Berea College - President William Goodell Frost Papers,ca. 1854-1964 (bulk 1880-1937)

Author

Processed by: staff; machine-readable finding aid created by:M. Plarr

Title

Berea College - President William Goodell Frost Papers

Date

ca. 1854-1964 (bulk 1880-1937)

Repository

Berea College Special CollectionsBerea, Kentucky 40404

Conditions Governing Access note

Copyright has not been assigned to Berea College.

Preferred Citation Note

[Identification of item], Berea College - President William Goodell Frost Papers, KYSX081-A, ca. 1854-1964 (bulk 1880-1937)Special Collections, Berea College, Berea, Ky.

Extent

21.4 lin. ft.

Biography/History

Frost, a native of LeRoy, New York, was an 1876 graduate of Oberlin College and from that year until 1892 was a professor of Greek there. Having refused the presidency of Berea College in 1889, Frost reconsidered after the resignation of William B. Stewart and was inaugurated in 1892. Frost is credited with being chiefly responsible for the significant growth of Berea College during this period. His term saw enrollment rise from 350 in 1912 to 2400 in 1920, and endowment increase from $100,000 to $3,500,000 over the same period.

He was also responsible for re-directing the school's mission from that of coeducation of blacks and whites to one which focused on education of "Appalachian Americans," a term he is credited with popularizing. This shift took place contemporaneously with passage in Kentucky of the Day Law (1904) which forbade integration of blacks and whites within single institutions. This resulted in removal of the College's black students, with Berea establishing the Lincoln Institute in Shelby County, Kentucky, a separate school solely for blacks.

Scope and Content

This collection consists of official and personal papers of Berea College's third president, who served from 1892 to 1920.

Unpublished guide.

It should be noted that in addition to materials described in series below, there are .8 l.f. of duplicate records (principally annual reports) included here which do not appear on inventory. (Boxes 14 and 15 are empty.)

Subjects

• Education, higher -- Administration
• Lincoln Ridge, Kentucky -- Lincoln Institute
• Shelby County, Kentucky -- Schools
• Schools -- Lincoln Institute
• Day Law (Kentucky)
• Segregation -- Berea College
• Education, higher -- Afro-Americans
• Segregation -- Law and legislation
• Discrimination, racial -- Law and legislation
• Afro-Americans -- Discrimination, racial
• Students, Afro-American -- Berea College
• Integration -- Berea College

Related Material

KYSX078-A supplies further information on the collection of which this subgroup is a part.