M. L. Cushman Papers, 1911-1980

M. L. Cushman Papers

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Collection Overview

Title: M. L. Cushman Papers, 1911-1980

ID: OGLMC488

Primary Creator: Cushman, Martelle L. (1908-1982)

Extent: 9.75 Linear Feet

Date Acquired: 07/00/1978. More info below under Accruals.

Subjects: Education, University of North Dakota - Faculty

Languages: English

Abstract

1908-1982; UND Dean of the College of Education from 1954 to 1972

Scope and Contents of the Materials

The M.L. Cushman Papers have been divided into seven series:

Series 1: Associations of School Administrators

Series 2: North Dakota Educational Organizations

Series 3: Teacher Educational Organizations

Series 4: Professional Organizations

Series 5: Miscellaneous

Series 6: Reorganization in Other States

Series 7: A Collection of the Major Publications and Speeches of Dr. Martelle L. Cushman

Collection Historical Note

Martelle L. Cushman was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on March 9, 1908. In 1928, Cushman graduated from Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo with a Life Teaching Certificate. He served as principal of Ellsworth High School in Ellsworth, Michigan from 1928-1931. He re-entered Western Michigan in 1931, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1932. He was employed as a teacher and coach at Kellogg School in Augusta, Michigan, from 1932-1935.

He married Florence Haas on June 20, 1933 in Kalamazoo. The couple had four children: Clifton, Cedric, Marnita, and Marlene. In 1935, he was hired as the Superintendent of Schools in Cedarville, Michigan. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1937 with a Master of Arts degree. His master's thesis was entitled "Natural Community School Survey of Mackinac County, Michigan." From 1938-1941, he was Superintendent of Schools in Richmond, Michigan.

He left Michigan in 1941 to attend Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York. He graduated with a Ph.D. in 1943. His doctoral dissertation was entitled "An Evaluation of Rural School District Reorganization in Michigan." He served in the U.S. Army Air Force as an Instructor on the B-24 Bomber from August 1943-March 1945.

He joined the faculty of Iowa State University (Ames, Iowa) in 1945. Directing work in rural education, he specialized in the areas of school administration, finance, and school district reorganization. He also directed the Iowa Study on School Finance in cooperation with the Iowa Department of Public Instruction in 1950. After rising to the rank of Professor, he left Iowa State in 1954 to become Dean of the College of Education at the University of North Dakota.

Under his leadership, the College of Education underwent a steady growth in enrollment. This growth was assisted by the reinstatement of the elementary education program in 1958. The foundation of a program in special education was undertaken in 1967, and the Northern Plains Indian Teacher Corps Program was established in 1969. Cushman also led the college through the process of receiving its first national accreditation.

Following the completion of a large-scale, statewide study on the issue of education in 1967, significant changes were made to the structure of the College of Education. An experimental college in teacher education, the New School, was established outside of the College of Education in 1967. This occurred despite reluctance from Dean Cushman and other members of the College of Education. Cushman went so far as to personally lobby the State Board of Higher Education to reject the restructuring of the College. Dr. Cushman went on leave from the University in July 1972 to pursue research and writing. He formally retired from UND in June of the following year.

Cushman was a prodigious scholar who authored numerous articles. He was an active member of Phi Delta Kappa, an honorary education fraternity. He served as President of Phi Delta Kappa International from 1955-1957. He was also active in the National Educational Association, the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, and the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges.

He died on November 28, 1982, in Port Charlotte, Florida.

Subject/Index Terms

Education
University of North Dakota - Faculty

Administrative Information

Repository: Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections

Accruals: Additional material was donated in 2001 (Acc.2001-2495).

Access Restrictions: Open for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections.

Acquisition Source: Martelle Cushman

Acquisition Method: Donation; Acc.78-519

Preferred Citation: (Description of Item). M.L. Cushman Papers. OGLMC 488, Box #, Folder #. Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections, Chester Fritz Library, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks.

Finding Aid Revision History: Finding aid migrated to Archon in June 2015.

Other URL: http://library.und.edu/holdings.php?id=ODIN_ALEPH000769223

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: Associations of School Administrators ],
[Series 2: North Dakota Educational Organizations],
[Series 3: Teacher Educational Organizations],
[Series 4: Professional Organizations],
[Series 5: Miscellaneous],
[Series 6: Reorganization in Other States],
[Series 7: A Collection of the Major Publications and Speeches of Dr. Martelle L. Cushman],
[All]

Series 6: Reorganization in Other States

Correspondence, reports, and literature dealing with reorganization in California, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

Box 8

Folder 9: California
Item 1: A Report on School District Reorganization in California, 1946-1948
Item 2: The Process of Optional Reorganization of School Districts
Item 3: Findings and Recommendations of the Commission on School Districts, State of California, 1949.
Folder 10: Correspondence on Reorganization, Patrons
Folder 11: Conference, 1948, Cedar Falls
Folder 12: Conference, 1945-46-47 (Iowa State College)
Folder 13: County Unit
Folder 14: Community Organization
Folder 15: Community Organization
Folder 16: Community Criteria
Folder 17: Data on Consolidated Schools (Lancelots)
Folder 18: Community School Criteria Procedures
Folder 19: Department of Public Instruction
Folder 20: Directions for Making County Surveys
Folder 21: Districts, Numbers of
Folder 22: Ford Foundation Project
Folder 23: Great Plains School District Organization Project, 1966
Item 4: Miscellaneous Pamphlets on School District Organization and Reorganization
Folder 24: High Schools Closed in Iowa, 1939-1949.
Folder 25: Illinois Education Association
Item 5: Final Report of the DeKalb County School Survey Committee
Item 6: Raymond High School Handbook, Raymond, Illinois, 1952-53
Item 7: Panhandle Community Unit School District, Report and Recommendations
Item 8: Rural School Reorganization, McDonough County, Illinois
Item 9: The Legal Basis of the Community Unit School in Illinois
Item 10: Taylorville Community Unit Schools, Annual Report; July, 1950 - June, 1951
Item 11: The Indiana State Teachers College Journal, Volume. XXX, Number 3
Folder 26: Iowa Education
Folder 27: Iowa Consolidated Schools
Folder 28: Iowa General Purpose Sample
Folder 29: Kansas Research Department: Legislative Council
Folder 30: Kansas Correspondence, Legislative Council, 1956-57.
Folder 31: Kansas, Correspondence while Assistant Professor of Rural Education
Folder 32: Kansas, Talk to School Board Association.

Box 9

Folder 1: Legislation, State Show, Iowa
Folder 2: Legislation on. School District Reorganization, State of Iowa
Folder 3: Michigan, Reorganization
Folder 4: Michigan, Miscellaneous
Item 1: Making An Area Study, Bulletin by School of Education, University of Michigan
Folder 5: Minnesota, School. District Reorganization
Item 2: "Planning the Community School"
Item 3: Miscellaneous Manuals for County School Survey Committees
Item 4: Final Report of the Faribault County School Survey Committee October, 1948.
Item 5: Summary of School District Reorganization Under Senate. Bill No. 307 as of January 1, 1950.
Item 6: Fourth Report of the State Advisory Commission on School Reorganization, State of Minnesota, January 1955
Item 7: Minnesota, Miscellaneous Publications
Folder 6: Missouri, Reorganization
Folder 7: Montana, Statistics.
Folder 8: Maps
Folder 9: Nebraska, Reorganization
Folder 10: New York, Equalization Funds, Reorganization
Folder 11: Oklahoma
Item 8: Educational Research Bulletin, October 20, 1937, Ohio State University
Item 9: A Report on School District Reorganization in Ohio
Folder 12: Pennsylvania, A Guide to School Reorganization
Item 10: "Study of School District Reorganization in Alsace Township, Pennsylvania," 1950.
Folder 13: Procedures for Reorganization
Folder 14: Public Relations, Extension Service
Folder 15: Progress in Reorganization
Folder 16: Public Relations, The Iowan
Folder 17: Reorganization, ISC - Course 590E and 541
Folder 18: Reorganization, News Clippings
Folder 19: Reorganization, General
Folder 20: Survey Procedures, Present Districts
Folder 21: Reorganization - Speech In Des Moines 7-24-54
Item 11: "The Role of School District Reorganization in Improving Rural Education," by M. L. Cushman
Item 12: "The Status of Education and Training of Rural Youth: The Impact of Socioeconomic Change," by M. L. Cushman
Folder 22: South Dakota, Reorganization
Folder 23: Survey Procedures, Proposed Districts
Folder 24: Survey of Related Studies - Reorganization Theses at Iowa State University
Folder 25: Survey Procedures, Reorganization
Item 13: Report of Better Rural Schools Conference and Fifth Annual Institute of Professional and Public Relations
Item 14: Leaflets dealing with Reorganization in Wyoming and Wisconsin
Item 15: State Aids and Rural Property Taxes in Wisconsin, Research Bulletin 138, March, 1941.
Item 16: "What Shall We Do About Our School?" Special Circular 20, University of Wisconsin, 1951
Item 17: Guide for County School Committees, State Department of Public Instruction, Madison, Wisconsin, January 1949
Item 18: Basic Information Concerning the Proposed Mount Horeb Community Unified School District
Item 19: First Progress Report Longitudinal Study of Newly Formed Centralized Rural School Districts in the State of Wisconsin
Item 20: Report of the Commission on Improvement of the Educational System, Madison, Wisconsin, November, 1948
Item 21: Characteristics of Good School Districts, University of Wisconsin, 1948.
Folder 26: Wisconsin, Rural Education.

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