Waldo Phelps papers 1985-1989

Finding aid prepared by Mary Priest; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé.
UCLA Library Special Collections
Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1575
(310) 825-4988
spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
©2015 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.


Title: Waldo Phelps papers
Collection number: 2267
Contributing Institution: UCLA Library Special Collections
Language of Material: English
Physical Description: 0.4 linear ft. (1 document box)
Date (inclusive): 1985-1989
Abstract: Waldo Phelps(1918-2004) was a professor of Rhetoric in the English Department at UCLA from 1949-1988. This collection includes cassettes of an oral history interview and recordings of public ceremonies at UCLA. Also included is a football signed by the 1985 UCLA football team.
Language of Materials: Materials are in English.
Physical Location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Creator: Waldo Phelps

Restrictions on Access

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.

Restrictions on Use and Reproduction

Copyright to portions of this collection has been assigned to the UCLA Library Special Collections. The library can grant permission to publish for materials to which it holds the copyright. All requests for permission to publish or quote must be submitted in writing to the UCLA Library Special Collections Librarian Special Collections. Credit shall be given as follows: ©The Regents of the University of California on behalf of the UCLA Library Special Collections.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Audio cassettes are present and may need to be digitized prior to use or require special equipment for access.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Waldo Phelps Papers (Collection 2267). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library.

Provenance/Source of Acquisition

Donated by Margaret Phelps in 2006.

Processing Information

Processed by Mary Priest in 2015 in the Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT) , with assistance from Jillian Cuellar. Processing of this collection was generously supported by the Constantine and Perina Panunzio Endowment for University Archives.

Biography/History

Waldo Phelps was born on June 15, 1918 in San Francisco, California. He grew up in Santa Barbara and began studies at the state college there, which would later become UC Santa Barbara. Phelps received his MA in speech communication from University of Denver in 1941 and then served in the United States Navy. After being discharged, Phelps received his PhD in rhetoric from USC in 1949 and began teaching in the English department at UCLA in the same year. Phelps was instrumental in the founding of the Department of Speech and served as chair from 1964-1971. Phelps’ oratory skills were successfully used to campaign for additional funding for the UCLA campus and they led him to be named chairman of the Communication on Public Ceremonies in 1960. Phelps retired from UCLA in 1988 and returned to Santa Barbara where he was active in the alumni association. Waldo Phelps died in Santa Barbara on January 31, 2004 at age 85.

Scope and Content

This collection contains a football signed by the 1985 UCLA football team, presented to Phelps in gratitude for his support. Also included are four cassette tapes which contain recordings of public ceremonies at UCLA and oral history interviews detailing his retirement in Santa Barbara and his marriage to Dorothy Ann Depweg.

Organization and Arrangement

The collection is unarranged.

Related Material

Waldo Phelps Oral History. OH 75. Department of Special Collections, Davidson Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.

UCLA Catalog Record ID

UCLA Catalog Record ID: 7612092 

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Phelps, Waldo--Archives.

Box 1

Signed football and cassette tapes. 1985-1989.