professors. Although the committee originally thought that masters, faculty fellows, and student officers would handle disciplinary matters, the final report emphasized that masters were not to be thought of as disciplinarians. The master retained overall responsibility for student life in his college, but his main duties were to counsel students, provide an example, and advise student committees. Excerpted from A History of Rice University: The Institute Years, 1907-1963, by Fredericka Meiners, pg. 180.

Historical Sketch of Baker College

Baker College was established as one of the five original residential colleges at Rice in the fall of 1957. It was named in honor of Captain James Addison Baker who served as the Rice Institute’s first chairman or the Board of Trustees. Following the opening of the Institute in 1912, the first buildings that comprise the present Baker College were constructed. The first unit to be completed in the residence area of the new institution was the present Commons of Baker, which was to serve as the central dining hall for the entire campus for forty-three years. The next building completed was “East Hall,” which is now known to members as the “Old Wing” of Baker. These buildings remained unchanged until the installation of the college system at Rice in 1957 when the addition of the “New Wing” and Baker House completed the present Baker College. The Baker House is home of the College Master and his family. The College went coed in the Fall of 1973.

Extent

18.5 Linear Feet ( (37 boxes))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract:

Rosters, correspondence files, room assignments, rules and regulations, committee records, fellows records, roommate questionnaires and more, relating to Baker College daily business and special events such as Baker Night and Shakespeare Week, orientation. Materials were created and/or maintained by masters of Baker College, and are arranged in chronological order.

Subjects

Record Groups

Related Names

Creator

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Guide to the Rice University James A. Baker College Masters' Records, 1955-2008
Status
Completed
Date
2014
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Woodson Research Center, Rice University, Houston, Texas Repository

https://library.rice.edu/woodson
Contact:
Fondren Library MS-44, Rice University
6100 Main St.
Houston Texas 77005 USA

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Harmful Content Statement
© 2023 Woodson Research Center
Fondren Library, Rice University
Physical Address: 6100 Main, Houston, Texas 77005-1827
Mailing Address: MS-44, P.O. Box 1892, Houston, Texas 77251-1892