Thomas Boardman Greenslade
From KCpedia
Kenyon College Archivist (1967-1990)
Contents |
Early Life
Thomas Boardman Greenslade was born February 6, 1910 in Bellevue, Ohio. His parents were Moina Mugg Greenslade and Newton F. Greenslade. He graduated cum laude from Kenyon in 1931 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. During his college years he played football and served on the Executive Committee. He earned his master's degree from Columbia University in 1934.
Greenslade taught chemistry from 1931-1936 at the City College of New York. He then went on to become a chemistry teacher at Port Richmond High scool on Staten Island, New York, from 1936-1939. He married Mary MacWilliam in 1942. Beginning in 1949, he served as science chair at New Dorp High School and as science supervisor for the New York City Public Schools, retiring in 1967. He was the creator of the popular Richmond School Science Fairs, which aroused great interest in the sciences in the early 1960s.
Returning to Kenyon
Greenslade came back to Kenyon in 1967 as an archivist: he collected, catalogued, and made available to those both on- and off-campus the documents of the College's history. He was the author of Kenyon College: Its Third Half Century, which was published in 1975, and was a frequent contributor to the Alumni Bulletin and other College publications. He became a member of the Harcourt Parish. He and his wife, Mary, became regular attendees at virtually every Kenyon event. They eventually became like traveling ambassadors of the College, attending alumni functions across the United States.
Awards
Kenyon awarded Greenslade an honorary doctor of letters degree in 1976 in recognition of his many services to the College, which included nine years as an agent for the Class of 1931. The citation noted, "You returned to Gambier to make your home, plunging wholeheartedly into the life of this community, giving unstintingly to it of your time, energy, and wisdom. As College archivist, you bring order to a growing mass of documents and, in addition, provide thoughtful responses to inquiries concerning Kenyon and its people from every part of the nation."
In 1989 Greenslade was awarded the Gregg Cup, Kenyon's highest alumni honor. The citation for that award read, "he has become Kenyon's indispensible resource for those who seek to learn more about people and events that have shaped the College's history...His tours of campus--anecdotal, erudite, wry--are a highlight of those weekends when alumni find their way back to Gambier."
Death
Thomas Greenslade died of heart failure on September 25, 1990 at Riverside Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. The memorial service was held in the Church of the Holy Spirit on October 1, 1990.
He was survived by his wife of fifty-eight years. His son, Thomas B. Greenslade Jr., was a Professor of Physics at Kenyon. He also had a daughter, Elizabeth R. Venderploeg, who was living in Monroe, Iowa at the time of his death. He had five grandchildren, including Thomas B. Greenslade III of the Class of 1987 and Russell M. Greenslade of the Class of 1989.
He is buried in the Kenyon College cemetery.
Legacy
The College renamed the archives in honor of the man who was responsible for its creation and success. The dedication ceremony was held on May 8, 1991. Housed on the first floor of Olin and Chalmers Library, it is now known as the Greenslade Special Collections and Archives.
Resources in the Kenyon College Archives
- Thomas B. Greenslade -- collected materials (oversize)
