Zoology Department Records, 1895-1997

Title: Zoology Department Records, 1895-1997

Predominant Dates: 1938-1958

ID: RG 074

Primary Creator: Oregon State University. Department of Zoology

Extent: 0.1 cubic feet. More info below.

Arrangement: The Zoology Department Records are arranged in 4 series: I. General Files, 1938-1969; II. Subject Files, 1973-1997; III. Publications, 1895-1989; and IV. Lantern Slides, circa 1920.

Languages of Materials: English [eng]

The Zoology Department Records document the administration of the department, primarily under the leadership of Kenneth L. Gordon and Ernst J. Dornfeld, and the activities of faculty, especially in undergraduate and graduate instruction. The records include correspondence, staff meeting agendas and minutes, publications, and lantern slides used in instruction. The bulk of the records are available on microfilm and consist of Reports of Service to the Institution for a 20-year period from 1938 to 1958. These reports were completed by each faculty member for each academic term and listed courses taught and number of students in each section as well as other activities, such as extension, research, or service.

The administrative records also include materials documenting possible war emergency research to be conducted in the early 1950s. Correspondence and reports documenting the cooperative research program between Oregon State College and Kasetsart University in Thailand in the 1950s are part of the General Files (Series I).

The collection includes histories of the department prepared in 1966 (by Ernst J. Dornfeld) and in 1989 (by Dornfeld and Charles E. King). Of special note is an 1895 report from F.L. Washburn to College President John M. Bloss describing the courses taught by the department in 1894-1895. This report also includes drawings and descriptions prepared by students.

The lantern slides were used for ornithology instruction and include maps and photographs of birds, habitats, and skeletons.

The Department of Zoology and Entomology was established in 1889 with F.L. Washburn as head. Prior to becoming an official department, zoology had been a part of the physiology program. Instruction in zoology began in 1868 (physiology having begun the previous year) and entomology was added in 1870. In 1895, F.L. Washburn was succeeded by A. B. Cordley, who expanded the department’s staff and instruction to include histology, embryology, systematic zoology, parasitology, evolution, and advanced entomology.

In 1902 the Department of Zoology and Entomology moved to Agriculture Hall (now Education Hall) and then in 1910 to the new Agriculture Hall (now Strand Agriculture Hall). Entomology became a separate department in 1914 and the department was known as Zoology and Physiology in the 1910s and 1920s. The department name was shortened to Zoology in 1927. The first bachelor’s in Zoology was awarded in 1932; in 1935, Alfred Taylor was the first to receive a doctorate in Zoology.

Bolstered by grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, the department began another period of expansion after World War II. As returning veterans increased the school’s student population the department expanded staff, space, and laboratory equipment. Additional labs and classrooms were placed in Quonset huts, surplus army barracks, and the President’s old residence. By 1962, the growth of the department and the shortage of space reached a crisis point. In 1962 the Department of Zoology obtained permission to proceed with the planning of a new addition to Cordley Hall. This was ultimately delayed until 1965 and was finally completed in the fall of 1967.

Department heads have included F.L. Washburn (1889-1895); A.B. Cordley (1895-1914); George F. Sykes (1914-1921); Nathan Fasten (1921-1944); Kenneth L. Gordon (1945-1952); Ernst J. Dornfeld (1952-1976); Charles E. King (1977-1986); Christopher J. Bayne (1986-1989); Jane Lubchenco (1989-1993); John E. Morris (1993-1996); Stevan J. Arnold (1997-2003); John A. Ruben (2003-2009); and Bruce A. Menge (beginning in 2009).

Accruals: Additions to the collection are expected.

More Extent Information: 36 photographs; 2 boxes; 2 microfilm reels

Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.

Acquisition Note: Materials were acquired by the Oregon State University Archives from 1972 to 2006.

Related Materials: Reports and additional materials documenting the Zoology Department are available in the College of Science Records (RG 024). The Special Collections and Archives Research Center holdings include the collections of several zoology faculty including the Ernst J. Dornfeld Papers (MSS Dornfeld), Nathan Fasten Collection (MSS Fasten), and Kenneth L. Gordon Collection (MSS Gordon). Student materials for zoology courses are part of the Kareen Peiffer Laboratory Notes (MSS Peiffer) and the Ronald V. and John G. Hogg Papers (MSS Hogg). The OSU Memorabilia Collection (MSS MC) includes clippings, reports, and ephemeral items documenting the Zoology Department and zoology photographs are part of Harriet's Photograph Collection (P HC).

Preferred Citation: Zoology Department Records (RG 074), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Oregon State University. Department of Zoology
Dornfeld, Ernst John (1911-)
Oregon State Agricultural College. Zoological Department
Oregon State College. Department of Zoology
Washburn, F. L. (Frederic Leonard) (1860-1927)

Natural Resources
Oregon State Agricultural College. Zoological Department
Oregon State College--Faculty.
Oregon State College. Department of Zoology
Oregon State University. Department of Zoology
Ornithology--Study and teaching.
University History
Zoology--Study and teaching (Higher)--Oregon--Corvallis.

Lantern slides.