Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Title
Date(s)
- circa 1890-1920, 1981-1986 (Creation)
Extent
Name of creator
Biographical history
Frederick Mercer Van Sickle is a Canton, Illinois native. He received his undergraduate degree in history from Lake Forest College in 1983. Van Sickle’s last year at the college he completed a senior thesis entitled, “A special place: Lake Forest and the great Depression, 1929-1940.” Van Sickle went on to obtain his master’s degree in education from Harvard University in 1989 and later, in 1996, a doctorate in education from the University of Pennsylvania. His wife's name is Susan and they have two children.
Van Sickle has held positions in alumni relations and development at various colleges, including his undergraduate alma mater (Lake Forest College), the University of Michigan, Columbia University, and Princeton University. Beginning in 2014, he also worked at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey as its Chief Development Officer. In 2016, Van Sickle joined Cornell University as vice president for Alumni Affairs and Development.
Van Sickle is chair of the Board for the Crisis Ministry of Mercer County and also served as a trustee of International House New York. He is a current trustee of the Holland Society of New York.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
This collection contains materials amassed by Van Sickle while undertaking the writing of his senior thesis. The bulk of this collection contains audiocassettes with interviews Van Sickle conducted with Lake Forest residents who lived in the town during the Great Depression. There are also handwritten notes and transcripts from the interviews, as well as 18 release forms.
Also in the collection is a copy of Van Sickle’s 1986 published article in the Illinois Historical Journal that was developed from his senior thesis and has the same title.
Additionally, there is a box containing late 19th-early 20th century theatre programs, mostly from Illinois.
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
Physical access
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Languages of the material
- English
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Immediate source of acquisition
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Related descriptions
Notes element
Specialized notes
Alternative identifier(s)
Description control element
Rules or conventions
Sources used
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Van Sickle, Frederick (Creator)