Note on Departmental Foundings

                                                   Note on Barnard College Department Foundings to 1950

 

1889  — Instruction commenced at Barnard  with four Classics instructors  (Mortimer Lamson Earle, Edward Delavan Perry and Henry J. Burchell teaching Greek, and Nelson Glenn McCrea teaching Latin),  plus one instructor in English literature (Charles Sears Baldwin).  Other Columbia-based instructors may have been teaching other subjects but have not been identified.

1890 – Instruction commences in Botany with appointment of Emily L. Gregory (PhD, Zurich); she provided a position of “Lecturer” by Columbia but all her teaching at Barnard.

1891 – First modern language instructors identified: Benjamin D. Woodward  teaching French (and Spanish?) and Carlo Speranza providing instruction in Italian


1892 – William T. Hallock begins to provide instruction in Physics.

1894 Franklin H. Giddings commences instruction in Sociology.

1895 – Seth Low’s funding enables Barnard to make three appointments in new instructional  fields:

John Bates Clark in Political Economy/Economics
     Herbert L. Osgood in American History – also, James Harvey Robinson  in European History
Frank N. Cole in Mathematics

1897 – Instruction commences in Anthropology with appointment of Livingston Farrand and in Astronomy with the appointment of Harold Jacoby.

1899 – Instruction commences in Zoology with appointment of Henry E. Crampton

1900 – Instruction commences in Chemistry with appointment of Eleanor Keller; in Physics with appointment of Margaret E. Maltby; in German with appointment of Wilhelm Braun; in Philosophy with appointment of Herbert G. Lord.

By 1900, following the intercorporate agreement between Barnard and Columbia, instruction provided by Barnard faculty in the following seventeen subjects:

Humanities:  Greek,  Latin,  English,  French,  Italian,  German;  Philosophy
Sciences:  Astronomy , Botany Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics, Zoology;
Social Sciences: Anthropology; Economics; History; Sociology

1903 – Geology added to the science instruction with appointment of Ida H. Ogilvie.

1907 – First appointment in Psychology with hiring of Harry L. Hollingworth

1914 – Instruction in Theatre commenced with appointment of Minor Latham

1917 – Instruction in Physical Education commences with appointment of Bird Larson

1923 – Instruction commences in Political Science with appointment of Raymond Moley.

1925 – Instruction in Fine Arts/Art History begins with hiring of Norman W. Haring ( Ernest De Wald, 1923-25?)

1928 – Regular instruction begins in Music with appointment of Douglas Moore.

1939 – Two interdepartmental programs established:  American Studies (headed by Elizabeth Raynard) and Medieval Studies (headed by Ethel Sturtevant)

1940 — Religion Department founded by Ursula Niebuhr, wife of Union Theological Seminary professor Reinhold Niebuhr.

As of 1945, the following twenty-six  subjects enjoyed departmental  or programmatic status (in order of the commencement of instruction:

                                                       Department Founding To 1945

Department

Instruction
Commenced

Founding Faculty
Classics

1889

Mortimer Lamson Earle
English

1889

Charles Sears Baldwin
Botany

1890

Emily L. Gregory
Romance Languages
(French, Italian, Spanish?]

1891

Carlo Speranza
Physics

1892

William T. Hallock
Sociology

1894

Franklin Giddings
Economics

1895

John Bates Clark
History

1895

Levi Osgood
Mathematics

1895

Frank Cole
Anthropology

1897

Livingston Farrand
Astronomy

1897

Harold Jacoby
Zoology

1899

Henry E. Crampton
Chemistry

1900

Eleanor Keller
German

1900

Wilhelm Braun
Philosophy

1900

Herbert G. Lord
Geology

1903

Ida H. Ogilvie
Psychology instruction

1907

Harry Hollingworth
Theatre

1914

Minor Latham
Physical Education

1917

Bird Larson
Psychology Department

1923

Harry Hollingworth
Government/ Political Science

1923

Raymond Moley
Fine Arts/Art History

1925

Norman W. Haring
Music

1928

Douglas Moore
Medieval Studies

1939

Ethel Sturtevant
American Studies

1939

Elizabeth Reynard
 Religion  1940  Ursula Niebuhr

 

1949 [?] – Education Program established with President McIntosh’s support, over faculty opposition.

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