Betty van der Smissen papers, 1954-2008
A Preliminary Guide to her Papers at the Indiana University
Archives
Finding aid prepared by Mary Mellon
Summary Information
Repository
Indiana
University Archives
1320 East Tenth Street
Herman B Wells Library E460
Bloomington, IN 47405-7000
Phone: 812-855-1127
Email: archives@indiana.edu
http://www.libraries.iub.edu/archives
Creator
Van der Smissen, Betty,
1927-2008
TitleBetty van der Smissen papers, 1954-2008
Collection No.
C707
Extent
8 cubic feet (8 boxes)
Language
Materials are in English
Abstract
Betty van der Smissen was an alumna of the University of Kansas and Indiana University and an educator, writer, and consultant
in the field of outdoor recreation and risk management. Contents of this collection date from 1954 through 2008 and consist
mainly of teaching material such as course syllabi, correspondence, readings, and exams; research and drafts of publications;
handbooks and self-assesment material for park and recreation agency accreditations; and material related to van der Smissen’s
participation in professional organizations and conferences.
Access Restrictions
Advance notice required for access to collection.
As the collection is not completely processed, additional review for restricted
materials, such as those protected by attorney-client privilege and student privacy
laws, is required before individual access requests can be granted. Please contact
University Archives staff for more information.
Biographical Note
Margaret “Betty” van der Smissen was born on December 27, 1927, in Great Bend, Kansas. After high school she entered the University
of Kansas, where she earned her BA in 1949 and J.D. in 1952. She continued her studies at Indiana University, where she earned
a Master’s in Recreation in 1954 and and Doctor of Recreation (Re.D.) in 1955.
With her legal background, Dr. van der Smissen went on to become one of the most sought-after experts in the area of sport
and recreation negligence. She authored accreditation standards for recreation university curricula, parks and recreation
agencies, and the American Camping Association camps. She spent her professional career as faculty at a number of universities
and colleges, including Iowa University, Penn State, Michigan State University, Bowling Green University, and the University
of Northern Iowa. During this time, Dr. van der Smissen gave more than 500 presentations and lectures worldwide, authored
or co-authored numerous textbooks, chapters, professional articles and educational films and videos.
Dr. van der Smissen passed away in November 2008.
Arrangement
The contents of this collection are in the order in which they were received.
Scope and Content Note
This collection documents Betty van der Smissen’s career as an educator, writer, and
consultant in the field of outdoor recreation and risk management. Contents date
from 1954 through 2008 and consist mainly of teaching material such as course
syllabi, correspondence, readings, and exams; research and drafts of publications;
handbooks and self-assesment material for park and recreation agency accreditations;
and material related to van der Smissen’s participation in professional
organizations and conferences.
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Indexing Terms
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The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
IUCAT, the IU Libraries'
online catalog. Materials about related topics, persons or places can be found by
searching the catalog using these terms.
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
Accession: 2010/098
Usage RestrictionsThe donor(s) of this collection have not transferred their copyrights for the
materials to the Trustees of Indiana University. For more information, please
contact the Indiana University Archives staff.
The Indiana University Archives respects the intellectual property rights of
others and does not claim any copyrights for non-university records, materials
in the public domain, or materials for which we do not hold a Deed of Gift.
Responsibility for the determination of the copyright status of these materials
rests with those persons wishing to reuse the materials. Researchers are
responsible for securing permission from copyright owners and any other rights
holders for any reuse of these materials that extends beyond fair use or other
statutory limitations.
Digital reproductions of archival materials from the Indiana University Archives
are made available for noncommercial educational and research purposes only. If
you are the copyright holder for any of the digitized materials and have
questions about its inclusion on our site, please contact the Indiana University
Archives staff.
Preferred Citation
[item], Betty van der Smissen papers, Collection C707, Indiana University
Archives, Bloomington.
Provenance
Donated to the University Archives by the van der Smissen family in 2010.
Processing Information
This collection is still being processed. Provisional finding aid created January 2019.
