Robert K. and Olive Grabill Carr Papers, 1907-1981
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Administrative/Biographical History
Robert K. Carr
Robert K. Carr (1908-1979), widely respected academician and ninth president of Oberlin College, was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on February 15, 1908. He received his primary and secondary education in Cleveland and East Cleveland. He attended Dartmouth College (A.B. 1929) and Harvard University (A.M. 1930, Ph D. 1935), and was the recipient of six honorary degrees, including one from Dartmouth College (LL.D, 1960).
From 1931-1937 Carr taught at the University of Oklahoma at Norman. In 1937, he returned to his alma mater, Dartmouth, where he taught in the Department of Political Science (Government) for the next 23 years. During this period Carr produced a prodigious body of work, which earned him a national reputation in the field as a scholar and practitioner of civil liberties. Carr authored three principal books, The Supreme Court and Judicial Review (1942); Federal Protection of Civil Rights (1947); and The House Committee on Un-American Activities (1952); and he co-authored four others, American Democracy in Theory and Practice (1951, 1971); Civil Liberties Under Attack (1953); Foundations of Freedom (1958); and Aspects of Liberty (1958). American Democracy… with Marver Bernstein (past President of Brandeis University), was one of the most widely used introductory-level college textbooks in political science and government.
Carr also made a major contribution to the work of the Commission on Civil Rights during the Truman Administration. He served as its executive secretary and was the principal author of the Federal report titled To Secure These Rights.
Inaugurated as the ninth president of Oberlin College in 1960, Carr’s charge was to restore an academic character to the presidency and direct the process of administrative change on the Oberlin College campus. Over the next decade the physical plant saw impressive growth and modernization in both teaching and dormitory facilities, with 15 new buildings completed. Two national fund-raising efforts—to raise $7.5 million and $6.5 million, respectively—were successfully completed. A capital gifts campaign followed to raise $15 million for a men’s gymnasium (Philips Physical Education Center) and for a central library (Mudd Center). The market value of the endowment increased by approximately 63 percent and the general budget rose from almost $5 million in 1959-60 to almost $11 million in 1969.
At this time, Oberlin led liberal arts colleges in widening student participation in the process of educational change. Student representatives were given full voting membership in the divisional faculties and general faculty. Students served on nearly all college committees as voting members. Even the Board of Trustees was expanded to include class trustees, one from each of the last three graduation classes to serve three-year terms.
Under a report prepared for the Board of Trustees, which advanced administrative reorganization of the college, new administrative departmental units were created during the “Sixties.” New positions created included the following: dean of students, provost, director of financial aid, director of administrative services, personnel officer, and publications director. Functions of other offices were also redefined, transferred, or eliminated (e.g., Office of the Secretary, Business Manager, and the Prudential Committee of the Board of Trustees). The closing of the Oberlin Graduate School of Theology represented one of the major divisional changes. It merged with the Divinity School at Vanderbilt University in 1966. Additionally, the Schauffler Division of Christian Education, part of GST since 1954, was ultimately placed at The Defiance College, Defiance, Ohio.
During the Vietnam years, Carr clashed with students as he tried to provide an “institutional definition of the proper role and tactics of social protest and dissent in the academic community.” Ultimately, campus demonstrations over the prolonged war in Southeast Asia, along with the polarization of the college community, prevented Carr from completing his agenda for change. In November 1970, Carr was forced to resign as President of Oberlin College.
Carr subsequently joined the American Council on Education (ACE) in Washington, D.C. as executive associate. Previously, he had served as a Trustee (1964-1967) and Research Scholar (1970) for ACE. At the Council, he directed a study of the future of the academic profession. His work resulted in co-authoring a book (with Daniel K. Van Eyck) titled Collective Bargaining Comes to the Campus, 1973.
Coming off a very active presidency, Carr also kept himself busy on other fronts in retirement. He was trustee and vice chairman of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (1964-70), a member of the American Political Science Association (1948-50), and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1955-). In addition, he was a member of the Visiting Committee of the Department of Government at Harvard (1965-70), the Advisory Committee on Higher Education of the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare (1967-68), the Advisory Board of the U.S. Naval Academy (1969-71), and the Board of Massachusetts Maritime Academy (1973-78).
In the spring of 1975, he returned to Oberlin College as Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Department of Government. He taught two sections of a course on Constitutional Law, and he made use of the Olympic-sized swimming pool bearing his name. In retirement, beginning in early 1978, he also served as a consultant to the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges. For the association, he designed a program to assist academic boards of trustees in evaluating their own procedures, responsibilities, and performances.
Robert K. Carr married Olive Grabill (see biographical sketch) on August 25, 1933. They had three children: Norman, Elliott, and Robert.
Robert K. Carr died in Elyria, Ohio on February 21, 1979, after a grave illness. He was survived by his wife, Olive, who passed away in January 2003.
Olive Grabill Carr
Olive Grabill Carr, the daughter of Ethelbert Vincent and Elizabeth (Ziegler) Grabill, was born on September 23, 1907 in Boston, Massachusetts. According to Olive, she came to Oberlin the long way around. Her grandfather, Major Elliott Finley Grabill, Oberlin class of 1862, served in the Union Army under General Giles W. Shurtleff. He was head of a Black company and if captured he would probably have been shot by the Confederate Army. Her grandmother, Anna Jenney, was also a member of the class of 1862. Olive’s father, Ethelbert Vincent Grabill graduated from Oberlin in 1896. Her brother Elliott married an Oberlinian, Martha Loomis (1944) and her sister Elizabeth (Betty) Grabill graduated from Oberlin in 1934.
Olive Grabill Carr attended her mother’s alma mater, Wellesley College. In addition to her A.B. from Wellesley (1929), Olive Carr earned a B.S. degree from Simmons College and an M.A. in social work from Howard University. She came to Oberlin in 1960 with her husband (m. 1933) Robert Kenneth Carr, the ninth president of Oberlin College. She shared President Carr’s life-long commitment to civil rights and social justice and was his steadfast partner and collaborator throughout his distinguished career. Mrs. Carr was an active social worker at the Child Guidance Clinic in Dover, N.H., during her husband’s long tenure at Dartmouth College where he was a professor prior to his appointment to the Oberlin Presidency in 1960.
Mrs. Carr reached out to the Oberlin student body through weekly luncheons with senior girls held in her home—a tradition she brought from her days at Wellesley College. Despite the turbulence of the era in which she and Robert Carr were in the President’s house, she defended both the majority of Oberlin students as well behaved, responsible, and thoughtful individuals and her husband’s actions to promote a more open campus environment. During her husband’s tenure as president of Oberlin College, she worked hard to achieve a balance between her individual self and her public life.
Mrs. Carr died in Cleveland, Ohio on January 8, 2003, where she had lived since 1979. She is buried with her husband (d. 1979) in Westwood Cemetery, Oberlin. She was survived by her three sons, Norman, Elliott, and Robert, seven grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.
Author: Lisa Hicks Forms of Material (links to similar genres) Administrative InformationThree installments of records for Robert K. Carr were received from the Office of the President, 1973, 1975, 1976, and 1978 (208, 1976/2, 1978/18). Some of the material were separated form the Presidential Collection and placed in this personal papers group.
Geoffrey Blodgett transferred the personal papers of President Robert Kenneth Carr that belonged to Olive G. Carr to the Oberlin College Archives after the death of Robert Carr in 1979 (1979/16).
Michael Doyle donated the copy of the FBI file concerning Robert K. Carr, 1960, in July 2000 (2000/62).
Norman and Carolyn Carr donated additional personal papers of Robert K. and Olive G. Carr (2003/018, 2007/077 and 2009/001) to the Oberlin College Archives.
For records associated with President Carr, the researcher is advised to consult the following collections: Board of Trustees (1); Office of the Secretary (5); Presidents (2); and Alumni and Development Records (28/4) Box 3.
See also the Elliott F. Grabill Papers (30/43), which were donated by Olive G. Carr to the College Archives. For correspondence, see the Seabury C. and Agnes W. Mastick Papers (30/350).
The first subgroup in this record group consists of four series, which document President Robert K. Carr’s pre-presidential and post-presidential years, particularly through his extensive correspondence. Materials (i.e., lecture notes, writings) relating to his professional work concerning civil liberties and his career as an academician are contained in this collection. Carr’s service on President Harry Truman’s Committee on Civil Rights is documented in Series 2. Professional Teaching and Service. In addition to research notes, the collection includes the texts to several speeches as well as many of his writings in the field of political science. There are also several talks and writings from his tenure as President of Oberlin College, 1960-70. The collection also includes some photographs and personal memorabilia from his childhood and high school years.
Subgroup I is divided into five series: Correspondence; Professional Teaching and Service; Speeches, Talks, and Writings; Photographs and Scrapbooks; and, Miscellaneous.
The second subgroup in this collection contains the papers of Olive Grabill Carr, wife of Robert K. Carr. Included in this subgroup are speeches, writings, and correspondence of Olive G. Carr. Her writings and correspondence addressed campus life at Oberlin in the 1960s, as well as questions concerning education and youth in general. Olive Grabill Carr spoke at several Oberlin Alumni functions and the texts of these speeches are contained in this collection. Her presentations concerned issues of personal interest to her including: motherhood, women’s role in society, the role of a college president’s wife, and issues facing American youth.
Finally, this subgroup contains brief biographical information of Olive Grabill Carr and photographs of her and of Point Connett, Mattapoisett, Massachusetts (a family vacation location). A separate correspondence series of the Grabill Family includes letters written to her parents, Ethelbert V. and Elizabeth Z. Grabill, who had long standing Oberlin ties.
Subgroup II is divided into five series: biographical; correspondence (Olive G. Carr); Grabill Family correspondence; speeches, talks, and writings; and, photographs and scrapbooks. The majority of the documents in this subgroup were received after the death of Olive Carr in 2003.
SERIES DESCRIPTIONS
Subgroup I. Files Relating to Robert Kenneth Carr, 1908-1977, 1979, n.d.
Series 1. Correspondence, 1925-1977 (2.7 l.f.)
This series is divided into four subseries: 1. Pre-Presidential Years, 1925-1970; 2. Presidential Years, 1959-1970s; 3. Post-Presidential Years, 1970-1977; and 4. Family Papers, 1950-1951, 1976.
Series 2. Professional Teaching & Special Services, 1930s-1975, n.d. (0.5 l.f.)
Records in this series relate to Carr’s professorial career and special projects with which he was associated. Examples of items in this series are lecture notes and research work for the President’s Committee on Civil Rights. Also included is a file of photographs and negatives related to English Civil Liberties. Lastly contained in this series is the FBI file compiled in 1960 on Carr and his career, including service on President Harry Truman’s Committee on Civil Rights.
Series 3. Speeches, Talks, and Writings, 1933-1974, n.d. (1.9 l.f.)
This series documents Carr’s speeches and writings and is divided into four subseries: 1. Speeches, 2. Talks, 3. Writings, and 4. Publishers. Carr’s written work consists of notes and articles for research projects and books related to civil liberties. The publishers subseries contains correspondence and contracts with various publishers such as Holt, Rinehart, Co.
Series 4. Photographs and Scrapbooks, 1908-1925, 1933-1976, n.d. (0.48 l.f.)
Subseries 1. includes a variety of loose black and white photographs of President and Mrs. Carr. Many are labeled. The subseries also contains two photo albums, the first of which documenting the inauguration of President Carr (October 22, 1960). The second album consists of photographs of the various vacations and travels of Robert and Olive Carr (ca. 1960-1976). Subseries 2. contains the Baby Book of Robert Kenneth Carr, 1908-1925, which includes many photographs of his early years, and an album containing Christmas cards, newspaper clippings, photos of the Carr home in Massachusetts, and photocopies of photos and a letter, 1933-1970.
Series 5. Miscellaneous files, 1925, 1979 (3 folders)
This final series contains high school memorabilia from Robert Carr’s years at Shaw High School, Cleveland, where he was active in debate team. The last folder contains a memorial service program and the obituaries for Robert K. Carr, 1979.
Subgroup II. Files Relating to Olive Grabill Carr, 1907, 1920s, 1960-1981, n.d.
Series 1. Biographical, 1907, 1925, 1928, 1977 (3 folders)
This series contains a photocopy of Olive Carr’s birth certificate, 1907; her passport issued in 1977; and two grade reports from her years at Wellesley College, Fall 1925 and Fall 1928. These are restricted documents.
Series 2. Correspondence, 1929, 1960-1981, n.d. (5 folders)
Consists of Olive G. Carr’s personal correspondence and drafts of correspondence during her years at Oberlin, including several letters to students, as well as her regular correspondence with Dewey Ward and Seabury and Agnes Mastick during the 1960s. Also included in this series are a number of letters written by Olive to her parents, Ethelbert V. and Elizabeth Z. Grabill, during her Europe Trip in 1929. There are additional letters to her parents from Olive’s companions concerning Olive’s health on the trip.
Series 3. Grabill Family Correspondence, 1907 (2 folders)
Includes letters to Elizabeth Grabill, mother of Olive Grabill Carr, Elliott Grabill, and Elizabeth (Betty) Grabill (Mrs. Farley), congratulating her on the birth of her daughter Olive in 1907. One 1907 letter addressed directly to Olive from her Aunt Sarah welcomed the baby into the world.
Series 4. Speeches, Talks, and Writings, 1960s, n.d. (3 folders)
This series contains numerous speeches given by Olive Carr in the 1960s, as well as her reflections decades later on the 1960s in Oberlin. Also included are Olive’s drafts of speeches and writings.
Series 5. Photographs and Scrapbooks, 1920s, 1973, n.d. (3 folders)
Contained in this series is the photograph album of Olive G. Carr with Point Connett Snaps, 1920s. Also included are several photographs from various points in Mrs. Carr’s life and a number of photocopied photographs. The majority of the photographs are undated.