Microbiology Department Records, 1893-1998

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Oregon State University. Dept. of Microbiology.
Title
Microbiology Department Records
Dates
1893-1998 (inclusive)
1937-1966 (bulk)
Quantity
3.5 cubic feet
Collection Number
RG 191
Summary
The Microbiology Department Records document the teaching, research, and service functions of the department and include correspondence, research records, and information about faculty.
Repository
Oregon State University Libraries, Special Collections and Archives Research Center
Special Collections and Archives Research Center
121 The Valley Library
Oregon State University
Corvallis OR
97331-4501
Telephone: 5417372075
Fax: 5417378674
scarc@oregonstate.edu
Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Historical NoteReturn to Top

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.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

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.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Preferred Citation

Microbiology Department Records (RG 191), Oregon State University Archives, Corvallis, Oregon.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

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.

Related Materials

The Archives' holdings include the papers of several Microbiology Department faculty: Arthur W. Anderson; Paul R. Elliker; John L. Fryer; Richard Y. Morita; and William E. 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 (P 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 Photographs (P 220).

Oral histories of Walter B. Bollen and Mabel Pernot, daughter of Emile Pernot, are also available in the Archives.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Series I:  Correspondence, 1937-1977Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box
1
Department Chairman G. Copson
1937-1938
General
Box
1
A-B
1955-1966
1
C
1953-1966
1
D
1955-1966
1
E-F
1955-1966
1
G
1955-1965
1
H
1955-1966
1
I-L
1955-1966
1
M
1955-1966
1
N
1955-1966
1
O-Q
1955-1966
1
R
1955-1966
1
S
1955-1966
1
T-Z
1955-1966
Subject
Box
1
American Academy of Microbiology
1963-1966
1
American Dairy Science Association (ADSA)
1965-1966
1
American Meat Institute
1962-1963
1
American Society for Microbiology
Box
1
Fellowships and Awards Committee
1962-1966
1
Applied Laboratory Methods Committee
1963
1
Business Office
1958
1
General Campus
1958-1959
1
International Association of Milk and Food Sanitarians (IAMFS)
1966
1
Journal of Dairy Science
1955-1956
1
Klenzade Products, Inc.
Box
1
General
1955-1966
1
Technical
1954-1956
2
Library
1958-1959
2
Microbiology Department Holiday Letters
1961-1973
2
Nash Hall (Bioscience Building)
1964-1974
7
Plan for Nash Dedication Plaque
apx 20x24 in.
1974
2
Oregon Association of Milk Sanitarians
1963
2
Oregon State University Press - Board of Governors
1962-1963
2
Oregon's Agricultural Progress
1955
2
President's Office
1958-1959
2
Publications Committee
1955-1956
2
School of Agriculture
1974-1977
2
School of Science
Box
2
General
1953-1966
2
New equipment
1953-1965
2
Budget
1958-1965
2
Review and Budget
1969-1975
2
Staff
1958-1965
2
Simmons Scholarship
1964

Series II:  Staff and Faculty, 1953-1976Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box
2
Anderson, Arthur W.
1953-1965
2
Bollen, Walter B.
1958-1965
2
Elliker, Paul R.
1953-1959
2
Fraser, Dorothy K.
1963-1964
2
Fryer, John L.
1964-1965
2
Gilmour, Campbell M.
1958-1965
2
Morita, R.I.
1963-1964
2
Pacha, R.
1964-1965
2
Parks, Leo W.
1958-1965
2
Pilcher, K. Stephen
1958-1965
Box
2
Retirement
1975
5
Retirement Scrapbook
1975
2
Sandine, W.E.
1964-1965
2
Directory
ca. 1970
2
Faculty Biographical Information
1959-1964
2
Staff Meeting Agendas
1973-1976
2
Staff Publications
1954-1959

Series III:  Teaching and Curriculum, 1955-1996Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box
2
College courses
1957-1959
2
Graduate Degrees and Thesis Titles for 1913-1996
ca. 1996
2
Microbiology 130
1964-1965
2
Microbiology 205
1965
2
Qualifying Exams
1962-1963
2
Students and courses
1958-1965
2
Seminar (Bac 507)
1958-1959
2
Advanced seminar (Bac 551 & 553)
1958-1959
2
Resident instruction miscellaneous
1955
2
Seminar Announcements
1964-1965
2
Summer School
1964-1965

Series IV:  Departmental Research (non Experiment Station), 1958-1965Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box
2
College Swimming Pools
1958-1959
2
Irradiation
1958-1959
2
Oregon Fish Commission
1962-1965
2
Project outlines
ca. 1958

Series V:  Experiment Station, 1955-1966Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box
2
Basic Research Committee
1962-1964
2
General information
2 folders
1955-1966
2
Projects
1955-1965
2
Progress reports
1956-1959
2
Travel reports
1955-1959
2
Staff
1958-1959
2
Equipment
1958-1965

Series VI:  Reports, 1934-1989Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Annual and Biennial Reports
Box
3
1934-1936
3
1957-1958
3
1966-1968
Box
3
Statistics, Research Grants, Summaries and Facilities Reports
1965-1966
3
Long Range Planning Studies
1975
3
Review of Graduate Program in Microbiology
1989
3
Self-Study and Evaluation Report
1980
3
Reports of Service to the Institution
1957-1960
3
Grade Distribution Reports and Reports of Service to the Institution
3 folders
1931-1957

Series VII:  Tests and Inspections, 1937-1965Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box
3
Oregon Milk Control Board
1937-1938
3
Milk Samples Examined - General
1937-1938
3
Miscellaneous and General
1937-1938
3
Hemorrhagic Septicemia (Vacine)
1937-1938
3
Human Diseases
1937-1938
3
Animal Diseases
1937-1938
3
Septic Tanks
1937-1938
3
Dairy Cultures - Starter
1937
3
Water Supplies and Purification
1937
3
Referred Letters
1937
3
Corvallis Milk Pool
1937-1938
3
Milk Inspections - State
1937-1938
6
Milk Inspections - Corvallis
1937-1938
3
Preservation of Food Stuffs
1937-1938
3
Experimental Animals - Guinea pigs, rats, rabbits, etc.
1937-1938
3
Cultures Sent Out
1937-1938
3
Water Samples Examined
4 folders
1937-1938
3
Water Testing - General and Miscellaneous
1937-1938
3
Water Testing
1958-1959
3
Water Testing (following flood)
1964-1965

Series VIII:  Microbiology Club, 1964-1965Return to Top

Container(s): Box 3

Series IX:  100th Anniversary, 1893-1998Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box
3
Under the Microscope - One Hundred Years of Microbiology at Oregon State University
1998
Historical Materials Assembled
Biographical Information
Box
4
Beckwith, Theodore D.
ca. 1978
4
Copson, Godfrey
1913-1972
4
Fryer, John L.
1972-1997
4
Leong, Jo-Ann
1996
4
Simmons, J.E.
1930-1952
4
Bollen, Walter B.
2 folders
1923-1989
4
Pernot, E.F.
1977-1994
Box
4
Budgetary Records
1937-1938
4
Clippings
1952-1997
4
College Catalogs and Reports (copies)
1893-1946
4
Craig Memorial Lectures
1993-1997
4
Department Publications
ca. 1965-1993
4
General
1955-1997
4
Supplies Inventory
1941-1968
5
Scrapbook
1950-1965

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Agricultural microbiology--Oregon.
  • Bacteriology, Agricultural.
  • Dairy microbiology--Oregon.
  • Dairy plants--Sanitation.
  • Dairy products--Analysis--Oregon.
  • Drinking water--Testing--Oregon.
  • Fishes--Microbiology.
  • Irradiation.
  • Microbiology--Research--Oregon.
  • Milk--Microbiology--Oregon.
  • Soil microbiology--Oregon.

Personal Names

  • Bollen, Walter Beno, 1896-
  • Pernot, E. F. (Emile Francis), b. 1859

Corporate Names

  • Oregon State University. Dept. of Microbiology.
  • Oregon State College. Dept. of Bacteriology and Hygiene.
  • Oregon State College. Dept. of Bacteriology.

Form or Genre Terms

  • Photographs.
  • Scrapbooks.

Other Creators

  • Personal Names
    • Copson, G. V. (Godfrey Vernon), 1884- (creator)
    • Elliker, P. R. (Paul Reuben), 1911- (creator)
    • Fisher, Jim. (creator)
    • Fryer, John L. (creator)
    Corporate Names
    • Oregon. Milk Control Board. (creator)