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University of Chicago Library

Guide to the William Scott Gray Papers 1916-1960

© 2007 University of Chicago Library

Descriptive Summary

Title:

Gray, William Scott. Papers

Dates:

1916-1960

Size:

2 linear ft. (4 boxes)

Repository:

Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center
University of Chicago Library
1100 East 57th Street
Chicago, Illinois 60637 U.S.A.

Abstract:

The William Scott Gray Papers include Gray's personal correspondence, professional correspondence, and miscellaneous papers accumulated during the later years of his career.

Information on Use

Access

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Citation

When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Gray, William Scott. Papers, [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library

Biographical Note

William Scott Gray (1885-1960), Professor of Education and Dean of the College of Education, was born in Coatsburg, Illinois. After studying at Illinois State Normal University, the University of Chicago, and Columbia University Teachers College, Gray returned to Chicago to earn his Ph.D. in 1916. Gray's dissertation on standardized reading tests was among the earliest reports on elementary school reading performance and propelled him into a leading position in the national movement for educational measurement. As Dean of the College of Education from 1917 to 1931, Gray conducted further investigations in reading and encouraged the use of quantitative tests in other areas of educational research.

When the College was dissolved in 1931, Gray became Director of Teacher Education in the School of Education. Two years later, when the School itself was disbanded and responsibility for teacher education dispersed to individual academic departments, Gray was appointed executive secretary of the Committee on the Preparation of Teachers, a group charged with coordinating teacher-training requirements and curricula. From 1933 to 1945, during a period of shifting educational policy, Gray was able to offer the Committee insights from his long administrative experience and serve as a bridge to earlier institutional structures.

In addition to his administrative duties, Gray taught regular courses in the Department of Education, organized an Annual Reading Conference from 1938-1952, and directed the University's semi-annual teacher education conferences from 1933 to 1950. His publications on reading and other topics in education were voluminous, and amounted to more than 400 books and articles by the time of his retirement in 1950. For the last ten years of his life, Gray was Director of Research in Reading and Professor Emeritus in the Department.

Scope Note

The William Scott Gray Papers include Gray's personal correspondence, professional correspondence, and miscellaneous papers accumulated during the later years of his career.

Related Resources

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Subject Headings

INVENTORY

Box 1   Folder 1

Personal correspondence, 1916-1919

Box 1   Folder 2

Personal correspondence, 1920-1921

Box 1   Folder 3

Personal correspondence, 1922

Box 1   Folder 4

Personal correspondence, 1923-1926

Box 1   Folder 4a

Personal and professional correspondence, 1930

Box 1   Folder 5

Professional correspondence, 1931-1933

Box 1   Folder 6

Professional correspondence, 1935-1939

Box 1   Folder 7

Professional correspondence, 1940-1945

Box 1   Folder 8

Bibliographies of WSG publications, 1933-1960

Box 1   Folder 8a

Biographical materials

Box 1   Folder 9

Notes on teacher education and administration

Box 1   Folder 10

Miscellaneous lecture notes

Box 1   Folder 11

"The Preparation of Teachers of Chemistry"

Box 1   Folder 12

"A Study of the Characteristics of Teachers"

Box 1   Folder 13

Student papers, 1931

Box 1   Folder 14

Student papers, 1936-1945

Box 1   Folder 15

Student papers, undated

Box 2   Folder 1

Dept. of Education faculty minutes, 1938-1939

Box 2   Folder 2

Dept. of Education syllabi, Edu 233 to 296

Box 2   Folder 3

Dept, of Edu 351 to Edu 466

Box 2   Folder 4

Committee on the Preparation of Teachers, general reports

Box 2   Folder 5

Committee on the Preparation of Teachers, reports on academic fields

Box 2   Folder 6

Teacher training at other institutions

Box 2   Folder 7

Teachers College Conference topics, 1933-1934

Box 2   Folder 8

Teachers College Conference papers, Jan 1934

Box 2   Folder 9

Teachers College Conference papers, Mar 1934

Box 2   Folder 10

Teachers College Conference papers, May 1934

Box 2   Folder 11

Teachers College Conference papers, Jan 1935

Box 2   Folder 12

Teachers College Conference papers, Oct 1935

Box 2   Folder 13

Teachers College Conference papers, Jan 1936

Box 2   Folder 14

Teachers College Conference papers, Jan 1937

Box 2   Folder 15

Teachers College Conference papers, May 1937

Box 2   Folder 16

Teachers College Conference papers, Oct 1937

Box 2   Folder 17

Teachers College Conference papers, Jan 1938

Box 2   Folder 18

Teachers College Conference papers, May 1938

Box 3   Folder 1

Teachers College Conference papers, Feb 1940

Box 3   Folder 2

Teachers College Conference papers, May 1940

Box 3   Folder 3

Teachers College Conference papers, Oct 1940

Box 3   Folder 4

Teachers College Conference papers, Feb 1941

Box 3   Folder 5

Teachers College Conference papers, May 1941

Box 3   Folder 6

Teachers College Conference papers, Oct 1941

Box 3   Folder 7

Teachers College Conference papers, Feb 1942

Box 3   Folder 8

Teachers College Conference papers, May 1942

Box 3   Folder 9

Teachers College Conference papers, Oct 1942

Box 3   Folder 10

Teachers College Conference papers, Mar 1943

Box 3   Folder 11

Teachers College Conference papers, May 1943

Box 3   Folder 12

Teacher Education Conference papers, May 1944

Box 3   Folder 13

Teacher Education Conference papers, Oct 1944

Box 3   Folder 14

Teacher Education Conference papers, Apr 1945

Box 3   Folder 15

Teacher Education Conference papers, Oct 1945

Box 4   Folder 1

Teacher Education Conference papers, Apr 1946

Box 4   Folder 2

Teacher Education Conference papers, Oct 1946

Box 4   Folder 3

Teacher Education Conference papers, Apr 1947

Box 4   Folder 4

Teacher Education Conference papers, Oct 1947

Box 4   Folder 5

Teacher Education Conference papers, Apr 1948

Box 4   Folder 6

Teacher Education Conference papers, Oct 1948

Box 4   Folder 7

Teacher Education Conference papers, Apr 1949

Box 4   Folder 8

Teacher Education Conference papers, Oct 1949

Box 4   Folder 9

Teacher Education Conference papers, Apr 1950

Box 4   Folder 10

Conference papers, undated