Virginia Tech History Resources: College of Liberal Arts & Human Sciences
Researching the College of Liberal Arts & Human Sciences (CLAHS)
Here are resources pertaining to the College of Liberal Arts & Human Sciences (CLAHS), its schools, its programs, and its departments. Also included are resources for its predecessors, such as the College of Human Sciences & Education and the College of Arts & Sciences, as these included many of the departments and schools that are currently housed administratively in CLAHS.
General Resources
Record groups may include posters, flyers, photos, organizational records, and more. Materials are divided into assigned Record Groups based on the office, division, or unit and designated by the prefix, RG. For example, materials relating to CLAHS are identified as RG 48/x, College of Arts and Sciences [obsolete, 2003] as RG 15/x, College of Education [obsolete, 1996] as RG 17, and College of Human Sciences and Education [obsolete, 2003] as RG 19.
- Record Groups in the University ArchivesThis list includes the major overview of the University Archives' Record Groups. Record Groups are the official records of the university held by Special Collections and University Archives. This includes official records, newspaper clippings, and printed material. There are two versions, a spreadsheet for sorting and filtering and a document that includes a page per RG number.
- Record Group Vertical FilesThe Record Group Vertical Files contain newspaper clippings, pamphlets, brochures, posters, flyers, and more related to departments, schools, colleges, and administrative offices in the university, including press releases, courses, buildings, public events, and more.
- Directory of Administrators and New Faculty, Ms2005-004The collection was originally housed in and apparently used by the Office of the President, while James D. McComas was president of Virginia Tech from 1988-1993. Collection consists of one-page vitas and photographs of administrators and new faculty in 1988 at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, representing the Pamplin College of Business, the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, and the Colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Architecture and Urban Studies, Arts and Sciences, Education, Engineering, and Human Resources. It also includes the Cooperative Extension and Continuing Education and numerous Vice President offices.
About the CLAHS and its predecessors
The College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences (CLAHS) formed in July 2003, when most of the liberal arts departments from the former College of Arts and Sciences merged with most of the departments from the former College of Human Sciences and Education.
College of Education
The College of Education was established on July 1, 1971. A Department of Education existed in the College of Arts and Sciences since 1965. Prior to that time, courses and degree programs in various types of education had been offered throughout Virginia Tech’s history. In 1996, the College of Education merged with the College of Human Resources to form the College of Human Resources and Education.
College of Home Economics (later College of Human Sciences and Education)
The first courses in home economics were offered in 1921, the same year women were first admitted full-time to the university. In 1924, the Department of Home Economics was formally established in the School of Agriculture, but was suspended in 1933 due to budget constraints. Four years later, the department was reinstated within the School of Agriculture.
After the university merged with Radford College in 1944 and until 1951, the General Assembly required students spend their first two years at Radford. However, the Board of Visitors did not authorize a separate department at the Blacksburg campus until 1958. Two years later the Departments at Radford and Blacksburg were merged under one dean to become the School of Home Economics.
In 1964, when the university and Radford College dissolved the merger, the School became the College of Home Economics. In 1982, the College was renamed the College of Human Resources, and in 1996 once again it changed names to the College of Human Resources and Education after merging with the College of Education [RG 17]. In 2002, the College became the College of Human Sciences and Education. Finally, in July of the next year, the College was dissolved, and most of its departments joined the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences (CLAHS) [RG 48], which formed that same year.
College of Arts & Sciences
In 1961, the School of Science and General Studies formed out of several departments that were part of the School of Applied Sciences and Business, which dissolved that year. However, some of the departments trace their roots back to the founding of the university in 1872. In 1963, the school became the School of Arts and Sciences and the next year became the College of Arts and Sciences, which dissolved in July 2003. Most of the liberal arts departments joined the newly-formed College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, while most of the science departments formed the College of Science.
Online Histories and Exhibits
- College and Departmental Histories at Virginia Tech (Archived)This exhibit contains links to videos and webpages about different departments' histories from the colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Enginnering, Liberal Arts & Human Sciences, Natural Resources and Environment, and Science. (Some links may be broken as this is archived on Archive-It.org and dates to 2011.)
- "Instruction, Degrees, and Commencements" on the Virginia Tech History websiteThis website contains a thorough history of several facets of the university's history, including information on the colleges and schools, deans, degrees awarded, commencement speakers, and more.
CLAHS Collections
CLAHS Collections
Here are several SCUA collections related to the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences and its predecessors. This is not a comprehensive list of all our related collections. To find more, please search within our collections on Archival Resources of the Virginias.
- College of Education History Records, Ms1990-026Oral history interviews regarding the history of the College of Education at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Interviews were conducted in November-December 1989 by the students of Dr. Patrick Carlton, Associate Professor of Education at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Interviewees were Karl T. Hereford, first dean of the College of Education; Fred J. Brieve; Lyle Kinnear; Richard L. Lynch; Carl McDaniels; and Wayne H. Worner. Materials consist of cassette tapes and transcripts of interviews, interview notes, correspondence (1970-1972), and reports. Included are the report Developmental Goals and Priorities of the College of Education 1972-1976 and reports by Adriane Robinson about her interview with Dr. Worner.
- College of Education Restructuring Records, Ms2006-020Publicly circulated e-mails, reports, and meeting handouts that served as major communications during the restructuring of Virginia Tech's College of Education. Also contains transcripts of speeches given by officials as well as some meetings, and field notes by Jan Nespor of meetings with the "task forces." Also contains materials relating to the immediate response to Virginia Tech President Paul Torgersen's decision and the early planning for the merger with the College of Human Resources. The records essentially stop after January 1996.
- College of Home Economics Metabolism Study Collection, Ms2005-003Collection of 30 images documenting a metabolism study conducted by the College of Home Economics at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Directed by Dean Laura Jane Harper, the study was concerned with determining nitrogen requirements and utilization for young girls.
- Norman L. Grover Papers, Ms1991-037This collection contains the papers of Norman L. Grover a former professor in the Philosophy and Religion Department(s) at Virginia Tech from 1957-1991.
- Henry H. Bauer Papers, Ms1999-005Dr. Henry H. Bauer was a Professor of Chemistry and Science Studies and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (1978-1999) at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. This collection contains correspondence, grant reports, newspaper clippings, memoirs, class notes, chemistry files, evaluations, appointment books, lectures, talks, and conference materials - particularly those pertaining to the Society for Scientific Exploration (SSE). Much of the material relates to Bauer's work as academic professor and administrator, as well as his interest in the study of anomalies, especially the Loch Ness Monster.
- Clarence Paul Miles Papers, Ms1961-003Papers of Virginia Tech graduate, professor of modern languages, director of athletics, and dean of the college Clarence Paul "Sally" Miles, including grade books for courses in French and German, together with personal memorabilia and photographs.
- Michael Two Horses Collection, Ms2006-001Michael Two Horses was a scholar, researcher, and activist. From the fall of 2003 until the time of his death in late December 2003, he was a visiting instructor in the American Indian Studies Program and the Humanities Program, within the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies. He was also a member of the Virginia Tech Commission on Equal Opportunity and Diversity. The collection contains a combination of academic papers, personal papers and research, drawings, correspondence, thesis and dissertation materials, and some artifacts from Two Horses' career as a student, scholar, and activist.
- Jean Haskell-Speer Papers, Ms2011-109Jean Haskell-Speer worked with Virginia Tech as an Associate Professor of Communication Studies and Humanities. The collection contains papers relating to the career of Jean Haskell-Speer and her work with Patrick and Floyd County; the James River Canal Lock; Johnson Farm; Catawba and Roanoke Valley; Wintgreen; the Kelley School; and Blue Ridge Parkway. Materials range from 1782-1995 and are of diverse form. Photocopies of primary and secondary sources, original drafts, photographs, newspaper clippings, and publications can all be found within the collection.
- Elizabeth Fine Papers, Ms2015-041The Elizabeth Fine Papers include papers and materials collected by Fine during her tenure as a professor at Virginia Tech. Fine taught in the Department of Religion and Culture from 1979 until her retirement in 2015. The collection includes research and subject files on aspects of Appalachian culture and history; papers from her instruction, departmental, and administrative activities; and files on historic buildings on campus, particularly the history, renovation, and reopening of "Solitude."
- Doris Zallen Papers, Ms2018-032The collection contains meeting notes from the Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee, Doris Zallen's professional papers, book reviews, and background on Zallen's published papers from 1960 to 2016. Doris Zallen attended Brooklyn College and Harvard University before becoming a professor of Science and Technology Studies and Humanities in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Science at Virginia Tech. This collection follows Zallen's academic work from the undergraduate to graduate level, post-doctoral appointments, and her genetic research and teaching. Included in this collection is Zallen's research on the Liverpool School which provided researches the medical advance of the prevention of Rh disease.
- Records of the Choices and Challenges Forum, RG 15/27/1The Records of the Choices and Challenges Forum contain correspondence, meeting notes, articles, plays, advertisements, grant applications and reports, videos, audio tapes, and more from the development of the first 22 Choices and Challenges fora, from 1985 to 2003. The Choices and Challenges Forum at Virginia Tech was founded in 1985 by Doris Zallen, who served as its director until 2003. Each forum addresses the ethical and social issues created by advances in science, technology, and medicine.
- Stanley A. Huffman, Jr., Papers, Ms1991-056The collection consists of professional papers compiled over the course of Huffman's career at Virginia Tech (1971-1991). A majority of materials are group in subject files. Other types of materials include correspondence, administrative paperwork, and presentation, conference and research files. In addition, the collection contains the manuscript for Huffman's 1969 book, Instructional Media.
- Jean Elliott Papers, Ms2016-014Papers of Jean Elliott, communication manager for the Virginia Tech College of Liberal Arts & Human Sciences and its predecessor the College of Human Resources, include documents and correspondence relating to Jean Elliott's work within the LGBTQ community at Virginia Tech.
Collections related to the Dept. of English
- Dayton M. Kohler Papers, Ms1971-002Papers of Dayton M. Kohler, professor of English at Virginia Tech and an authority on modern American literature. Includes correspondence from noted authors, typescript drafts of essay-reviews for Masterplots, manuscripts of articles written by Kohler, and a collection of materials associated with various authors.
- Carol M. Newman Papers, Ms1978-003Papers of Carol M. Newman, professor of English at Virginia Tech (1903-1941) and secretary of the university's Athletic Council (1914-1939). Includes correspondence, awards and honors, Athletic Council files, speeches and essays, examination questions, and subject files on Virginia Tech, language and literature.
- Carol M. Newman, Jr. Papers, Ms1978-004This collection contains the papers of Carol M. Newman Jr., a 1931 graduate of Virginia Tech (BS, biology), writer and editor for The New Yorker (1949-1972), and faculty member of Virginia Tech's Department of English (1934-1949, 1972-1975). The collection contains such materials as correspondence, printed materials, drawings, and certificates. Many of the materials in the collection are accompanied by explanatory notes written by Newman.
- J. Preston Newman Papers, Ms1982-016James Preston Newman was a student at VPI in the 1930s and taught English at VPI from 1935 to 1979. The collection includes four poems (1935-1938, n.d.), as well as papers relating to Ralph Minthorne Brown, a librarian at Virginia Tech.
- G. Burke Johnston Papers, Ms1983-005Papers--including correspondence, subject files, printed materials, and photographs--of George Burke Johnston, literary scholar, English faculty member, and administrator at Virginia Tech and the University of Alabama; U.S. Army officer; poet; author; artist; and printer.
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We thank the American Indian & Indigenous Community Center for providing this statement:
Virginia Tech acknowledges that we live and work on the Tutelo / Monacan People’s homeland and we recognize their continued relationships with their lands and waterways. We further acknowledge that legislation and practices like the Morrill Act (1862) enabled the commonwealth of Virginia to finance and found Virginia Tech through the forced removal of Native Nations from their lands, both locally and in western territories.
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We must also recognize that enslaved Black people generated revenue and resources used to establish Virginia Tech and were prohibited from attending until 1953. Through InclusiveVT, the institutional and individual commitment to Ut Prosim (that I may serve) in the spirit of community, diversity, and excellence, we commit to advancing a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive community.