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University of Central Florida College of Health and Public Affairs Records, 1976-2014, bulk 1985-1999

 

Summary

Creator:
Guin, Karen
Lawther, Wendall
Abstract:
This collection contains documents, correspondence, newsletters and ephemera relating to the College of Health and Public Affairs (COHPA) and its School of Public Administration. The majority of the collection was given by Dr. Wendell Lawther, who began teaching at UCF in 1984 and was a professor for the COHPA Department of Public Administration (later School of Public Administration) for thirty years.
Extent:
3 boxes 2.5 Linear Feet
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

University of Central Florida College of Health and Public Affairs Records, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida.

Background

Scope and content:

Series I: Lawther Records, 1976-2014 contains the records by Dr. Wendell Lawther, who was a professor that taught at the School of Public Administration. The series is comprised of documents concerning his professional life such as physical copies of his email correspondence, letters, department memorandums, newsletters, syllabuses for Public Administration classes, meeting minutes, faculty related documents, and schedules. Also included are documents relating to the instruction of Public Administration at UCF comprising of handbooks for graduate and doctoral students, strategic plans, annual reports, evaluation reports, brochures, correspondence among faculty members, and statistical reports.

Series II: COHPA Records, 2003-2014 contains organizational charts and the history of the academic programs in the College of Health and Public Affairs.

Biographical / historical:

The School of Public Administration has its roots in the Department of Public Service Administration that was established within the College of Social Sciences in 1975. Dr. Wendell Lawther departed from teaching at Old Dominion University in Virginia and joined the Department of Public Service Administration in 1984. During his thirty year stay at UCF he was present during the growth and many changes that occurred. In 1990 the Department of Public Service Administration left the College of Social Sciences and became the Department of Public Administration within the newly founded College of Health and Professional Studies. The following year in 1991, the college would be known as the College of Health and Public Affairs. In 1994, Dr. Lawther served as interim chair after former chair Robert Denhardt's departure and later as chair until 1997. In 1998 he was instrumental in building the Doctoral Program of Public Affairs, serving as the chair of the committee that created the program. Dr. Lawther would later say that this was his proudest achievement. In 2011 the Department of Public Administration became the School of Public Administration which is dedicated to providing education to students who desire careers in nonprofit management, urban and regional planning, research administration, emergency management, and public administration.

Dr. Wendell Lawther was born in Pennsylvania to Mr. and Mrs. Lawther who were both teachers. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Public Administration at the University of Delaware and received his doctorate at the University of Indiana. It was in his junior year of college that Dr. Lawther decided that he wanted to teach after reading an essay by Woodrow Wilson titled, The Study of Administration. He was inspired by a passage that said: "Our duty is, to supply the best possible life to a federal organization, to systems within systems; to make town, city, county, state, and federal governments live with a like strength and an equally assured healthfulness, keeping each unquestionably its own master and yet making all interdependent and co-operative combining independence with mutual helpfulness. The task is great and important enough to attract the best minds."

Acquisition information:
Karen Guin transferred these these materials to the University of Central Florida Libraries, Special Collection and University Archives in 2014 (CFU2014_11). Wendall Lawther transferred additional materials in 2017 (CFU2017_18).
Processing information:

Collection processed by and finding aid prepared by Bryan McDonough in 2017. Staples and paperclips were removed from documents and replaced with plastic clips. All material were placed into acid free folders and in acid free boxes. Documents containing personal information of students were shredded. Additional re-processing was done by Mary Rubin in 2018. The acquisition method field and the subjects were updated by Kryslynn Collazo in 2018, resulting in edition 2.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged in two series alphabetically.

Accruals:

Collection Identifier: CFU2014_11; Additions: CFU2017_18

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

The entire collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.

Preferred citation:

University of Central Florida College of Health and Public Affairs Records, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida.

Location of this collection:
John C. Hitt Library
12701 Pegasus Drive, Building 2
Orlando
FL
32816-8030
USA