Phyllis Mable papers

Collection – Multiple Containers

Identifier: MS-1181

Staff Only

Collection Overview

Abstract

Small collection of papers including personal reminiscences by professional colleagues and former students about Phyllis L. Mable, as well as information on her memorial service, her resume, files reflecting American College Personnel Association (ACPA) awards presented to her, correspondence with Longwood University and Cornell University, contact lists, and photographs

Dates

Creation: 1980-2012

Extent

0.8 Cubic Feet (2 letter size archive boxes)

Creator

Mable, Phyllis (Person)

Scope and Contents

This small collection of papers documenting Phyllis L. Mable’s life and career in student affairs and higher education was pulled together from documents sent by the American College Personnel Association, as well as several former students and friends, after her death. They reflect personal reminiscences by professional colleagues and former students about Mable, as well as information on her memorial service. Also included in the collection is her resume, files reflecting ACPA awards presented to her, correspondence with Longwood University and Cornell University, contact lists, and photographs. These documents largely date from the 1980 to 2012.

Biographical / Historical

Phyllis Mable was born on February 13, 1934, in Delhi, New York. She earned a BS in Home Economics, Child Development, and Family Relationships at Cornell University, and her MS in College Student Personnel Administration from Indiana University in 1959. She started her education career teaching nursery school. She became a resident assistant in graduate school, continuing in the college residential life field for twenty years. In 1982, she became the Vice President of Student Affairs at Longwood University, a position she held until her retirement in 2001.

Mable served as president of the American College Personnel Association (ACPA) from 1979-1980 and was the second president (1989-2001) of the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS), an organization she helped establish in 1979 with Ted Miller. She became the first executive director of CAS from 2001 until her death in 2012.

Mable was a published scholar, especially in the area of the educational role of college residence halls. She was honored by ACPA with the Annuit Coeptis Award (1981), the Esther Lloyd-Jones Professional Service Award (1983), and the Lifetime Achievement Award (2003). Most importantly, she left a legacy to many generations of students and friends who knew her as "Aunt Phyllis."

(Susan R. Komives, a close personal friend of Mable's, wrote a tribute which appeared in the Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 49(3), 2012, documenting Mable's life and legacy. Excerpts from that article were used to create this brief biographical sketch.)

Conditions Governing Access

No known access restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Researchers using this collection assume full responsibility for conforming to the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright, and are responsible for securing permissions necessary for publication or reproduction.

Language of Materials

Materials in English.

Additional Description

Related Materials

This collection represents a limited view of Mable's accomplishments. For more information about her and her career, please refer to the American College Personnel Association collection (MS 319) and the Council for the Advancement of Standards collection (MS 974), both held in the National Student Affairs Archives at the Center for Archival Collections.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The Phyllis Mable papers were donated by the American College Personnel Association, as well as several individuals, soon after her death on May 9, 2012.