William C. Lawrence began his career at Eastern Michigan University as an Associate Professor in the Special Education Department in 1954. He was promoted to Dean of Students, a new position, in 1956, and became Vice-President for Student Affairs in 1957. He left EMU in 1967.

The William C. Lawrence papers are composed primarily of correspondence from Lawrence's years as Dean of Students and VP of Student affairs. These have been separated into a series and arranged chronologically. There are also newspaper clippings and photographs.