Fred Carrington Cole (April 12, 1912 – May 6, 1986) was an American librarian and historian. He was president of the Council on Library Resources and

Washington and Lee University , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexingto ...

. In 1999, '' American Libraries'' named him one of the "100 Most Important Leaders We Had in the 20th Century". Cole was born in Franklin, Texas. He attended

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

and earned an

A.B. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in 1934, an A.M. in 1936, and a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

in history in 1941. He served as editorial associate of the newly founded '' The Journal of Southern History'' under Wendell Holmes Stephenson from 1936 to 1941, and succeeded Stephenson as managing editor from 1941 to 1942. He also served as founding co-editor with Stephenson of the Southern Biography Series from

Louisiana State University Press The Louisiana State University Press (LSU Press) is a university press at Louisiana State University. Founded in 1935, it publishes works of scholarship as well as general interest books. LSU Press is a member of the Association of American Univer ...

from 1938 to 1945 and was history editor of the Press from 1938 to 1942. Cole served as a lieutenant in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

from 1942 to 1946. Initially a gunnery officer at sea, he later worked for the Office of the Surgeon General of the United States Navy, where he revised the Manual of the Medical Department (MANMED). He earned a special commendation from the Surgeon General in 1946. Cole returned to academia at

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

in 1946, serving as associate professor, professor, dean, and vice president. As an administrator, Cole supported attempts to

desegregate Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups, usually referring to races. Desegregation is typically measured by the index of dissimilarity, allowing researchers to determine whether desegregation efforts are having impact o ...

the school, though Tulane was not desegregated until after his departure, in 1963. In 1959, Cole became the 20th president of Washington and Lee University. During his tenure at WLU, Cole was credited with raising educational standards and integrating libraries into the curriculum. He oversaw the university's first self-study and the integration of the school, with the first African-American student enrolling in 1966. From 1954 to 1955, Cole took a leave of absence from Tulane to work for the Ford Foundation as their program officer for education. Through Cole, Louis B. Wright was able to secure initial funding for the Council on Library Resources, an organization dedicated to addressing the common problems faced by libraries. Cole joined the board of the CLR in 1962 and left WLU in 1967 to succeed

Verner Clapp Verner Warren Clapp (June 3, 1901 – June 15, 1972) was a librarian, writer, and polymath. Starting as a summer clerk at the Library of Congress in 1922, Clapp rose to chief assistant librarian and acting Librarian of Congress. In 1956, he left ...

as president of the CLR, a post he held until 1977. In 1976, he received a Special Centennial Citation from the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...

for "making Ford Foundation dollars for libraries achieve maximum impact."American Library Association, July 19, 197
"Fred C. Cole, President of the Council on Library Resources, was awarded the Special Centennial Citation of the American Library Association, on July 19, during the Centennial Conference of the ALA in Chicago."
/ref> In 1978 he was awarded

American Library Association Honorary Membership Honorary Membership conferred by the American Library Association is the Association's highest award. "Honorary membership may be conferred on a living citizen of any country whose contribution to librarianship or a closely related field is so outst ...

. Following his retirement from the CLR, he moved to

Chapel Hill, North Carolina Chapel Hill is a town in Orange, Durham and Chatham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Its population was 61,960 in the 2020 census, making Chapel Hill the 17th-largest municipality in the state. Chapel Hill, Durham, and the state ca ...

, where he died from congestive heart failure in 1986, at the age of 74.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Fred Carrington 1912 births 1986 deaths People from Franklin, Texas Presidents of Washington and Lee University Washington and Lee University faculty American librarians Tulane University faculty United States Navy officers Louisiana State University alumni People from Chapel Hill, North Carolina