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Inventory of the Claude B. Hutchison Papers
D-105
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Creator:
Hutchison, C. B. (Claude Burton), b. 1885.
Title: Claude B. Hutchison Papers
Date (inclusive): 1905-1975
Extent:
8.4 linear feet
Abstract: The Claude B. Hutchison Papers contains both personal papers and materials related to his work with the International Education
Board, University of California, as Mayor of Berkeley, and other academic institutions. The collection also contains material
from a 1946 Agricultural Mission to China and his work with The China Foundation for the Promotion of Education and Culture.
The collection materials date from 1905 to 1975. Claude B. Hutchison was the Dean of Agriculture at the University of California
from 1930 to 1952 and was Vice-President of the University from 1945 to 1952. In 1955, Hutchison became Mayor of Berkeley,
an office he held until 1963. The collection contains speeches and correspondence from throughout his career. He maintained
his association with the University of California and the City of Berkeley until his death in 1980.
Physical location: Researchers should contact Special Collections to request collections, as many are stored offsite.
Repository:
University of California, Davis. General Library. Department of Special Collections.
Davis, California 95616-5292
Collection number: D-105
Language of Material: Collection materials in English.
Claude B. Hutchison (1885-1980) was the Dean of Agriculture and Vice President of the University of California. He was active
throughout his career as a Professor of Agronomy and Plant Breeding and also as Director of the International Education Board
in Europe. Born in Livingston County near Chillicothe, Missouri, Hutchison attended college at the University of Missouri
in 1904, graduating in 1908 with a Bachelors of Science in Agriculture. As a student at University of Missouri Hutchison became
one of the founding members of the FarmHouse organization in 1905. Originally formed as a club by students who studied agriculture
and wished to live and work together, FarmHouse later developed into a national association. After graduating Hutchison continued
at Missouri, initially as an Instructor and Assistant Professor of Agronomy from 1908 to 1913, and then as Professor of Farm
Crops from 1913 to 1916. Hutchison took a position in 1916 as Professor of Plant Breeding at Cornell University where he taught
until 1922.
Hutchison joined the University of California in 1922 as Director of the Northern Branch of the College of Agriculture at
Davis, formerly the University Farm. He oversaw the development and improvement of the academic courses and facilities. Hutchison
left Davis in 1924 to work in Europe with the International Education Board (IEB) as the Assistant Director. The IEB, part
of the Rockefeller Foundation, both studied and promoted agriculture and forestry education in Europe. Hutchison held the
position of Assistant Director from 1924 to 1926 and Director from 1926 to 1928.
Returning to the University of California Hutchison became the first Director of the newly established Giannini Foundation
from 1928 to 1931. He became the Dean of the College of Agriculture in 1930, a position he held until 1952. During the years
of 1945 to 1952 Hutchison served as the Vice President of the University of California.
In 1946 Hutchison led the China-United States Joint Agricultural Mission to China, to assess and develop Chinese agricultural
and forestry programs. The joint delegation spent four months traveling the country studying agricultural conditions and writing
the report. Hutchison was elected to the board of trustees of the China Foundation for the Promotion of Education and Culture
in 1947 and served as their Vice Chair in 1955.
Hutchison retired from the University of California in 1952 and became the Dean of Agriculture at the University of Nevada
from 1952 to 1954. Beginning in 1955 Hutchison spent eight years, two terms, as Mayor of Berkeley. During his second term
Hutchison helped form the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG), in 1960. The first council of local governments in California,
the ABAG elected Hutchison its initial president in 1961. Retiring from public office in 1963 Hutchison was awarded the Wheeler
Medal, the City of Berkeley's highest civic award. Claude B. Hutchison died in 1980.
The Claude B. Hutchison Papers reflects Hutchison's interests, both personal and academic, in agricultural and forestry issues.
The papers in the collection come predominantly from Hutchison's work with the International Education Board (IEB) in Europe
from 1924 to 1928 and a 1946 agricultural mission to China. IEB materials are comprised of agricultural reports on European
countries, Reference Citation Cards, and correspondence. The IEB Reports are a combination of a log of staff duties and reports
on agricultural education and conditions in Europe. The IEB Reference Citation Cards are a reference system for agricultural
topics, organizations, and professionals in Europe and China. Some information on the cards corresponds to the numbered IEB
reports. The items concerning China are a record of the 1946 agricultural mission and include original documents in Chinese,
correspondence, lists of officials, limited photographs, pamphlets, invitations, ephemeral, and the final report. Further
papers focus on Hutchison's continued interest in China and his work with the China Foundation for the Promotion of Education
and Culture from 1947 through 1974. The collection also contains substantive correspondence dating from his tenure as Dean
of Agriculture at the University of Nevada from 1952 to 1954, and his 1955 to 1963 term as Mayor of Berkeley. Early materials
in the collection come from the beginning of Hutchison's academic career at University of Missouri and Cornell University
between 1909 and 1921 and include lecture notes and correspondence. Portions of Hutchison's correspondence, throughout the
collection, contain references to academic politics at the institutions he worked for including the University of California
and contains correspondence with colleagues such as Knowles Ryerson. The Claude B. Hutchison collection also includes a range
of lectures and speeches given between 1928 and 1970, along with collected agricultural reports and published pamphlets.
The collection does not contain the business papers or correspondence for his tenure as Dean of Agriculture and Vice President
of the University of California. There is limited family correspondence included in the collection but the bulk of the material
is not personal in nature. While the collection does contain correspondence from Hutchison's time as Mayor of Berkeley, with
a few exceptions, those papers do not concern city business, policy, or political opinions.
Sources:
Professional Resume for Hutchison, control file, Claude B. Hutchison Collection, D-105, Dept. of Special Collections, General
Library, University of California, Davis.
Scheuring, Ann Foley.
Abundant Harvest: The History of the University of California, Davis. [UC Davis History Project: Davis, CA 2001].
Scheuring, Ann Foley.
Science and Service: A History of the Land-Grand University and Agriculture in California. [ANR Publications, University of California: Oakland, 1995].
The Papers are arranged into nine series: 1. Early University Career, 2. International Education Board (IEB), 3. China-US
Joint Agricultural Mission, 4. China Foundation for the Promotion of Education and Culture, 5. University of Nevada Era, 6.
Mayor of Berkeley, 7. Farmhouse Organization, 8. Agricultural Reports and Published Pamphlets, and 9. Speeches.
The University of California, Berkeley holds 150 photographic prints and a collection containing correspondence, invitations,
programs, and other materials relating to Hutchison's tenure as Mayor of Berkeley.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Hutchison, C. B. (Claude Burton), b. 1885--Archives.
University of California, Davis--Faculty--Archives
University of California, Davis--History
Agriculture--California
Agriculture--China
Agricultural education--Europe
Collection is open for research.
Devyn Henry, Special Collections intern, processed the collection and created its finding aid, under the direction of the
University Archivist, John Skarstad. Henry and Sara Gunasekara, Collections Manager, encoded the finding aid.
[Identification of item], Claude B. Hutchison Papers, D-105, Department of Special Collections, General Library, University
of California, Davis.
Copyright is protected by the copyright law, chapter 17, of the U.S. Code. All requests for permission to publish or quote
from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf
of the Department of Special Collections, General Library, University of California, Davis as the owner of the physical items
and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.