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© 2010 University of Chicago Library
Series IV contains student grades and evaluations, restricted for 80 years.
The remainder of the collection is open for research, with no restrictions.
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
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.
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.
The following related resources are located in the Department of Special Collections:
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.
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.
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.
This series consists of files containing student grades and evaluations transferred from Series III.