Zoology Department records

Series — Box: 1

Identifier: RG 18-41

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Mount Holyoke College Zoology Department Records consist of reports; tables; bibliographies; articles; press releases; newspaper clippings; outlines; programs; lists; examinations; notes; manuals; course materials; and photographs. The records contain information about the history of the department and the work of alumnae of the Zoology Department, including undergraduate and graduate students. An article written by Professor Ann Morgan entitled "Zoology at Mount Holyoke" can be found in the records in addition to a copy of the 1885 Treasurer's Report. Advertising materials, including press releases, newspaper clippings, and programs pertain to grants, lectures, field trips, conferences, and other events relating to the department. A description of the Zoology Department's Centennial Celebration exhibit is also included, in addition to an outline of work done by Mount Holyoke faculty at Wood's Hole. Additionally, an outline of suggested courses in the department and a list of all courses offered in the department can be found in the records. Information about the Ziegler Wax Models is also included. The records contain annual reports of the department to the President of the College. These reports consist of information regarding the following: graduate work; student work; changes in courses and in the curriculum; honor work; faculty activities, including research, publications, laboratory work, and conferences attended; committees within the department; grants; lectures; changes in personnel; course enrollment; numbers of major, minor, and honor students; course content; the department's viewpoints on economic and educational policy at the College; department expenses; awards and prizes; and the needs of the department. Course records in this collection contain comprehensive examinations, general examinations, Master's examinations, lecture notes in the history of zoology, a bibliography, class notes, laboratory notes, student papers and examination booklets, and laboratory manuals. These course records included information pertaining to courses in physiology as well as zoology from the period in which the departments were unified. Information relating to the Christianna Smith lecture series is also contained in the records. The photographs are chiefly of students, faculty, and staff in classrooms, doing field work, in the laboratories, and at department events. Photographs from Wood's Hole are also included.

Dates

Creation: 1884-1979

Language of Materials note

Most of the materials are in English. However, there are several articles in German in Folder 1, General.

Conditions Governing Access

Access to student records restricted.

Historical Note

Since the founding of the Seminary in 1837, there has been an emphasis on the study of the sciences at Mount Holyoke. Mary Lyon initiated a curriculum including the study of the following seven sciences at Mount Holyoke in its first year: physiology, botany, physics, zoology, chemistry, astronomy, and geology. From 1837 until 1874, the philosophy of natural history was taught at the Seminary. This course of study was renamed zoology, the study of animals, in 1874. The first zoological laboratory was built in Williston Hall in 1876. Shortly after the laboratory was built, the College's requirement in the study of Zoology included mandatory laboratory work. In the early twentieth century, Professor Cornelia Clapp, the head of the Department of Zoology, incorporated the study of physiology into the Department of Zoology thus establishing the Department of Zoology and Physiology in 1904. In 1922, the department divided into two separate entities, including the Department of Zoology and the Department of Physiology. At this time, the Zoology Department consisted of three areas of study, including medical zoology, experimental zoology, and ecological zoology. In the 1964/1965 academic year, the Zoology Department, Physiology Department, and Botany Department merged to form a new Biological Sciences Department.