ma83 Calvin H. Plimpton (AC 1939) Speeches, 1960-1971 Finding Aid Finding aid prepared by Sarang Gopalakrishnan, Peter Nelson. Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Amherst College Archives and Special Collections
Amherst, MA
© 2003

Amherst College Archives and Special Collections. All rights reserved.

 Finding aid encoded using Perl scripts and edited in XMetal 2.0. Encoded by Sarang Gopalakrishnan. 2003-06-24 Finding aid written in English. 2005-09-23 ma83 converted from EAD 1.0 to 2002 by v1to02-5c.xsl (sy2003-10-15). Amherst College Archives and Special Collections Calvin H. Plimpton (AC 1939) Speeches, 1960-1971 Finding Aid 2003 Jan Sarang Gopalakrishnan '06, Student Encoding Assistant 2003 Jan Sarang Gopalakrishnan '06, Student Encoding Assistant Peter A. Nelson, Assistant Archivist Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

© 2003 Amherst College Archives and Special Collections. All rights reserved.

 Collection Overview Plimpton, Calvin Hastings, 1918- Plimpton Speeches 1960-1971 1 archives box (0.5 linear ft.) Amherst College Archives and Special Collections Physician and former Amherst president. Collection contains proofs of The Spoken Word, a collection of his speeches; and also includes other speeches and articles by Plimpton. English. Biographical Note

Calvin Hastings Plimpton, physician and educator, was born in Boston on October 7, 1918. He attended Philips Exeter Academy; Amherst (Class of 1939); Harvard (MD 1943, MA 1947); and Columbia (MSD, 1951). Between 1943 and 1945 he served at the 83rd Field Hospital of the 3rd Army. Later, he worked at the Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons from 1950 to 1957, and taught medicine at the American University in Beirut from 1957 to 1959. Plimpton was appointed President of Amherst College in 1960. As president, he introduced the first female professors to the college, helped to found Hampshire College, and guided Amherst through the troubles of the 1960s. He resigned in 1971 to return to medicine. From 1971, he worked at the Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, as President (until 1979) and as Professor of Medicine (until 1983). In 1983, after the assassination of President Malcolm Kerr of the American University in Beirut, Plimpton took charge of the university, which he led until 1990. He has been awarded honorary degrees by several institutions, including Williams, Wesleyan, Amherst, Trinity and the American International College. Plimpton married Ruth Talbot in 1941, and had four children with her.

Plimpton's speeches delivered as president of Amherst College were collected and published as The Spoken Word (1981).

 Scope and Contents of the Collection

Galley proofs and typescripts of the book The Spoken Word: Calvin Hastings Plimpton, President, Amherst College 1960-1971, a collection of speeches given during his Presidency; also, a collection of Plimpton's other speeches and articles written in the period 1960-1970.

 Organization of the Collection

This collection is organized into two series:

1. The Spoken Word, ca. 1970-1971 2. Other Speeches and Writings, 1960-1970 Information on Use Terms of Access and Use

There is no restriction on access to the Plimpton Speeches for research use. Particularly fragile items may be restricted for preservation purposes.

Requests for permission to publish material from the Plimpton Speeches should be directed to the Archives and Special Collections. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights.

Preferred Citation

Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:

[Identification of item], in Plimpton Speeches [Box #, Folder #], Amherst College Archives and Special Collections, Amherst College Library

 Search Terms Plimpton, Calvin Hastings, 1918- Amherst College. Amherst College--Presidents. Education, Higher--Aims and objectives--United States. Universities and colleges--United States. Plimpton, Calvin Hastings, 1918- Spoken word. Amherst College. Class of 1939. Plimpton. Additional Information Related Material

Alumni Biographical Files - Class of 1939 - Plimpton, Calvin H.

Series 1: The Spoken Word, ca. 1970-1971 1 Galley proofs of The Spoken Word 1970 Dec 1 1 Corrected typescript of The Spoken Word n.d. Series 2: Other Speeches and Writings, 1960-1970 1960-1961 1 2 Davis Dinner 1960 Mar 18 1 2 Harvard Medical School Alumni Association: "Triskaidekaphobia, or Why Be Thirteen" 1960 May 27 1 2 Princeton University: "Humanity and Medicine" 1960 Jun 17-18 1 2 Johnson Chapel Talk 1960 Oct 6 1 2 Commencement Address, Wesleyan University: "The Lamentable Decline in Self-Reliance" 1961 Jun 4 1 2 Remarks to the Graduating Class 1961 Jun 11 1 2 Convocation: "Where, Why and How" 1961 Sep 24 1 2 (occasion not identified) "Why the Small Independent Liberal Arts College - And Why Amherst?" 1961 Oct 19 1 2 Connecticut Valley Branch of AAUW at Mount Holyoke College: "Read and Write, Black and White" 1961 Nov 6 1 2 Editorial in Journal of the American Medical Association vol. 178 no. 6 pp. 655-656. "Education for Medicine and, Yea, for Life" 1961 Nov 11 1 2 Dedication of the Health Center, Harvard University: "The Advantages of Illness, the Benefits from Disease" 1961 Dec 2 1 2 Johnson Chapel Assembly: "And So On" 1961 Dec 14 1962-1963 1 3 Speech at Rockford College: "Gaposis" 1962 Feb 23 1 3 Davis Dinner: "You Come Too" 1962 Mar 16 1 3 Johnson Chapel Talk 1962 Apr 9 1 3 Boston Alumni: "Biochemistry of, not at, Amherst College" 1962 Apr 11 1 3 Johnson Chapel Talk 1962 May 15 1 3 Convocation: "Caring at Amherst, and the Enemy Within" 1962 Sep 24 1 3 Johnson Chapel Talk 1962 Sep 27 1 3 DKE Initiation Banquet: "Freedom not to Join" 1962 Nov 16 1 3 Amherst Faculty Club meeting: "Lost or Found" 1962 Dec 8 1 3 Robert Frost Memorial Service: "Reflections" 1963 Feb 17 1 3 Alumni Fund Agents "Transformation by Caring" 1963 Mar 1 1 3 Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, second series, vol. 39 no. 4 pp. 205-213: "Medicine: a Training or an Education?" 1963 Apr 1 3 Amherst Capital Program Leadership Weekend: "Learning to Care" 1963 May 3-4 1 3 Guest Column, Cape Cod Standard Times: "Slightly Salty" 1963 Oct 15 1 3 Johnson Chapel Talk: "Birth of Memory" 1963 Oct 22 1 3 "This Special Convocation" n.d. 1 3 "The Passing of J.F. Kennedy" 1963 Nov 22 1 3 "My Fair Lady" 1963 Nov 26 1964-1966 1 4 University of Kentucky Medical School Graduation (untitled) 1964 May 18 1 4 "Amherst Comes to Town" (occasion not specified) 1964 Sep-Oct 1 4 Johnson Chapel Talk 1964 Nov 2 1 4 Assembly Talk 1964 Dec 8 1 4 Memorial Service for Alexander Meiklejohn, Washington D.C. 1965 Jan 15 1 4 Assembly talk: "Easy in Harness" 1965 Mar 29 1 4 Commencement Address, American International College: "The Uses of Stress in Student Life and Student-Faculty Relations" 1965 Jun 6 1 4 Assembly: "The Relationships with the Gentler Sex" 1965 Sep 27 1 4 Robert Frost Library Dedication 1965 Oct 24 1 4 Assembly Talk: "Hours for Ladies and Communication" 1965 Dec 14 1 4 Assembly Talk: "To Change or to be Changed" 1966 Apr 4 1 4 Opening Convocation - Johnson Chapel 1966 Sep 13 1 4 New York Personnel Management 1966 Oct 17 1967-1970 1 5 Commencement Charge to Seniors 1967 Jun 2 1 5 Opening Convocation, Johnson Chapel 1967 Sep 12 1 5 Layman's Sunday Sermon, 2nd Congregational Church, Holyoke: "Is Man Still Relevant?" 1967 Oct 8 1 5 Commencement Charge to Seniors 1968 Jun 7 1 5 Science Center Dedication 1968 Nov 22 1 5 Faculty Club Speech 1969 Mar 11 1 5 "Who put the LSD in the DNA?" Leon E. Sample Lecture, presented at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, reprinted in the American Journal of Surgery vol. 119, May 1970 1969 May 9 1 5 Commencement Charge to Seniors 1969 Jun 6 1 5 Memorial Service for "Red" Richardson 1969 Oct 26 1 5 Albany Medical College: "The Campus Disorders as Seen by an Administration" 1969 Oct 30 1 5 Remarks at Opening of Medical Center, American University of Beirut 1970 Jun 26 1 5 Opening Convocation 1970 Sep 16