Allison Beth Schmidt papers

Collection

Identifier: D.264

Staff Only

Biographical/Historical note

Allison Beth Schmidt (1970-1995), the daughter of Howard and Sheryl Schmidt, was born in Livingston, New Jersey on January 6, 1970. Allison lived with her parents and her sister Mindy in East Brunswick, New Jersey until 1988, when she entered the University of Delaware. During her four years at the University of Delaware, Allison was a volunteer for the National Kidney Foundation and President of the Phi Sigma Sigma Sorority from 1991-1992. She graduated in 1992 with a BA in English Literature and was awarded a scholarship to pursue graduate work at the University of Rochester. Allison received her MA in English Literature in May 1993.

In the summer of 1993, Allison began taking courses at the Margaret Warner Graduate School of Education and Human Development at the University of Rochester. During the fall 1993 semester, she was a teaching assistant at Edison Technical and Occupational High School in Rochester as part of her graduate course work, and in the spring of 1994, she was a student teacher at Canandaigua Academy in Canandaigua, New York.

After her successful student teaching experiences at Canandaigua Academy, Allison sought and obtained a permanent teaching position in the English Department of Canandaigua Academy in the fall of 1994. During this time, she continued her graduate course work as a matriculated student in the Ph.D. program in the Warner School. Her research interests focused primarily on gender equality in educational contexts and critical teaching. When she died on June 23, 1995, Allison had successfully passed the first in a series of doctoral exams.

Scope and Contents

The Allison Beth Schmidt Papers consist of papers written for university courses, handwritten notes taken during courses, application materials for teaching positions, letters of recommendation from university professors, handwritten notes taken in preparation for writing a paper on feminist pedagogy, examples of Allison's high school students' writing, teaching handouts Allison prepared for her high school students, and personal correspondence.

Creator

Schmidt, Allison Beth, 1970-1995 (Person)

Dates

Creation: 1992-1995

Language of Materials

English

Extent

1 box(es)

Access

The Allison Beth Schmidt Papers are open for research use. Researchers are advised to contact the Rare Books Special Collections & Preservation Department prior to visiting. Upon arrival, researchers will also be asked to fill out a registration form and provide photo identification.

Use

In consultation with a curator, reproductions may be made upon request. Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from a curator. Researchers are responsible for determining any copyright questions.

Immediate Source of Acquisition note

Gift of Howard and Sheryl Schmidt, May 4, 2000.

Preferred Citation

[Item title, item date], Allison Beth Schmidt Papers, D.264, Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester

Arrangement

The Allison Beth Schmidt papers are divided into four series. For Series I: Masters' degree work (September 1992 - May 1993), Series II: Doctoral work (December 1992 - May 1995) at the Warner School, and Series III: Professional teaching experiences work (December 1993 - May 1995), the The documents are arranged chronologically within each group. Where no date appears on the document, the approximate date of the writing was determined through Allison's transcripts, her dated documents, and the subject matter of the undated documents. Series IV: Allison Schmidt's death and memorial services, contains newspaper articles reporting her death, a photograph taken in 1994, and programs from memorial services held at the University of Rochester.

An introductory essay about Allison Schmidt, her work, and the contents of this collection was written by Nancy Niemi, Allison's friend and fellow graduate student in the Warner School.