Lucille Jameson Armsby Papers

Lucille Jameson Armsby Papers, 1908-1973

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Armsby, Lucille Jameson, 1900-1993
Title: Lucille Jameson Armsby Papers
Dates: 1908-1973 (inclusive)
19081973
Quantity: 0.75 linear feet, (2 boxes)
Collection Number: Mss 490
Summary: Lucille J. Armsby was the Secretary to the President of the University of Montana from 1933 to 1965. The collection, which she appears to have compiled while she was in that office and in retirement, details aspects of University history, including consolidation, history, and the administrations of each president she served.
Repository: University of Montana, Mansfield Library, Archives and Special Collections
Archives and Special Collections
Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library
University of Montana
32 Campus Dr. #9936
59812-9936
Missoula, MT
Telephone: 406-243-2053
library.archives@umontana.edu
Access Restrictions: Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of Archives and Special Collections, the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, and The University of Montana--Missoula.
Languages: English
Sponsor: Funding for creating this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historic Publications and Records Commission. Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Lucille Jameson Armsby was born in Butte, Montana, on August 21, 1900. She enrolled at the University of Montana in 1917 and earned straight A-pluses in her first year of college. She graduated in 1922 with a B.A. in history with highest honors. From 1922-1930, she served as Assistant Registrar of the University of Montana. She left the university in 1930 for California but returned to Montana in 1932 to become Secretary to the Director of Public Service at the University.

From 1933 to her retirement in 1965, Armsby was Secretary to the President. She assisted seven presidents: Charles H. Clapp, George Finlay Simmons, Ernest O. Melby, James A. McCain, Carl McFarland, Harry Newburn, and Robert Johns. In addition to her duties in the President's Office, Armsby was for twenty-six years secretary of the University Commencement Committee. She advised several student organizations on campus, including the Senior Women's Honorary, Mortar Board, and Alpha Phi social sorority.

She died August 5, 1993.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The collection consists of materials that Armsby appears to have produced and collected in the course of her work in the President's Office, with some additional notes, clippings, and other materials that she added some years later and in retirement. There are files on University history, with materials extracted from the president's papers, university publications, and newspapers. Several files detail the struggle over consolidation of the universities in Montana. There are files for every president she served, with documentation of particularly notable or difficult events of each administration, along with one file of clippings on the administration of Robert Pantzer. Some of the notes appear to be her own comments on individuals and events small and large in the office; other are internal memoranda that detail other aspects of university events. One file contains materials related to the 1959 Neils Report, a report critiquing the university system in Montana, and names Armsby as one of the people who control the University of Montana. There is also one file on Armsby's attempt to establish a Phi Beta Kappa chapter at the University.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. and any other applicable statutes. Copyright not transferred to the University.

Preferred Citation

[Name of document or photograph number], Lucille Jameson Armsby Papers, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, The University of Montana-Missoula.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Acquisition Information

Date and source of acquisition unknown.

Processing Note

The original processor arranged the collection and produced a finding aid. The collection was originally numbered UM 15. In 2004, that finding aid was revised and encoded and the collection was renumbered Mss 490.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Container(s)	Description	Dates
Box/Folder
1/1	Early University history	1930-1956
1/2	Consolidation [of universities in Montana]	1908-1939
1/3	Consolidation [of universities in Montana]	1940-1949
1/4	Consolidation [of universities in Montana]	1950-1959
1/5	University building program	1951-1958
1/6	Phi Beta Kappa [proposal to establish a chapter at the University of Montana]	1952-1957
1/7	Mortar Board	1941-1942
1/8	Neils report	1959
1/9	Simmons administration	1936-1963
1/10	McCain administration	1945-1963
1/11	Castle administration	1958-1959
1/12	Johns administration	1962-1964
1/13	Newburn administration	1963
1/14	Pantzer administration, clippings	1970-1973
1/15	McFarland administration	1956-1959
2/1	McFarland administration, enrollment	1956-1959
2/2	McFarland administration, Maurice Street annexation, Women's Club	1956-1957
2/3	McFarland administration, buildings	1951-1957
2/4	McFarland administration, administrative weakness	1954-1958
2/5	McFarland administration, resignation	1958

Archives West Finding Aid

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