Open House for Girls, To 1973

The additions to the records of the Department of Mathematics, comprising twenty-six boxes, are arranged in five main subseries: administrative correspondence, administrative subject files, departmental staffing records, student records, and curricular records. The bulk of the files date from the mid-1950s through the mid-1970s although there is material dating back as far as 1936 and some from as recent as 1979. Most of the records document the term of Ralph P. Boas, Jr. as department chairman.

The administrative correspondence, which spans the period 1961 to 1974, fills two boxes. Departmental chairman's correspondence dates between 1962 and 1968 and is arranged in folders chronologically. These files consist largely of routine administrative correspondence to and from the department chairman including responses to inquiries concerning the department's graduate program. Also included are letters of recommendation for faculty and department graduates as well as correspondence concerning submissions to the Journal of Mathematical Analysis and Applications. General administrative correspondence, dating from 1966 to 1974, is mainly routine and for the most part authored by numerous individuals within the department: the chair, the department secretary, and faculty members. This correspondence is also arranged in folders chronologically. Four folders of correspondence with Northwestern University deans Harold Gotaas, Hanna Gray, Simeon Leland, and Moody Prior, complete the administrative correspondence.

The administrative subject files, comprising nine boxes and Spanning the years 1947 to 1979, are arranged alphabetically by folder headings. These files largely document departmental colloquia; departmental meetings, business and committee work; departmental involvement with the American Mathematical Society; and National Science Foundation proposals. Following this alphabetical arrangement are records relating to the department's course offerings and participation in Northwestern University's Evening Division and Summer Session. These records are arranged in chronological order and include correspondence, class schedules, grade sheets, instructor appointment and salary information, and related materials.

The departmental staffing files, filling about one and one-half boxes and spanning the years 1961 to 1969, consist of applications, resumes, correspondence and related documentation concerning proposed faculty appointments. The files are arranged chronologically at the folder level and then alphabetically by candidate's or faculty member's surname within each folder.

The student records, arranged in two and one-half boxes, consist of applications for graduate study (1969-1975), materials pertaining to master's degree candidates (1949-1967), and lists of undergraduate mathematics majors (1959-1974).

The curricular records form the bulk of the additions, thirteen boxes, with materials dating between 1945 and 1976. These records are organized into the following categories: general program and course records, textbooks, course listings, course records, and examinations.

General program and course records include documentation on programs offered by the department including: the advanced placement program, undergraduate studies, the four-year master's program, and the graduate program. There are also folders concerning specific department courses, particularly calculus.

The textbook files date between 1945 and 1973 and include textbook requests, correspondence with publishers, and final textbook lists for departmental course offerings.

Course listing files spanning the years 1957 to 1975, consist of proposals for and drafts, copies, and corrections of listings in the University Bulletin (until 1966) and both the undergraduate and graduate Catalogs (1967-1975).

The course records files, comprising about seven and one-half boxes and spanning the periods 1951-1962 and 1967-1976, include class rosters, schedules, and teaching assignment lists relating to departmental courses. From 1967-1968 on, there are also separate folders of grade records for departmental courses, and from 1969-1970 on, there are folders with rosters of students allowed to take make-up examinations. Occasional copies of make-up examinations may also be found in these files. Course records are arranged chronologically by academic quarter.

The examinations records close out the series and date between 1945 and 1975. These records include four categories of examinations: finals, master's, placement and doctoral preliminary examinations. The final examinations represent a fairly complete set of department exams from 1945 through 1973. They are arranged sequentially according to course number. Master's exams date from 1961 to 1964 and 1971; a few completed examinations from 1971 are included. Placement exams include materials pertaining to both departmental and College Entrance Examination Board advanced placement examinations for the periods 1956-1966 and 1972-1974. Finally, doctoral preliminary examinations date between 1968 and 1975 and are arranged by topical content and by course numbers. Included are examinations, graded results, and related materials.