Description
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Collection
Title
Ethan A. Shepley Oral History
Date(s)
- 1969 (Creation)
Extent
0.05 Linear Feet
Name of creator
Biographical history
Ethan A.H. Shepley was the first native St. Louisan and the first Washington University alumnus to hold the position of chancellor. Born in 1896, he was a third generation Washingtonian, his grandfather having been a member of the corporation during the William Greenleaf Eliot era and his father an 1882 graduate of the law school. He was educated at Smith Academy in St. Louis and a private school in Pennsylvania before entering Yale and earning his undergraduate degree. He entered Harvard Law School but completed his law studies at Washington University, graduating in 1922.
From 1921 until 1954, Shepley practiced law in St. Louis and began his lifelong involvement in the city's cultural and civic affairs. He was a member of Washington University's Board of Directors from 1940 until his appointment as chancellor in 1954. Staunch in his defense of academic freedom in the midst of the McCarthy era, he received the prestigious Alexander Meiklejohn Award for Academic Freedom from the American Association of University Professors in 1959.
Name of creator
Biographical history
Scope and content
Shepley recounts the reorganization of the Washington University School of Medicine and its affiliated hospitals into WUMSAH (Washington University Medical School and Affiliated Hospitals). He discusses the conflict between the School of Medicine and the board of Barnes Hospitals, and the roles of the individuals involved in the formation of WUMSAH, including Edgar M. Queeny, Edward W. Dempsey, James S. McDonnell, and William H. Danforth.
System of arrangement
Conditions governing access
The collection is open and accessible for research.
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Users of the collection should read and abide by the Rights and Permissions guidelines at the Bernard Becker Medical Library Archives.
Users of the collection who wish to cite items from this collection, in whole or in part, in any form of publication must request, sign, and return a Statement of Use form to the Archives.
For detailed information regarding use of this collection, contact the Archives and Rare Book Department of the Becker Library (arb@wusm.wustl.edu).
Preferred Citation:
Item description, Reference Code, Bernard Becker Medical Library Archives, Washington University in St. Louis.
Languages of the material
- English
Scripts of the material
- Latin
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Custodial history
Immediate source of acquisition
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Oral history interview: http://beckerexhibits.wustl.edu/oral/interviews/shepley.html
Related descriptions
Specialized notes
Alternative identifier(s)
Rules or conventions
"Describing Archives: A Content Standard, Second Edition (DACS), 2013."
Sources used
Archivist's note
© Copyright 2019 Bernard Becker Medical Library Archives. All rights reserved.
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Washington University Medical School and Associated Hospitals (Subject)
- Barnes Hospital (Saint Louis, Mo.) (Subject)
- Administration and Finance, Washington University School of Medicine (Subject)
- Queeny, Edgar M. (Subject)
- Dempsey, Edward W. (Edward Wheeler) (Subject)
- McDonnell, James S. (Subject)
- Danforth, William H. (William Henry) (Subject)
- Queeny Tower (Subject)
- Jewish Hospital of St. Louis (Subject)