Records of the College of Arts & Sciences
Record Group
Identifier: RG-012
Scope and Contents
The records of the College of Arts and Sciences document the college curriculum and departmental changes from 1962 when the college assumed a liberal arts program. It dates 1910-2024, bulk 1966-1980 and 2004-2019. They include minutes, newsletters, correspondence, reports, budgets, and administrative papers. The records are arranged in 27 series. Series include Series 1 (College of Arts and Sciences), Series 2 (School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences), Series 3 (School of Behavioral and Social Sciences), Series 4 (School of Arts and Sciences), Series 5 (School of Arts and Humanities), Series 6 (Liberal Arts and Sciences), Series 7 (English), Series 8 (Geography/Earth Science), Series 9 (Communication/Journalism), Series 10 (Art & Design), Series 11 (Physics), Series 12 (Mathematics), Series 13 (Psychology), Series 14 (Fashion Archives), Series 15 (Chemistry), Series 16 (History), Series 17 (Modern Languages), Series 18 (Physics), Series 19 (Speech & Theatre Arts), Series 20 (International Studies), Series 21 (Political Science), Series 22 (Sociology/Anthropology), Series 23 (Science), Series 24 (Biology), Series 25 (Social Welfare), Series 26 (Social Sciences), and Series 27 (Miscellaneous Departments). The series in this record group are not listed in any particular order except the various divisions are listed before the individual departments. The contents of each series are arranged alphabetically.
Dates
- 1910-2024, bulk 1966-1980, 2004-2019
Conditions Governing Use
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from Shippensburg University Archives & Special Collections. Contact the archivist for more information.
Biographical / Historical
The College of Arts and Sciences was created for the 1983/84 academic year. Prior to this, the college curriculum went through a variety of division changes that started in 1962. The various division histories are explained in their respective series descriptions. Between 1962 and 1983 various academic departments were moved around within divisions. The academic departments in the College of Arts and Sciences went through multiple changes over the years as curriculum requirements changed. Some began as only courses, some were purged, others became majors while others morphed into new departments, and some remained the same. Originally, courses were offered to educate teachers. That basic education changed to include Teacher Education, Secondary Education, Business Education, and then Library Science was added a few years later. This organization lasted until the Liberal Arts program started in the 1963-1964 academic year after the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania passed legislation to include a liberal arts program in academic curriculum. The Arts and Sciences division contained three major programs: Humanities, Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences. This was in addition to the Teacher Education, Business Education, Elementary Education, and Library Science Education curriculums.
Benjamin Nispel was director of Liberal Arts in 1963 and was considered a college administrator. He became the Dean of the School of Behavior and Social Sciences and then the Dean for the College of Arts and Sciences. His files contain a mixture of documents from all of these positions. Series 4, Box 1, Folder 3 contains information about the beginning of new academic departments.
The departments that survived the academic and curriculum changes were placed under the division of the College of Arts and Sciences. Some academic departments have been completely removed from the curriculum over the years, while parts of others were added to new or existing departments. These changes are noted in the individual series description. The series description for each academic department explains in detail the administrative history of each individual department. There could be some discrepancies because the early records were not always explicitly clear and curriculum changes occurred frequently until the College of Arts and Sciences was established in 1983. There were changes to department names that were never used in department documents, which adds to the confusion of their historical backgrounds. All patrons would be encouraged to do the research before assuming that all the information in the series descriptions is thorough.
Benjamin Nispel was director of Liberal Arts in 1963 and was considered a college administrator. He became the Dean of the School of Behavior and Social Sciences and then the Dean for the College of Arts and Sciences. His files contain a mixture of documents from all of these positions. Series 4, Box 1, Folder 3 contains information about the beginning of new academic departments.
The departments that survived the academic and curriculum changes were placed under the division of the College of Arts and Sciences. Some academic departments have been completely removed from the curriculum over the years, while parts of others were added to new or existing departments. These changes are noted in the individual series description. The series description for each academic department explains in detail the administrative history of each individual department. There could be some discrepancies because the early records were not always explicitly clear and curriculum changes occurred frequently until the College of Arts and Sciences was established in 1983. There were changes to department names that were never used in department documents, which adds to the confusion of their historical backgrounds. All patrons would be encouraged to do the research before assuming that all the information in the series descriptions is thorough.
Extent
16.48 Linear Feet (55 archives boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Custodial History
This record group was received by Archives & Special Collections as a records transfer.
Accruals
Further accruals are expected.
- Title
- Records of the College of Arts & Sciences
- Status
- In Progress
- Author
- Melanie Reed
- Date
- December 2023
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Shippensburg University Archives & Special Collections Repository
Contact:
Ezra Lehman Memorial Library room 207
Shippensburg University of PA
1871 Old Main Drive
Shippensburg PA 17257
717-477-1123 x3357
specialcollections@ship.edu
Ezra Lehman Memorial Library room 207
Shippensburg University of PA
1871 Old Main Drive
Shippensburg PA 17257
717-477-1123 x3357
specialcollections@ship.edu