Collection ID: 6947663 UA#0020

Collection context

Summary

Creator:
Columbia University. College of Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy of the City of New York, and Columbia University. College of Pharmacy
Abstract:
The collection contains correspondence, ephemera, and meeting minutes. The collection is not a comprehensive record of the College of Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Extent:
1.63 linear feet and 1 record carton 1 legal document box 1 legal half document box
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); College of Pharmaceutical Sciences Records; Box and Folder; University Archives, Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Columbia University in the City of New York.

Background

Scope and Content:

The collection contains correspondence, ephemera, and meeting minutes. The collection is not a comprehensive record of the College of Pharmaceutical Sciences. For more complete records of the College, see the collection at the State Historical Society of Wisconsin in Madison.

The correspondence contained within is from the Office of the Provost, William H. Carpenter, and the College of Pharmacy's Office of Development from the 1950s. Provost Carpenter's correspondence dates from 1912 to 1930 focusing on his dealings with the College of Pharmacy. Correspondence in the 1910s discusses admission and degree requirements of College of Pharmacy students and the controversy regarding the College of Physicians and Surgeons choosing not to accept students from College of Pharmacy since they do not seem to have proper "scientific preparation…for work in Medicine." (Nicholas Murray Butler to William H. Carpenter, January 4, 1915) Correspondence relates to the various other administrative topics including the institution of a three-year course and the qualifications and job titles of Pharmacy faculty members. Correspondents other than Carpenter and Nicholas Murray Butler include H.V. Arny, Professor of Chemistry in the College of Pharmacy, and Henry Hurd Rusby, Dean of the College. There is significant correspondence regarding the Isaac Plaut Fellowship in Pharmacy in the 1920s as well as correspondence relating to the formulation of the Statutes of the College.

Correspondence of the Office of Development covers the terms of Joseph Mandell and Richard S. Henry as directors of the office. Much of the correspondence pertains to development issues in the early to mid-1950s including correspondence on the development survey of 1951. For further information on the survey see folders on the analysis, planning, and responses filed under "Survey."

Meeting minutes comprise the bulk of the collection. The minutes included are of the Faculty meetings and Board of Trustees meetings for the College of Pharmacy. The minutes appear to be incomplete.

Ephemera constitute the remainder of the collection. The folder of Hilon H. Sawyer's (Class of 1879) ephemera contains material on the College of Pharmacy from the 19th century as well as some material on the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Alpha Beta Gamma Organization of the Class of 1879 and Alumni Association of the College of Pharmacy. This material was donated in 1954 by his wife, Mary B. Sawyer. The folder of "General Information" contains Reports of the Dean of the College of Pharmacy from 1946, 1947, and 1950 among other items of an historical nature.

Biographical / Historical:

The College of Pharmaceutical Sciences was founded in 1829 as the College of Pharmacy of the City of New York and affiliated with Columbia College in 1904 (later renamed Columbia University). The first graduating class of 1831, contained three students. Lectures were originally given at various locations around New York City including at Columbia College. The College of Pharmacy did not have its own facilities until 1894, when it opened a building at West 68th Street, where it remained until it closed in 1976 despite attempts at relocating. In 1901, the Office of the Dean was established with Henry Hurd Rusby as the first dean. As an affiliated institution of Columbia, the College of Pharmacy had both financial and administrative autonomy.

The College of Pharmacy originally maintained an undergraduate two-year course. After much debate, the College adopted the five-year undergraduate program in 1937. In addition to the undergraduate curriculum, there was a graduate program for the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharD) and a Master of Science (M.S.) in Pharmacy. In 1951, the College's Office of Development conducted a survey to determine possibilities for funding. Commissioned by Myron Walker (chair of Board of Trustees), the survey was intended to study "what possibilities this institution possesses for fund-raising and to prepare a plan indicating how best the College may proceed to take advantage of these possibilities." (Box 3/Folder 4 "Survey, Analysis and Questionnaires") In 1962 and 1963, it began a campaign to build a new facility at 122nd Street. However, due to protests by tenants in the area, the building was never realized. As a result of increasing debt and lack of proper facilities, the College lost its accreditation in 1974 and graduated its last class in 1976. The College officially closed in 1976.

Processing information:

Collection processed and finding aid completed by Abby Lester, September, 2003. Finding aid reformatted by Haruna Otsuka (BC 2012).

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by folder title.

Accruals:

No additions are expected

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access

RESTRICTIONS:

There are no restrictions on this collection.

This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.

TERMS OF ACCESS:

Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

PREFERRED CITATION:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); College of Pharmaceutical Sciences Records; Box and Folder; University Archives, Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Columbia University in the City of New York.

LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
6th Floor East Butler Library
535 West 114th St.
New York, NY 10027, United States
CONTACT:
(212) 854-5590
rbml@library.columbia.edu