Immediate Source of Acquisition note
Information about Access
Ownership & Copyright
Cite As
Description of the Collection
Scope and Contents
Biographical / Historical
Arrangement
Contributing Institution:
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Title: Stanford University, Women's Physical Education Department, records
Identifier/Call Number: SC0144
Physical Description:
31.75 Linear Feet
(38 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1928-1982
Summary: Records of the
department include staff meeting minutes, newsletters, correspondence, materials relating to
medical research projects of the faculty, and records of the operation of the Women's
Student Health Service. Also includes course materials, correspondence, reports, memoranda,
photographs, and miscellaneous materials pertaining to the department and photographs and
records of two dance clubs - the Stanford Hoedowners and the Stanford Folk Dancers. Of note
are completed survey forms on the recreational needs of women college students, 1948, from
Mills College, Stanford, University of New Mexico, and University of Wyoming, with related
correspondence and notes.
Physical Location: Special Collections and University
Archives materials are stored offsite and must be paged 36-48 hours in advance. For more
information on paging collections, see the department's website:
http://library.stanford.edu/depts/spc/spc.html.
Language of Material: The material is in
English.
Immediate Source of Acquisition note
Administrative transfers, Department of Athletics, Physical Education and Recreation, 1975,
1982; gift, Luell Guthrie, 1982.
Information about Access
This collection is open for research.
Ownership & Copyright
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must
be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford
University Libraries, Stanford, California 94304-6064. Consent is given on behalf of Special
Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply
permission from the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright
owner, heir(s) or assigns. See:
http://library.stanford.edu/depts/spc/pubserv/permissions.html.
Restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of
digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.
Cite As
Stanford University, Women's Physical Education Department, Records (SC0144). Department of
Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford,
Calif.
Description of the Collection
Records of the department include staff meeting minutes, newsletters, correspondence,
materials relating to medical research projects of the faculty, and records of the operation
of the Women's Student Health Service. Also includes course materials, correspondence,
reports, memoranda, photographs, and miscellaneous materials pertaining to the department
and photographs and records of two dance clubs - the Stanford Hoedowners and the Stanford
Folk Dancers. Of note are completed survey forms on the recreational needs of women college
students, 1948, from Mills College, Stanford, University of New Mexico, and University of
Wyoming, with related correspondence and notes.
Scope and Contents
EXPLANATIONS OF CERTAIN FOLDER TITLES
The folder titles in the general files are occasionally misleading. An explanation of the
types of materials filed under particular headings follows:
"Daily Reports" "Daily Summary Reports" Contents include 'statistics on who used the Health
Service and why. "Rest Home Reports"
"Examinations" "Houses -- Examinations and Contents include lists of students and schedules
of physical examinations. Recommendations" "Orthopedics" "Sororities"
"Health Reports" Contents include records of student hospitilazations, testing of milk and
water samples, reports on communicable diseases, state-wide polio statistics.
"Rest Assignment Reports" [Students unable to participate in Physical Education classes
were assigned to "Rest."] Contents include reports on who was assigned rest, and why.
"University Health Service" Contents include reports on water and milk sample testing,
examinations of food handlers, etc.
"Width-Height Tables" Contents include correspondence regarding a publication by the
medical director on correlation of stature and weight.
DEFINITIONS OF ABBREVIATIONS USED
ASHA American Student Health Association
NAAF National Amateur Athletic Federation
WAA Women's Athletic Association
Biographical / Historical
ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION FOR WOMEN AT STANFORD 1891-1975
Stanford University had a department of "Physical Training and Personal Hygiene" with
facilities for both men and women when it opened in 1891. In 1928-29, the first year
represented in this collection, the School of Hygiene and Physical Education was divided
into four areas: Informational Hygiene; Physcical Education, including athletics; Student
Health Service; University Health Service. The Men's and Women's Student Health Services
administered annual examinations for all students, provided a referral service for students
who were ill, and, with the help of a mother's group, provided a Rest Home for mildly ill
students. The University Health Service examined food handlers in the University food
services, analyzed samples of the university water and milk supply, etc.
In 1929-30 the new Roble gymnasium for women was constructed. The functions and positions
of Medical Advisor of Women and Director of Physical Education for Women were combined under
one unified Department of Hygiene and Physical Education for Women. The director and her
assistants examined each student annually. Based on the resulting report, a physical fitness
program appropriate to the health of each student was prescribed. Women who missed Physical
Education classes, or who were performing inadequately in their academic work, were required
to report to the director. The women's department offered courses in gymnastics ("for the
correction of physcial defects"), marching ("to develop subjective controls"), dancing,
swimming, archery, basketball, field hockey, tennis, track and field.
In 1930-31 women were offered a teaching minor, and some of the theory courses in Anatomy
and Men's Physical Education opened enrollment to women students. In 1936-37 a joint degree
program with the School of Education was established, with specialization in dance,
physiotherapy, hygiene, or general sports. The following year a professional program
offering the Ph.D. and Masters degrees was established.
Throughout the 1930's the faculty of the Department of Hygiene and Physical Education for
Women was involved in research studies in anatomy and physiology. In 1939-40 a division of
Physical Therapy was added to the department, offering both a Master of Arts, and a Ph.D.
minor.
In 1940 the department's name was changed to the School of Health. 1942-43 brought the
addition of a division of Nutrition and Dietetics, a nursery school program, and a special
program on the treatmetit of poliomyelitis in the division of Physical Therapy.
The School of Health was dissolved in 1945-46. The physical education requirement for
undergraduates was reduced from four years to two years.
The Men's and Women's Student Health Services were combined and located in one wing of the
Roble Gymnasium, with the Palo Alto Medical Clinic assuming administrative responsibilities.
The program in Nutrition and Dietetics was dropped. Physical Therapy became a fully separate
department, operating in conjunction with the division of Physical Therapy of the Stanford
Hospital. The Health Education courses, professional degrees programs, and their faculty
were transferred to the School of Education. Degree programs leading to a Bachelor of Arts,
a secondary teaching credential, and/or advanced degrees continued to be available to women
until 1963. Thereafter, the education courses were open only to male students.
Following the departmental rearrangement in the mid-'40s only physical activity courses and
extra-curricular activities remained under the administration of the new Women's Physical
Education Department. The administrative organization of the department remained essentially
unchanged until its merger in 1975 with the Department of Physical Education for Men to form
the Department of Athletics, Physical Education, and Recreation.
Arrangement
The materials are arranged by accession.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Sports for women.
Photoprints.
Reprints.
Physical education for women.