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Office of the President (Schwada) Records 1965-1984 (bulk 1971-1981)

MSS-125

Biographical Note

John William Schwada was born on September 23, 1919 in Tyrone, Oklahoma. He graduated from Northeast Missouri State Teacher's College at Kirksville in 1941. He went on to earn his masters degree from the University of Missouri in 1947 and his Doctorate in Political Science at the University of Texas in 1951.

Schwada returned to the University of Missouri as an Instructor of Political Science in 1951. He was promoted to full Professor in 1960, was elevated to Dean of Faculties in 1961, and served as Acting Dean of the School of Business and Public Administration from 1961 to 1962. In addition to his work at the University, Schwada served as comptroller and budget director for the State of Missouri from 1958 to 1961. He was appointed Chancellor of the University of Missouri in 1964 and served in that capacity until accepting the Presidency of Arizona State University in 1971.

Schwada's term as President was marked by massive growth in both physical facilities and campus population. Student enrollment increased from 26,500 to almost 40,000 and twenty-five new buildings were completed during his term. Schwada is remembered for maintaining productive and cordial relationships with the Arizona Board of Regents and the State Legislature, demonstrated by the fact that the University's funding increased from $28 million to $93.6 million during his tenure.

John W. Schwada retired in 1981. He settled in Phoenix, where he died on April 19, 1990.

Scope and Content Note

This collection houses correspondence, memoranda, and printed matter documenting the affairs of the executive office of Arizona State University. Although the material dates from 1961 to 1984, the majority of the collection addresses the activities of President John W. Schwada during his tenure (1971-1981). The collection has been divided into two series.

Arrangement

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

To view this collection, make an appointment at least five business days prior to your visit by contacting Ask an Archivist or calling (480) 965-4932. Appointments in the Wurzburger Reading Room at Hayden Library (rm. 138) on the Tempe campus are available Monday through Friday. Check the ASU Library Hours page for current availability.

Copyright

The Arizona Board of Regents retains copyright to this collection for and on behalf of the Arizona State University Library. Requests to publish, display, or redistribute information from this collection must be submitted via our online application.

Related Material

Files acquired and bound by Alfred Thomas have been processed separately as part of the Office of the President Records, 1863-1981 (guide available at http://www.azarchivesonline.org/xtf/view?docId=ead/asu/president.xml).

Access Terms

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Office of the President (Schwada) Records, MSS-125, Arizona State University Library.

Provenance

These records were received in a number of accessions between approximately 1975 and 1990 (Accession #1990-00370 and 1993-00000*). A large quantity of Schwada's files were acquired and bound by founding University Archivist Alfred Thomas. This collection houses unbound files acquired by Thomas and other Archives staff.

Processing Note

This collection consists primarily of subject and correspondence files that were originally maintained at the President's Office using the numerical classification system described in "Subject Files Classification Number List". This arrangement has been maintained, although files within each classification number have been arranged alphabetically by folder title.

Subject Files Classification Number List

Container List