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Nicholas School of the Environment records, 1916-ongoing

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Restrictions:
In accordance with the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 as amended, Duke University permits students to inspect their education records and limits the disclosure of personally...

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Summary

Creator:
Nicholas School of the Environment (Duke University)
Abstract:
Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment traces its beginnings to the founding of the Duke School of Forestry in 1938. In the 1990s two other entities, the Duke Marine Laboratory and the Duke Department of Geology, were combined with Forestry to form the Nicholas School. The Records of Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment, 1916-ongoing, contain materials created from the school's inception as the Duke School of Forestry (1938) through all its subsequent names: the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, the School of the Environment, and the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences. The collection also includes material about the history of Duke Forest and its use as a teaching and research facility. The earliest materials comprise the papers of Clarence F. Korstian, first director of the Forest and first dean of the School, including his correspondence, early reports about the Forest and the School, and his involvement in the Ecological Society of America, the North Carolina Forestry Association, and the International Union of Forest Research Organizations. The bulk of the collection consists of the School's general administrative records, including annual reports, admissions records, enrollment statistics, information on degrees granted, faculty history and meetings, and surveys and meetings of the School's alumni. Visual materials include posters, color and black-and-white photographs, negatives, slides, and digital photographs that document the School of Forestry and the Duke Marine Laboratory.
Extent:
41.25 Linear Feet
32.2 Gigabytes
Language:
Material in English
Collection ID:
UA.18.01.0001
University Archives Record Group:
18 -- Nicholas School of the Environment
01 -- Nicholas School of the Environment

Background

Scope and Content:

The Records of Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment contain materials created during the school's entire history, from its founding as the Duke School of Forestry, in 1938, through all its subsequent names: the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, the School of the Environment, and the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences. The collection also includes materials about the closely-related Duke Forest, especially its history and the School's management and use of it as a teaching and research facility. The earliest materials here comprise the papers of Clarence F. Korstian, first director of the Forest and first dean of the School; his files include his personal correspondence, early reports about the Forest and the School, and material about several professional organizations, particularly the Ecological Society of America, the North Carolina Forestry Association, and the International Union of Forest Research Organizations. Following Korstian's papers, the bulk of the collection consists of the School's general administrative records, including all the following: annual reports, admissions records, enrollment statistics, and information on degrees granted; faculty history, curricula, and meetings; and extensive data on the School's alumni, especially alumni surveys and newsletters and meetings of the Alumni Association. The administrative records are supplemented by extensive visual materials; these contain a small selection of posters and other promotional materials about the School, but primarily consist of approximately 5000 color and black-and-white photographs, negatives, slides, and digital photographs that document a wide variety of faculty and student history and activities at both the School of Forestry and the Duke Marine Laboratory. Arranged in order by accession number, with several small, related accessions merged into single series.

Biographical / Historical:

Forestry studies at Duke University can be traced to 1931, when several of the nearby small farms and forestlands the university had been purchasing since the mid-1920s were formally named as Duke Forest. When the School of Forestry was established in 1938, it was the first graduate school in its field in the South. A chronology of its history follows below.

Chronology
Date Event
1930 Clarence F. Korstian appointed as first Director of Duke Forest
1931 Duke Forest formally named
1932 First classes in forestry taught at Duke University
1938 School of Forestry founded, with Korstian appointed as Dean
1970s Curriculum expanded to include broader range of ecological sciences
1974 Renamed School of Forestry and Environmental Studies
1991 Merged with the Duke Marine Laboratory (founded 1938) and renamed School of the Environment
1995 Renamed Nicholas School of the Environment following upon gift of Peter and Virginia Nicholas
1997 Division of Earth and Ocean Sciences created when the former Department of Geology (founded 1936) joins school
2000 School re-named Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences
2008-2009 Name reverted to Nicholas School of the Environment
Acquisition Information:
The Nicholas School of the Environment Records were received by the University Archives as a transfer, 1974-2019.
Processing information:

Processed by Michael Shumate, Stephanie Chao, and Julia Eads, January 2013, Matt Schaefer, April 2014

Encoded by Michael Shumate, January 2013

Updated by Kimberly Sims, May 2014

All accessions from 1974-2014 were merged into one collection, described in this finding aid.

Collection level access notes updated by Tracy M. Jackson, January 2019.

Updated with accessions UA2018.0045 and UA2018.0076 by [Matthew] Farrell, November 2019.

Rules or Conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

Using These Materials

RESTRICTIONS:

In accordance with the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 as amended, Duke University permits students to inspect their education records and limits the disclosure of personally identifiable information from education records.

Records, such as search committee files or others pertaining to employment where individuals are identified, are closed for 70 years.

Portions of these materials are restricted by donor request.

For a period of twenty-five years from the origin of the material, permission in writing from the office of origin and the University Archivist is required for use of administrative records. After twenty-five years, records that have been processed may be consulted with the permission of the University Archivist.

Access copies of electronic records must be requested through the collection guide and accessed in our reading room. Contact Research Services with questions.

USE & PERMISSIONS:

Copyright for Official University records is held by Duke University; all other copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

BEFORE YOU VISIT:
Please consult our up-to-date information for visitors page, as our services and guidelines periodically change.
PREFERRED CITATION:

[Identification of item], Nicholas School of the Environment Records, Duke University Archives, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.

PERMALINK:
https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m1wh8j
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Collection

Nicholas School of the Environment records, 1916-ongoing
Request
Collection ID UA.18.01.0001
EAD ID uansoe
ARK ark:/87924/m1wh8j
Catalog record
Total components 531
Permalink
https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m1wh8j
Last indexed 2023-02-15

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