Archives West Finding Aid

The O. Meredith Wilson Papers span the time period of 1929-1989 and include personal as well as professional correspondence, academic writings, speeches, presidential communications, and administrative reports. The collection emphasizes his role as an administrative consultant and the time period of 1967-1975. Professional and administrative correspondence are generally filed under the organizational title in the appropriate series and subseries. Where a subseries emphasizes a particular time period, the files are organized alphabetically by organization; where they span a greater range of dates, they are organized chronologically. Though Wilson's presidency of the University of Oregon launched his administrative career, the collection accentuates his work as an administrative consultant.

The papers are arranged in five series. The Personal series contains the subseries General and Correspondence. General subseries includes biographical information, news clippings, academic records, and Wilson family material, while correspondence includes letters he wrote to family and friends.

The Professional series includes the subseries Oregon, Minnesota, Stanford and Professional Inquiries. It is arranged chronologically through his presidencies, though the Inquiries subseries covers both his time at Minnesota and Stanford. The subseries Oregon contains correspondence pertaining to his presidency and a noteworthy Interview on Leaving Oregon in which he discusses his reasons for accepting the post at Minnesota and his reservations about leaving Eugene. The papers from his presidency of Minnesota include congratulatory letters, presidential reports, and an outline for a plan to develop undergraduate education. The subseries of his presidency of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) detail his development of the Center's fellowship programs, and his involvement in Stanford's many visiting committees. The collection of inquiries includes correspondence regarding invitations Wilson received to attend events or contribute writings.

The Administrative Consultation series is by far the most voluminous. It reveals Wilson's prominence as a widely sought expert on educational institutions. He was most engaged during his time at Stanford, which seems to have allowed him the flexibility to contribute to a vast array of organizations. Wilson consulted with numerous universities and organizations to improve the focus of their missions and the efficacy of their policies. He was actively engaged in the United States' efforts to promote higher education in developing countries. Wilson's work on the board of directors of the Northrop Corporation and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco brought him in practical relation to U.S. economics and politics. Because the series is largely focused on the period of 1967-1975, it is arranged alphabetically by organization.

Wilson's collection of writings and sources includes manuscripts, essays, and speeches. The subseries of his writings is arranged chronologically, while his reference sources are listed alphabetically. His writings demonstrate his expertise and passion for education and his authority as an administrator. The manuscript for his collected essays is especially notable in both its volume and range of ideas. His reference sources show an interest in political history.

The Audio/Visual series contains several items which celebrate his tenure as University of Oregon President. It also includes four cassette tapes of sessions presented at the Invitational Conference on Testing Problems held at Princeton in 1971. Wilson acted as discussant for a session discussing Economics and the Values of Society .