Research Guides: Virginia Tech History Resources: College of Science

Researching the College of Science and its predecessors (COS)

Here are resources pertaining to the College of Science (COS), its schools, its programs, and its departments. Also included are resources for its predecessors, such as the College of Arts & Sciences, as these included many of the departments and programs that are currently housed administratively in COS.

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 COS are identified as RG 49/x and the College of Arts and Sciences [obsolete, 2003] as RG 15/x.

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.

About the College of Science (COS) and its predecessors

The College of Science (COS) formed from most of the science departments of the College of Arts and Sciences when it dissolved in July 2003.

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 (COS).

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.

COS Collections

COS Collections

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

Records of the Office of the President, T. Marshall Hahn, Jr., RG 2/11
T. Marshall Hahn, Jr. (1926-2016) served as the 11th president of Virginia Tech for 1962 to 1974, head of the Department of Physics from 1954 to 1962, and CEO of the Georgia Pacific Corporation. This collection contains primarily correspondence concerning University matters, including letters to and from alumni, faculty, parents, and students. Correspondence with the Board of Visitors and government officials is also included in the collection. There is material concerning the Alumni Association, budget information, Higher Education Study Commission (1965), University Council, National and Southern Associations of State Universities and Land-grant Colleges, State Council of Higher Education in Virginia, Task Force for Innovative Approaches to Instruction (1973), Consortium for Continuing Higher Education in Northern Virginia (1973), civil rights, proposal for College of Veterinary Medicine (1974, Box 95, folders 3211-3215), and various University committees and commissions. There is a large amount of material dealing with student protests (1970-1971, see Boxes 45-47), including correspondence to and from parents, students, and the general public. The collection also includes copies of many of Hahn's speeches (1961-1973), such as "Statement on Need of a College of Veterinary Medicine in Virginia" and "Virginia in the Jet Age."
T. Marshall Hahn, Jr., Papers, Ms2019-041
The T. Marshall Hahn, Jr., Papers, Ms2019-041, document the business career of Hahn (physics department head and university president) after leaving Virginia Tech. Items include a 1994 invirtation and guestbook for his retirement dinner as CEO of George Pacific Corporation (GP), and an undated watercolor portrait of Hahn, several other people, and the activities of GP. There is a 1997 resolution of appreciation for Hahn from Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc., for which he was a board member. The collection also contains a program for his memorial service in 2016 and the remarks made at the service by Timothy Sands, president of Virginia Tech at the time.
Horatio Seymour Stahl Papers, Ms1969-003
The collection consists of Stahl's radio talks and diplomas, VPI commencement programs and student lists, a piece written by Annie Stahl, a business ledger for W. S. Stahl, a tribute for Chester L. Stahl, and Julia Arundel Stahl's diploma. Horatio Stahl taught Botany and Biology at VPI from 1908 until his death in 1935.
William Logan Threlkeld Papers, Ms1975-005
Papers of William Logan Threlkeld, professor of zoology and biology at Virginia Polytechnic Institute (1929-1958), including biographical materials, personal and professional correspondence, research files, and printed materials. Also, the collection contains several subject files relating to both his scientific research and his work for the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service.
Ellison A. Smyth Papers, Ms1981-098
This collection contains papers including his correspondence with professional and amateur scientists, collectors, dealers and suppliers around the world concerning entomology and zoology, his publications, and field journals from his entomological work.
Robert E. Marshak Papers, Ms1988-060
This collection documents Marshak's career in physics at the University of Rochester, City College of New York, and Virginia Tech. The collection consist of Marshak's files on the Shelter Island Conferences (1947-49) and his administrative and correspondence files on the Rochester Conferences on High-Energy Physics (1950-57), which he founded. The papers also includes correspondence, notes, reports, files, speech texts, newsclippings, autographs, photographs, transcripts, and other personalia.
Henry H. Bauer Papers, Ms1999-005
Dr. 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.
John Edward Williams Papers, Ms1956-005
Papers of John Edward Williams, professor of mathematics (1903-1924) and dean of the college (1924-1943) at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Includes class notes taken by Williams as a graduate student at the University of Virginia; notes and solutions for various mathematical problems; texts of Williams' speeches; printed articles by Williams and others; diplomas and membership certificates.

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SCUA also maintains the Records of the Dean of the College, John Edward Williams, RG 11/2, which are currently unprocessed. Contact SCUA for more information.
O'Shaughnessy Family Papers, Ms1987-052
Papers--including correspondence, schoolwork, diplomas, diaries, photographs, and printed materials--of Louis O'Shaughnessy, professor of mathematics and director of Graduate Studies at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VPI); his wife Ida Surface O'Shaughnessy; their daughter, VPI mathematics instructor Betty O'Shaughnessy Bock; and the Surface family (parents and siblings of Ida Surface O'Shaughnessy).
Louis O'Shaughnessy letters, Ms1993-010
This collection contains letters from Louis O'Shaughnessy, who later became a professor of mathematics and director of Graduate Studies at Virginia Tech, to his future wife, Ida L. Surface, and one letter from O'Shaughnessy to G. L. Surface. The letters to Ida Surface primarily chronicle their courtship and engagement from 1903 to 1905. The letter to G. L. Surface is an acceptance of an invitation from G. T. Surface in June 1903.
Roy Jay Holden Papers, Ms1982-014
Roy Jay Holden was a Professor of Geology and Mineralogy (1905-42) at Virginia Polytechnic Institute. Papers include field notes, charts and maps, and geological surveys and research results, covering the history of mineralogy and geology, especially in Virginia.

COS Publications

COS publications on VTechWorks