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University of Chicago Library

Guide to the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration Office of the Dean, Leon Carroll Marshall, Edith Abbott, and Helen R. Wright, Records 1920-1956

© 2010 University of Chicago Library

Descriptive Summary

Title:

University of Chicago. School of Social Service Administration. Office of the Dean. Leon Carroll Marshall, Edith Abbott, and Helen R. Wright. Records

Dates:

1909-1956

Dates:

bulk 1920-1956

Size:

15.5 linear feet (33 boxes)

Repository:

Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center
University of Chicago Library
1100 East 57th Street
Chicago, Illinois 60637 U.S.A.

Abstract:

The University of Chicago's School of Social Service Administration prepares students for leadership in fields of social work. As one of the university's professional schools, SSA offers graduate-level coursework leading to master's and doctoral degrees. The collection spans 1909-1956, with the bulk of material corresponding to the administrations of SSA deans Leon Carroll Marshall (1920-1924); Edith Abbott (1924-1942); and Helen R. Wright (1942-1956). Materials in the collection include publications, correspondence, financial records, proposals, reports, studies, teaching materials, statistics, and student materials.

Information on Use

Access

Series IV contains student grades and evaluations, restricted for 80 years.

The remainder of the collection is open for research, with no restrictions.

Citation

When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: University of Chicago. School of Social Service Administration. Office of the Dean. Leon Carroll Marshall, Edith Abbott, and Helen R. Wright. Records, 1920-1956, [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library

Historical Note

The University of Chicago's School of Social Service Administration prepares students for leadership in fields of social work. As one of the university's professional schools, SSA offers graduate-level coursework leading to master's and doctoral degrees.

The Graduate School of Social Service Administration was founded in 1920 when the trustees of the University accepted a proposal to carry on as a graduate professional school the work of the financially troubled Chicago School of Civics and Philanthropy, combining with it the Philanthropic division of the University's School of Commerce and Administration.

A major grant from the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial in 1926 guaranteed the school's financial security and enabled it to expand its work, beginning with the publication of a journal, Social Service Review, edited by Breckinridge, Edith Abbott, and Grace Abbott, as well as a source book series and a monograph series.

Having originated in the settlement movement, SSA especially stressed public welfare and social insurance in its curriculum. During the depression its program grew, matching the expansion of public relief services. For example, in 1934-35 a special program of downstate classes was organized in cooperation with the Illinois Emergency Relief Administration.

The administration and faculty of SSA initially resisted the trend in social work toward an emphasis on a psychiatric model in casework. Not until the arrival of Charlotte Towle in 1932 was there a faculty member expert in mainstream developments in casework theory and practice. The Curriculum Committee's Subcommittee on Social Case Work took up the development of a so-called "generic casework" curriculum.

Even as its philosophic orientation gradually changed, SSA maintained conscious continuity with the intellectual heritage of Breckinridge and the Abbotts. Nowhere is this reflected more clearly than in the choices of deans for the school. Edith Abbott's successor upon her retirement as dean in 1942 was Helen R. Wright, who had studied in the School of Civics and Philanthropy, worked as Grace Abbott's research assistant, completed her Ph.D. in economics at the University of Chicago in 1922, and joined the SSA faculty in 1928. Wright served as dean until 1956, when she was succeeded by Alton A. Linford, one of Edith Abbott's students, who had received his A.M. from SSA in 1938 and his Ph.D. in 1945, joining the faculty the same year.

Scope Note

The collection spans 1909-1956, with the bulk of material corresponding to the administrations of SSA deans Leon Carroll Marshall (1920-1924); Edith Abbott (1924-1942); and Helen R. Wright (1942-1956). Represented are SSA's administrators, faculty, students, and staff. The collection also includes communications with others in the university and in the larger social work community.

Series I: Biographical and Historical, contains publications, memorials, correspondence and notes relating to milestone events in the history of the SSA and the contributions of notable faculty, administrators and donors. Material spans 1920-1955.

Series II: Office of the Dean, 1920-1956, contains correspondence, financial records, proposals, reports, and studies generated by and for the Dean's office. Topics include funding, community projects, and the SSA's Industrial Relations Center. This series covers the administrations of Leon Carroll Marshall (1920-24), Edith Abbott (1924-42), and Helen R. Wright (1942-1956).

Series III: Faculty, Curriculum and Students, spans 1920-1956 and contains material related to SSA faculty, curriculum development, courses, and students. Materials include meeting minutes, reports, correspondence, statistics, directories, syllabi, reading lists, lecture notes, case records, student work, and course proposals.

Series IV: Restricted, contains student grades and evaluations transferred from Series IV.

Related Resources

The following related resources are located in the Department of Special Collections:

http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/spcl/select.html

Abbott, Edith and Grace. Papers

Breckinridge, Sophonisba. Papers

Chicago School of Civics and Philanthropy. Records

Perlman, Helen Harris. Papers

Towle, Charlotte. Papers

Subject Headings

INVENTORY

Series I: Biographical and Historical

This series contains publications, memorials, correspondence and notes relating to milestone events in the history of the SSA and the contributions of notable faculty, administrators and donors. Material spans 1920-1955.

Box 1   Folder 1

Abbott, Grace, 1935

Box 1   Folder 2

Abbott, Grace, and Sophonisba Breckinridge, 1939-1954

Box 1   Folder 3

Announcements and bulletins, 1920-1923

Box 2   Folder 1-3

Announcements and bulletins, 1925-1940

Box 3   Folder 1-2

Announcements and bulletins, 1940-1955

Box 3   Folder 3

Breckinridge, Sophonisba, 1928-1954

Box 3   Folder 4

"Certain Educational Issues in Connection with the Proposed Northwestern Administration," 1920

Box 3   Folder 5

"The Graduate School of Social Service Administration," 1924

Box 3   Folder 6

Index to school subject files, 1945

Box 4   Folder 1

"Pioneers and Professionals: Chicago's Contribution to Social Service," 1954

Box 4   Folder 2

"Relation of the Graduate School of Social Service Administration to a Central Service Building," circa 1920

Box 4   Folder 3

"Report to the Alumni: 21 Years of Education for Social Service," 1941

Box 4   Folder 4

Survey Midmonthly, 1946

Box 4   Folder 5

Teller, Sidney, 1909-1956

Series II: Office of the Dean

This series contains correspondence, financial records, reports, and studies generated by and for the Dean's office. It covers the administrations of Leon Carroll Marshall (1920-24), Edith Abbott (1924-42), and Helen R. Wright (1942-1956).

This series is divided into four subseries:

Subseries 1: Reports, contains formal reports. These include non-financial reports submitted to the Dean's office by external funding bodies, and reports made by the Dean's office to other institutions and bodies within the University.

Subseries 2: Financial, contains budgets and accounts. It includes correspondence between the Dean's office and funding bodies relating to fellowships and grants. Budget materials are organized chronologically, followed by fellowships and grants organized by title.

Subseries 3: Studies, contains correspondence, proposals, questionnaires, and reports related to studies and community projects undertaken by the SSA.

Subseries 4: Industrial Relations Center, contains bulletins and reports, as well as seminar materials from the SSA's program in Industrial Relations.

Subseries 1: Reports

Box 4   Folder 5

Billings Hospital Social Service, 1926-1929

Box 4   Folder 6-10

Commonwealth Fund, 1931-1941

Box 5   Folder 1-3

Commonwealth Fund, 1941-1949

Box 5   Folder 4

Crane Fund, 1930

Box 5   Folder 5-7

Dean's Report to the President, 1920-1937

Box 5   Folder 8-9

Rockefeller Foundation, 1926-1938

Box 6   Folder 1

University of Chicago, 1941-1948

Box 6   Folder 2-5

Walker Report, 1927-1940

Box 6   Folder 6

Wieboldt Foundation, 1924

Subseries 2: Financial

Box 7   Folder 1-14

Budget, 1921-1935

Box 8   Folder 1-8

Budget, 1935-1943

Box 9   Folder 1-8

Budget, 1943-1956

Box 10   Folder 1-3

Agencies and associations grants, 1946-1954

Box 10   Folder 4-17

Contributions, 1926-1940

Box 10   Folder 18

Gifts, grants, and bequests, 1949-1951

Box 11   Folder 1

Gifts, grants, and bequests, 1951-1952

Box 11   Folder 2

Central Howard Association, Drake Fellowship Fund, 1942-1946

Box 11   Folder 3

Colber-Rosenberger Scholarship, 1941-1945

Box 11   Folder 4

Commonwealth Fund, 1032-1950

Box 11   Folder 5

Council on Social Work Education Scholarships, 1953-1956

Box 11   Folder 6

Louise C. Eisendrath Scholarship, 1952-1953

Box 11   Folder 7

Emergency Welfare Fund of Chicago, 1931-1933

Box 11   Folder 8

Federal Emergency Relief Administration Scholarships, 1935

Box 11   Folder 9

George Davis Biven Foundation, 1940-1945

Box 11   Folder 10

Helen Crittenden Memorial Fund, 1925-1939

Box 12   Folder 1

James Leake Fund, 1940-1949

Box 12   Folder 2-4

Julius Rosenwald, 1926-1942

Box 12   Folder 5

Kellogg Foundation Fund for Conferences, 1941-1943

Box 12   Folder 6-9

Leila Houghteling Fund, 1928-1956

Box 12   Folder 10-12

Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, 1954-1957

Box 12   Folder 13-14

Rockefeller Foundation, 1924-1928

Box 13   Folder 1-4

Rockefeller Foundation, 1929-1942

Box 13   Folder 5-6

Rockefeller Foundation, Laura Spelman, 1925-1942

Box 13   Folder 7

Rockefeller Foundation Matching Fund, 1926-1941

Box 13   Folder 8

Samuel Deutsch Professorship, 1927-1936

Box 13   Folder 9

SSA Special Fund, 1953-1955

Box 13   Folder 10

Social Workers' Country Club Fund, 1943-1946

Box 13   Folder 11

State scholarships, 1936-1945

Box 13   Folder 12

Tuition service scholarships, 1934-1943

Box 13   Folder 13

United Charities, 1935-1954

Box 14   Folder 1-10

Unites States Public Health Service Training Grants, 1947-1956

Box 14   Folder 11

Child Welfare Committee, 1942-1944

Box 14   Folder 12

Committee on Child Placing of the Joint Service Bureau, 1933-1942

Box 14   Folder 13

Field work expenses, 1938-1943

Box 14   Folder 14

Publication accounts, 1927-1943

Box 14   Folder 15

Student lounge, 1953-1954

Box 15   Folder 1

Training course for house parents of children's institutions, 1953-1955

Subseries 3: Studies

Box 15   Folder 2

National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, medical social work, 1953

Box 15   Folder 3

Morals Court of Chicago, study, 1931

Box 15   Folder 4

Rosenheim, "A Proposed Study of Guardianship," undated

Box 15   Folder 5

Southeast Chicago Community, report, undated

Subseries 4: Industrial Relations Center

Box 15   Folder 6

Bulletins and reports, 1944-1948

Box 15   Folder 7-9

Executive seminar series, 1946-1948

Series III: Faculty, Curriculum and Students

This series contains material related to SSA faculty, curriculum development, courses, and students. It is divided into four subseries.

Subseries 1: Faculty Meetings, contains two sets of faculty meeting minutes. The first set is bound in chronological order and spans 1920-1956. The second set is unbound and spans 1920-1946

Subseries 2: Curriculum Committee, contains meeting minutes, reports, and correspondence. There is a set of meeting materials from the Curriculum Committee, spanning 1945-1956; as well as materials from the Subcommittee on Social Casework, spanning 1942-1956.

Subseries 3: Statistics and Lists, contains cumulative and comparative data on class enrollments, degrees conferred, Field work assignments, and registration. It also contains directory lists of students, faculty, and Field work supervisors. Materials span 1920-1956.

Subseries 4: Courses and Programs, contains syllabi, reading lists, lecture notes, case records, student work, course proposals and reviews, and related correspondence. It also includes a notebook kept by the student SSA Club. Files are organized alphabetically by course name or subject. Instructor and student names are given when available. An extensive collection of course outlines, reading lists, and student lecture notes is a part of this series, having been deposited in the dean's office by Frank T. Flynn, Jr., SSA alumnus (Ph.D., 1949) and faculty member (1947-56). Since Flynn was a registered student in 1932-33, 1935-36, 1940-42, and 1946-49, these notes span a broad segment of the school's history. Materials span circa 1920-1953.

Files containing student grades and evaluations have been transferred to Series IV.

Subseries 1: Faculty Meetings

Box 16   Folder 1-3

Minutes, 1920-1956

Box 16   Folder 4-6

Minutes, 1920-1946

Subseries 2: Curriculum Committee

Box 17   Folder 1-9

Curriculum Committee, 1945-1956

Box 17   Folder 10-13

Curriculum Committee, Subcommittee on Social Casework, 1942- 1952

Box 18   Folder 1-4

Curriculum Committee, Subcommittee on Social Casework, 1952- 1956

Subseries 3: Statistics and Lists

Box 18   Folder 5-7

Class enrollment lists, 1930-1941

Box 19   Folder 1-2

Class enrollment lists, 1941-1945

Box 19   Folder 3-4

Degree lists, 1937-1950

Box 19   Folder 5-7

Field work statistics, 1944-1955

Box 20   Folder 1-6

Field work student lists, 1920-1943

Box 21   Folder 1-4

Field work student lists, 1943-1956

Box 21   Folder 5-6

Field work student placements, 1952-1953

Box 22   Folder 1-2

Field work supervisors directory, 1925-1950

Box 22   Folder 3-7

Registration statistics, 1927-1934

Box 23   Folder 1-5

Registration statistics, 1934-1944

Box 24   Folder 1-2

Registration statistics, 1944-1956

Box 24   Folder 3

Social Service Administration faculty residence and employment, 1940-1956

Box 24   Folder 4

Student lists, 1920-1931

Box 25   Folder 1-5

Student lists, 1931-1955

Subseries 4: Courses and Programs

Box 25   Folder 6-8

Case records, 1943-1950

Box 26   Folder 1

Economics 342, The State in Relation to Labor, Paul H. Douglas, 1940

Box 26   Folder 2

Field work, 1938-1946

Box 26   Folder 3

Field work, Chicago Home for the Friendless, 1929-1932

Box 26   Folder 4

Field work, Chicago Home for Girls, 1929-1937

Box 26   Folder 5

Field work, Children's Service Project and Chicago Probation Demonstration Project, 1931-1932

Box 26   Folder 6

Field work report, Marjorie M. Browne, 1953

Box 26   Folder 7

Home Study Course in Immigration, Della Barnett, circa 1935

Box 26   Folder 8

Housing study, D.F. Mackelmann and Mary E. Macdonald, 1935

Box 26   Folder 9

Immigration and Naturalization Problems course, 1946

Box 26   Folder 10

SSA 201, The Field of Social Welfare, 1944

Box 26   Folder 11

SAA 305, Social Casework I, Helen Harris Perlman, 1946

Box 26   Folder 12

SSA 307, Social Casework II, Helen Harris Perlman, 1946

Box 27   Folder 1

SSA 307, Social Casework II, Helen Harris Perlman, 1946

Box 27   Folder 2

SSA 309, Organization of the Social Services, Rachel Marks, 1945

Box 27   Folder 3

SSA 310, Children in Institutions, Ethel Verry, 1946

Box 27   Folder 4

SSA 314, Children in Foster Homes, Jacob Kepecs, 1935

Box 27   Folder 5

SSA 317, Juvenile Delinquency, circa 1934-1940

Box 27   Folder 6

SSA 320, Immigration, Edith Abbott, 1933

Box 27   Folder 7

SSA 325, Community Organization, Wayne McMillen, 1941

Box 27   Folder 8

SSA 325, Community Organization, Wayne McMillen, 1946

Box 27   Folder 9

SSA 330, Introduction to Group Work, 1944

Box 27   Folder 10

SSA 332, Special Problems in Social Administration, 1941

Box 28   Folder 1

SSA 332, 1945

Box 28   Folder 2-3

SSA 333, Vocational Rehabilitation Services, Mary E. McDonald, 1945-1947

Box 28   Folder 4-5

SSA 339, Medical Lectures for Social Workers, Billings Hospital staff, 1932-1933

Box 28   Folder 6

SSA 340, Psychiatry in Casework, Charlotte Towle, 1935

Box 28   Folder 7

SSA 341, Psychiatry for Social Workers, Margaret Gerard, 1933

Box 28   Folder 8

SSA 342, Behavior Disorders of Children, circa 1920-1940

Box 28   Folder 9

SSA 342A, The Development of Personality, Margaret Gerard, 1946

Box 28   Folder 10

SSA 345, Psychiatry in Social Case Diagnosis, Charlotte Towle, 1935

Box 28   Folder 11

SSA 346A-B, Psychiatric Social Casework I and II, Helen Harris Perlman, 1947

Box 28   Folder 12

SSA 349, Public Welfare in Rural Communities, 1941-1940,

Box 29   Folder 1

SSA 349, Rural Public Welfare Administration, 1946

Box 29   Folder 2

SSA 350, Public Welfare Administration, Sophonisba Breckinridge, 1935

Box 29   Folder 3

SSA 350, Public Welfare Administration, Alton Linford, 1946

Box 29   Folder 4

SSA 351, Law and Legislation for Social Workers, 1949

Box 29   Folder 5

SSA 352, The Law and Social Work, Alexander Elson, 1941

Box 29   Folder 6

SSA 353, The Legal Basis of Family Relations, 1946

Box 29   Folder 7

SSA 355, Administration of Social Service Agencies, undated

Box 29   Folder 8

SSA 356, The Child and the State, 1945-1946

Box 29   Folder 9

SSA 359, Public Welfare Administration, 1946

Box 29   Folder 10

SSA 358, Administrative Problems in Social Insurance, undated

Box 29   Folder 11

SSA 360, Public Assistance, 1945

Box 29   Folder 12-15

SSA 363, Problems of Social Insurance, R. Clyde White, 1941

Box 29   Folder 16

SSA 364, History of English Philanthropy, Edith Abbott, 1941

Box 29   Folder 17

SSA 364, History of Social Welfare in England, 1349-1834, Edith Abbott, 1947

Box 30   Folder 1

SSA 365, History of English Philanthropy, Edith Abbott, 1941

Box 30   Folder 2

SSA 365, History of Social Welfare in England, 1834-1940, Edith Abbott, 1947

Box 30   Folder 3

SSA 366, International Social Welfare, Walter Friedlander, 1947

Box 30   Folder 4

SSA 367, Walter Friedlander, 1941

Box 30   Folder 5-6

SSA 368, Comparative Social Insurance, Walter Friedlander, circa 1942

Box 30   Folder 7-9

SSA 370, Social Statistics, Wayne McMillen, 1932-1946

Box 30   Folder 10

SSA 372, Social Investigation, circa 1925-1950

Box 31   Folder 1-2

SSA 372, Social Investigation, Helen R. Wright, 1932-1947

Box 31   Folder 3

SSA 373, Current Problems in Social Research, Helen R. Wright, 1948

Box 31   Folder 4

SSA 376, Public Employment Service, 1940

Box 31   Folder 5

SSA 377, Social Research and Social Work, Neva Deardorff, 1935

Box 31   Folder 6-7

SSA 381, Minimum Standards of Living, Helen R. Wright, 1928- 1937

Box 31   Folder 8

SSA 384, Social Investigation, circa 1947

Box 32   Folder 1-2

SSA 385, Child Welfare Case Work, 1937-1946

Box 32   Folder 3

SSA 395, Public Assistance, 1938

Box 32   Folder 4

SSA 396, Financing the Public Welfare Program, Mabel Newcomer, 1942

Box 32   Folder 5

SSA 470-471, Applied Research Methods I and II, Mary E. McDonald, 1947

Box 32   Folder 6

SSA Club, 1923-1949

Series IV: Restricted

This series consists of files containing student grades and evaluations transferred from Series III.

Box 33   Folder 1

Downstate Extension classes, 1934-1935

Box 33   Folder 2

Student scholarships, 1942-1952