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PC 143
College of Engineering and Architecture
Photographs, 1956-2000

This collection was donated to the Washington State University (WSU) Libraries' Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections (MASC) on January 18th, 2011 by Tina Hilding of WSU's College of Engineering and Architecture. It was accessioned as UPC2011-01 . The collection was processed by University Archivist Mark O'English from January to March, 2011. The collection was received in a sequence of large three-ring binders which were discarded during processing.

ORGANIZATIONAL HISTORY

The departments which became the College of Engineering and Architecture at Washington State University were in place when the school opened in 1892, with the first graduates in 1897. In 1946, a reorganization established the Washington State Insitute of Technology as the entity which included the academic departments as the College of Engineering, the School of Mines, the Division of Industrial Research and the Division of Industrial Service. The Instutute was again reorganized in July 1966 into a College of Engineering with academic departments, a Research Division and a Technical Extension Service. In 1984, it was redefined as the College of Engineering and Architecture.

ARRANGEMENT AND DESCRIPTION

The photographs in this collection are separated into eleven separate series, the majority of which are fields of study within the College. A few are not - Extension is the College's statewide outreach program, and the final three series are all general topics within the college. The series are placed in alphabetical order (excepting the final three more general series). Within each series the materials are separated by formats, with photographic prints and negatives foldered together, and slides foldered separately after them. Within each of those format types, items are ordered chronologically. There are a few subject specific folders in the set, and those are generally placed at the end of the appropriate series or subseries.

The majority of the prints and negatives are contact sheets or strips mounted on paper; these frequently have notes from the College identifying them and have thus been retained exactly as they came to MASC.

The images document the programs, research, and day-to-day life of the faculty, students, and staff of the College of Engineering and Architecture. Though a small number of items predate 1965, the bulk of the collection covers the late 1960s through the early 1990s. Many of the photographs found in Quest and other Engineering and Architecture publications can be found within this collection.

The College of Engineering and Architecture used a FileMaker Pro database to store information on these photographs, at least through the end of the 1980s. As MASC lacks the ability to access FileMaker Pro files, an archival copy of this is held in MASC's digital archives, and an Excel version has been stored there as well. It is suggested that people looking for specific names conduct keyword searches in that, find the appropriate subject area and dates in the spreadsheet, and then browse the collection. That title database, in Excel format, is available online.

RELATED MATERIALS

Non-photographic documents received with this collection were separated out and processed as Archives 304.

MASC holds a few other sets of photographs from the College of Engineering and Architecture. PC 144 consists of over 4,000 photographs from 1964-1987. UA1990-37 (as of yet unprocessed) consists of a scrapbook and a small box of loose photographs. MASC also holds a 1926 College of Engineering scrapbook as PC 94.

CONSERVATION NOTE

Due to the sheer volume of this collection, slides have been retained in the sheets/mounts in which they came from the College. The plastic in many of these is beginning to degrade, and is slightly sticky. When money and time are available, the slides in this collection need to be moved to archival holders.

ACCESS

This collection is open and available for research use. Copyright restrictions may apply.

PREFERRED CITATION

The suggested citation for the collection is:

[Item Description]
College of Engineering and Architecture Photographs, 1956-2000 (PC 143)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections
Washington State University Libraries
Pullman, WA