Michael J. Stolee Papers, 1964/2009

Access and use

Location of collection:
Old Dominion University
3023 Patricia W. and J. Douglas Perry Library
Old Dominion University
4427 Hampton Blvd
Norfolk, VA 23529
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Jessica Ritchie
Phone: (757) 683-4483
Fax: (757) 683-5954
Restrictions:

Open to researchers without restrictions.

Terms of access:

Before publishing quotations or excerpts from any materials, permission must be obtained from Special Collections and University Archives, and the holder of the copyright, if not Old Dominion University Libraries.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Box [insert number], Folder [insert number and title], Michael J. Stolee Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.

Summary

Extent:
9.90 Linear Feet and 21 Hollinger document cases, 1 half Hollinger document case, 1 oversized box, and 1 multimedia box boxes
Creator:
Stolee, Michael J. (1930-2007)
Abstract:
The collection contains material related to Stolee's work as an expert witness in 68 school desegregation cases in the US including Norfolk. Stolle helped to design Norfolk 1971 school busing plan.The material includes the court proceedings, testimony, newspaper clippings, photographs, invoices and correspondence as well as his narrative of some of the cases.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Box [insert number], Folder [insert number and title], Michael J. Stolee Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection contains material related to Michael J. Stolee's work as a court and school system-appointed advisor in school desegregation cases in 68 school districts in the United States. The most documented case in the collection is the legal battle centering on Benton Harbor, Michigan, and efforts to integrate its school systems. The collection also includes biographical material on Stolee, historical material on school desegregation and material about the establishment and operation of the Florida Desegregation Center at the University of Miami.

Materials in the collection include newspaper clippings, lecture transparencies, court orders and depositions, work schedules, school desegregation plans, Congressional records, term papers, photographs, handwritten notes, brochures, bound notebooks, and speeches, among others.

Biographical / historical:

Dr. Michael J. Stolee was a Norwegian Lutheran native of the Minneapolis-St. Paul area in Minnesota, born on August 22, 1930. He attended the city's public schools - Jenny Lind Elementary School and Henry Junior-Senior High School. Later, he enrolled at St. Olaf College where he earned his bachelor's degree with teaching majors in history and speech. Stolee first taught history and speech in rural Minnesota public schools before enrolling in graduate study at the University of Minnesota in late 1952. There he completed his master's degree and his doctorate in Educational Administration with an emphasis on school leadership in the legal context. Stolee completed his Ph.D. in 1963. Following his administrative experience in Minnesota schools, Stolee served as a faculty member at the University of Miami, the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, teaching the legal aspects of school administration. At the latter, he served as Dean of the School of Education for nine years. In addition to his regular faculty appointments, Dr. Stolee was a visiting professor at Appalachian State University and was an external examiner for the faculties of education at the University of Guyana and the University of the West Indies. At the University of Miami, he was co-director of an institute on desegregation for school board members and superintendents in Florida and South Georgia. This was the first institute funded under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Dr. Stolee's education and personal experience prepared him to address the issues created by the Brown v. Board of Education decision of 1954. Stolee cited his experience with black students at the University of Minnesota during graduate school as one of the first that indicated to him the future need for addressing racial cooperation in the education world.

In 1965, Dr. Stolee and a colleague, Dr. Robert Wey, suggested that a consultation center be established at Miami for the purpose of helping to put the law into practice regarding Brown v. Board. The Florida School Desegregation Consulting Center at the University of Miami ran from 1965 until 1981. The center served as an advisory entity to school systems across the nation. While acting as Director of the Center, Dr. Stolee participated in the desegregation proceedings of many school systems across the United States. The city of Norfolk, Virginia is one of over 350 school jurisdictions where Dr. Stolee advised on school desegregation methods and busing plans.

Dr. Stolee had an impact on the Hampton Roads area as an expert witness on the 1971 Norfolk Public Schools busing desegregation plan. Stolee testified on several occasions between May 7, 1969 and April 1971. Dr. Michael J. Stolee passed away in March 29, 2007 at the age of 76.

Acquisition information:

Marilyn Stolee

Gift. Accession #A2008-24

Processing information:

The collection was processed by Mel Frizzell, Special Collections Assistant, from 2009 to 2010.

Arrangement:

The collection is organized into four series: Series I: Historical and Biographical Information; Series II: Miami School Desegregation Center; Series III: School Desegregation Cases; and Series IV: Other Media.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard