A Tribute to Tom Wolfe The research and reading room for the Special Collections and Archives in Leyburn Library will be updated and renamed in honor of the literary giant.
When Tom Wolfe ’51 passed away in 2018 at the age of 88, his widow, Sheila Wolfe, received inquiries from museums and other institutions throughout the country that were interested in showcasing her husband’s artifacts and belongings. Wolfe, one of the most well-known chroniclers of the second half of the 20th century, pioneered new journalism and satirical commentary of American society in both his fiction and reporting. After a conversation with Tom Camden ’76, former head of Special Collections and Archives at W&L, Sheila Wolfe began sending some of Wolfe’s things to the university, including the typewriter that appears on the cover of this issue.
Washington and Lee held a special place in Wolfe’s heart. Sheila Wolfe says he was often stopped on the streets of New York City, where he lived, and he was always happy to say hello. But when someone told him they were a fellow W&L grad, his face lit up, and he spent the next 15 minutes swapping stories of his beloved alma mater.
“If you said you were from W&L, it made a difference,” Sheila Wolfe says. “He loved coming back and visiting and showing me around; he was so proud.”
The Tom Wolfe ’51 Reading Room in the Special Collections and Archives is expected to open by the start of Fall Term 2025.While a student at W&L, Wolfe was a member of the baseball team (he tried out for the New York Giants before hanging up his cleats to pursue writing). He also developed close friendships with a core group of people, including the late Maurice Theodore “Ted” Van Leer ’51. Although the two were an unlikely pair, Shelia Wolfe says — Wolfe was more reserved and an observer, while Van Leer was “very funny and outspoken and a real character” — they remained close over the years. Van Leer, who passed away in 2023, was a generous benefactor of W&L and had earmarked a portion of his estate to support the university. His son, Theodore J. “Tad” Van Leer ’77, is a longtime member of the Friends of the Library group and knew just how to utilize the funds.
“The Friends of the Library group traditionally holds its meetings in the Boatwright Room, and about 10 years ago, they began reporting the significant challenges the space was facing,” says KT Vaughan, Hal F. and Barbra Buckner Higginbotham University Librarian at W&L. “The space is sort of a time capsule dating back to the original construction of Leyburn Library in 1979. The room doesn’t fit today’s needs very well, and the Friends of the Library began advocating for the necessary updates.”
Tom Wolfe ’51 as a student.The Friends of the Library has a long history of funding library improvement projects, and it began
to focus on modest updates to the Boatwright Room, located in the Special Collections and Archives, in 2021. George Ray, professor of English emeritus, was chair of the Friends of the Library Board of Directors at the time, and was a champion of the idea. Ray, who made the project’s initial leadership gift, believes the renovation aligns with the group’s mission to strengthen Leyburn for the W&L community and beyond.
“That was one reason why I wanted to give greater attention to Special Collections — so that the wider university community would become aware that Washington and Lee is rich in these materials,” he says. The group initially raised $150,000, which was matched by another $150,000 from the university. However, it soon became apparent that additional funding would be necessary to accommodate the growing needs of today’s learning and research environment. Expected to be completed by the start of the 2025 Fall Term, the reimaged space will cost $1.35 million and will be dedicated in honor of Wolfe. When completed, the room will officially be renamed the Tom Wolfe ’51 Reading Room, and the dedication will take place on Friday, Oct. 3, during the Five-Star Festival Weekend.
The renovation of the room will include a modernization of features that will improve its functionality as a research space. Among the changes will be a complete upgrade to the lighting systems, a new wood coffered ceiling and entry doors, comfortable research-friendly seating, upgraded electrical and technological infrastructure, updated finishes and wall features, new shelving and casework, personal storage lockers, public-accessible computers and displays capable of handling presentations and highlighting digital collections.
Lifelong friends Tom Wolfe ’51, Ted Van Leer ’51, Steve Miles ’51 and Sam Hollis ’51 at the Five-Star Festival in 2011.In addition to the functional changes, the space will be designed to honor Wolfe’s legacy as a prominent intellectual and significant figure in 20th-century American literature. In consultation with Sheila Wolfe, the room will be recast in Wolfe’s signature colors, navy blue and cream, and the reference desk will be shaped in the form of a parenthesis, mimicking the style of his personal desk. Various artifacts, letters and manuscripts will be on display inside the area, while a giclée portrait of Wolfe in his signature white suit will be a defining visual element for the space; the original hangs in the National Portrait Gallery.
“Tom Wolfe was a very critical thinker, a great observer and had a good sense of humor,” Tad Van Leer says. “He was a great mentor and exemplified the W&L spirit. This gift honors the important relationships my father’s friends at W&L had that lasted all their lives.”
The Special Collections area is closed through construction. Requests can be made via email at specialcollections@wlu.edu.
This article first appeared in the Spring 2025 issue of W&L: The Washington and Lee Magazine. Contact us at magazine@wlu.edu.
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