Series I consists primarily of correspondence of department chair Paul Elliker with prospective students, colleagues at other universities, governmental agencies, professional and industry organizations, and companies such as Kraft, Borden, and Klenzade Products, a manufacturer of sanitizing chemicals, during the 1950s-1960s. The correspondence also documents budgets and activities within the Schools of Science and Agriculture in the 1950s-1970s and construction of the Bioscience Building (Nash Hall). Series II includes biographical information pertaining to department faculty and staff; the retirement scrapbook for K. Stephen Pilcher includes letters of appreciation written to him by colleagues and students. Series III pertains to undergraduate and graduate courses and includes a list of graduate thesis titles for 1913-1996. Series IV and V document departmental research pertaining to dairy processing and sanitation, soil microbiology, irradiation, and fish diseases. Series VI includes selected annual and biennial reports as well as a departmental self-study, graduate program review, and long-range planning documents. The Reports of Service to the Institution and Grade Distribution Reports document courses taught, by whom, number of students enrolled, and faculty activities in addition to teaching.
Series VII consists primarily of requests for and reports of testing done in the mid-1930s by the department of dairy products, water, and other materials for homeowners, schools, farmers, and dairy producers throughout Oregon. The correspondence and reports document water quality and dairy production and sanitation issues and concerns. This series also includes records of free water testing done in conjunction with the Oregon State Board of Health and county health officials following the December 1964 floods. Series VIII includes a Microbiology Club constitution and meeting announcements. Series IX consists of materials assembled in preparation for the department's 100th anniversary celebration in 1998, which included publication of a departmental history written by Jim Fisher. The scrapbook in this series consists primarily of clippings and includes b/w snapshot photographs of a 1963 departmental event (perhaps a staff member's retirement), and holiday letters to department alumni and friends.
An addition the Microbiology Department Records (Accession 2005:074) consists of materials generated and collected by the Microbiology Department and includes alumni lists, article reprints, brochures, correspondence, flyers, historical essays, meeting minutes, newspaper clippings, photographs, publications, reports, research proposals, class grading ledgers, and a thesis. In addition to documenting faculty research, these records also pertain to the awarding of scholarships/fellowships, faculty involvement in conferences and symposia, department meetings and retreats, visiting microbiologists, mission statement development, seminar presentations, long-range planning, a Graduate Council review of the department, and the department's centennial celebration in 1999.
