Florida State University Libraries
Portions of collection available online? : No
Donor is unknown
Collection is open to research
Copyright holder for this collection: Florida State University
All requests for permission to quote, publish, broadcast or otherwise reproduce from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of University Libraries. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Florida State University Libraries as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.
Florida State College for Women/Florida State University Faculty Senate Minutes, Special Collections, Florida State University Libraries, Tallahassee, Florida
Processed in September and October, 2003
The collection covers a span of time from the Great Depression through the post-World War II years, during which the Florida State College for Women became a co-educational institution, the Florida State University. The influence of outside events is evident in the deliberations and committee work of the Faculty Senate, which discussed such topics as the introduction of defense courses, like mapmaking and aircraft drafting, to the College's curriculum; in the changes in the curriculum as the needs of the institution changed, and in the statistics of the annual placement and enrollment reports presented to the Senate.
The collection covers a period of Faculty Senate activity that took place under the presidencies of Drs. Edward Conradi and Doak S. Campbell. Those holding the office of Faculty Senate Secretary included Simeon R. Doyle, M. W. Carothers, William T. Edwards, and Charles P. Hogarth. Members of the Faculty Senate included Kathryn T. Abbey, Elizabeth G. Andrews, Lanas S. Barber, Raymond Bellamy, Robert S. Cotterill, Walter R. Cowles, Mark H. DeGraff, Guy L. Diffenbaugh, Olivia N. Dorman, Ralph L. Eyman, Paul F. Finner, Christian P. Heinlein, Marion D. Irish, J. G. Kellum, Rowena Longmire, Kathryn Montgomery, Coyle E. Moore, Ella S. Opperman, Annie M. T. Popper, Harold Richards, Louise Richardson, William H. Rogers, Nathaniel M. Salley, Margaret Sandels, Venila L. Shores, Alban Stewart, Earl L. Vance, and Hugh L. Waskom.
The minutes of the Florida State College for Women's Faculty Senate covers the period from October 7, 1931 through December 7, 1948. Topics include curriculum establishment, interpretation and revision; new courses and their descriptions; modifications to courses, credit given, graduate work, and honors work. Senate discussions involve the definition of "graduate student," "major" and "minor," whether Latin should be retained as a requisite for the Bachelor of Arts degree, and the relationship with the University of Florida regarding extension courses and transfer of credits between the institutions. Senate committees studied student selection at other institutions for a report on Better Selection of Freshmen, establishment of a general scholastic achievement honors degree, instead of honors work in a special field, and use of the quarter system, rather than the semester system. In February 1948, a sub-committee of the Curriculum Committee presented a new constitution to the Senate for discussion, which, after revisions were made, was sent to the Board of Control for approval.
In the minutes of one of the first Senate meetings recorded in the collection, those of November 1931, as the Faculty Senate convened under the new constitution, Dr. Josiah B. Game, noting the Senate's adoption of the Curriculum Committee, moved that the Senate adopt all committees carrying out the work of the Senate that were listed in the June 1931 school catalog. It is the work of the Library, Graduate Work, Curriculum, Admission, Student Affairs, and Student Publications committees, and their sub-committees, that form the topics of discussion, recommendations, and legislation enacted by the Senate and recorded in the content of the minutes. Later, new committees were formed to carry out the Senate's work, such as the Committee on Tests and Examinations.
Among the announcements by Dr. Conradi to the Senate are a statement in January 1934 that the Phi Beta Kappa Senate had approved FSCW for a local chapter and would present the recommendation at the National Council in September, a statement in 1935 regarding the trends in education that were leading toward survey courses during the first two years of college work, and an announcement in December 1936 that the Board of Control had changed the name of the Administration Building to the James D.Wescott, Jr. Memorial Building.
Among Dr. Campbell's Senate announcements was an explanation (December 1941) regarding a questionnaire he was sending all faculty members to determine courses contributing to the National Defense and an announcement in 1943 that a charter had been granted for a chapter of the music honor society Pi Kappa Lambda. Addresses during October 1946 and March 1947 referred to rapid growth and the future of FSCW in relation to postwar conditions, such as the G. I. Bill of Rights and Public Act 16, that would affect plans for college expansion and curriculum changes, and to issues and problems facing the college in the coming years. In May 1947 he announced the legislature's approval of a bill that would change Florida State College for Women to the Florida State University.
The Minutes contain indices for the 1931 through 1933 period (see 1932-33 folder), 1933 through 1936 (see 1935-36 folder), 1937 through 1940 (see 1939-40 folder), a topical index (see 1944-45 folder), and a chronological index for the October 1946 through December 1948 period (see 1946-47 folder). Faculty attendance roles are included in the folders of all years, except 1933-34, 1947-48, and 1948-49. Annual enrollment reports and placement reports are also present in the Minutes. Of special note in the collection is a memorial (March 1935) to Josiah B. Game, which contains biographical information on Dr. Game's life and publications.
There is additional material related to the Faculty Senate Minutes in the following collections, located in the Florida State University Libraries Special Collections Department: Doak Campbell Collection; Florida State College for Women Campus Defense Council Papers; Edward Conradi Papers; Florida State College for Women/Florida State University Curriculum Committee Papers. These collections are located in Special Collections, Florida State University, University Libraries, Tallahassee, Florida.