When I accepted a position as Colorado College archivist in 2001, many small mysteries awaited me: had Mathias Hall been designed by prison architects? (No.) What happened to the statue of Winged Victory in the old Coburn Library? (Nobody knows, but I suspect it broke into a million pieces during the library move.) And ...
Why was William F. Slocum pushed out of the CC presidency in 1917? Was it because of financial improprieties? Was it because of a rivalry with some of the faculty at the time? Or was it because he was a serial sexual harasser before that term existed?
The answers may lie in the James Hutchinson Kerr Papers at CC Special Collections, which contain copies of some of the women's statements against Slocum. When the Harvey Weinstein story broke this month and people at the college got curious about Slocum, I wanted to make it easier for researchers to find the women's statements, which until now have not been the main focus of any scholarly activity around the Slocum story:
https://libraryweb.coloradocollege.edu/library/specialcollections/Manuscript/Slocum.html
Over the years, students have occasionally floated the idea that campus dormitory Slocum Hall should be renamed. I have a nice long list of potential new names if this idea gets any traction.
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