Preliminary Inventory of the North Carolina State University Dept. of Chemistry Records, 1959-2004

Descriptive Summary

Repository: North Carolina State University Libraries, Special Collections Research Center
Creator: North Carolina State University Dept. of Chemistry
Title: North Carolina State University Dept. of Chemistry Records, 1959-2004
Call Number: UA 135.011
Extent: 0.75 linear feet, 1 archival storage box , 1 half box
Location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Special Collections Research Center Reference Staff.
Language of Material: English

Information for Users

Restrictions to Access: This collection is open for research; access requires at least 24 hours advance notice.
Acquisitions Information: Transferred by NCSU Dept. of Chemistry, 1998-2007.
Preferred Citation: [Identification of item], North Carolina State University Dept. of Chemistry Records, UA 135.011, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, NC
Copyright Notice: The nature of the NCSU Libraries' Special Collections means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The NCSU Libraries claims only physical ownership of most Special Collections materials.

The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.

Historical Note

The Department of Chemistry at NCSU goes back to the founding of the North Carolina College of Agricultural and Mechanic Arts in 1889. W. A. Withers was Professor of Pure and Agricultural Chemistry, one of only five original faculty members at the college. The chemistry curriculum was initially listed as engineering courses, although not considered chemical engineering. In 1911 the department moved from Holladay Hall to Winston Hall, where it had use of two classrooms, three teaching labs, and a research lab as well as a prep room, a dark room, and a chemical library. In 1923, chemistry was moved into the School of Science and Business. In 1931 the Consolidated University of North Carolina was established, and the college could no longer grant degrees in pure chemistry. The department was transferred to the School of Agriculture in 1937 and, named the Department of Agricultural and Biological Chemistry, moved to Withers Hall in 1940.

In their 5 November 1957 proposal for the formation of a reconstituted Department of Chemistry, separate from the applied chemistry divisions, Lodwick C. Hartley (Dept. of English), Preston W. Edsall (Dept. of History and Political Science), Clark Lee Allen (Dept. of Economics), and R. R. Hentz (Department of Chemistry) emphasized the importance of instruction in pure chemistry, for which there was, at that time, no dedicated degree program. Their objective was to develop and implement a program of undergraduate instruction in inorganic, analytical, organic, physical, and biological chemistry leading to a bachelors of science degree in chemistry, as well as graduate and research programs leading to masters of science and Ph.D. degrees in all areas from agricultural and biological chemistry to nuclear chemistry. They focused particularly on faculty recruitment and on equipment and facilities.

The "new" Department of Chemistry was moved into the newly organized School of Physical Science and Applied Mathematics in 1959-60. At that time, only 2% of students enrolled in chemistry courses were chemistry majors, leading acting department head W. A. Reid to dub the undergraduate program a "service program to all the curricula on the campus with the exception of the School of Design." In 1965, construction commenced on a new chemistry building, Dabney Hall, doubling research capacity. The building was complete in June 1969. By 2004, the department was large enough to require a new undergraduate lab facility, located in the Fox Science Teaching Laboratory. In 2007, the department numbered 40 full-time faculty, 120 graduate students, and 350 undergrads.

List of Department Heads

1889-1924		W. A. Withers
1924-?		E. E. Randolph
?-?		L. F. Williams
[1930?]-1948		A. J. Wilson
1948-1958		Walter J. Peterson
1959-1960		W. A. Reid, acting
1961-1967 January		Ralph C. Swann
1967 November-1973		Z. Zimmerman Hugus
1973-1982		Carl L. Baumgarden
1983-1992		Kenneth W. Hanck
1992-1994		Janet Osteryoung
1994-1998		Robert Osteryoung
1998-2004		Bruce M. Novak
2004-2005		Kenneth W. Hanck, interim
2005-		Marteza Khaledi

Scope and Content Note

Records, 1959-1998, of the North Carolina State University Dept. of Chemistry include memoranda on role of the department after 1959, a long-range proposal, notes for advisors and lab assistants, workstation operations guide, essays, lecture outlines, newsletters, publications, a book of exercises, and a few other items.

Organization of the Collection

This collection has not been fully processed. Files are currently arranged by type of document.

Online Catalog Terms

The following terms have been used to index the guide to the collection in the NCSU Library's online catalog.

Corporate Entities

North Carolina State University Dept. of Chemistry

Topics

Chemistry--Study and teaching (Higher)--North Carolina.
College publications--North Carolina.
Universities and colleges--Administration--North Carolina.

Detailed Description of the Collection

Advisors to Undergraduate Chemistry Majors, 1973, 1978 [UA 135.011 Box 1, Folder 1]
Automated Chemical Workstations Operations Guide, 1998 [UA 135.011 Box 1, Folder 2]
Bent, Henry A., undated [UA 135.011 Box 1, Folder 3]
Chemistry and Society (CH111), 1972 [UA 135.011 Box 1, Folder 4]
Chemistry Department, role of, 1959 [UA 135.011 Box 1, Folder 5]
Chemistry Lectures, Outline, undated [UA 135.011 Box 1, Folder 6]
Chemistry 111, 1971 [UA 135.011 Box 1, Folder 7]
Gleit, C. E., 1971 [UA 135.011 Box 1, Folder 8]
Graduate Faculty, Research Interests of, 1975-1976 [UA 135.011 Box 1, Folder 9]
Laboratory Assitants, Information for General Chemistry, 1971 [UA 135.011 Box 1, Folder 10]
Loeppert, Richard H., 1967-1971 [UA 135.011 Box 1, Folder 11]
Newsletter, 1967-1984 [UA 135.011 Box 1, Folder 12]
Publications, 1954-1982, undated [UA 135.011 Box 1, Folder 13]
Seminar Announcements, 1979-1991 [UA 135.011 Box 1, Folder 14]
"Exercises in Stoichiometry, Structure, and States of Matter", 1975 [UA 135.011 Box 1, Folder 15]
Doctoral Program in Agricultural and Biological Chemistry (proposal), 1950 [UA 135.011 Half Box 2, Folder 1]
General Records, 1954 -1959 [UA 135.011 Half Box 2, Folder 1]
General Chemistry, Lab Manual, 1931 [UA 135.011 Half Box 2, Folder 3]
Automated Chemistry Workstation Operations Guide and Help Manual, Version 2 (Technical Report TR04-1), 2004 [UA 135.011 Half Box 2, Folder 4]