Research Guides: Virginia Tech History Resources: College of Engineering

About the College of Engineering (COE)

The College of Engineering (COE) has roots going back to the beginning of Virginia Tech's history. When the university began as Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College in 1872, it offered "Mechanical" (now a department of mechanical engineering) as one of its 13 "courses of study," what would today be considered "departments." When the first administrative instructional divisions were established in 1903, engineering was one of four academic departments for which a dean was appointed. In 1920, the department became the School of Engineering and then, in 1964, the College of Engineering.

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 website
This 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.

COE Collections

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. Materials related to COE are in RG 18/x and subgroups, while the Virginia Tech - Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences (VT-WFU SBES) is RG 49.

Record Groups in the University Archives
This 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 Files
The 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, Ms2005-004
The 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.

Collections of COE and COE-Related Individuals

Here are several SCUA collections related to the College of Engineering. 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.

William MacFarland Patton Papers, Ms1954-001
The papers of William MacFarland Patton, a professor of civil engineering at Virginia Agricultural & Mechanical College (now Virginia Tech), include a partial draft of Patton's book, "A Practical Treatise on Foundations" and draft of an unpublished textbook on civil engineering, together with patent documentation for two inventions.
E. B. Norris Papers, Ms1981-103
E.B. Norris was Dean of Engineering at VPI from 1928-1952, and his papers include reports concerning the agriculture and engineering departments, reports on individual development, newspaper clippings, catalogues, brochures, and correspondence, particularly regarding then-President Burruss.
Dan H. Pletta Papers, Ms1982-006
Pletta was professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics at Virginia Tech (1932-1972) and department head from 1958-1970. This collection includes treatises, transcripts of talks and correspondence dealing with all aspects of the field of engineering, but especially with the role of education in producing a professional engineer, qualifications for practice, the public purpose of engineering, ethics, and whistleblowing. Other topics include the Department of Engineering at Virginia Tech, the American Society of Civil Engineers, National Society of Professional Engineers, the Virginia Society of Professional Engineers, and the Order of Engineers.
Henry M. Morris Papers, Ms1994-028
This collection contains papers relating to Morris's career as VPI Professor of Hydraulic Engineering and Chairman of the Department of Civil Engineering (1957-1970) and his position as director of the Institute for Creation Research. The materials date from 1937 to 1999 and include course materials (exams, notes), his M.S. thesis and Ph.D. dissertation, publications, technical reports, correspondence concerning such topics as hydraulic engineering and soil mechanics, and publications and pamphlets from the Institute of Creation Research.
Leslie Wallace Jerrell Papers, Ms1972-005
Papers include the correspondence, grade reports, receipts, photographs, and textbooks of Leslie Wallace Jerrell, a student, staff member, and instructor of mechanical technology at Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College.
William MacFarland Patton Papers, Ms1954-001
Papers of William MacFarland Patton, civil engineer and professor and first dean of engineering at Virginia Agricultural & Mechanical College (now Virginia Tech). Includes a partial draft of Patton's book, A Practical Treatise on Foundations and draft of an unpublished textbook on civil engineering, together with patent documentation for two inventions.

COE Publications & Additional Resources

COE publications on VTechWorks
Includes publications for departments and schools within the college and Virginia Center for Autonomous Systems
COE website

Virginia Tech engineer
Call Number: LD5655.A651 A93

Publication Date: 1925-current
Newsletter by Virginia Tech Civil Engineering
Call Number: LD5655.A651 C5 N4

Publication Date: 1983-1986
Engineering Science & Mechanics Department news
Call Number: LD5655.A651 E5 E86 and LD5655.A651 E5 E862

Publication Date: 1990, 1993-2004/2005
The works : the alumni magazine of Virginia Tech Mechanical Engineering
Call Number: LD5655.A651 M43 W67

Publication Date: 1994-2002
ME ... annual report by Virginia Tech Department of Mechanical Engineering
Call Number: LD5655.A651 M43 A66
Materials Science and Engineering at Virginia Tech : tracing our roots, 1872-2016 by Ellis, LeeAnn
Call Number: LD5655.A652 M3 2016

Publication Date: 2016