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The University of Toledo Archives
Manuscript Collection

 

Finding Aid

A. Monroe Stowe Papers, 1909-1970

UM-104

Size: .25 linear feet


Provenance: received from Eileen Finnegan and Richard W. Stowe

Access: open

Related Collections:  

Processing Note: Some of the materials in this collection, such as the correspondence and newspaper clippings, are photocopies. The originals have been retained by the donors.

Condition: Good

Copyright: The literary rights to this collection are assumed to rest with the person(s) responsible for the production of the particular items within the collection, or with their heirs or assigns.  Researchers bear full legal responsibility for the acquisition to publish from any part of said collection per Title 17, United States Code.  The Ward M. Canaday Center for Special Collections may reserve the right to intervene as intermediary at its own discretion.

Completed by: Maria Halovanic, Archival Assistant, Summer 2000.

Biographical Sketch

A. Monroe Stowe came to Toledo University to serve as its third president in 1914 with an extraordinary resume. Born in Walkerton, Indiana on August 30, 1883, he received a bachelor of philosophy and masters of art at Northwestern University, a master of arts from Harvard, and a doctor of philosophy from Columbia. He began his career teaching in public schools in Indiana and was principal of State Normal School at Hyannis, Massachusetts. He then spent three years as a professor of history and philosophy at Kansas State Teacher's College, one year as supervisor at Wisconsin State Normal School, Whitewater, and one year as an acting professor of education and psychology at DePauw University. Despite his extensive resume in the education field, there was little newspaper coverage of his appointment as president of Toledo University on September 4, 1914.


Stowe was faced with a difficult task when he took office. The Board of Directors had been divided over a controversy surrounding the last president, a controversy in which the faculty was also involved, and the financially troubled Toledo city government gave little support to the University to the extent that the Toledo Chamber of Commerce held the University to be detrimental to the welfare of the city. Stowe, however, proved himself to be a competent leader and strengthened the University by formulating rules on admission, student registration, course descriptions, and class credits. He also encouraged the faculty to organize committees and extracurricular clubs.


During his first two years of presidency, Stowe was also professor of education, dean of the college of Arts and Sciences, and taught a full schedule of classes. Additionally, he taught education classes at Michigan State Normal College during the summer term in 1915. His teaching led Stowe to seek a separate College of Education at Toledo University rather than conducting teacher training work in a department of Arts and Sciences. The new college was recognized in March of 1916.


In 1917, Stowe sought membership in the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools in order to gain recognition for degrees earned at Toledo University. The process of gaining accreditation took four years, during which time Stowe proposed that the name of Toledo University be changed to the University of Toledo to emphasize its status as an accredited university. The new name, however, was not used until the 1940's.


During Stowe's term as president, enrollment increased from 200 to 1,500 students, and the budget grew from $30,000 to $200,000. Despite the increases in the student body and income, Stowe tendered his resignation on December 16, 1918, citing the discrepancies between the University's increased success and his own salary which was lower than when he became president four years prior. The Board responded by increasing Stowe's salary from $5,800 to $7,008 to accommodate the rising cost of living. Stowe continued in his position of presidency until 1925, when he resigned after tension with the students over increased fees and disputes with the faculty over course offerings. 


After leaving the University of Toledo, Stowe taught at Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, was director of Lynchburg Extension Center of the University of Virginia, and became head of the University of New Hampshire's Teacher Education Division in 1934. He passed away at the age of 69 on July 16, 1952, survived by his wife, Marjorie Stowe, his son David Henry Stowe (who had served as the administrative assistant to President Truman) and two grandchildren.

Additional information in the biographical sketch was taken from:
Hickerson, F.R. The Tower Builders: The Centennial Story  of the University of Toledo. Toledo: The
University of Toledo, 1972.

Scope and Content Note

The A. Monroe Stowe Papers have been divided into five series: S1. Correspondence, S2. Unpublished Writing, S3. Published Writings, S4. Printed Material, and S5. Ephemera.

The Correspondence Series consists of letters written to A. Monroe Stowe by friends and family members as well as responses to those letters by A. Monroe Stowe. The correspondence have been arranged alphabetically by last name with Stowe's responses interfiled chronologically. Included in this series is correspondence between Frank R. Hickerson and David H. Stowe as part of Hickerson's research for The Tower Builders, the University of Toledo's centennial history.

The Unpublished Writing Series is comprised of one item, a partial manuscript by Stowe entitled "The University of the City of Toledo" which gives the history of the University.

The largest series is the Published Writings Series, which consists of published articles by Stowe from 1909 until 1950. The articles have been arranged alphabetically by title, except for the last one, which falls under the subseries, Published Writings by Others and which consists of one item by Elizabeth Mason on A-D-U tests.

The next series, Printed Material, is comprised of newspaper clippings concerning Stowe's retirement, newspaper of reviews of his writings, and a folder of material relating to the Real Academia de Bellas Artes y Ciencias Historicas de Toledo, a Spanish club which promoted the Spanish culture and language around the globe. Stowe's membership in this organization may have been the roots for Toledo, Ohio's sister city relationship with Toledo, Spain. A large certificate from the Real Academia can be found in the Archives Oversized Cabinet 2.

The final series is a single folder consisting of Ephemera. It contains a photograph of A. Monroe Stowe at a University of Toledo football game and programs from the University of Toledo.

 


 

Folder List

Box

Folder

Arrangement

 

 

S1. CORRESPONDENCE

 

 

 

1

1

Henry, David

1

2

Hickerson, F.R.

1

3

Hickerson, F.R. to David H. Stowe

1

4

Holm, Fritz

1

5

Real Academia de Bellas Artes y Ciencias Historicas de Toledo

1

6

Stowe, David H.

1

7

University of New Hampshire

1

8

Miscellaneous

 

 

 

 

 

S2. UNPUBLISHED WRITING

1

9

“The University of the City of Toledo” partial manuscript

 

 

 

 

 

S3. PUBLISHED WRITINGS

1

10

Bibliography of Stowe’s Published Writings by Year

1

11

“A-D-U Thesis Response Test in the Social Sciences As a Teaching Device”, April 1935

1

12

“The American College of Tomorrow”, October 1925

1

13

“Articulation of High School and College Curricula”, January 1932

1

14

“College Education Departments and College Educational Laymen”

1

15

“Current Educational Literature in the Magazines”

1

16

“Departments of Education in Progressive Colleges”, October 1934

1

17

“An Educational Creed”, January 1915

1

18

“Entrance Requirements and Degree Requirements of Liberal Arts Colleges in the South Atlantic States”, October-November 1932

1

19

“High School Jogging the College”, September 1926

1

20

“High School Teacher-Workers”, March 1918

1

21

“Instructional Cost Accounting in a Municipal University”, March 1920

1

22

“Junior College Aims and Curriculum”, 1926

1

23

“Liberal Arts Colleges and the Professional Preparation of High School Teachers”, September 1933

1

24

“A Liberal Education in the Twentieth Century”, February 1928

1

25

“Meeting the Demand of Our People for Free Public Higher Education”, November 1919

1

26

“The Motivation of Debate in Our Secondary Schools”

1

27

“Municipal Control of Urban Higher Education”, August 1926

1

28

“Organization and Work of the Department of Education of Randolph-Macon Woman’s College”, April 1927

1

29

“Orientation Courses”, April 1937

1

30

“Our Schools and Our Public”, March 1930

1

31

“Problem Outlines and Methods of Studying”, June 1909

1

32

“The Professional Training of High School Teachers”, March 1918

1

33

“Report of the Cooperative Study of Curricular Needs of the College of Washington and Lee University”, May 1928

1

34

“The Residential Distribution of Students of Three Women’s Colleges”, August 1923

1

35

“The Residential Distribution of Students of Select American Women’s Colleges in 1931-1932”, October 1933

1

36

“The Residential Distribution of Students of Select American Women’s Colleges”, October 1943

1

37

“Responsibilities of Colleges and Universities”, January 1940

1

38

“The School Club”, 1909

1

39

“The School Club, the School Garden and Correlated School Activities”, 1909

1

40

“A Social Need Revealed by Recent Crises in Democratic Secondary Education”, February 1934

1

41

“Social Sciences in the Ohio High School and the Ohio Academy of Social Sciences”, May 1920

1

42

“Social Science Teaching in City High Schools of Ohio,” March 1921

1

43

“A Social Studies Guide in Recent American History”, 1934

1

44

“Studies in Collegiate Education: A Bibliography”, June 1930, 1931

1

45

“Theses – Not Thesis”, May 1950

1

46

“Thesis Response Teaching in College”, 1927

1

47

“What is Education? Who is the Educated Man?” 1915

1

48

“What is the Matter with Our Colleges?” September 1925

1

49

“The Work of a Municipal College of Arts and Sciences”, November 1915

 

 

Subseries A. Published Writings, By Others

1

50

“A-D-U Tests and Examinations”, by Elizabeth Mason, November 1929

 

 

S4. PRINTED MATERIAL

1

51*

Real Academic de Bellas Artes y Ciencias Historicas de Toledo

1

52

Newspaper Clippings (photocopies), 1926-1927

 

 

S5. EPHEMERA

1

53

Miscellaneous ephemera

* one item located in Archives Oversized Cabinet 2

 

 

Last Updated: 6/27/22