Department of Entomology records, 1896-1980

Summary

Creator:
Department of Entomology
Physical description:
9.5 cubic feet total. Made up of: 11 boxes, consisting of: 9 cubic foot boxes, 1 five-inch document case, 1 two-and-half-inch document case.
Language:
English
Latin

Background

Scope and content:

The Entomology Department Records were generated and collected by the Entomology Department at Kansas State University and pertain to the files of faculty and extension entomologists of the department, including Roger C. Smith, E.G. Kelly, Dell E. Gates, and F.L. Poston. They document correspondence, research and course files of faculty. Significant topics covered and material includes grasshoppers, corn borers, crops, pesticides, pest management, extension work, and extension specialist correspondence. Notable contributions to insect illustrations featured include works by artist such as Bertha S. Kimball, Ethel Gray, and Robert Stribling. Approximate years covered of the records are 1896-1990.

Biographical / historical:

The Department of Entomology was officially established at K-State in 1913 with George Dean as the first department head. Previously, courses on the subject had been taught as early as 1865 by Benjamin F. Mudge. From 1877 to 1883, entomology was taught as part of Botany and Horticulture. In 1897, Horticulture and Entomology were consolidated, but in the 1894 catalog, Entomology was listed as a separate subdepartment. After being officially established, Entomology remained in Arts and Sciences until July 1, 1953, when it was transferred to Agriculture.

Administrators of Entomology include Mudge (1865-1873), J. S. Whitman (1873-1876), E. A. Popenoe (1879-1897, 1899-1907), Ernest E. Faville (1897-1898), and Thomas J. Headlee (1907-1912). Subsequent heads of Entomology were George A. Dean (1912-1943), Roger C. Smith (1943-1953), Herbert Knutson (1953-1976), Richard J. Sauer (1976-1980), Robert G. Helgesen (1980-1989), C. Michael Smith (1990- 1996), Sonny Ramaswamy (1997-2006), Jim Nechols (interim), Thomas W. Phillips (2007-2012), John Ruberson (2012-2018), and Brian McCornack (2018-present).

The department’s facilities include 22 greenhouses and laboratories that feature bioclimatic chambers and rearing rooms. Field research for the department is conducted at branch experiment stations throughout the state of Kansas. The department also maintains an award-winning Insect Zoo at the K-State gardens.

Acquisition information:
Acqusition Method: Donation
Processing information:

Processing Info: Archon processing by Edward Nagurny, graduate research assistant, February 2015. Reprocessed and Finding Aid written by Helena Egbert in February 2022. Further processed by student processing assistant Tyra McNeil in September 2024.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Note:

Disaster Recovery 2023 note: see accession record for further details.

General note:

Published

Dacs citation:

Department of Entomology Papers, Box [number], Folder [number or title], Morse Department of Special Collections, Kansas State University Libraries.

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