The records of the North Carolina State University Department of Biology contain correspondence, brochures, course syllabi, departmental reviews, handbooks, grant proposals and applications, publications, and research project material. Also included is material relating to the establishment of the North Carolina Zoological Park, items from the North Carolina State College Institute of Statistics, and records from the Ecology Program, which was discontinued in 1992. Materials range in date from 1948 to 2006.
The first courses in Zoology were offered at the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts (later, North Carolina State University) in 1899. In 1912, Dr. Zeno P. Metcalf joined the faculty and increased the course offerings from one to three, eventually becoming Head of the Department of Entomology and Zoology, and led the department for 38 years, until 1950. In 1950, Zoology and Entomology separated from each other under the newly formed Division of Biological Sciences. With the dissolution of the Division of Biological Sciences in 1956, Zoology became a department with its own curriculum. The Department was included in the formation of the new Institute of Biological Sciences in 1960, an arrangement that lasted until 1971. After that date, Zoology became a Department in the School (now College) of Agriculture and Life Sciences. In 2008, the department was renamed as the Department of Biology.
During the early period of the University's growth, 1887 - 1912, the initial efforts of the biological sciences were directed toward the development of agricultural interests in North Carolina. The original course offerings in Zoology were given by teachers whose interests were only secondarily zoological. Not until 1899 were offered courses first collected under the rubric 'Zoology.' In the early 1900s a veterinarian and a plant pathologist taught most of the zoologically oriented courses.
In 1912, Dr. Zeno P. Metcalf joined the faculty and increased the course offerings from one to three, eventually becoming Head of the Department of Entomology and Zoology. He led the Department for 38 years, until 1950. Other early faculty appointments included Dr. Carey H. Bostian, who joined in 1930 and became Chancellor of the University in 1953; and Dr. Reinard Harkema, who joined the Department in 1936 and served for more than four decades.
During the Depression, programs at North Carolina State were restricted. The development of Zoology was limited to the areas of Wildlife Management and Animal Ecology. It was not until 1957-58 that there was a designated undergraduate degree program in Zoology. Students performed graduate work in Zoology at this time, but Master's degrees were only given in Entomology.
In 1944, the Institute of Statistics was developed out of the Department of Experimental Statistics, and provided services increasingly necessary for fundamental research. The Institute worked closely with the Department of Zoology in cooperative ventures with a number of states. The Institute had close connections with the Research Triangle Institute located in the heart of the rapidly developing Research Triangle Park. For the Department of Zoology, the arrival in 1965 of Dr. Don W. Hayne, with a dual appointment in Statistics and Zoology, proved to be a stimulus to the development and growth of quantitative aspects of experimental research and teaching.
In 1950, Zoology and Entomology separated from each other under the newly formed Division of Biological Sciences. The Department moved to Gardner Hall in 1952. With the dissolution of the Division of Biological Sciences in 1956, Zoology became a department with its own curriculum. The Department was included in the formation of the new Institute of Biological Sciences in 1960, an arrangement that lasted until 1971. After that date, Zoology became a Department in the School (later College) of Agriculture and Life Sciences. In 2008 its name was changed to the Department of Biology. In 2013 the programs of the Department of Biology were subsumed under the new Department of Biological Sciences in the new College of Sciences.
The records of the North Carolina State University Department of Biology contain correspondence, brochures, course syllabi, departmental reviews, handbooks, grant proposals and applications, publications, and research project material. Also included is material relating to the establishment of the North Carolina Zoological Park, items from the North Carolina State College Institute of Statistics, and records from the Ecology Program, which was discontinued in 1992. Materials range in date from 1948 to 2006.
The records of the North Carolina State University Department of Biology are arranged in seven series: General Records, Comprehensive Reviews, Institute of Statistics, Workshops, Projects, Gransts, and Proposals, Ecology Program Records, and Publications. Within each series, materials are arranged alphabetically by topic or title.
The NC State University Libraries generally claims only physical ownership of most Special Collections materials. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. Libraries staff are unable to advise on copyright and other legal matters; the user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Helpful resources for assessing copyright include Cornell Libraries' "Copyright Services: Copyright Term and the Public Domain" and copyright.gov. This collection may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information about identifiable living individuals, which may be protected under federal or state laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that there may be legal ramifications for disclosing this information.
The University Archives operates in accordance with the State Public Records Act, with unrestricted access to records not covered by state and federal statutes and regulations.
[Identification of item], North Carolina State University, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Department of Biology Records, UA 100.030, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, NC
Transferred from North Carolina State University, Department of Biology.
Processed by: Laura J. Morgan; Beverly King, 2009 July; machine-readable finding aid created by: Pat Webber; Finding aid updated by Beverly King, 2009 July; Cate Putirskis, 2009 July
The collection is organized into seven principal series:
This series contains a variety of records. Correspondence written to, by, or about specific faculty members is filed under the individual's name as per original order. The series also includes specific material about programs and courses offered in the Department of Zoology and its organization. There is a significant collection of news clippings and correspondence relating to the proposed founding of the North Carolina Zoological Park (originally named North Carlina Zoological Garden). Of note are the various awards and distinctions bestowed on members of the department. The material is filed alphabetically.
1 records storage box
Includes audio cassettes
This series contains reports prepared by the Department of Zoology to provide background information for comprehensive reviews of the department. These reports contain such items as a brief history of the department, mission statement, program summaries, faculty resumes, course syllabi, and project lists. The reports are filed chronologically.
2 folder
This series contains records of cooperative ventures, known as the Southeastern Fish and Game Statistics Project, between the North Carolina State College Institute of Statistics and at least nine states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. The role of the Institute of Statistics was to provide consultant services to the states on the design and analysis of wildlife research, and to develop sound and efficient statistical techniques for such design and analysis. These records are broken into two sub-series: General Correspondence, which includes analyses of statistical projects forwarded to those states for whom the Archives does not have specific records; And the records for Alabama, whose general records contain largely administrative and financial records. Alabama's cooperative agreement was initiated in 1959 and was renewed each year to 1981. Research projects for Alabama include the calculation of the extent of the wild turkey population as an aid in resource management. They also include a set of sophisticated analyses intended to provide specific measurements by which researchers can accurately determine the age of young rabbits. These analyses were overseen by Dr. Don W. Hayne in his dual role as statistician and zoologist.
10 folder
This series contains handbooks used in the two-day "schools" for which staff members of the North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station, the Agricultural Extension Service, the Division of College Extension, and others served as faculty. The two schools herein were similar, but the Pesticide School was conducted primarily for merchants who dealt in fungicides, insecticides, and herbicides rather than those in the pest control industry. Material in the handbooks was compiled by various agencies, including the Entomology Section, Department of Zoology; Plant Pathology Section, Department of Botany; Department of Agronomy of the School of Agriculture; and the Rodent Control Section, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. They contain pamphlets, publications, and prepared notes regarding particular chemicals and the laws that control their use. The material is filed chronologically.
7 folder
This series contains proposals, grant applications, progress updates, and formal reports related to individual research projects of the members of the Department. The records of each project vary in degree of documentation. Some of these projects were significant for the management of natural resources. For example, a study of the striped bass in the Roanoke River in North Carolina provided a sound basis on which to proceed with multiple uses of the river without disrupting the fish's survival. The research projects ranged as far away as Texas and Alaska, but most were conducted in North Carolina, in places such as the Pamlico River Estuary, Currituck Sound, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, the Chowan River, Lake Hyco, and the cities of Brunswick, and New Bern. Subject areas include studies of fish, birds, amphibians, reptiles, insects, mammals, bacteria, diseases, and cryogenics. In addition, the series contains studies on topics such as the ecological effects of road construction, land-use pattern changes, and nuclear power plants on the surrounding wildlife and natural resources. This series is filed alphabetically by research project title. Note that the parenthetical dates after each project title indicate the project start and termination dates.
3.5 records storage box
This series contains correspondence, meeting minutes and notes, memoranda, program information, proposals, reports, and seminar flyers. The Ecology Program was established in 1971 and was jointly administered through the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the College of Forestry (now the College of Natural Resources). These records mostly concern the activities of the Ecology Advisory Committee, as well as the moves towards creating the program during the late 1960s. The records are arranged chronologically, as received from former program head Sam Mozley.
1 records storage box
This series contains publications produced by the North Carolina State University Department of Biology.
This collection is open for research; access requires at least 48 hours advance notice. Because of the nature of certain archival formats, including digital and audio-visual materials, access to digital files may require additional advanced notice.
For more information contact us via mail, phone, or our web form.
Mailing address:
Special Collections Research Center
Box 7111
Raleigh, NC, 27695-7111
Phone: (919) 515-2273
[Identification of item], North Carolina State University, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Department of Biology Records, UA 100.030, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, NC
The NC State University Libraries generally claims only physical ownership of most Special Collections materials. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. Libraries staff are unable to advise on copyright and other legal matters; the user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Helpful resources for assessing copyright include Cornell Libraries' "Copyright Services: Copyright Term and the Public Domain" and copyright.gov. This collection may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information about identifiable living individuals, which may be protected under federal or state laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that there may be legal ramifications for disclosing this information.
The University Archives operates in accordance with the State Public Records Act, with unrestricted access to records not covered by state and federal statutes and regulations.