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Committee of American Universities on Exchange with France: Professors of Engineering and Applied Sciences records

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Held at: University of Pennsylvania: University Archives and Records Center [Contact Us]3401 Market Street, Suite 210, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the University of Pennsylvania: University Archives and Records Center. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

Overview and metadata sections

Call Number:
UPQ 1300
Repository:
University of Pennsylvania: University Archives and Records Center
Extent:
0.5 cubic feet
Language:
English
Date:
1919-1946 (bulk) and 1922-1927 (inclusive)
Abstract:
Between 1920 and 1933 John Frazer (1882-1964) – dean of the University of Pennsylvania Towne School – served as secretary for the Committee of American Universities on Exchange with France: Professors of Engineering and Applied Sciences. The Committee consisted of representatives from member engineering schools for the purpose of communicating with institutions in France and oversee an annual exchange. The Committee of American Universities on Exchange with France: Professors of Engineering and Applied Sciences records document the activities of the Committee from 1919 through 1927 through the files kept by John Frazer while he was secretary.

Between 1920 and 1933 John Frazer (1882-1964) – dean of the University of Pennsylvania Towne School – served as secretary for the Committee of American Universities on Exchange with France: Professors of Engineering and Applied Sciences. The Committee originated in 1919 when Arthur E. Kennelly (1861-1939) and Douglas C. Jackson (1865-1951) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology contacted the deans or presidents at Harvard University, John Hopkins University, Stevens Institute of Technology, Columbia University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Cornell University to gauge interest in establishing a committee that would consist of representatives from the respective engineering schools to communicate with institutions in France and oversee an annual exchange. All responded favorably, except for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. However, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology expressed its interest in supporting the program. It was also during this period that George B. Pegram (1876-1958) – dean of Columbia University's School of Engineering, contacted Stephen P. Duggan (1870-1950) – founder and director of Institute of International Education – to ascertain if the Institute was interested in contributing to the program.

Stevens Institute of Technology withdrew from the Committee in 1920, and it was voted to invite the University of Pennsylvania to take its place. During the initial years, the committee members chose to limit membership to seven schools along the Atlantic coast in order to establish the program started. Representatives to the committee included Frazer (University of Pennsylvania), Kennelly (Harvard University), Pegram (Columbia University), Kennelly (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Dexter S. Kimball (1865-1952) (Cornell University), John B. Whitehead (1872-1854) (Johns Hopkins University) and Russell H. Chittenden (1856-1943) (Yale University). The Committee representatives met twice a year, along with Duggan in attendance. Officers of the Committee consisted of a chairman (filled primarily by Kennelly and Pegram) and a secretary (initially held by Whitehead, but later Frazer). Starting in 1925 representatives from the Office Nationale of Paris and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers were invited to the Committee meetings.

During Frazer's tenure as secretary in the 1920s, the Committee initiated the exchange program by sending Kennelly, Frazer, Johnson, Emile Chamot (1868-1950) from Cornell University, and Whitehead as the inaugural outgoing professors to France. French professors who visited the United States included M.E. De Margerie, Robert de Montessue de Ballore (1870-1937), and Pierre Lemaire. Despite initial momentum, the program experienced issues in 1924 when France was unable to supply a candidate, and in 1926 when the Committee did not have sufficient funds to facilitate the exchange. In 1928 Frazer retired as dean of the Towne School, but was asked to continue as the University's representative by provost Josiah H. Penniman (1868-1941). Frazer eventually retired from the committee in 1933, and deposited his records for the Committee with the University of Pennsylvania.

The Committee of American Universities on Exchange with France: Professors of Engineering and Applied Sciences records document the activities of the Committee from 1919 through 1927 through the files kept by John Frazer while he was secretary. Originally kept in files organized by year, the records are now organized into two series – Administrative Records and Correspondence and arranged alphabetically.

The Administrative Records consists of meeting minutes, financial statements, copies of founding documents, and reports. Though a small series, it does provide an overview of the Committee's activities during the 1920s. It also contains the reports from Frazer, Emile Chamot, and Whitehead on their experience as the exchange professor.

The Correspondence series is the most extensive of the collection. It consists primarily of correspondence to and from Frazer in his role as secretary for the Committee. There are occasional letters between other members of the Committee which were sent to Frazer. These are filed under the name of the sender. While there is correspondence with most of the members of the committee, the bulk is between Frazer and Kennelly, Pegram, Duggan, and Whitehead; as well as with Provost Penniman. The only correspondence past 1927 relates to Frazer's efforts to find a home for his files upon his retirement. The majority of correspondence is in English, but there are a few letters in French. There does not appear to be any extensive records for the Committee held at any other repository.

This collection has organzied into two series: Administrative Records and Correspondence. Both or arranged alphabetically.

The records were deposited by John Frazer with the University of Pennsylvania around 1940. They were found in the Archives and accessioned in 1977 (accession 1977:067, October 11, 1977)

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Publisher
University of Pennsylvania: University Archives and Records Center
Finding Aid Author
Joseph-James Ahern
Finding Aid Date
May 2024
Access Restrictions

Access to collections is granted in accordance with the Protocols for the University Archives and Records Center.

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Founding documents - correspondence and minutes, copies, 1919 November 29 - 1920 April 17.
Box 1 Folder 2
Meeting minutes, 1920-1926.
Box 1 Folder 3
Payments to the Institute of International Education, University of Pennsylvania, 1927 March 3.
Box 1 Folder 4
Personal Report to the Seven Cooperating Institutions, 1922 July.
Box 1 Folder 5
Press release on exchange program, 1921 April.
Box 1 Folder 6
Report of subscriptions received from Universities Years 1925 - 1926, 1927 March 4.
Box 1 Folder 7
Report to the Committee of American Universities on Exchange with France of Professors of Engineering and Applied Sciences of J. B. Whitehead, Fifth American Exchange Professor to France, 1927.
Box 1 Folder 8
Report to the Committee of American Universities on Exchange with France of Professors of Engineering and Applied Sciences on the Mission to France of during the Academic Year 1924-1925 of Emile Monnin Chamot, Professor of Chemical Microscopy and Sanitary Chemistry at Cornell University, Fourth American Exchange Professor, 1925.
Box 1 Folder 9
Report to the Committee of American Universities on Exchange with France of Professors of Engineering and Applied Sciences on the Mission to France of Professor John Frazer as second American Exchange Professor in the Above Exchange during the Academic Year 1922-1923, 1923 November.
Box 1 Folder 10
Suggestion of possible service to the Exchange Professor in Engineering and Applied Science, 1924 June 13.
Box 1 Folder 11

Angell, James R. (Yale University, President), 1924 August 8.
Box 1 Folder 12
Butler, Micholas Murray (Columbia University, President), 1924, 1927.
Box 1 Folder 13
Chamot, Emile M. (Cornell University, Professor Chemistry), 1924-1925.
Box 1 Folder 14
Champenois, M. Julien J. (Office National des Universites et Ecoles Francaises), 1924-1926.
Box 1 Folder 15
Chittenden, Russell H. (Yale University, Director Sheffield Scientific School), 1921-1922.
Box 1 Folder 16
Christie, A. G. (Johns Hopkins University, Acting Dean), 1927 May 13.
Box 1 Folder 17
de Margerie, Emmanuel, 1922.
Box 1 Folder 18
de Montessus de Ballore, Robert, 1924 January 27.
Box 1 Folder 19
Duggan, Stephen P. ( Institute of International Education, Director), 1920-1928.
Box 1 Folder 20
Engineering salary questionnaire results, 1946 June 1.
Box 1 Folder 21
Ferrand, Livingston (Cornell University, President), 1924, 1927.
Box 1 Folder 22
Gates, Thomas S. (University of Pennsylvania, President), 1933 June.
Box 1 Folder 23
Goodnow, Frank J. (Johns Hopkins University, President, 1924-1927.
Box 1 Folder 24
Hughes, H. J. (Harvard University, Harvard Engineering School, Dean), 1924-1928.
Box 1 Folder 25
Jackson, Dugald C. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dean), 1924-1928.
Box 1 Folder 26
Johns Hopkins University, Treasurer, 1927 March 7.
Box 1 Folder 27
Johnson, Douglas (Columbia University, Professor), 1923-1924.
Box 1 Folder 28
Kennelly, Arthur E. (Chairman; Massachusettes Institute of Technology, professor), 1920 June 19 - 1924 March 21.
Box 1 Folder 29
Kennelly, Arthur E. (Chairman; Massachusettes Institute of Technology, professor), 1924 April 3 - 1927 November 30.
Box 1 Folder 30
Kimball, Dexter S. (Cornell University, College of Engineering, Dean), 1922-1927.
Box 1 Folder 31
Lemaire, Pierre (Ecole Dentrale Lyonnaise, Assistant Director), 1925-1926.
Box 1 Folder 32
Lowell, Abbott Lawrence(Harvard University, President), 1924 August 8.
Box 1 Folder 33
McClelland, George William to C. Seymour Thompson, 1940 June 23.
Box 1 Folder 34
Members of the committee, 1924.
Box 1 Folder 35
Office National des Universites et Ecoles Francaises, 1923-1926.
Box 1 Folder 36
Pascal, Paul (Ecole de Chimie, University of Lille, Director), 1924 March 28.
Box 1 Folder 37
Pegram, George B. (Columbia University, School of Mines, Engineering and Chemistry, Dean), 1922-1925.
Box 1 Folder 38
Pegram, George B. (Columbia University, School of Mines, Engineering and Chemistry, Dean), 1926-1927.
Box 1 Folder 39
Penniman, Josiah H. (University of Pennsylvania, Provost), 1921-1928.
Box 1 Folder 40
Rice, Calvin W. (American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Secretary), 1924-1927.
Box 1 Folder 41
Smith, Edgar F. (University of Pennsylvania, Provost), 1920 June 12.
Box 1 Folder 42
Stratton, Samuel W. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, President), 1924-1925.
Box 1 Folder 43
Waite, Mary L. (Institute of International Education, Executive Secretary), 1924-1927.
Box 1 Folder 44
Warren, Charles H. (Yale University, Sheffield Scientific School, Dean), 1924-1926.
Box 1 Folder 45
Whitehead, John B. (Johns Hopkins University, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering), 1921-1927.
Box 1 Folder 46
Whitney, Stephen (Yale Graduate Club), 1921.
Box 1 Folder 47

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