Title: Microbiology Department Records, 1893-2002
Predominant Dates: 1937-1966
ID: RG 191
Primary Creator: Oregon State University. Department of Microbiology
Extent: 6.3 cubic feet
Arrangement: Organized into 9 series: I. Correspondence; II. Staff and Faculty; III. Teaching and Curriculum; IV. Departmental Research (non Experiment Station); V. Experiment Station; VI. Reports; VII. Tests and Inspections; VIII. Microbiology Club; and IX. 100th Anniversary.
Languages of Materials: English [eng]
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.
Bacteriology was first offered as a separate course at OSU during the 1899-1900 academic year under Emile Pernot. Bacteriological research was conducted in the Experiment Station's bacteriology lab. Beginning in 1909, the department was housed for many years in Agriculture Hall. In 1970 the department moved to new facilities in Nash Hall designed specifically for microbiology. The department has had several names: Bacteriology; Bacteriology and Hygiene (1946-1961), Microbiology and Hygiene (1961-1968) and Microbiology (1968-).
Department chairs have included Pernot (1899-1911), Theodore D. Beckwith (1912-1918), Godfrey V. Copson (1921-1949), Joseph E. Simmons (1949-1951), Paul R. Elliker (1953-1976), John Fryer (1976-1996), Jo-Ann Leong (1996-2001), and Dennis E. Hruby (2001-). The Microbiology Department is jointly administered by the College of Science and the College of Agricultural Sciences.
Related Materials:
The Special Collections and Archives Research Center holdings contain the papers of several Microbiology Department faculty including the Arthur W. Anderson Papers (MSS AndersonA); Paul R. Elliker Papers (MSS Elliker); John L. Fryer Papers (MSS Fryer); Richard Y. Morita Papers (MSS Morita); and William E. Sandine Papers (MSS Sandine). The Microbiology Department Photographs (P 117) include images of department faculty, staff, and students, laboratory research, and facilities used in the 100th anniversary publication. Motion picture films of the construction of the Bioscience Building (Nash Hall) and the department's move from Strand Agriculture Hall are available in the Microbiology Department Motion Picture Films (FV 117).
The Emile Pernot Photographs (P 230) include images of campus buildings, classrooms, faculty, and students as well as photomicrographs of bacteriological subjects. Other photographs by Pernot are available in the Pernot Family Photographic Collection (P 220).
Oral histories of Walter B. Bollen and Mabel Pernot, daughter of Emile Pernot, are also available in the Special Collections and Archives Research Center.
Preferred Citation: Microbiology Department Records (RG 191), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.
Other URL: A preliminary container list was created for this collection on or before November 19, 2015.
Oregon State University. Department of Microbiology
Copson, G. V. (Godfrey Vernon), 1884-
Elliker, P. R. (Paul Reuben) (1911-)
Fisher, Jim
Fryer, John L.
Oregon. Milk Control Board
Agricultural microbiology--Oregon.
Bacteriology, Agricultural
Bollen, Walter Beno, 1896-
Dairy microbiology--Oregon.
Dairy plants--Sanitation.
Dairy products--Analysis--Oregon.
Drinking water--Testing--Oregon.
Fishes--Microbiology.
Irradiation.
Microbiology--Research--Oregon.
Milk--Microbiology--Oregon.
Oregon Multicultural Archives
Oregon State College. Department of Bacteriology
Oregon State College. Department of Bacteriology and Hygiene
Oregon State University. Department of Microbiology
Pernot, E. F. (Emile Francis), 1859-
Soil microbiology--Oregon.
Under the microscope.
University History
Photographic prints.
Scrapbooks.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.