University of Minnesota. Office of the Dean of Students

The Office of the Dean of Students was created by action of the Board of Regents on June 13, 1917. It was the outgrowth of the work which had been done for several years by Edward E. Nicholson, as chair of the Students' Work Committee of the College of Science, Literature and the Arts. The Board of Regents confirmed Nicholson's appointment as Dean of Student Affairs on August 1, 1917, and he remained in office until his retirement on June 20, 1941. Edmund Griffith Williamson was appointed Dean of Students on July 1, 1941. The office expanded at that time and the name changed from Student Affairs to Dean of Students upon the retirement of Dean Williamson. In 1968, the Office was reorganized and renamed the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs.

Although Nicholson was Dean for twenty-four years, his administration followed traditional lines of monitoring student activities and only acting when complaints were received regarding student behavior. Nicholson was confronted with some interesting problems during his tenure as dean. Among these were suppression of a campus literary magazine, Foolscap, and surveillance of a socialist club, The Seekers. Another troublesome area for Nicholson was ongoing protests against compulsory military drills from campus anti-war groups.

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