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New Chair at Williams College to Honor Distinguished Historian Frederick Rudolph '42
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., Sept. 19, 2007 -- Williams College has announced the appointment of Robert Dalzell as the college's first Frederick Rudolph '42 - Class of 1965 Professorship of American Culture.
The new chair, established by a fundraising effort led by E. David Coolidge III and members of the Class of 1965, honors one of the best known historians of the American undergraduate experience.
Rudolph wrote two classic texts in the study of higher education: "The American College and University: A History," and "Curriculum: A History of the American Undergraduate Course of Study since 1636."
In addition, his history of Williams, "Mark Hopkins and the Log," explored the broad significance of the college's longest serving president -- the subject of President James A. Garfield's famous claim that "the ideal college is Mark Hopkins on one end of a log and a student on the other."
Rudolph also edited "Essays on Education in the Early Republic" and "Perspectives: A Williams Anthology."
He taught from 1951 to 1982 at Williams, where he pioneered the interdisciplinary program now known as American Studies. He is the Mark Hopkins Professor of History, Emeritus.
Rudolph is a member of the National Academy of Education, the Massachusetts Historical Society, the American Historical Association, the American Studies Association, the American Association of University Professors, and the Organization of American Historians.
He earned his B.A. from Williams in 1942 and his Ph.D. in history from Yale in 1953.
He and his wife Dorothy reside in Williamstown, Mass.
"It's most appropriate for Williams to establish a professorship in honor of so distinguished a historian as Fred Rudolph," Dean of the Faculty William Wagner said, "and the college is fortunate to be able to name as the first holder of that chair a historian of such distinction as Bob Dalzell."
Dalzell, an American historian, has taught at Williams since 1970, including in the American Studies program.
He is the author, with former head of references services Lee B. Dalzell, of the recently published "The House the Rockefellers Built: A Tale of Money, Taste, and Power in Twentieth-Century America." Their book "George Washington's Mount Vernon: At Home in Revolutionary America" was published in 1998 to critical acclaim. He is also the author of "Enterprising Elite: The Boston Associates and the World They Made" (1993) and "Daniel Webster and the Trial of North American Nationalism, 1843-1852" (1975).
His recent courses at Williams have focused on more contemporary history, including "The Rise of American Business," "Imagining Urban America, Three Case Studies," and "Va Va Vroom! A Nation on Wheels."
Dalzell earned his B.A. from Amherst in 1959 and his Ph.D. in American Studies from Yale in 1966.
END
Founded in 1793, Williams College is the second oldest institution of higher learning in Massachusetts. The college's 2,000 students are taught by a faculty noted for the quality of their teaching and research, and the achievement of academic goals includes active participation of students with faculty in their research. Students' educational experience is enriched by the residential campus environment in Williamstown, Mass., which provides a host of opportunities for interaction with one another and with faculty beyond the classroom. Admission decisions are made regardless of a student's financial ability, and the college provides grants and other assistance to meet the demonstrated needs of all who are admitted. To visit the college on the Internet:www.williams.edu
The new chair, established by a fundraising effort led by E. David Coolidge III and members of the Class of 1965, honors one of the best known historians of the American undergraduate experience.
Rudolph wrote two classic texts in the study of higher education: "The American College and University: A History," and "Curriculum: A History of the American Undergraduate Course of Study since 1636."
In addition, his history of Williams, "Mark Hopkins and the Log," explored the broad significance of the college's longest serving president -- the subject of President James A. Garfield's famous claim that "the ideal college is Mark Hopkins on one end of a log and a student on the other."
Rudolph also edited "Essays on Education in the Early Republic" and "Perspectives: A Williams Anthology."
He taught from 1951 to 1982 at Williams, where he pioneered the interdisciplinary program now known as American Studies. He is the Mark Hopkins Professor of History, Emeritus.
Rudolph is a member of the National Academy of Education, the Massachusetts Historical Society, the American Historical Association, the American Studies Association, the American Association of University Professors, and the Organization of American Historians.
He earned his B.A. from Williams in 1942 and his Ph.D. in history from Yale in 1953.
He and his wife Dorothy reside in Williamstown, Mass.
"It's most appropriate for Williams to establish a professorship in honor of so distinguished a historian as Fred Rudolph," Dean of the Faculty William Wagner said, "and the college is fortunate to be able to name as the first holder of that chair a historian of such distinction as Bob Dalzell."
Dalzell, an American historian, has taught at Williams since 1970, including in the American Studies program.
He is the author, with former head of references services Lee B. Dalzell, of the recently published "The House the Rockefellers Built: A Tale of Money, Taste, and Power in Twentieth-Century America." Their book "George Washington's Mount Vernon: At Home in Revolutionary America" was published in 1998 to critical acclaim. He is also the author of "Enterprising Elite: The Boston Associates and the World They Made" (1993) and "Daniel Webster and the Trial of North American Nationalism, 1843-1852" (1975).
His recent courses at Williams have focused on more contemporary history, including "The Rise of American Business," "Imagining Urban America, Three Case Studies," and "Va Va Vroom! A Nation on Wheels."
Dalzell earned his B.A. from Amherst in 1959 and his Ph.D. in American Studies from Yale in 1966.
END
Founded in 1793, Williams College is the second oldest institution of higher learning in Massachusetts. The college's 2,000 students are taught by a faculty noted for the quality of their teaching and research, and the achievement of academic goals includes active participation of students with faculty in their research. Students' educational experience is enriched by the residential campus environment in Williamstown, Mass., which provides a host of opportunities for interaction with one another and with faculty beyond the classroom. Admission decisions are made regardless of a student's financial ability, and the college provides grants and other assistance to meet the demonstrated needs of all who are admitted. To visit the college on the Internet:www.williams.edu
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