Charles Mercer Snelling was born on November 3, 1862, in Richmond, Virginia, to Zacheus and Cleopatra (Perdue) Snelling. Young Charles attended Virginia Military Academy, specializing in Mathematics, and graduating in 1884. He would later study at the University of Gottheim and Berlin in 1893-1894. The University of Georgia presented him with a Master of Arts degree in 1890, and the University of Pittsburgh awarded him a Doctor of Science degree in 1911.
In 1886, Snelling came to Georgia, first serving as a Professor at Georgia Military College (then at Savannah), and briefly on the faculty at South Georgia College at Thomasville. Two years later, in 1888, he first affiliated with the University of Georgia, serving as an Adjunct Professor in Mathematics, and as Commandant of the University's military cadets. These duties occupied his time at the University until 1906. That same year, Snelling was promoted to full Professor of Mathematics, and took on the additional responsibilities as Dean of Franklin College, holding both posts until 1909, when he stepped into the new dual roles of President of Franklin College, and Dean of the University of Georgia, duties which he would oversee until 1925. For a year (1925-1926) Snelling served as Acting Chancellor of the University of Georgia, and he stepped into the Chancellor's office full-time in 1926; he would hold this post until the reorganization of the State University System of Georgia in 1932. In 1932, Snelling would become the first Chancellor of the University System of Georgia, serving from 1932 to 1933. In 1933, he was named Chancellor Emeritus, and became the state Director of Adult Education, a post which he held until his death in Athens on September 19, 1939.
During his tenure as Chancellor/President of the University of Georgia, Snelling oversaw the formation of the Institute of Public Affairs in 1927, and the Bureau of Business Research in 1929; the Lumpkin School of Law was also recognized during his time as head of the University. Snelling took personal charge of the first Alumni Building Fund, which would raise $800,000 for construction on campus. The Department of Music and Fine Arts was organized in 1926 under Hugh Hodgson, Ms. J.H. Bryan was hired as the first female faculty member (Journalism, 1928), and the Division of General Extension was formed to oversee the growing dynamics of adult education as a service mission of the University. Among the buildings added to the University's physical plant in the Snelling years were the Women's P.E. Building (1928); R.E. Brooks Hall (1928); Sanford Stadium (1929); the Military Science Building (1931); Hirsch Hall/UGA School of Law (1932). Also, the first campus-service cafeteria opened in the Lumpkin House; "table board" was $8.00 per month.
Snelling married Miss Matilda Janet Morton of Athens on June 18, 1891. Seven sons and a daughter were born to the couple; two of the sons attended the University of Georgia Among Snelling's numerous civic activities were his Presidency of the Athens Kiwanis Club, his tenure as President of the City of Athens Bonded Debt Commission, and his service as Director of the Athens Gas Company, the National Bank of Athens, and the Southern Mutual Insurance Company. He was also a member of the Sigma Nu social fraternity, and the Phi Beta Kappa national honorary scholastic fraternity.
The bulk of the Snelling papers represent the full range of Snelling's duties in his association with the University of Georgia. Of particular interest in this series are his dealings with academics, athletics, and social fraternities, plus a military section dealing with Snelling's role as Commandant of Cadets.
The Personal Papers, include private and personal financial records, dealing with Snelling's roles of fiscal oversight with the City of Athens, the National Bank of Athens, and regional railroad interests. Personal family correspondence is found here, as is an extended group of papers dealing with Snelling's involvement in the development of northeast Georgia in and around Mountain City in Rabun County, especially with regard to commercial apple production.
Of particular interest in the Snelling papers are a folder on the dedication of Sanford Stadium in 1929; a file from 1928 of correspondence with Gutzon Borglum; a file on student absences and conduct; a series of files involving the University with Federal and State Governmental officials; a folder on the Iconoclast incident; a subseries of files dealing with the Physical Plant; files charting the development and first years of the Institute of Public Affairs and International Relations at the University; a significant group of files dealing with speeches at the University; and an extensive body of correspondence with other Colleges and Universities.
The C. M. Snelling papers were received by University of Georgia Libraries in the 1950s, and were placed in calendar order by Special Collections Librarian John Bonner and his staff in the late 1950s or early 1960s. The Snelling papers were transferred to University of Georgia Archives in 1973-1974, and were assigned the accession number 97-096 in 1997 in anticipation of the HVAC renovation of the University's Main Library.
As a calendared collection, the Snelling papers suggested a large correspondence file, and patron use was complicated by the need to wade through volumes of paper to extract relevant information from the subject area under investigation. The decision was made to re-work the papers into an administrative subject/correspondence file, thus facilitating access for patrons, and reducing the general wear-and-tear on the documents themselves.
The current organization of the papers, which comprise some 10.5 linear feet of material, has freed the personal and private papers from those related to Snelling's administrative career at the University of Georgia, and has opened the collection to researchers by means of the division of materials into various subject headings.
Reorganization on the Snelling collection began in June of 2003, and concluded in March of 2007.
