Libraries
Identity elements
Reference code
Level of description
Title
Date(s)
- 1896-1980 (Creation)
Extent
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.
Name of creator
Administrative history
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.
Content and structure elements
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.
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
Physical access
Technical access
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
Generated finding aid
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
The following records were transferred to the University Archives by the Department of Entomology in November of 2003.
The collection was assigned the accession number U2003.34.
In 2018 Hale Library had a fire. K-State's archival material including this collection were moved and rehoused during this time. Original order may have been disrupted.
Immediate source of acquisition
Acqusition Method: Donation
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Company advertisements, lab equipment descriptions and manuals, farm operating manuals and USDA project abstracts/objectives were appraised by Processing Archivist Helena Egbert and University Archivist Veronica Denison as not having research value and removed. Publications have been removed and can be found in other library collections. February 2022.
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Related descriptions
General note
Disaster Recovery 2023 note: see accession record for further details.
Specialized notes
- Citation: Department of Entomology Papers, Box [number], Folder [number or title], Morse Department of Special Collections, Kansas State University Libraries.
Alternative identifier(s)
Description control element
Rules or conventions
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Sources used
Archivist's note
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.