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Stanford University, Women's Physical Education Department, Records
SC0144  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • 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.