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Department of History and Philosophy records

 Collection
Identifier: 05.DHP

Scope and Contents

The Department of History and Philosophy documents the History and Philosophy Department at Eastern Michigan University from 1926 until 2012. The collection is broken into ten series: Administrative Files, Annual Reports, Budget and Finance, Course Proposals and Requests, Events, Meeting Minutes, National Council for Social Studies, Press, Reports and Reviews, and Scholarships and Awards.

The Administrative Files series contains an Assessment Process, correspondence, Degree Requirements, Graduate Committee, Departmental Goals, Office Files, Old Class Schedules, and Sabbatical Leave. The Annual Reports series includes the years 1958 until 1992. Budget and Finance series includes Faculty Allocations and Usage and Operating Budget. The Course Proposals and Requests include requests and proposals from both the History and Philosophy sections from 1988 until 1995. The Curriculum series includes history slides for lectures on American History, Civil War, Women in the 19th & 20 centuries, the Working Class, European History, and Native Americans during the colonial period.

The Events series is comprised of the Annual History Day, Calendars & Meeting Schedules, European Cultural History Programs, and Invitations. The Meeting Minutes series includes meeting minutes from the Department from 1957 until 1960 and 1965 until 1999, Graduate Committee minutes from 1989 until 1994, History Section meeting minutes from 1965 until 2003, Instruction Committee minutes from 1977 until 1999, Personnel and Finance Committee minutes from 1989 until 1999, Roundtables, and Student Affairs Committee from 1989. The National Council for Social Studies information from 1994 and the Full Folio from 1996.

The Press series is comprised of A Sesquicentennial Commemorative Booklet, Articles by Faculty, clippings and News Releases, Newsletter, and Pamphlets and Promotions. The Reports and Reviews series includes a Development of Marketing Plan, Faculty Evaluation Report, Input Document and Report, Program Reviews, and Surveys. Scholarships and Awards include Department Awards, Honors Ceremony, Michigan Teaching Excellence Awards, Information on the different department scholarships, and Scholarship Certifications.

The collection is not a complete record of the program the department was on campus well before 1926. There are no substantial records in the collection from department heads or faculty, any materials pertaining to the department heads or faculty such as King or Janice T. Terry, can be found in the biographical files stored in the University Archives.

Dates

  • Creation: 1926 - 2012

Historical Note

Established by the State of Michigan in 1849, Eastern Michigan University opened its doors as the Michigan State Normal School in 1853. Michigan State Normal School was the first teachers' training school west of the Allegheny Mountains and initially taught students at a basic secondary level, instructing them in teaching methods and material to cover at a variety of levels.

In 1899, Michigan State Normal School changed its name to Michigan State Normal College. Professor Richard Gause Boone lobbied to establish Normal as four-year college, rather than a secondary school. Normal entered the twentieth century as Michigan's premier teacher training school and had become the first teacher training school in the United States to have a four-year degree program.

Between 1900 and 1950, at least 20 buildings were built on campus and by 1939, students, for the first time, were living in dorms on campus instead of in boarding houses off campus. During this period, the University added a number of programs to its expanding curriculum. In 1901, Normal was the first school in Michigan to offer an industrial arts program. The school was also the first in the nation to offer a program to train teachers of the disabled, starting in 1915. In 1940, it was the first teacher training school to offer a program in library services. During the years of World War II, the school trained soldiers for the military as well as civilian students.

In 1956, the school became known as Eastern Michigan College. Three years later, the school gained the status of a university by formally establishing the Graduate School (graduate classes had been offered since 1939) and changed its name again, for the final time, to Eastern Michigan University. The new names not only demonstrated that the school had become a university, but also broadened the emphasis of the school from teacher training to a wider range of baccalaureate programs. In 1959, the university established the College of Education and the College of Arts and Sciences as two separate entities.

From 1950 to the present, nearly 30 new buildings have been constructed and many more renovated to meet the needs of the institution. New dormitories and classroom buildings provide for the needs of new students.

Today, Eastern offers a range of programs of study in a number of areas, including Arts and Sciences, Business, Education, Health and Human Services, and Technology. In 2011, more than 23,000 students from around the world attend EMU.

Borrowed from A Brief History of EMU "http://www.emich.edu/walkingtour/hist.htm"

Extent

6.1 Linear Feet (2 record center cartons, 2 archives boxes, 1 halfsize archive box, 1 oversize folder)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

The Department of History and Philosophy records document the Department of History and Philosophy at Eastern Michigan University. Materials are arranged chronologically and include meeting minutes, newspaper clippings, scholarship information, and reports from 1926 until 2012. The collection is further arranged into ten series: Administrative Files, Annual Reports, Budget and Finance, Course Proposals and Requests, Events, Meeting Minutes, National Council for Social Studies, Press, Reports and Reviews, and Scholarships and Awards.

Related Materials

Any materials pertaining to department heads or professors, such as Julia Anne King, Janice T. Terry, Richard Nation, George Cassar, Robert Citino, Carl E. Pray, Harrold, Elizabeth Warren, Olando Norris, Ronald Delph, James Holoka, JoEllen Vineyard, or Daryl Hafter, can be found in the biographical files stored in the University Archives.

Title
Department of History and Philosophy records
Status
Completed
Author
Courtney Dornberg, Natalie Morath, Brooke Boyst, CA
Date
2012 February 13
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Part of the Eastern Michigan University Archives Repository

Contact:
Bruce T. Halle Library, Room 310
955 West Circle Drive
Ypsilanti Michigan 48197
734-487-2673