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.
Dean Williamson's administration was quite different in nature. He espoused the philosophy of "in loco parentis." He held the opinion that the responsibility for the behavior of underage students living away from home was transferred from the parents to the University. He was also deeply concerned with damage to the University's public image due to student misbehavior. Williamson's paternalistic style brought him into frequent conflict with student organizations. Fraternities were a special concern and one of Williamson's campaigns was to control drinking by underage students. Williamson was also interested in student welfare and was a pioneer in student counseling services to help students with academic or personal problems.
From the guide to the Office of the Dean of Students papers, 1904-1968, (University of Minnesota Libraries. University Archives [uarc])
