Collection inventory

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The Gordon D. Hoople Papers

An inventory of his papers at the Syracuse University Archives

Summary

Creator: Hoople, Gordon D.
Title: Gordon D. Hoople Papers
Dates: 1908-1972
Size: 3.75 linear feet
Abstract: Materials from Gordon D. Hoople's time as a student, professor, Alumni Association President, and Chair of the Board of Trustees at Syracuse University
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

Biography

Photograph of Dr. Gordon D. Hoople

Gordon D. Hoople (1895-1973) graduated from Syracuse University, Class of 1915, and its College of Medicine, Class of 1919. He was not only a physician but he also served as professor and chairman of the Board of Trustees at Syracuse University as well as president of the University's Alumni Association.

Gordon D. Hoople grew up in Brooklyn, New York. After high school, he moved to Syracuse, New York to study medicine, following his siblings who also attended Syracuse University. Hoople graduated magna cum laude from Syracuse University in 1915 and then graduated summa cum laude from the College of Medicine in 1919. He was president of his class as well as a member of the 1915 championship crew team, Phi Beta Kappa and other honor societies, the YMCA, and senior council.

Early in his career as a physician, Hoople made two journeys to China. In 1921, while working as an intern at the Brooklyn Hospital, Hoople went to Chongqing, China as a medical missionary and co-founded Syracuse-in-China. This missionary program, modeled after similar programs at Yale and Harvard, brought doctors overseas to staff hospitals. In 1922, he returned for a honeymoon with his new wife, Dorothy.

In 1923, Hoople settled back in the United States and became a professor of otolaryngology at the College of Medicine (now SUNY Upstate Medical Hospital). Hoople inaugurated Syracuse University's Student Health Services in 1923 and helped created the University's Department of Special Education in the 1940s.

From 1928 to 1935 Hoople served as president of Syracuse University's Alumni Association. He was elected to the University's Board of Trustees in 1938 and continued to serve until 1967.

With the advent of the World War II, Hoople's time at Syracuse University was interrupted. He served as medical chief in the ear, nose, and throat section of a hospital overseas from 1942 to 1945. Hoople earned a Bronze Star Medal for his service in 1945 and wrote frequently about his feelings toward the war, most of which were negative. One of his letters begins, "The days aren't long enough. For which I am thankful." Upon returning home, Hoople spoke at length about the tragedies he witnessed; however, it was working with men deafened by the war that pushed him to find new solutions to deafness.

In 1951 he was awarded the Arents medal, the highest award for Syracuse University alumni, for his work in otology. In 1953, when he retired as a professor, the Hoople Special Education Building was constructed at Syracuse University, and he served as director of the Hearing and Speech Center housed inside. His career in medicine continued well into his late sixties when he also served as medical advisor for the Deafness Research Foundation from 1960 to 1965.

Gordon D. Hoople was a member of the American Medical Association and the New York State Medical Association, and he served on the Board of Directors of the American Hearing Society. He was also a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology. Hoople received many certificates of recognition during his career, including acceptance into the American College of Surgeons in 1964.

Hoople was elected chairman to the Board of Trustees in 1963. While serving on the board, he helped in Chancellor Tolley's efforts to expand the University as part of the "Syracuse Plan." He continued to serve as chairman until 1967. He regularly spoke at special events and convocations and in 1967 was awarded an honorary doctorate of laws from Syracuse University.

Gordon D. Hoople died in 1973.

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Scope and Content Note

The Gordon D. Hoople Papers include personal and professional materials, much from his time at Syracuse University. This collection includes the following series:

The Alumni Association series contains Hoople's correspondence regarding the 50th anniversary of the Class of 1915, as well as photographs and speeches related to his involvement in the association.

The Board of Trustees series comprises clippings about his involvement on the board, correspondence, photographs of Hoople at convocations, reports, and speeches given while he was a member of the Board of Trustees.

The Personal materials series includes items related to Hoople's time in the military, including his Bronze Star Medal, correspondence, journal, and photographs. There are also certificates and correspondence related to his receiving the Arents Medal, materials related to his travels in China, correspondence with his niece, Carol Janet Rawlings, photographs of his family and friends, notes of his speeches, and some church and other religious material.

The Professional materials series contains a report given to the Syracuse University Department of Special Education, copies of his speeches, certificates from the societies of which he was a member, as well as correspondence, clippings, and photographs related to his work with the College of Medicine. There are also a series of projector slides with quotes related to his profession as an otologist.

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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.

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.

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Related Material

All clippings related to the dedication of the Newhouse Center in 1964 were removed and incorporated into the University Archives clippings collection.

The Archives holds both a clippings file and portrait file for Gordon D. Hoople.

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Selected Search Terms

Names

Hoople, Gordon D.
Syracuse University -- Alumni and alumnae.
Syracuse University -- History.
Syracuse University -- Hoople Special Education Building.
Syracuse University.
Syracuse University. -- College of Medicine.

Subjects

College trustees.
College teachers.
Higher education.
Physicians.

Types of material

Campaign ribbons.
Medals.
Photographs.
Plaques (flat objects)
Slides (photographs)
Trophies (objects)

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Gordon D. Hoople Papers,
University Archives,
Special Collections Research Center
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of the Hoople Estate in 1983 and Dr. Robert Hoople in 2021 and 2023.

Processing Information

Materials were rehoused in acid-free folders and boxes.

Finding Aid Information

Created by: Tim Carter and Meg Mason
Date: 2016
Revision history: 29 April 2021 - 0.25 linear feet added, stylistic changes to finding aid (EMB); July 2023 - 7 photographs added, photo moved to oversize folder (SS)

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Arrangement

Folders are arranged alphabetically in their series.

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Inventory

Alumni Association
Box 2 Alumni Association President trophy 1935
Box 1 Correspondence 1965
Box 1 Photographs circa 1965, undated
Box 1 Speeches and notes 1949, undated
Box 2 Syracuse Alumni Rowing Association plaque 1957
Board of Trustees
Box 1 Clippings 1964-1967
Box 1 Correspondence 1963-1970
Box 1 Photographs 1956-1968, undated
Box 1 Reports 1949, undated
Box 1 Speech and notes 1970, undated
Box 1 "Syracuse University building and development fund" 1949
Personal materials
Box 1 25th Wedding anniversary correspondence 1947
Box 1 70th birthday scrapbook 1965
Box 1 Arents Medal speeches and correspondence 1951
Box 3 Arents Medal certificate 1951 (oversize)
Box 1 China 1922
Box 1 Church and religious material 1948-1970
Box 4 Clippings 1923
Box 1 Correspondence - general 1915-1969, undated
Box 4 Correspondence to Dorothy Hoople 1943-1945 transcript
Box 1 High school 1908
Box 1 Honorary degree of laws 1967
Box 3 Honorary degree of laws certificate 1967 (oversize)
Box 3 Letterman of Distinction certificate 1965 (oversize)
Box 1 Medals undated (5 medals)
Box 3 Middle school photographs undated
Military
Box 1 Bronze Star Medal 1945
Box 1 Campaign ribbons circa 1945
Box 1 Correspondence 1942-June 1943
Box 1 Correspondence July 1943-1944
Box 1 Journal 1942
Box 1 Photographs circa 1945
Box 3 Photographs undated (oversize)
Box 1 Speeches and notes 1945
Box 1 Notes and planner 1964, undated
Personal effects
Box 2 Camera viewfinder undated
Box 2 Eyeglasses undated
Box 2 Painted box undated
Box 1 Photographs - family 1947, undated
Box 1 Photographs - friends 1933-1945, undated
Box 3 Photographs - friends undated (oversize)
Box 1 Photographs - Gordon D. Hoople undated
Box 3 Photographs - Gordon D. Hoople undated (oversize)
Box 1 Postcards 1942-1965
Box 1 Rawlings, Carol Janet 1958-1967
Box 1 Slides 1943, undated
Box 1 Speeches and notes - general 1950-1972
Professional materials
Box 3 Certificates 1953-1965 (oversize)
Box 1 Certificates 1962-1970
Box 1 Clippings 1966, undated
Box 1 Correspondence 1961-1962
Box 1 Ethmoidal labyrinth drawing undated
Box 1 Photographs 1916-1967
Box 1 Printed material - miscellaneous 1948-1964
Box 1 Report - "A report from the Syracuse University Department of Special Education for Handicapped Children" undated
Box 1 Slides undated
Box 1 Speeches and notes 1953, undated
Box 1 Writings 1936, 1963, undated

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