Tilman “Tillie” Bishop papers (Guide to the)
Contents
The Tilman “Tillie” Bishop papers contain files from Bishop’s tenure as an administrator at Mesa College/Mesa State College and his time serving as Colorado State Representative (four years) and State Senator (twenty-four years). Records from Mesa College/Mesa State College include correspondence, student reports, freshman research, high school ranks, and faculty advisor booklets covering the years 1962-1993. Documents from his time in the Colorado General Assembly include water related materials, correspondence, legislative reports, and bills that date from 1960 to 2001 with the majority falling between 1984 and 1989.
Dates
- Creation: 1960 - 2009
Access to the collection
Items within the "Colorado General Assembly" series of this collection are open for research in Tomlinson Library Archives and Special Collections. Some files within the Mesa College and Mesa State College records series are open for research while others marked as "Restricted" can only be viewed by authorized CMU officers.
Please make an appointment at archives@coloradomesa.edu to ensure staff availability or to contact the archivist.
Use of material in the collection
It is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish from the owner of the copyright (the institution, the creator of the record, the author or his/her transferees, heirs, legates, or literary executors). The user agrees to indemnify and hold harmless Colorado Mesa University, Tomlinson Library, its administrators, employees, and agents from and against all claims made by any person asserting that they are an owner of copyright.
Historical Note
Tilman “Tillie” Bishop was born in 1933 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Bishop received his bachelor of arts and masters of arts degrees in education at Colorado State College (now Northern Colorado University), Greeley, Colorado. He worked as an administrator in various capacities at Mesa College (and subsequently Mesa State College, now Colorado Mesa University) in Grand Junction, Colorado. His many positions included Director of Counseling, Guidance, and Testing (1962); associate dean, associate director, and then director of students; and Director of Testing and International Student Services. His long service in the Colorado legislature included four years in the Colorado House of Representatives and twenty-four years in the Colorado Senate, with the final six of those as president pro tem. He also served as a Mesa County Commissioner, a regent for the University of Colorado, and a Colorado Mesa University trustee. He died in Grand Junction, Colorado in 2019.
Extent
4.74 Linear Feet (8 containers)
Language of Materials
English
Collection Summary
The Tilman Bishop papers contain correspondence, annual reports, and other administrative records related to admissions and student services at Mesa College/Mesa State College and documents related to his legislative career, especially water resource management.
Arrangement
Materials in this collection are divided into two series 1) Mesa College and Mesa State College records and 2) Colorado General Assembly. These reflect two of Bishop’s primary activities as an employee of what was then Mesa State College and as a longtime state legislator. The order of the materials are presumed by the archivist to be Bishop’s original ordering. No actions were taken to improve or change the file ordering in either series.
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- James Dildine (2014); revisions by Amber J. D’Ambrosio (2021) and John Werner (2026).
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Tomlinson Library Special Collections & Archives Repository
1100 North Avenue
Tomlinson Library
Grand Junction CO 81504 United States
archives@coloradomesa.edu