Office of the Executive Vice President. Paul H. Musser Records UPA 7.1M

Summary Information

Prepared by

Jason A. Bodnar

Preparation date

August 2000

Date [bulk]

Bulk, 1940-1946

Date [inclusive]

1922-1948

Extent

4.0 Cubic feet

PROVENANCE

Transferred from the Office of the President, accessioned 1976 (1976-22). The majority of this collection was originally classified as UPA10, University Activity During World War II Records.

ARRANGEMENT

The Office of the Executive Vice President, Paul H. Musser Administration Records are organized into two series, Administration, 1940-1946, and Publications, 1922-1948. Both series are arranged alphabetically.

HISTORICAL NOTE

Paul Howard Musser was born the son of Cryus John and Hennetta Edith on March 27, 1892 in Bedford, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Mercersburg Academy in 1912 and attended Franklin and Marshall College for one year before matriculating into the University of Pennsylvania. Musser began to move up the administrative ladder at the University of Pennsylvania shortly after he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Penn in 1916. Starting as a reader for then-Vice Provost and professor of English Josiah H. Penniman, Musser soon progressed to the position of instructor in English and was elected assistant professor in 1924.

Musser, who married Mary Thaddeaus Carr in 1925, earned his doctoral degree in philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania in 1928 and was named Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and director of the College Collateral Courses in 1929. Musser was promoted to Administrative Vice President of the University of Pennsylvania in July of 1939. During World War II, Musser held the important position as the chairman of the University Committee on National Defense which coordinated the University’s war efforts. He served in that position under Thomas S. Gates until he became Provost on June 30, 1944. Musser served as Provost until July 1, 1951, when he was appointed Chairman of the University of Pennsylvania.

Paul Howard Musser died on November 21 1951 – less than five months after being named Chairman. He was the father of one son, John Carr, and two daughters, Janet Anne and Virginia Ellen.

In addition to his work at the University, Musser served on the boards of number of professional groups and educational institutions, the most prominent being Pennsylvania Association of Colleges and Universities, the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, and the Franklin and Marshall College.

SCOPE AND CONTENT

The Office of the Executive Vice President, Paul H. Musser Administration Records consist of documents, publications, and the correspondence of Musser with regard to the University of Pennsylvania and the Second World War, particularly in Musser’s capacity of the chair of the University Committee on National Defense.

The bulk of the collection is the Administration series, which consists largely of Musser’s correspondence from his positions of Administrative Vice President and Provost of the University of Pennsylvania in the years, 1940-1946. Included in this series are the minutes of the meetings of several war-time committees, as well as a number of publications – most notably a series of bulletins written by the American Council on Education. Also notable in this series are several surveys and questionnares relating to the war, as well as a good deal of direct correspondence between Musser and divisions of the military. Additionally, this collection includes a folder of correspondence between Dr. George W. McClelland and the University War Council.

The Publications series, 1922-1948, consists of loose pamphlets and booklets from the collection. With only a few exceptions, these pamphlets and booklets are from the same general time period, 1940-1946, as the Administration series, and most deal with either the University of Pennsylvania during the war, or World War II in general.

Controlled Access Headings

Corporate Name(s)

United States. Army.

United States. Navy.

University of Pennsylvania. Naval Flight Preparatory School.

University of Pennsylvania.

Subject(s)

Education–Pennsylvania–Philadelphia.

World War, 1939-1945–War work–Schools.

World War, 1939-1945–War work–Schools.–Pennsylvania–Philadelphia

Inventory