Stanford University, School of Engineering, Dean's Office, records, 1915-1998, bulk 1925-1955

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Summary

Creators:
Stanford University. School of Engineering. Dean's Office
Extent:
76 Linear Feet
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Stanford University, School of Engineering, Dean's Office, records (SC0165). Department of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, Calif.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection consists of general office files from the School of Engineering Dean's Office. The bulk of the papers cover the years 1925-1955. Included are subject files regarding school and departmental affairs as well as interests of the individual deans; files regarding teaching appointments of non-tenured assistants, lecturers, instructors, assistant professors and visiting faculty; annual budget files (1925-1960) and annual reports to the President (1945-1964) regarding school and departmental activites, goals, faculty achievement and funding. The collection also includes some photographs and blueprints.

Biographical / historical:

Civil and mechanical engineering courses were among the first taught at Stanford University, with courses in electrical and mining engineering added in 1893. In 1925, the formerly independent engineering departments were organized into the School of Engineering with Theodore Jesse Hoover as Dean. Hoover was succeeded in 1936 by Samuel B. Morris, former director of the Pasadena municipal water system and a respected civil engineer. The School experienced its greatest development during the deanship of Frederick E. Terman, 1945-1960, formerly the executive head of the Electrical Engineering Department. Important connections were made between the school and local industry, and the School began to draw significant government contracts and grants to support graduate and faculty research. Although Terman was appointed University Provost in 1955, he remained dean until Joseph M. Pettit, Professor of Electrical Engineering, succeeded him. Pettit resigned in 1971 to become president of Georgia Institute of Technology and was succeeded by William Kays, chairman of the Mechanical Engineering department. The School now includes nine departments, with numerous laboratories and research centers.

Acquisition information:
The initial records were received via administrative transfers from the School of Engineering in 1977, 1990, and 1994.
Arrangement:

The collection initially comprised solely records from the Dean's Office. In 2025 to capture the broader history of the School of Engineering, this collection was rearranged to accommodate records related to School of Engineering departments as well as records from the Dean's Office.

Series 1 is now Dean's Office records with the original series organized as sub-series. This series also includes several addenda that are specific to records of the Dean's Office.

Series 2 is Department of Electrical Engineering. Series 3 is Department of Management Science and Engineering. This structure will continue to expand as more departmental records are collected and aggregated.

The addenda from 2010-2019 include records pertaining to specific programs as well as administrative records of the School so these are retained as series.

Physical location:
Special Collections and University Archives materials are stored offsite and must be paged three business days in advance. For more information on paging collections, see the department's website: https://library.stanford.edu/libraries/special-collections.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Series 1 Sub-Series 2 is restricted for 75 years from date of creation and may be made available in 2038.

Series 1 Accession ARCH-1980-005 is restricted for 75 years from date of creation and may be made available in 2045.

Accession ARCH-2010-088 Boxes 5, 8, 25a, 27, 29a, 30, 34, and 35 are restricted for 75 years from date of creation and may be made available in 2072.

Accession ARCH-2018-070 Box 1 (Civil Engineering) and Box 2 (Chemical Engineering) are restricted for 75 years from date of creation and may be made available in 2072.

Materials are otherwise open for research use. Audio-visual materials are not available in original format and must be reformatted to a digital use copy.

Terms of access:

While University Archives is the owner of the physical and/or digital items, permission to examine collection materials is not an authorization to publish. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Any transmission or reproduction beyond that allowed by fair use requires permission from the owners of rights, heir(s) or assigns.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Stanford University, School of Engineering, Dean's Office, records (SC0165). Department of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, Calif.

Location of this collection:
Stanford University Archives, Green Library
557 Escondido Mall
Stanford, CA 94305-6064, US
Contact:
(650) 725-1022
specialcollections@stanford.edu
Website