William H. Dreier Papers
Scope and Contents
This collection documents and details the work of Dr. William H. Dreier with a focus on the history of rural education in Iowa. The material covers much of Dr. Dreier’s time as a professor of education at the University of Northern Iowa (formerly Iowa State Teachers College and the State College of Iowa) from 1940 to 1994. The collection primarily focuses on Dreier’s publications in the 1960s and 1970s. This collection will be of particular interest to researchers wanting to know more about rural education in Iowa, the role of UNI regarding rural schools from 1940 to 1994, and the involvement of William H. Dreier in rural schools of Iowa.
The collection's control file also includes a handful of items, including a symbolic chip from the UNI Founders' Elm and bibliographies of Dreier's work. Please ask SCandUA staff for access.
Dates
- 1929-1994
Creator
- Dreier, William H. (Person)
Language of Materials
Materials entirely in English.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions. Materials are open for research.
General Use, Reproduction, and Copyright Policies
Many items housed in the Rod Library Special Collections & University Archives, including unpublished images and manuscripts, may be protected by copyright, publication rights, trademarks, or model release rights which the library does not own and for which the library cannot grant permission or licensing. Materials currently under copyright are usually still available for research and limited reproduction under Fair Use laws. However, it is the sole responsibility of the patron to determine whether or not their use of a given material falls within Fair Use guidelines and to obtain permission for said use from the rightful copyright owner.
Sensitive Materials Statement
Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy or similar laws, and the Iowa Open Records Law (see Iowa Code § 22.7). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of Northern Iowa assumes no responsibility.
Biographical / Historical
William H. Dreier (1918-2006) was a Professor of Education, Emeritus, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa. He retired in 1985 after thirty-six years of college teaching. He was born in Michigan and received his B. S. from Iowa State University in 1940. Drafted into the U.S. army in 1941, he served for fifty months and returned from Europe as a Major in the Air Force. Upon his return, he enrolled at the University of Minnesota, receiving an M. A. in 1947 and a Ph. D. in 1949.
He was employed as an instructor at Iowa State Teachers College, Department of Educational Psychology and Foundations, from 1949 to 1985. In his second year at Cedar Falls, Dreier was Director of the I. S. T. C. Branch Summer School in western Iowa at Missouri Valley. In the summer of 1956, he was Supervisor and Instructor of the 6th grade of the Price Laboratory School, and from 1957 to 1966 he coordinated the Summer Aerospace Education Workshops. From 1963 to 1970 he was Administrative Assistant to the Head of the Department of Education. He taught Rural Sociology in the Department of Sociology once a year from 1975 to 1984.
His first professional writing was a joint paper with his college psychology professor published by the Iowa Academy of Science in 1940. He went on to publish over 180 articles, papers, and reports including The Community School District in Iowa (1967), Preparing the Community and School for Paraprofessionals (1970), and Social Foundations of Education--Outline and Workbook (with Lyle K. Henry). He served as Editor of the Rural Education News from 1971 to 1975 and, later, as Assistant Editor.
Dr. Dreier also held a number of professional leadership positions including: president of the U. N I. Education Association (1953, 1963, and 1968); president of the Black Hawk County Education Association (1953-1955); Iowa director of Rural Education, N. E. A. (1955-1956); president of the National Rural Education Association (1966-1967); Field Secretary for the National Rural Education Association (1971-1975); and the first Iowa North Central Association of Schools Chairperson for Elementary Schools (1975-1976).
Extent
1.67 Linear Feet (2 boxes)
Arrangement
The papers are arranged into two series:
- 1. Writings and Reference Material, 1929-1994 – published works written by Dreier in his professional capacity as educator and rural school advocate as well as related surveys and reference files. This series comprises the bulk of the collection.
- 2. Correspondence, 1985-1993 – letters and messages from colleagues from 1985 to 1993.
Processing Information
Material originally processed by University Archivist Gerald L. Peterson, circa 1994. Updated for the web by Assistant Archivist Dustin Witsman and Archives Intern Erik Walker, March 2015. Updated by Library Associate Dave Hoing, December 2017 and April 2018. Linear feet updated September 10, 2017.
- Title
- William H. Dreier Papers
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script