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Purdue University. College of Agriculture

 Organization

Historical Information

As a land-grant university, a central part of Purdue’s mission is providing students with an adequate agricultural education. Courses in agriculture originated with the first classes taught at the university in 1874, but it wasn’t until 1878 that the School of Agriculture was established. In 2004, the school was renamed to the College of Agriculture.

Since its inception, the purpose of the Purdue University College of Agriculture has been to teach the theoretical and practical elements necessary for careers in agriculture and horticulture. Purdue’s investments in student and faculty resources caused the College of Agriculture to grow in graduates and geographic extent throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. By 2023, usnews.com ranked Purdue’s College of Agriculture eighth in the nation, with approximately 2,750 undergraduates enrolled and 20 agricultural research facilities.

Citation:
Board of Trustees minutes, 1878 Oct. 21, BOTM18781021, Board of Trustees Minutes, Purdue University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections, Purdue University Libraries, 4. https://earchives.lib.purdue.edu/digital/collection/bot/id/20191/rec/1
Citation:
Board of Trustees Minutes, 2004 Nov. 19, BOTM20041119SM, Board of Trustees Minutes, Purdue University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections, Purdue University Libraries, 25. https://earchives.lib.purdue.edu/digital/collection/bot/id/31145/rec/1127
Citation:
“Research Facilities,” College of Agriculture, Purdue University, Accessed June 20, 2024. https://ag.purdue.edu/department/arge/facilities-and-research/research-facilities.html
Citation:
“Student Enrollment, Fall 2023,” Undergraduate Admissions, Purdue University, Accessed June 20, 2024. https://admissions.purdue.edu/academics/enrollment.php

Found in 10 Collections and/or Records:

John Cleland papers

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSA 393
Scope and Contents The John Cleland papers include materials on the Purdue University College of Agriculture and dairy making in Indiana, with a focus on the Purdue University Creamery. Materials include pre-publication manuscripts written by Cleland, Purdue Swiss-type cheese recipes, and artifacts related to the Purdue University Creamery, including: cheese and butter wrapper labels; a glass milk bottle and paper bottle caps; and a cottage cheese container.Also included are a can of Purdue Hybrid...
Dates: 1908 - 2017; Majority of material found within circa 1930s - 1960s

Collection of Agricultural publications

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: UA 20
Scope and Contents This collection consists of agricultural publications collected by the Purdue University College of Agriculture. Most publications are either published by the College of Agriculture, or contributed to by College of Agriculture staff. The subjects of the publications are primarily on agricultural studies, practices, and history at Purdue, as well as in Indiana more generally. Types of materials present in the collection include booklets, reports, magazines, newsletters, pamphlets, and...
Dates: 1883 - 2017

College of Agriculture, Administration of the College of Agriculture records

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: UA 44
Scope and Contents

The College of Agriculture, Administration of the College of Agriculture, Records (1869-2009; 124.95 cubic feet) consists of administrative books, correspondence, financial records, faculty minutes, reports, and other materials relating to the administration of Purdue University’s School of Agriculture.

Dates: 1869-2009; Other: Date acquired: 03/08/2008

College of Agriculture, Agricultural Fraternities, Societies, and Associations records

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: UA 25
Scope and Contents The College of Agriculture, Agricultural Fraternities, Societies, and Associations records contain material from agricultural organizations associated with Purdue University’s College of Agriculture. A large portion of the collection consists of materials related to the Delta Chapter of the Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity. Other organizations whose material appear in the collection include but are not limited to the Purdue Agricultural Society, the State Poultry Association of Indiana, and the...
Dates: circa 1880s - 2000

College of Agriculture, Department of Botany & Plant Pathology, records

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: UA 21
Scope and Contents

The College of Agriculture, Department of Botany & Plant Pathology Records (1918-1984; 1.4 cubic feet) consists of correspondence (1937-1950), applicant materials (1910s-1930s), two reports for the academic years 1981/82 and 1983/84, and other materials.

Dates: 1918-1984

College of Agriculture Department of Entomology records

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: UA 23
Scope and Contents

The College of Agriculture Department of Entomology records (1931-1993) consists of correspondence (1940-1949), Experiment Station Reports (1931-1945), and other materials (circa 1930s-1990s) documenting the history, administration, and activities of the entomology program at Purdue University.

Dates: 1931-1993

Allan Goecker collection of Purdue University College of Agriculture Academic Programs History

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSF 557
Content Description

Documents the students, degree requirements, degree recipients, faculty, academic courses, Winter courses, and general history of the Purdue University College of Agriculture form its formation at the creation of the university through its first 150 years. Also includes research photographs taken by Allan Goecker.

Dates: 2017 - 2020

Howard W. Gregory papers

 Collection — Box 1
Identifier: MSF 153
Scope and Contents The Howard W. Gregory papers contain documents pertaining to Gregory's work at Purdue University as head of the Purdue Dairy Department. The collection includes records of Purdue Dairy Extension, dairy production and processing reports, information on teaching and research, and professional writings and speeches. This collection may be useful to researchers interested in advances in dairy science, the development of dairy processes, procedures, and industry in the first half of the 20th...
Dates: 1922 - 1960

Hepburn and Sears papers

 Collection — Box 1
Identifier: MSF 503
Scope and Contents This collection contains information compiled by William Hepburn and Louis Martin Sears for an unpublished book on the history of Purdue's academic departments: Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, the Engineering Experiment Station, Engineering Extension Service, Agriculture, Indiana Experiment Station, Agricultural Extension, Pharmacy, Home Economics, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Education, English, History and Economics, Modern...
Dates: 1922 - 1928

Samuel N. Postlethwait papers

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSF 516
Abstract

Articles, artifacts, audio cassette, historical documents, instruction system design handbooks, manuals, papers, photographs, publications, teaching aids and devices, and teaching methods handbooks, which document the pioneering audio tutorial system of instruction of Professor Samuel N. Postlethwait during the 1960s and early 1970s.

Dates: 1965 - 1981