Holdings Liberal Arts and Sciences School of Life Sciences Administrative and Research... Finding Aid Holdings Liberal Arts and Sciences School of Life Sciences Administrative and Research... Finding Aid Title: Administrative and Research File, 1951-65
ID: 15/30/1
Primary Creator: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. School of Life Sciences
Extent: 6.0 cubic feet
Arrangement: by activity...*
Subjects: Liberal Arts and Sciences, College of, Life Sciences, School of
Formats/Genres: Papers
Languages: English
Administrative and Research File, including correspondence, reports, manuscripts, statements and related documents concerning the establishment (1959) and administration of the School of Life Sciences and its committees, departments and laboratories and the activity of Dr. H. Orin Halvorson, Director of the School, as a consultant to federal agencies, professional organizations and academic institutions; a principal investigator on federal grants and contracts for research on spores and a reviewer of research projects and requests for financial assistance for the School of Life Sciences.
The series includes material relating to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, budget, finances, building program, space requirements, lectures, curriculum, new programs and staff appointments. Dr. Halvorson's files include material on the evaluation of projects and manuscripts, travel and programs of scientific meetings.
*These files are arranged by activity (administrative and project research) and by subject thereunder and chronological thereunder.
Established in 1959 as a successor of the Division of Biological Sciences (1934-58) and the School of Natural History, the School of Life Sciences includes the Departments of Botany, Entomology, Microbiology, Physiology, and Zoology. The School coordinates activities of member departments within the College, promotes cooperation between those departments and biologists in other colleges of the University, and advances the interest of those departments in relations to agencies outside the University.1 The School replaced an existing major in biology with a general major known as an "Honors Major" in 1964.2
The Natural History Museum was incorporated into the School of Life Sciences in 1960.3 Plans for a Natural History Museum were stated in 1868 and collections for the proposed Museum were solicited between 1868 and 1872.4 The New University Building, which was first occupied in 1874, was equipped with rooms for a Natural History Museum.5 The Zoological collection remained there until 1909 when it was placed in a new Museum room in the Natural History Building.6 Between 1884 and 1909, the Zoological collection was called the Museum of Zoology.7 The Museum received its greatest impetus through the Chicago Columbian Exposition of 1893. The materials assembled for the exhibition by Stephen A. Forbes and others reverted to the Museum.8 A strong emphasis on the functions of the Museum as a direct adjunct to instructional facilities has been evident from its inception. The collections of geological, paleontological and biological materials reflect this emphasis.9
Electron Microscope Laboratory. The University Established an Electron Microscope Laboratory in 1960 with an $86,000 grant from the National Science Foundation and matching funds from the Graduate College.10 The Laboratory was incorporated into the School of Life Sciences in 1963.11
1. Board of Trustees Transactions, 50th Report, June 23, 1959, p. 435
2. Board of Trustees Transactions, 53rd Report, July 22, 1964, p. 10.
3. Board of Trustees Transactions, 50th Report, June 14, 1960, p. 1527.
4. Catalogs and Registers, 1869-70, p. 12; 1873-74, p. 16.
5. Ibid., 1873-74, p. 16.
6. Ibid., 1909-10, p. 17.
7. Ibid., 1884-85, p. 24.
8. Board of Trustees Transactions, 17th Report, December 12, 1893, pp. 197, 304-11.
9. Catalogs and Registers, 1909-10, p. 17.
10. Board of Trustees Transactions, 51st Report, October 19, 1960, p. 165.
11. Board of Trustees Transactions, 52nd Report, Supplement, July 2, 1963, p. 137.
URL: https://files.archon.library.illinois.edu/uasfa/1530001.pdf
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