Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Title
Date(s)
- 1950-1980 (Creation)
Extent
2.0 cubic feet
Name of creator
Biographical history
Colin Wilbur Williams (1921-2000), a Methodist Church Minister, was born in Victoria, Australia. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Wesley College, Melbourne University before entering Drew University in 1947 in pursuit of a Bachelor of Divinity degree which he earned--summa cum laude--in 1950. He then returned to serve the Methodist Church in Melbourne from 1952 to 1954 before continuing his studies towards a Ph. D. degree at Drew Theological Seminary in 1954. It was during this period--1955 to 1958--that Williams taught historical theology at Garrett Theological Seminary and also lectured at Drew Theological Seminary. Upon completion of his Ph. D. in June, 1958, Williams once again returned to Australia where he was appointed Professor of Theology at Queens College, Melbourne University. He served in this capacity from 1959 to 1962, leaving to join the National council of Churches in Christ in 1963 as Executive Director of the Central Department of Evangelism. Among his most notable professional accomplishments was his position as tenured faculty in the Yale Divinity School where he also served as Dean from 1969 to 1979. After his ten year service as dean, Dr. Williams continued to teach at Yale until 1983 when he was appointed the first Exectutive Vice President at the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. He has been recognized and honored by Yale for the "extraordinary contributions" to the Yale Divinity School and by Drew University because of his "extraordinary range of accomplishments." Among his numerous publications are John Wesley's Theology Today, 1960, Where in the World, 1963, and What in the World, 1965. Dr. Williams married Phyllis Miller in 1949. They have three daughters.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
The Colin W. Williams papers comprise documents of his life's work and are categorized as Student Class Notes, Course Lectures, Sermons, Conference/Presentations, Publications and Correspondence. His Papers span the years 1949-1988 and chronicle his activities as a student, a professional, and a family man while in his native land, Australia, and subsequently, in his adopted home, the United States of America. Beginning in 1949 when Williams was a student, his Papers include meticulously taken hand-written classroom notes and typed seminar papers produced by a student very much immersed in his studies. Additionally, his course lectures include seminar presentations, syllabi, notes, and newspaper articles that support his work as a lecturer at Drew Theological Seminary and Garrett Theological Seminary between 1955 and 1958 and a tenured faculty at Yale Divinity School from 1979 to 1983. His tenure as Professor of Systematic Theology from 1959 to 1962 at Queens Royal College of the University of Melbourne resulted in a carefully typed,edited, duplicated, and assembled set of lecture notes from his Contemporary Theology course. He left these notes in the care of his colleagues to "reproduce and distribute if students and others in Australia could benefit thereby." The Papers of Colin W. Williams also contain hand-written sermons and typed lectures and speeches for the numerous speaking engagements and conferences to which he was invited. Also included in his Papers are publications from his time at the Aspen Institute, conference papers, and tributes, among others. Finally, his correspondence includes professional and personal letters from 1949 to 1988. Most of these letters are written to his wife Phyllis during their years of courtship prior to 1949, when they were married, and during their marriage.
System of arrangement
This collection is arranged by series and subseries.
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
There are no restrictions regarding this collection.
Physical access
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Detailed use restrictions relating to our collections can be requested from the office of the archivist at the General Commission on Archives and History. Photocopying is handled by the staff and may be limited in certain instances. Before using any material for publication from this collection a formal request for permission to publish is expected and required.
Languages of the material
- English
Scripts of the material
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Finding aids
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Immediate source of acquisition
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
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Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Related descriptions
Notes element
General note
When citing material from this collection please use the following format: Direct reference to the item or its file folder, Colin Williams Papers, United Methodist Church Archives - GCAH, Madison, New Jersey. Do not make use of the items call number as that is not a stable descriptor.
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Archivist's note
Prepared by Lisa Todd, student intern and L. Dale Patterson, Archivist-Records Administrator