This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
Size | 2 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 1100 items) |
Abstract | Courses in botany were taught as early as 1880, but not until 1902 was the first professor of botany hired. Thereafter Botany became a separate department and remained so until 1982, when it merged with the Department of Zoology to form the Department of Biology. The North Carolina Botanical Garden was an administrative unit of the Department of Botany from its establishment in 1952 until 1982, when it became a separate unit. Records consist mainly of correspondence and memoranda of the department chairmen and annual reports from the department. Of special interest are letters relating to the National Science Foundation Summer Institutes for Science Teachers; files on the North Carolina Botanical Garden, 1952-1967; and files relating to the merger of the departments of Botany and Zoology, 1981-1983. |
Creator | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dept. of Botany. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. University Archives. |
Language | English. |
Processed: August 1992, January 2008, March 2017; Jennifer Coggins and Gergana Abernathy, February 2016 and July 2017
Encoded by: Lynn Holdzkom, March 2002
Updated by: Nancy Kaiser, February 2021
Back to TopThe following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
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While instruction in botany at the university can be traced to the 1880s, it was not until 1902 that, William C. Coker was hired as the first Professor of Botany. Shortly thereafter, Botany emerged as an independent department. Under Coker's leadership the botanical program expanded and developed into one of worldwide reputation. During the 1950s and 1960s, declining enrollments and increasing emphasis on biological sciences caused repeated attacks on the department's existence as a separate entity. In the early 1980s such attacks led to the appointment of a special committee to investigate the feasibility of combining the Departments of Botany and Zoology. The committee's recommendation that such a merger be made was approved, and on 1 July 1982 the botanical program was absorbed into the new Department of Biology.
Back to TopThe records of the Department of Botany consist mainly of the administrative correspondence and memoranda of the chairman and annual reports of the department. Of special note are letters relating to the National Science Foundation Summer Institutes for Science Teachers and the separate files concerning the North Carolina Botanical Garden and the establishment of the Department of Biology.
Back to TopThe records of the Department of Botany consist mainly of the administrative correspondence and memoranda of the chairman and annual reports of the department. Of special note are letters relating to the National Science Foundation Summer Institutes for Science Teachers and the separate files concerning the North Carolina Botanical Garden and the establishment of the Department of Biology.