Lynn Degerstedt Collection: Records documenting the Southwest Washington Joint Center for Education.
Scope and Contents note
The collection includes early documents, surveys, reports, articles and news clippings relating to the higher education needs or Southwest Washington and the establishment of the Southwest Washington Joint Center for Education. The collection also includes personal correspondence and biographical information about Lynn Degerstedt, the director of the Southwest Washington Joint Center for Education.
Dates
- ca. 1960, 1983-2003
Language of Materials
English
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research use and access. Collection materials are included in the WSU Vancouver Historical Documents and Photographs digital collection: https://content.libraries.wsu.edu/digital/collection/wsuv_docs/custom/wsuv_docs
Biographical/Historical note
Lynn Degerstedt was a foundational figure in the development of higher education in Southwest Washington, best known for his instrumental role in the establishment of Washington State University (WSU) Vancouver. A World War II veteran and pilot, Degerstedt spent 15 years in community relations at ALCOA before transitioning to academia. He served as the first director of the Clark College Foundation in 1973 and later became the inaugural director of the Southwest Washington Joint Center for Education in 1983. In this capacity, he spearheaded the efforts to assess regional educational needs, which directly paved the way for the creation of the WSU Vancouver branch campus.
Beyond his contributions to WSU, Degerstedt was a prolific civic leader in Vancouver. He remained active in the community well into his retirement, serving with the Fort Vancouver Kiwanis Club, the Salvation Army, and the Clark College Foundation board. His work is widely credited with bridging the gap between community industry and academic growth, ensuring that Southwest Washington had access to local undergraduate and graduate-level education.
Extent
0.417 Linear feet
Abstract
The materials in this collection consist of surrogates of records compiled and produced by Lynn Degerstedt, first director of the Southwest Washington Joint Center for Education, serving from ca. 1983 until his departure in 1987. The materials in this collection document the assessment of needs for higher education in Southwest Washington, the formation of the Southwest Washington Joint Center for Education and the early history of the Washington State University Vancouver branch campus.
Arrangement note
Materials are arranged in eight folders and organized by publication or publication type.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Campus leadership arranged for the Library, Archives and Special Collections to digitize and retain surrogates from Lynn Dengerstedt's records circa 2007 as part of preparation for WSU Vancouver's 20th anniversary. The collection consists of print and digital copies. The collection was accessioned into the Archives and Special Collections as SC.WSUV.2007.003.
Existence and Location of Copies note
Materials are also available in digital format.
- Title
- Lynn Degerstedt Collection: Records documenting the Southwest Washington Joint Center for Education
- Subtitle
- (Records reproduced courtesy of Lynn Degerstedt)
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Robert Schimelpfenig
- Date
- Original July 1, 2011
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the Washington State University Vancouver, Archives and Special Collections Repository