The University of Chicago Library > The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center > Finding Aids > 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
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| 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 |
| 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. |
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:
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
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 |