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College of Engineering Records, 1930-2002

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Oregon State University. College of Engineering.
Title
College of Engineering Records
Dates
1930-2002 (inclusive)
1943-1983 (bulk)
Quantity
23 cubic feet, (24 boxes, including 1 oversize box)
9 microfilm reels
Collection Number
RG 062
Summary
These records were generated and assembled by the College of Engineering and document the administration of the College and the instructional, research, and professional activities of engineering faculty at Oregon State University.
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
Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research with the exception of materials in Series VIII (Women in Engineering folder) and XXIII (Transcripts of Academic Record) that require approval of the University Archivist for access.

Languages
English
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Historical Note

Instruction in engineering at Oregon State dates back to the 1880s, when mathematics professors incorporated concepts in engineering as a part of their teaching of math. In 1889, Grant Adelbert Covell was appointed to the first professorship exclusively devoted to engineering and soon following this appointment, he formed the Department of Mechanical Engineering. The first two graduates of this new department received their degrees in 1893. Soon after the first undergraduate degrees in mechanical engineering were awarded, the college established instructional departments in three other branches of engineering: Electrical (1897), Mining (1904), and Civil (1905).

In 1908, a School of Engineering was formed to bring the four engineering departments together under a single administrative umbrella. Covell served as the school’s first dean. Chemical Engineering, which was established in 1917 as an independent department reporting to the President’s office, later incorporated into the school in 1932. Other engineering curricula established at OSU that expanded the school further included Industrial Engineering (1943), Nuclear Engineering (1968), and Computer Science (1974). In 1947, the Schools of Agriculture and Engineering reached an agreement to cooperatively administer curriculum in Agricultural Engineering (later to become Biological and Ecological Engineering).

Other benchmarks reflecting the growth of engineering curricula at OSU are the establishment of a doctorate program in engineering in 1945 and the upgrade of the school to the status of college in 1983. Since the inception of engineering coursework in 1889, it is estimated that a total of about 29,000 students have received degrees in engineering at Oregon State.

Collaboration between the School of Engineering and the Extension Service was an early feature of engineering research and instruction at OSU, beginning with the establishment of the Experimental Engineering Department in 1914. A year later, the first Extension courses in engineering were offered in Portland and by 1927, the college created the Engineering Experiment Station.

In addition to the management of instructional departments, the College of Engineering has also administered a number of research center and institutes at OSU, one of the earliest of which was the Water Resources Research Institute. Others currently include the O.H. Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory, the Kiewit Center for Infrastructure and Transportation, the Western Regional Hazardous Substance Research Center, the Space Grant Program, the National Center for Accessible Transportation, and the Energy Resource Research Laboratory.

The first building constructed to serve the needs of engineering students and faculty was Mechanical Hall, which was erected in 1889 and expanded significantly in 1893. This original Mechanical Hall burned in 1898 and was rebuilt in 1900. The second Mechanical Hall was renamed Apperson Hall in 1920. It is currently undergoing an extensive remodel and will be renamed Kearney Hall when completed in 2008.

As instruction and research in engineering expanded rapidly at OSU into the twentieth century, other buildings were constructed on campus to satisfy the growing demand for space among the various branches of engineering. These buildings consist of the following: Merryfield Hall (1909), Batcheller Hall (1913), Graf Hall (1920), Covell Hall (1928), Dearborn Hall (1949), Gleeson Hall (1955), the Radiation Center (1963), Rogers Hall (1967), Owen Hall (1988), and the Kelly Engineering Center (2006).

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Content Description

The College of Engineering Records document the instruction, research, and outreach activities of the College, the professional activities of engineering faculty, and the collaborative programs between the College and other OSU units. The records include reports, correspondence, proposals, publications, news clippintgs, and floor plans. The bulk of the records are in paper form; some series are available only on microfilm.

The records address a variety of topics in addition to engineering instruction and research, including regional and national professional engineering associations, accreditation of the the College's degree programs, development of the Water Resources Research Institute, women and minorities in engineering, facilities and buildings, the Capitol Planning Commission for Oregon, the cooperative program between Oregon State College and Kasetsart University in Thailand, and Oregon State College's involvement in the Army Specialized Training Program during World War II and other military training activities

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

College of Engineering Records (RG 062), Oregon State University Archives, Corvallis, Oregon.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The records consist of 24 series: I. Deans's Office, 1936-2001; II. Instruction, 1944-1991; III. Conferences and Short Courses, 1944-2001; IV. Facilities and Equipment, 1930-1988; V. Research, 1942-1996; VI. Water Resources Research Institute, 1966-1971; VII. Historical Essays and Outlines, 1946-1984; VIII. Students, 1946-2000; IX. Organizations - Civic and Research, 1945-1961; X. Engineering Organizations - Educational, 1944-1969; XI. Engineering Organizations - Professional, 1946-1981; XII. Engineering Extension Services, 1944-1969; XIII. Engineering Experiment Station, 1944-1979; XIV. OSU Administration and Services, 1939-1972; XV. Committees, 1942-1983; XVI. OSU Instructional Divisions, 1931-1981; XVII. Oregon State System of Higher Education(OSSHE), 1951-1989; XVIII. U.S. Governments, 1947-1971; XIX. Oregon State Government, 1948-1981; XX. Colleges and Universities, 1952-2000; XXI. Accreditation, 1960-1993; XXII. Publications, 1973-2002; XXIII. Army Specialized Training Program, 1943-1945; and XXIV. Academic Year Institute for High School Science and Math Teachers, 1953-1965.

Acquisition Information

Transferred from the College of Engineering in numerous accessions from the 1960s through 2007.

Future Additions

Additions to the collection are expected.

Related Materials

Documentation of engineering faculty, students, research, and instruction at OSU is also represented elsewhere in the holdings of the Archives. Interaction between the College of Engineering and other administrative and academic units of the university can be found in the records of the President’s Office (RG 13), the Agricultural Experiment Station (RG 25), and the College of Agricultural Sciences (RG 158). Records of the Research Office (RG 170) contain materials from the Water Resource Research Institute.

There are also records from the various departments within the College: Bioresource Engineering (RG 1), Chemical Engineering (RG 153), Civil Engineering (RG 30), Electrical Engineering (RG 121), and Mechanical Engineering (RG 213).

Collections of working and personal papers from engineering faculty can also be found in the holdings: Dean Booster, Grant Covell, Samuel Graf, Hugh J. Hansen, J. Ronald Miner, James A. Moore, Edgar Raymond Shepard, and Robert C. Wilson.

The archives also has a number of collections of from alumni of the College: Jean Mater, John H. Gallagher Sr., Emile Pernot, Robert Rankin, Arthur Byron Smith, Mervyn Stephenson, Neal Van Devender, and Ralph York.

Images depicting engineering faculty, students, instruction, buildings, and research activities can be found in the following photograph collections: College of Engineering (P 69), the Bioresource Engineering department (P 106), the Industrial Engineering and Industrial Arts Department (P 189), the Mechanical Engineering Department (P 229), Experiment Station Publications (P 132), Buildings Collection (P 16), the President’s Office (P 92), E. E. Wilson (P 101), John Garman (P 95), Gwil Evans (P 82), and Harriet’s Collection.

Documentation of engineering at OSU on films, videotapes, and other moving images are featured in the following collections: College of Engineering (P 69), the Agricultural Engineering Department (P 106), the Industrial Engineering and Industrial Arts Department (P 189), and News and Communications Services (P 57).

Newsletters and other publications generated by engineering students are also represented in the Archives. In addition to paper copies of the Technical Record (PUB 10-15b) of the Associated Students of Engineering, several other student publications such as Electrical Discharge (PUB 10-22d), Survey (PUB 10-22g), and Slide Rule (PUB 10-22h) can be found on microfilm in the Archives. Circulars, bulletins, and reprints reflecting Engineering Experiment Station research and activities are also featured in publication groups in the archives.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Finding aid prepared by Karl McCreary.
2008

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