Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Collection
Title
College of Veterinary Medicine records
Date(s)
- 1855 - 2014 (Creation)
Extent
63.25 cubic feet total.
Consisting of 61 Cubic Foot Boxes, 2 Flip Top Boxes (5" Letter), 1 Oversize Flat Box (16" x 20"), 2 irregular boxes (12" x 5.5" x 5" and 11.5" x 2.5" x 2.5"), and 13 Oversize Folders (1 is 30" x 24", 12 are 48" x 36").
Name of creator
Administrative history
The College of Veterinary Medicine grew out of the College of Agriculture with the increased number and value of livestock in Kansas creating a demand for veterinarians. By 1886 Kansas State University had begun offering courses in veterinary science for those in the agriculture program, but these courses were just supplements and not a degree program. But Bby 1905 the demand became enough that the Board of Regents authorized the beginning of the four-year veterinary science course and the Department of Veterinary Medicine was formed. From the beginning, the veterinary science course included students operating a daily veterinary clinic for sick or injured animals in the area. In 1908 Veterinary Hall, later Leasure Hall, was built and became the first building to house the College. When K-State was reorganized in 1909, the department was put in the Division of Agriculture.
By 1919 the program was large enough that it was separated from the Division of Agriculture and was formed into the Division of Veterinary Medicine. The Veterinary Hospital, Burt Hall, was completed in 1923. In 1932, a five-year curriculum was instated, with this being extended to a six-year curriculum in 1948. The division was renamed the School of Veterinary Medicine in 1942, and in 1963 the College of Veterinary Medicine was created after University reorganization. At that time the College occupied three large buildings, Leasure, Burt, and Dykstra Halls, spread across campus.
The College is currently housed in its own complex, which contains Coles, Trotter, and Mosier Halls. Of the present colleges of veterinary medicine nationwide, Kansas State University is one of the oldest in the United States to grant the degree of Doctor of Veterinary of Medicine.
Deans of the College –
1919 – 1948: Ralph R. Dykstra
1948 – 1964: Eldon E. Leasure
1964 – 1965: Ralph L. Kitchell
1966 – 1971: Charles E. Cornelius
1971 – 1984: Donald M. Trotter
1984 – 1987: James R. Coffman
1988 – 1994: Michael D. Lorenz
1994 – 1997: Ron J. Marler
1998 – 2015: Ralph C. Richardson
2015 – 2017: Tammy Beckham
2017 – present: Bonnie Rush
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
This collection comprises material related to the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine between 1855-2014. This collection contains administrative records from this college, including handbooks and manuals, proposals and applications, various records, reports, publications, presentation materials, records related to international programs, material pertaining to campus and its buildings, and a film catalogue which describes some of the collection’s video material. It also contains recordings and transcripts of interviews, most of which featured alumni from the College of Veterinary Medicine for the history book “A Century of Excellence: Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine” by Howard H. Erickson and Ronnie G. Elmore. Drafts of this book are also present in this collection. Moreover, this collection contains yearbooks and scrapbooks, including auxiliaries and photo albums, from the college spanning nearly a century. There are also audio and video materials related to the College of Veterinary Medicine on cassette tapes, microcassette tapes, VHS tapes, CDs, and DVDs, and film reels which record college events, interviews, teaching aids, and virtual tours of the college. This collection includes class and faculty composites for the College of Veterinary Medicine spanning the majority of the 20th century, and even features a composite from the St. Joseph Veterinary College. These composites are either photographic negatives or oversize photographs.
Other photographs that can be found in this collection depict people, including faculty, staff, students, and other notable individuals. Photos of buildings, including diagrams and photos of buildings on the Kansas State campus and the Veterinary Medicine campus, as well. There are also photos of animals, which were either pets, farm animals, or lab animals, as well as the labs performed on these animals. Additionally, photographs of college events, miscellaneous photos, and oversize photos also contribute to this collection’s material.
Lastly, this collection features photographic negatives and photographic slides which depict people, like faculty, staff, students, exchange students, and Student Chapter of the American Veterinary Medical Association members. Also pictured are labs, lab equipment, and associated animals, which were often pets, farm animals, or wildlife/exotic animals. Locations within the Manhattan area (especially within the Kansas State University campus and the College of Veterinary Medicine Complex/Campus specifically) are also an important subject to this collection. Negatives of these locations feature buildings, layouts, maps, construction, maintenance, renovations, and damage to buildings. Formal, casual, recreational, donation-based, food-based, and sporting events related to the college can be found in this collection as well. Miscellaneous photo negatives and slides make up the remainder of the undeveloped photographic material in this collection.
System of arrangement
This collection is arranged into 7 series by type of material: 1) Administrative Records; 2) Interview Transcripts and Tapes; 3) Scrapbooks and Yearbooks; 4) Video Materials, CDs, and Tapes; 5) Class Composites; 6) Photographs; 7) Photographic Negatives and Slides.
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
No access restrictions: All materials are available for research.
Physical access
Technical access
This collections contains cassette tapes, microcassette tapes, VHS tapes, CDs, DVDs, film reels, photographic negatives, and photographic slides. These materials will need special tools in order to view them properly.
Conditions governing reproduction
The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.
Languages of the material
- English
Scripts of the material
- Latin
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Immediate source of acquisition
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Related descriptions
Specialized notes
- Citation: Preferred Citation: [Item title], [item date], College of Veterinary Medicine records, Box [number], Folder [number or title], Morse Department of Special Collections, Kansas State University Libraries.
Alternative identifier(s)
Description control element
Rules or conventions
Sources used
Archivist's note
Finding Aid Author: AJ January
Processing Info: Processed and described by processing student AJ January from February to June 2023. Prior processing and description was done for previous iterations of this finding aid by Project Archivist James Smith in July 2013 and Project Archivist Assistant Grace Heidebrecht in April 2015.
Publication date: 2023-06-23.