M. L. Cushman Papers, 1911-1980
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
Scope and Contents of the Materials
The M.L. Cushman Papers have been divided into five series:
Series 1: Associations of School Administrators
Series 2: North Dakota Educational Organizations
Series 3: Teacher Educational Organizations
Series 4: Professional Organizations
Series 5: Assorted Materials
Collection Historical Note
Martelle L. Cushman was born March 9, 1908, in Kalamazoo, Michigan. 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 to 1931. He re-entered Western Michigan in 1931, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1932. He was employed as a teacher and coach at Kellogg School in Augusta, Michigan, from 1932 to 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 superintendent of schools in Cedarville, Michigan. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1937 with a Master of Arts. His master's thesis was titled "Natural Community School Survey of Mackinac County, Michigan." From 1938 to 1941, he was superintendent of schools in Richmond, Michigan.
He left Michigan in 1941 to attend Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York, where he earned his Ph.D. in 1943. His doctoral dissertation was titled "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 to March 1945.
He joined the faculty of Iowa State College in Ames in 1945. Directing work in rural education, he specialized in the areas of school administration, finance, and school district reorganization. He also directed the 1950 Iowa Study on School Finance in cooperation with the Iowa Department of Public Instruction. 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. 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 took leave from UND in July 1972 to pursue research and writing. He formally retired 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 to 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 November 28, 1982, in Port Charlotte, Florida.
Subject/Index Terms
Administrative Information
Repository: Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections
Accruals: Additional materials were donated in 2001 (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; 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 added to Archon in June 2015.
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: Assorted Materials],
[All]
- Series 5: Assorted Materials
- Correspondence, reports and other literature dealing with ERIC-CRESS Satellite Center, Advisory Board and New Mexico State University, as well as ERIC-CRESS progress reports. Also included are Masters Theses, Iowa State College; graduate marks, techniques of teachings and various Iowa State educational associations and federations.
- Box 7
- Folder 11: Boards of Education, Consultation Service, Iowa and National Association of School Boards
- Folder 12: Correspondence - Iowa Department of Public Instruction
- Folder 13: Correspondence - Reorganization
- Folder 14: Correspondence - School Finance, 1950-1951
- Folder 15: Correspondence - General, September 1948-August 1949
- Folder 16: Commencement Speaker invitations, 1946-1951
- Folder 17: Commencement Speaker invitations, 1952
- Folder 18: Commencement Speaker invitations, 1953
- Folder 19: Communication from the Administration
- Folder 20: Communications from Experimental Station, General
- Folder 21: County School Administration Workshop, Correspondence
- Folder 22: Correspondence - General, 1945-1950
- Folder 23: Correspondence - General, 1952-1961
- Folder 24: Correspondence - Iowa Speeches
- Folder 25: ERIC-CRESS Satellite Center at UND
- Folder 26: ERIC-CRESS Advisory Board, Panama City, May 1, 1970
- Folder 27: ERIC-CRESS, New Mexico State University, 1969-1970
- Folder 28: ERIC-CRESS, New Mexico State University, Correspondence, 1968-1969
- Folder 29: ERIC-CRESS, New Mexico State University, Advisory Board Meetings
- Folder 30: News Letter, Ed. Research Information Center, ERIC, USOE New Mexico, Rural Education
- Folder 31: ERIC-CRESS Progress Reports
- Folder 32: ERIC-CRESS, New Mexico State University
- Folder 33: Extension Service
- Folder 34: Masters Theses, Iowa State College
- Folder 35: Marks, Graduate
- Folder 36: Administration of Rural Education
- Folder 37: Examinations
- Folder 38: I.S.E.A. - Central District, Story County Council
- Folder 39: Iowa State Education Association
- Folder 40: Iowa Association of School Boards
- Folder 41: Iowa State College Alumni
- Folder 42: Iowa Farm Bureau Federation
- Folder 43: Iowa Association of School Boards
- Folder 44: Minnesota School Board Association
- Folder 45: Vocational Education 304, Marks
- Folder 11: Boards of Education, Consultation Service, Iowa and National Association of School Boards
- Box 8
- Folder 1: Correspondence - Iowa Department of Public Instruction Advisory Committee on Reorganization, 1947-1953
- Folder 2: Correspondence - Iowa State College, 1945-1950
- Folder 3: Correspondence - mostly Iowa School District Reorganization, 1946-1958
- Folder 4: Correspondence - School District Reorganization, Various States, 1946-1968
- Folder 5: Correspondence - Walden University, 1975
- Folder 6: Correspondence and Drafts - The Iowan article on School District Reorganization, 1953-1954
- Folder 7: Correspondence and Presentations - Kansas School District Reorganization, 1946-1957
- Folder 8: Draft of chapters on School District Reorganization, ca. 1950
- Folder 9: Great Plains School District Organization Project, 1966-1968
- Folder 10: Iowa Conferences on School District Reorganization, 1945-1948
- Folder 11: Iowa State College - School District Reorganization Project, 1947-1954
- Folder 12: Iowa Television Program on School District Reorganization, 1951-1952
- Folder 13: Nebraska - Institute on Small Community Life, 1947
- Folder 14: Newspaper Articles, 1947-1949
- Folder 15: Paper on College Teaching Method, May 1942
- Folder 16: Papers - Michigan School District Reorganization, 1942-1944
- Folder 17: Papers/Presentations - Iowa School District Reorganization, 1945-1950
- Folder 18: Papers/Presentations - School District Reorganization, 1954-1967
- Folder 19: Saturday Classes Taught at Iowa State College - Schedules and Correspondence, 1945-1949
- Folder 20: School Forum Radio Programs - Iowa State College, 1952-1954
- Folder 21: Surveys/Statistics - School District Reorganization, 1945-1952
- Volume 1: Major Publications and Speeches of Dr. Cushman
- Volume 2: Major Publications and Speeches of Dr. Cushman
- Volume 3: Major Publications and Speeches of Dr. Cushman
- Folder 1: Correspondence - Iowa Department of Public Instruction Advisory Committee on Reorganization, 1947-1953
- Box 7
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: Assorted Materials],
[All]