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Purdue University. College of Education

 Organization

Historical Information

Purdue University established a department of education in 1908. The creation was the University's response to a 1907 Indiana state law mandating that all new teachers have professional education of at least 12 semester hours.

For the first six years of its existence, Purdue's education department was comprised solely of one person. George L. Roberts boasted 27 years of experience in the state's public schools, beginning as a one-room schoolteacher and going on to become superintendent of schools in Greensburg, Frankfort, and Muncie. At Purdue, Roberts was a professor of industrial education, and he was a solo act until 1914, when, thanks to the Vocational Act of 1913, the University could afford to hire more faculty members.

For the next 75 years, various units at Purdue housed education faculty, including the Division of Education and Applied Psychology and the School of Humanities, Social Science, and Education. In 1989, Purdue officially created the School of Education. In 2005, Purdue renamed the School of Education to the College of Education.

Citation

A Century and Beyond: The History of Purdue University; A University of Tradition: The Spirit of Purdue; and Facts at Your Fingertips, 2002-03.

Retrieved January 14, 2011 from: http://www.education.purdue.edu/about_us/history_mission.html

Found in 2 Collections and/or Records:

William P. Duncan papers

 File — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSF 500
Scope and Contents The William P. Duncan papers document Duncan'a undergraduate education at the University of Illinois Institute of Aviation and his graduate school work at Purdue University in the School of Education. Also included are papers from his early years as a Purdue University instructor in the Aviation Technician Program, Technical Institutes, Division of Technical Extension, along with the Purdue Aeronautics Corporation maintenance manual and the revisions it went through from 1956-1958....
Dates: 1951 - 1994; Other: Majority of material found within 1951 - 1959

Jill P. May papers

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSF 555
Scope and Contents The Jill P. May papers document the life and career of Professor of Emerita of the College of Education, Department of Curriculum and Education, Jill P. May. The majority of the papers date from the mid-1970s to May’s retirement in 2011. The collection documents the private and professional life of May, particularly her professional activities during her tenure at Purdue University. Some personal papers include May’s early life and education, in addition to correspondence with family members...
Dates: 1923 - 2018; Majority of material found within mid-1970s - 2011