Syracuse University Biology Department Records
An inventory of its records at the Syracuse University Archives
Summary |
|
| Creator: | Syracuse University. -- Department of Biology. |
| Title: | Syracuse University Biology Department Records |
| Dates: | 1886-2015 |
| Size: | 5 boxes (5.5 linear feet) |
| Abstract: | The Biology Department Records contain correspondence, reports and publications related to its students, faculty, research and preceding departments. |
| Language: | English |
| Repository: |
University Archives, Special Collections Research Center Syracuse University Libraries 222 Waverly Ave., Suite 600 Syracuse, NY 13244-2010 https://library.syracuse.edu/special-collections-research-center/university-archives |
Historical Note
The first classes in biology at Syracuse University were taught as early as 1873 by Alexander Winchell in the department of Geology, Zoology, and Botany. Biology classes were taught in departments that changed over time.
| 1891 | Biology and Geology Department is established. | |
| 1895 | Department of Biology is formed. | |
| 1907 | Biology Department splits into two separate departments: Zoology Department and Botany Department. | |
| 1911 | Bacteriology Department is created as an additional department. | |
| 1935 | Bacteriology Department and Botany Department combine to make the Bacteriology and Botany Department. | |
| 1938 | Bacteriology and Botany Department changes its name to Plant Sciences Department. | |
| 1959 | Plant Sciences Department changes back to Bacteriology and Botany Department. | |
| 1970 | Biology Department is formed, combining the Zoology Department and the Bacteriology and Botany Department. |
Over the years, classes in biology were held in different locations. Early classes in biology were held in the Hall of Languages until Lyman Hall was finished and occupied in 1907. Lyman Hall continued to be a space for biology until 2008. The Biological Research Laboratories, which started in 1956, were used for the Department of Plant Sciences and later the Zoology Department. The Biological Research Laboratories were originally located on Collendale Campus (current site of Manley Field House), but later moved into a newly designed building on College Place. In the 1960s, the Bacteriology and Botany Department held some classes in Sims Hall. By 2008, the Department of Biology had moved in the newly built Life Sciences Complex.
The Department of Biology at Syracuse University contributed to its field in many ways. In 1875, under Alexander Winchell, the University built a Museum of Natural History that worked with local schools. Located in Lyman Hall, the museum was opened to the public. Faculty of the Department participated in expeditions in the 1920s and 1930s, including an expedition to the Andes Mountains in 1931 that brought back specimens for the museum. Research at the laboratories resulted in publications, like the Contributions from the Zoological Laboratory, which was published between 1897 and 1937. In the 1960s, undergraduates began to do their own independent research, a concept that began under the Department of Bacteriology and Botany chairman Marshall Jennison's more experimental approach. Other notable chairs include William Martin Smallwood and Frederick G. Sherman of the Zoology Department and the first chair of the unified Biology Department, Donald G. Lundgren.
Scope and Content Note
Materials in the Syracuse University Biology Department Records span from 1886 to 2014 and include correspondence, annual reports, publications and other materials related to the Department and its predecessors. Records are divided into three series:
The Bacteriology & Botany Series contains publications and correspondence from 1913 until 1970 that were created under the Bacteriology & Botany Department as well as under Plant Sciences, a name that replaced Bacteriology & Botany from 1938 to 1959.
The Biology Series includes bulletins from 1886 and 1900 as well as other materials related to the Biology Department from 1970, when the Department of Zoology and the Department of Bacteriology and Botany joined, to 2014.
The Zoology Series contains correspondence, bound volumes of Contributions from the Zoological Laboratory, and meeting minutes from 1897 until 1970 that were created under the Zoology Department.
Restrictions
Access Restrictions
Please note that the collection is housed off-site, and advance notice is required to allow time to have the materials brought to the Reading Room on campus.
School, college and department records are restricted to the office of origin for 30 years. Requests to use restricted records must be obtained in writing from the office of origin.
Use Restrictions
Written permission must be obtained from the Syracuse University Archives and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.
Related Material
Also in the Archives are various biology and botany faculty papers including the Donald G. Lundgren Papers.
The Archives holds additional information about the Biology Department, Bacteriology and Botany Department, Plant Sciences Department and Zoology Department in the Clipping Files, and images of these departments can be found in the Slide Collection and Photograph Collection.
Materials related to the Biology Summer Institute are located in the Science Teaching Collection.
Additionally, materials related to research in the field of biology can be found in the Office of Research Records and the Syracuse University Research Corporation/Institute (SURC/SURI) Records.
Selected Search Terms
Names
Subjects
Types of material
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Preferred citation for this material is as follows:
Syracuse University Biology Department Records,
University Archives,
Special Collections Research Center
Syracuse University Libraries
Acquisition Information
Materials were transferred to the Archives from the College of Arts and Sciences and the Biology Department starting in 1965.
Processing Information
Materials were placed in archival folders and boxes.
Finding Aid Information
Created by: Anna Smallwood
Date: 2016
Revision history: