Beverley Stone papers, 1934-2004 | Purdue University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections

The collection is arranged into eight series: 1) Biographical Information 2) Correspondence 3) Clippings 4) Miscellaneous Materials 5) Publications and Printed Material 6) Photographs 7) Speeches and Essays 8) Artifacts and Scrapbooks

Biographical documents, correspondence, speech notes and other materials documenting the life of Purdue’s first Dean of Students, Beverley Stone.

Beverley Stone (1916 - 2003)

Beverley Stone began her 24-year career at Purdue in 1956, serving in the Office of the Dean of Women as an advisor to student organizations such as the Student Government, Panhellenic Association and Mortar Board. In 1968, she succeeded Helen Schleman as Dean of Women with the rank of assistant professor. In addition to successfully pulling through the "campus wars" during the turbulent 1960s, she ensured that students' voices were heard, requiring that they be appointed to faculty committees and held "speaking seats" at the Board of Trustees meetings. In 1974, after the Dean of Women and Dean of Men offices were combined, Stone was named Purdue's first Dean of Students, the first woman ever to hold such a position at a Big Ten university. It was also in this year that she coauthored a book with her colleague Barbara Cook entitled Counseling Women. Stone was an active member of many professional and community organizations and recipient of numerous honors and awards. In 1980, Stone retired, and Barbara Cook became her successor as Dean of Students. A sculpture honoring both women resides in between Schleman and Hovde halls. After her retirement from Purdue University, Stone remained active in community affairs and successfully ran for City Council in West Lafayette in 1983 and served from 1984–1988.