UA 002A - Office of the President (Homer B. Williams) Records, 1910-1943
MLA Citation
“UA 002A - Office of the President (Homer B. Williams) Records, 1910-1943.” Finding Aids. BGSU University Libraries, 6 Mar. 2018, lib.bgsu.edu/finding_aids/items/show/2529. Accessed 27 Apr. 2025.
Tags
| Title | UA 002A - Office of the President (Homer B. Williams) Records, 1910-1943 |
|---|---|
| Introduction | Homer B. Williams (1865-1943), served as the first President of Bowling Green State University from 1912-1937 and interim president for part of 1938-1939. When Williams retired as president, BGSU had grown from a normal school to a state university, with an original faculty of 15 to one numbering over 100, and a student enrollment of 153 to one of over 1,800. The campus had also grown, from the original Administration Building to nine buildings. Materials found in this collection may be duplicated in other University Archives collections including overlaps between this collection and the collection of President Offenhauer. |
| Biographical Sketch | Homer Williams was born to John and Mary (Secrest) Williams on October 16, 1865, in Mt. Ephraim, Ohio. After graduating from high school, Williams entered Ohio Northern and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. He continued his education at Baldwin-Wallace and completed graduate degrees there and at Columbia University in New York City. While a student at Ohio Northern, Williams met his future wife, Cora Brewer. The two were married in 1890 and had four children: Lloyd, John, Elbert and Mary Elizabeth. Williams’ career as a teacher started in 1885, in rural and village schools. He was superintendent of schools at Dunkirk, Ohio from 1887 to 1889. He served successively in similar capacities at other Ohio school districts, including Caldwell (1889-1892), Kenton (1892-1894) and Cambridge (1894-1898), before being appointed as superintendent at Sandusky. In May 1912 he accepted the position of president of the newly organized normal college in Bowling Green, Ohio. Williams remained president of BGSU until his retirement in 1937. He was then named as head of the Bureau of Alumni Relations and returned as interim president in 1938 when his successor, Roy Offenhauer, was killed in an automobile accident. He stepped down when President Frank Prout was hired in 1939. Williams and his wife were actively involved in the Bowling Green community. Williams took a leadership role within the community, specifically the Methodist Church, Kiwanis, the Town and Gown Club, and the Chamber of Commerce. Williams died on September 22, 1943 and his wife died September 5, 1954. |
| Scope and Content | The collection consists of annual reports, subject files on construction projects and other topics, and correspondence to and from Williams. The collection is arranged into two groups - Subject Files and Correspondence Files, each organized alphabetically. Collection size: 12 legal sized manuscript boxes (6 cubic feet). For related materials, see The Homer B. Williams Papers (MS 99) |
| Inventory | Box 1: 1: Annual Report of Bowling Green State Normal College, 1914-1916 2: Auditorium Bids/Electrical Work, 1937-1938 3: Auditorium Bids/Equipment, 1937 4: Auditorium Bids/Equipment, 1938 5: Auditorium Bids/Painting, 1937 6: Auditorium Bids/Pipe Organ, 1937-1938 7: Auditorium Bids/Stage Equipment, 1937-1938 8: Auditorium Construction, 1936 9: Auditorium Construction, 1937 10: Auditorium Construction, 1937 11: Auditorium Construction, 1937 12: Auditorium Construction, 1938 13: Auditorium Costs, Recreation Room and Stadium, 1938 14: Auditorium Periodical Estimates for Partial Payment, 1937-1938 Box 2: 1: Bliss, J. Edward-Correspondence, 1931, 1934 2: BG City Board of Education-Correspondence/Agreements, 1916-1936, n.d. (sc.) 3: Building Equipment-Correspondence/Lists, 1916-1922, n.d. (sc.) 4: Commission on Normal School Sites, Report, 1910 5: Correspondence, General, 1917-1937, n.d. (sc.) 6: Correspondence: S (mostly supply orders), 1929- 1933 7: Gas and Water Wells, Reports, 1914-1923 7a: Grade Point Averages, 1934/35, 1936/37 8: Grounds/Buildings Improvement, 1922, 1927 9: Grounds/Buildings Improvement, 1928 10: Grounds/Buildings Improvement, 1928, 1930-1931 11: Gymnasium Bids/Equipment, 1926-1927 12: Gymnasium Bids/Equipment, 1927 13: Gymnasium Floor, 1936 14: Estimates: Electrical Chimes, 1932 15: Estimates: General Repairs, 1936-1937 (sc.) 16: Estimates: Windows in Williams Hall, 1934 17: Financial Data Miscellaneous, 1910-1938 (sc.) 18: Fraternities/Sororities Correspondence, Constitutions, 1929-1936, n.d. (sc.) 19: Historical Data on University, 1923-1937, n.d. (sc.) 20: Historical Data: University Seal/Colors, 1922, 1947, n.d. 21: Inspection Reports: Bowling Green State Normal College, 1931, 1932 Box 3: 1: Landscaping Bids, 1918-1926, n.d. (sc.) 2: Legislation, 1929-1935 (sc.) 3: Library Bids/Equipment, 1926 4: Library Bids/Equipment, 1926-1927 5: "The Orange and Brown", lyrics by J.W. Carmichael, n.d. 6: Practical Arts Building Bids/Equipment, 1925, 1929-1930 7: Practical Arts Building Bids/Equipment, 1931 8: Practical Arts Building Bids/Equipment, 1931 9: Practical Arts Building Bids/Equipment, 1932 10: Public Works Administration (PWA)- Applications for Construction, 1935-1936 11: Public Works Administration (PWA)- Applications for Construction, 1937 12: Radio Station Program-"College Night", (1931-1932) 13: Regulations, Miscellaneous, n.d. 14: School Visitations: Recruiting, 1934 15: Secretary of State, 1916-1933 (sc.) 16: Sewage Rates for College, (1934) 17: Shatzel Hall Bids/Equipment, 1922-1923 18: Shatzel Hall Bids/Equipment, 1924 19: Shatzel Hall Bids/Equipment, 1925-1925, n.d. 20: Soule Art Publishing Company, 1915 Box 4: 1: Stadium Construction, 1936-1937 2: Stadium Construction, 1937 3: Stadium Construction, 1937 4: Stadium Construction, 1937 5: State Auditor, 1914-1916 (sc.) 6: State Auditor, 1917-1918 (sc.) 7: State Auditor, 1921-1922 8: State Auditor, 1923-1924 9: State Auditor, 1925-1927 10: State Auditor, 1927-1933 11: State Auditor, 1933-1938 12: State Attorney General, 1916-1918 13: State Attorney General, 1919-1920 14: State Attorney General, 1921-1932 (sc.) Box 5: 1: State Budget Commission, 1915-1918 2: State Budget Commission, 1919-1921 3: State Budget Commission, 1923-1929 4: State Budget Commission, 1930-1933 5: State Budget Commission, 1934-1938 6: State Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation, 1930-1933 7: State Civilian Rehabilitation Service , 1924-1927 8: State Civilian Rehabilitation Service, 1928-1929, n.d. 9: State Civil Service Commission, 1914-1916 10: State Civil Service Commission, 1917-1918 11: State Civil Service Commission, 1919-1920 12: State Civil Service Commission, 1921-1924 13: State Civil Service Commission, 1925-1927 Box 6: 1: State Civil Service Commission, 1928-1930 2: State Civil Service Commission, 1931 3: State Civil Service Commission, 1932-1934 4: State Civil Service Commission, 1935-1938 5: State Department of Education, 1919 6: State Department of Education, 1920-1921 7: State Department of Education, 1921-1922 8: State Department of Education, 1922-1923 9: State Department of Education, 1923-1924 10: State Department of Education, 1925 Box 7: 1: State Department of Education, 1926-1927 2: State Department of Education, 1928-1930 3: State Department of Education, 1930-1933 4: State Department of Education, 1934-1937 5: State Department of Finance, 1921-1922 6: State Department of Finance, 1923-1926 7: State Department of Finance, 1927-1929 8: State Department of Finance, 1930 9: State Department of Finance, 1931 10: State Department of Finance, 1932 11: State Department of Finance, 1933 Box 8: 1: State Department of Finance, 1934-1935 2: State Department of Finance, 1936-1937 3: State Department of Finance, 1938, 1942, n.d. 4: State Department of Health, 1921, 1922 5: State Department of Highways and Public Works, 1921-1922 6: State Department of Highways and Public Works, 1923 7: State Department of Highways and Public Works, 1924 8: State Department of Highways and Public Works, 1925 9: State Department of Highways and Public Works, 1925 10: State Department of Highways and Public Works, 1926 11: State Department of Highways and Public Works, 1926 Box 9: 1: State Department of Highways and Public Works, 1927 2: State Department of Highways and Public Works, 1927-1928 3: State Department of Highways and Public Works, 1929-1930 4: State Department of Highways and Public Works, 1930-1931 5: State Department of Highways and Public Works, 1932-1933 6: State Department of Highways and Public Works, 1934-1938 (sc.) 7: State Department of Industrial Relations, 1921-1939 (sc.) 8: State Department of Public Instruction, 1916-1918 9: State Department of Public Instruction, 1920-1921 10: State Governor, 1915-1921 (sc.) 11: State Governor, 1923-1936 (sc.) 12: State Industrial Commission, 1915-1928 (sc.) 13: State Library, 1918-1920 14: State Motor Vehicle Bureau, 1930-1931 (sc.) 15: State Purchasing Office, 1930-1931 (sc.) Box 10: 1: State Reformatory (Mansfield), 1915-1918 2: State Reformatory (Mansfield), 1922-1925 3: State Reformatory (Mansfield), 1926-1927 4: State Relief Commission-Ohio Emergency Administration Establishment of Emergency Classes on Junior College Level, 1934 5: State Teachers Retirement System, 1920-1927 6: State Teachers Retirement System, 1928-1930 7: State Treasurer, 1918, 1923-1938 (sc.) 8: State Utilities Commission, 1917, 1918, 1920, 1930 (sc.) 9: State Welfare Department, 1931-1933 (sc.) 10: Steinle Construction Company, 1918-1919, 1921 (sc.) 11: Students: Miscellaneous Statistical Reports, 1934-1937 12: Walker, E.G.: Correspondence/Reports, 1919-1921 (sc.) 13: Williams: Portrait and Eulogy, 1936, n.d. 14: Winslow, Leon - Correspondence, 1921, 1941-1943 Box 11 1. Correspondence (A), 1937-1938 2. Correspondence (A), 1939-1940 3. Alumni Lists, Allen County through Putnam County, 1941-1942 4. Alumni Lists, Sandusky County through Wyandot County, 1941-1943 5. Alumni Relations, 1937-1938 6. Correspondence (Ba-Be), 1937-1938 7. Correspondence (Ba-Be), 1939-1940 8. Correspondence (Bi-Bo), 1937-1938 9. Correspondence (Bi-Bo), 1939-1940 10. Correspondence (Br-By), 1937-1938 11. Correspondence (Br-By), 1939-1940 12. Budget for Alumni Relations 1939-1940, October 20, 1938 13. Correspondence (Ca-Cl), 1937-1938 14. Correspondence (Co-Cu), 1937-1938 15. Correspondence (D), 1937-1938 16. Dormitory Statistics, Regional Colleges, February 18, 1939 17. Correspondence (E), 1937-1938 18. Correspondence (F), 1937-1940 19. Correspondence (G), 1937-1940 20. Correspondence (Ha), 1938-1940 21. Correspondence (He-Hi), 1938-1940 22. Correspondence (Ho-Hy), 1937-1938 Box 12 1. Correspondence (I), 1938 2. Inauguration of President Roy E. Offenhauer, April 13, 1938 3. Inauguration of President Frank J. Prout, October 21, 1939 4. Correspondence (J), 1937-1938 5. Correspondence (K), 1937-1938 6. Kohl Hall, Residents Listings, 1940-1941 7. Correspondence (La-Le), 1937-1938 8. Correspondence (Li-Lu), 1937-1940 9. Correspondence (Ma-Mc), 1937-1940 10. Correspondence (Me-My), 1937-1940 11. Correspondence (N), 1937-1938 12. NYA (National Youth Administration) Student Requests [from staff], 1939-1940 13. Correspondence (O), 1937-1938 14. Memorial Program for President Offenhauer and correspondence, March 1939 15. Correspondence (Pa-Pe), 1938 16. Correspondence (Pf-Pu), 1937-1940 17. Correspondence (Ra-Re), 1937-1940 18. Correspondence (Ri-Ru), 1937-1940 19. Correspondence (Sa-Se), 1937-1938 20. Correspondence (Sh-Sl), 1937-1940 21. Correspondence (Sm-Sp), 1937-1938 22. Correspondence (St-Sw), 1937-1940 23. Silver Anniversary Celebration, June 3-4, 1939 24. Correspondence (Wa), 1937-1938 25. Correspondence (We-Wi), 1937-1940 26. Correspondence (Wo-Wr), 1937-1938 27. Williams, Homer B. – Tribute by President Frank J. Prout, September 25, 1943 |