Paul B. Bell, Jr., papers

Collection

Identifier: WHC-M-2891

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

College dean. The papers of Professor Paul B. Bell, Jr., are primarily comprised of his professional correspondence files (1972-2017) that were generated over more than thirty years at the University of Oklahoma as a zoology professor, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and Vice Provost for Instruction. The correspondence reflects issues related to the Department of Zoology, administration of the University of Oklahoma’s international exchange and study abroad programs, the Confucius Institute, student retention, and program and curriculum development. In addition to the correspondence files, the collection contains his calendars, which provide an outline of his day-to-day activities, and a series of notebooks that hold Bell’s notes on meetings, and personal reminders.

Dates

Creation: 1972-2017

Creator

Bell, Paul B., Jr. (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Open for public research.

Biographical / Historical

Paul B. Bell, Jr. was born and raised in Tennessee. He earned his baccalaureate degree in Biology from Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri in 1968, and a Ph.D. in Biology from Yale University in 1979. He taught both high school and university science and biology courses and developed high school science curriculums. He came to the University of Oklahoma Department of Zoology in 1979 and was promoted to full professorship in 1993. He served in several capacities in the Provost Offices, including Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education and Programs and Associate Provost. Professor Bell was appointed Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and Vice Provost for Instruction in June 1997. He resigned his positions as dean and vice provost for instruction in 2013 to return to teaching and to focus on international exchange of faculty and students.

Dr. Bell has received numerous awards for his outstanding teaching, research and administrative leadership, including the University of Oklahoma Associates Distinguished Lecturer and an honorary Doctor of Philosophy from Linkŏping University in Sweden.

Extent

18.3 Cubic Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement

The correspondence files are arranged alphabetically, which is also the creator’s original order. The calendars series and the notebooks series are each arranged chronologically.

Processing Information

The description of each file was taken directly from the creator’s original file folder labels, and as such, they reflect language usage of the period.