Michele Tolela Myers (1943- ) Papers
RG 2.1.9

Summary Information

Repository

Sarah Lawrence College Archives

Creator

Myers, Michele Tolela, 1941-

Title

Michele Tolela Myers (1943- ) Papers

ID

RG 2.1.9

Date [bulk]

Bulk, 1997-2007

Date [inclusive]

1994-2007

Extent

11.0 linear feet 9 record cartons, 1 document box, 1 flat box

Language

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Administrative Information

Publication Information

Sarah Lawrence College Archives March 2010

Revision Description

 Finding Aid entered in Archivists' Toolkit by Emma Cameron November 2013

Conditions Governing Access note

Restricted and partially restricted folders are marked as such in the finding aid and on the folder itself. Generally, folders are restricted due to correspondence with members of the public with which copyright does not reside with the College Archives. Photocopies are not allowed for this correspondence. Administrative Records are closed for 20 years from the date of creation. Please ask the Archivist for further assistance with restricted folders.

Acquisition note

Includes accessions 2007-037, 2007-039, 2008-006, 2008-019, 2010-009, 2011-025, 2012-005, 2012-032.

Processing Information note

Processed in March 2010 by Sarah Pinard. Additional material added and finding aid updated in August 2010.

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Biographical note

Michele Tolela Myers was born in Rabat, Morocco in 1943. She lived in Paris until her early twenties and earned her diplôme in political science and economics from the Institute of Political Studies at the University of Paris in 1962. She then moved to the United States to study at the University of Denver and graduated with a master’s and doctoral degree in communication studies. President Myers went on to earn a second master’s degree in clinical psychology from Trinity University in 1977. Following this she taught sociology and communications at Manchester College in Indiana and Monticello College in Illinois, and taught at Trinity University from 1972 to 1985 where she also served as associate vice president for academic affairs and director of the honors program and summer school. She held the position of dean of the undergraduate college and associate professor of sociology at Bryn Mawr College from 1986 to 1989 and was president of Denison University from 1989 until 1998. President Myers became the ninth president of Sarah Lawrence College on August 1, 1998 and held that position until 2007. Lastly, 45 Wrexham was acquired to house the Center for Continuing Education, Health Advocacy and Human Genetics graduate programs, and the Center for Professional Development and Special Programs.

In 2005 another significant change took place under Myer’s tenure. The College stopped accepting SAT scores as part of the admission process. Myers wrote in a 2007 Washington Post op-ed, “We are a writing-intensive school, and the information produced by SAT scores added little to our ability to predict how a student would do at our college…” As a result of this decision U.S. News & World Report calculated the college’s ranking by “assuming an arbitrary average SAT score of one standard deviation…below the average scores of our peer group.” Following her op-ed there was much debate about the fairness and lack of accuracy on the part U.S. News & World Report including discussions at Sarah Lawrence and other colleges about whether the decision to select out of the survey would make sense. The College officially dropped out of the U.S. News & World Report rankings in 2007.

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Scope and Contents note

The majority of records in Dr. Myers’ papers date between 1997 and 2007. They consist of correspondence, reports, speeches and writings, fundraising material, and subject files about various administrative departments, academic programs, and events at the College. The records are organized into six series:

Series I. Biographical Files Sub-series A. Inauguration

Series I. Biographical Files Sub-series B. General Biographical

Series I. Biographical Files Sub-series C. Press Coverage

Series I. Biographical Files Sub-series D. Resignation

Series II. Correspondence Sub-series A. Alumnae/i

Series II. Correspondence Sub-series B. Chronological

Series II. Correspondence Sub-series C. College Resources

Series II. Correspondence Sub-series D. General

Series II. Correspondence Sub-series E. Outgoing

Series II. Correspondence Sub-series F. Students

Series III. External Activities

Series IV. Fundraising and Development Files Sub-series A. Fundraising Trips

Series IV. Fundraising and Development Files Sub-series B. General Fundraising

Series V. Speeches and Writings Sub-series A. Speeches

Series V. Speeches and Writings Sub-series B. Writings

Series VI. Subject Files Sub-series A. Academic Programs

Series VI. Subject Files Sub-series B. Admissions

Series VI. Subject Files Sub-series C. Alumnae/i Relations

Series VI. Subject Files Sub-series D. Board of Trustees

Series VI. Subject Files Sub-series E. Budgets and Finance

Series VI. Subject Files Sub-series F. Committees

Series VI. Subject Files Sub-series G. Events

Series VI. Subject Files Sub-series H. Faculty and Staff

Series VI. Subject Files Sub-series I. General

Series VI. Subject Files Sub-series J. Internal Publications

Series VI. Subject Files Sub-series K. Legal Files

Series VI. Subject Files Sub-series L. Students and Alumnae/i

Materials related to Michele Myers’ family were added to her Biographical Files. Also included in her biographical files is a small amount of material from her time prior to Sarah Lawrence as well as a sabbatical she took from 2003-2004 to support Senator John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign.

A portion of this collection pertains to Fundraising and Development. These records include material from specific fundraising trips Myers took during her tenure and contain limited correspondence between Michele Myers and alumnae/i, parents of alumnae/i, and the Office of Development. Sub-series C. General Fundraising includes broader fundraising material such as invitations to events and receptions and correspondence about larger fundraising campaigns.

Series II. Correspondence is arranged in the order kept by the president’s office and is organized into six sub-series. Chronological Correspondence includes letters from Michele Myers about both fundraising and non-fundraising subjects. College Resources contains letters solely concerning fundraising. Outgoing Correspondence includes topics such as faculty appointment/reappointment, external organizations that President Myers and/or the College were involved with, and events on campus. Students contains correspondence to and from current students at the College including recommendation letters.

In addition to her work as president of the College, Michele Myers frequently discussed issues of education, specifically the future of liberal arts in America and the significance of standardized testing in the College admissions process. She delivered speeches and writings both on- and off-campus. These speeches, along with her published writings, can be found in the Speeches and Writings series.

Sub-series D. Board of Trustees includes formal correspondence between Myers and the Board of Trustees. These letters are sent to Board members each semester and provide updates about the College and changes in the Board itself. Similar letters are sent to the College community and to parents. Other materials of interest in this series are correspondence between Myers and Governor George Pataki in the Summer Writers Workshop for High School Students folder.

The 75th Anniversary folder in Subject Files – Sub-series E. Events contains correspondence between the President’s Office, other departments and administrative offices on campus, as well as external individuals. This folder also has committee, budget, and speech material relating to the 75th Anniversary of the College. The Commencement folder from this sub-series includes correspondence between the President’s Office and commencement speakers. All commencement speeches have been rehoused in the Commencement Files.

The Visual Arts folder in Subject Files – Sub-series I. General contains correspondence about the future of visual arts and the visual arts building. This folder also includes correspondence from the President’s Office to the Visual Arts Taskforce.

The black feather boa is from Michele Myers’ farewell gathering. The boas were given to attendees of the event.

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Related Materials

See also

The Dean of Studies Records for all retention data removed from Michele Myers Papers; Office of the President: HERI Statistics Data for HERI and CIRP reports; Subject Files for clippings about the College’s SAT policy and rankings; Dean of the College Records and Operations and Facilities Records for additional material about the Visual Arts Taskforce.

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Controlled Access Headings

Corporate Name(s)

• Sarah Lawrence College. Board of Trustees.
• Sarah Lawrence College. Office of the President.
• Sarah Lawrence College. Presidents.
• Sarah Lawrence College.

Genre(s)

• Administrative reports
• Clippings (information artifacts)
• Correspondence
• Memorandums
• Minutes
• Speeches

Geographic Name(s)

• Yonkers (N.Y.)

Personal Name(s)

• Ilchman, Alice Stone, 1935-2006

Subject(s)

• Art -- Study and teaching
• Educational fund raising
• Race relations
• SAT (Educational test)
• Universities and colleges -- Admission
• Universities and colleges -- Entrance requirements
• Universities and colleges -- Ratings and rankings

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Collection Inventory