Scope and Content Note
The records of the Division of Cooperative Education consist of just under twenty-nine cubic feet of material and spanning the years 1914-2007. These records document the early stages of the cooperative education program and the Division's administrative, research, and programming activities, particularly from the 1970s into the early 2000s. The collection has been divided into six series: 1. Early History and Development, 2. Office of the Vice President, 3. Office of the Dean, 4. Department of Cooperative Education, 5. Research and Special Programs, and 6. Office of the Diversity Coordinator.
Series 1, Early History and Development, tracks the cooperative program from 1914 through 1960. The records of placement, enrollment, and employment found in this series document the growth of the University and the cooperative program itself. This series also contains early program descriptions that explain how the cooperative plan was organized.
Series 2, Office of the Vice President, contains records from the Office of the Vice President, documenting the history of the Division from its creation in 1965 to its dissolution in 2007. This series also documents several substantial reorganization efforts undertaken by the Division during the 1990s and contains records related to faculty and staff workload and status within the University system. The bulk of the records are alphabetically-arranged subject files maintained by the Office of the Vice President through the administrations of Roy Wooldridge, Jane Scarborough, Robert Vozzella, and Richard Porter. Researchers should note that there is substantial topical overlap between the materials that originated from the Office of the Vice President and the materials contained in Series 3-6. Included in this series are divisional annual reports, budgets, correspondence, memoranda, minutes from various committees, memoranda, and documentation of Northeastern's involvement in various cooperative education advocacy and expansion projects.
Series 3, Office of the Dean, documents the administration of the Department of Cooperative Education. The years 1970-1990 are especially well-represented, with minutes of department and faculty meetings, statements of policies and procedures, and reports detailing the program and the theories of cooperative education. In addition, reports and correspondence between the department and the National Commission for Cooperative Education document the University's leadership and involvement in the national cooperative education movement.
This series also contains materials on Northeastern's role in Phase II desegregation. These records were collected by Dean Paul Pratt, a member of the Phase II Advisory Committee. They document Northeastern's partnership with Madison Park High School and the programs that grew out of this partnership. Researchers interested in the desegregation of Boston schools should also refer to the Freedom House Collection, and the records of the Office of the President (Ryder).
Series 4, Department of Cooperative Education, is largely comprised of the records of Professor Stephen Kane. Kane's subject files document the creation and management of the Coop in Israel program. They also include: records of committees that Kane served on; departmental correspondence, memoranda, and reports; and information regarding cooperative employers.
In addition to Kane's records, the series documents the annual Cooperative Education and Alcott Awards selection process and ceremony, committees, cooperative employment, and publications. The committee records include minutes, memoranda, and reports of both permanent and temporary committees. The cooperative employment section documents employers, positions, wages, and policies through the 1960s and 1970s.This series also contains the data from surveys completed in the 2000s by students and employers on the cooperative employment experience. Most of the publications were created by the University. Publications not created at Northeastern that describe Northeastern's cooperative program are included here as well.
Series 5, Research and Special Programs, documents the units of the Division that were created to fulfill specific needs. This series documents its research, outreach, and consulting activities, and illuminates Northeastern's role in the national and international cooperative education movement. The Institute for Off-Campus Experience and Cooperative Education, the International Cooperative Education Program, and the Office of Graduate Placement are represented in this series. The grant proposals and research reports contained in this series are products of the activities of The Center for Cooperative Education and The Cooperative Education Research Center.
Series 6, Office of the Diversity Coordinator, documents the activities of the Diversity Coordinator and the Minority Liaison, the position that preceded that of Diversity Coordinator. These positions were held by Patricia Venter from 1987-2004. The Minority Liaison/Diversity Coordinator was responsible for supporting minority students through the co-op process and providing diversity training opportunities to faculty and staff within the University and other groups by special arrangement. This series contains annual reports, three- and six-month reports by the Diversity Coordinator's Assistant (a co-op position), newsletters and promotional literature. Also in this series are materials related to the specific programs of the Diversity Coordinator's office which were designed to increase awareness of cultural diversity issues and enhance the co-op experience for minority students, such as the co-op buddy program and the train-the-trainers workshops.
Dates
- Creation: 1914-2007
Creator
Language of Materials
Materials almost entirely in English with a handful of documents containing multilingual words and/or phrases. One item in Box 49 is written entirely in Hebrew.
Conditions Governing Access:
Records are closed for 25 years from their date of creation, unless researchers have written permission from the creating office. Personnel records (boxes 6-8, folders 71-98) and student records (box 14, folders 241-247) are closed for 75 years from their date of creation.
Historical Note
Northeastern University has been a leader in national and international cooperative education from the inception of its cooperative education program in 1909. Northeastern administrators have testified before Congress regarding the program, and have been officers of both the National Commission of Cooperative Education and the Cooperative Education Association. In addition, President Kenneth Ryder was the founding chair of the World Council on Cooperative Education (1975-89). The records of the Division of Cooperative Education document the myriad activities of Northeastern faculty, staff and students in relation to cooperative education.
The concept of cooperative education was first articulated in 1900 by professor Herman Schneider (1872-1939), then on the faculty of Lehigh University (Bethlehem, Penn.). In 1903 Schneider was appointed to the faculty of the University of Cincinnati and in 1906 began an experimental program of cooperative education. Northeastern University, then known as the Association Day School of the Boston Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), was the second college in the United States to adopt such a plan. In 1909 the Boston YMCA opened the Day School of the Polytechnic Institute which offered a cooperative engineering program. Advantages to this program were the ability to earn one's way through college, the opportunity to gain practical experience along with theoretical knowledge, and a chance for students to become acquainted with their chosen field.
Initially, the program was confined to the college of engineering and administered by the Dean of Engineering. In 1919, however, the school hired a Director of Engineering Practice, Philip C. Nash, who assumed responsibility for the cooperative engineering program. The concept expanded to other departments and the Day School of Business initiated a cooperative program in 1924, and new colleges such as Liberal Arts (1935) and Education (1953) were founded with a cooperative component. By 1928 a separate Department of Cooperative Work had been established with Winthrop E. Nightingale as director.
In 1959 the department was renamed the Department of Cooperative Education, and by 1965 it was transformed into the Division of Cooperative Education. The Division was comprised of three units: the Department of Cooperative Education, which maintained Northeastern's cooperative program; the Department of Graduate Placement, which provided placement services for seniors and alumni; and the Center for Cooperative Education, which was responsible for outreach. The Center provided consulting services to outside organizations that wished to create, improve, or expand cooperative education programs.
In the 1970s, other units were added to the Division. The Cooperative Education Research Center, directed by James Wilson, was created in 1973. In addition to undertaking statistical and analytical research concerning cooperative education and its effectiveness, the Research Center maintained an Information Clearinghouse of cooperative education publications. The Institute for Off-Campus Experience and Cooperative Education was also initiated in 1973, with the Center for Secondary School Work Experience Programs following in 1976. The first unit arranged cooperative experiences for students from other colleges, the second for secondary school students. The Division occupied its own building in 1976 when the Russell B. Stearns Center for Cooperative Education was completed.
The Department of Cooperative Education also expanded its services during these years. The Life Career Planning Program was designed to assist Northeastern students with career planning. The Office of International Cooperative Education also existed as a unit of the department at this time. Under the direction of Professor Stephen Kane, the department had placed students in Israel since 1971. By 1982, the Office of International Cooperative Education had initiated exchanges with Austria, Germany, France, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. The Office of International Cooperative Education operated independently for many years but officially became a unit of the Division in 1994.
The Division of Cooperative Education was dissolved in 2007 and replaced by an organizational structure in which Cooperative Education placements are handled by each of the individual Colleges with some functions carried on by Central Cooperative Education Services (Central Co-op). Central Co-op acts as the university-wide focal point for activities and initiatives related to cooperative education and providing support and services, focusing on employer relations, data collection and analysis, marketing, and communications between the co-op programs now located within each of the University's colleges. The Office of International Co-op also operates from within Central Co-op.
Chronology
- 1909
- Co-operative Engineering Courses launched at the Polytechnic School of the YMCA Evening Institute.
- 1920
- Northeastern University begins granting degrees in the Co-operative School of Engineering.
- 1928
- Department of Cooperative Work established.
- 1959
- Department of Cooperative Work renamed Department of Cooperative Education.
- 1965
- Center for Cooperative Education established.
- 1965-1967
- Division of Cooperative Education created to oversee the operations of the Department of Cooperative Education, the Department of Graduate Placement Services, and the Center for Cooperative Education.
- 1973
- Institute for Experiential Education (later re-named the Institute for Off Campus Experience and Cooperative Education) incorporated.
- 1975
- Asa Smallidge Knowles Professorship of Cooperative Education (endowed Chair) created by the Board of Trustees.
- 1976
- Center for Secondary School Work Experience Education created.
- 1976
- Russell B. Stearns Center for Cooperative Education completed.
- 1994
- Office of International Cooperative Education joins the Division of Cooperative Education.
- 2007
- Division of Cooperative Education dissolved.
- 2007
- Central Cooperative Education Services (Central Co-op) created as focal point for college-based co-op programs.
Deans, Department of Cooperative Education
- 1959-1973
- Roy L. Wooldridge, Dean, 1959-1970; Vice President and Dean, 1970-1973
- 1965-1970
- Thomas McMahon, Director, 1965-1968; Associate Dean, 1968-70
- 1970-1992
- Paul Pratt, Assistant Dean and Director, 1970-1973; Acting Dean, 1973-1975; Dean,1975-1992
- 1992-1995
- Robert Vozzella, Interim Dean, 1992-1993; Dean, 1993-1995
- 1996-1997
- Theresa A. Harrigan, Interim Associate Dean
- 1997-1999
- Kristin R. Woolever, Interim Dean
- 1999-2003
- Robert Tillman, Acting Dean
- 2003-2007
- Doreen L. Hodgkin, Senior Associate Dean
Vice-Presidents, Division of Cooperative Education
- 1970-1989
- Roy Wooldridge, Vice President and Dean, 1970-1973; Vice President
- 1989-1991
- Karl Weiss, Interim Vice President
- 1991-1995
- Jane Scarborough
- 1995-1999
- Robert Vozzella
- 1999-2003
- Richard D. Porter, Acting Vice President
- 2003-2007
- Lynn Wachtel Lyford
Extent
35.05 cubic feet (49 containers, 1 flat file folder)
Overview
Northeastern University has been a leader in national and international cooperative education from the inception of its cooperative education program in 1909. The program was initially confined to the college of engineering, yet the concept expanded to other departments including Business, Liberal Arts, and Education. In 1928 a separate Department of Cooperative Work was established with Winthrop E. Nightingale as director.
In 1959 the department was renamed the Department of Cooperative Education, and by 1965 it was transformed into the Division of Cooperative Education. The Division was comprised of three units: the Department of Cooperative Education, the Department of Graduate Placement, and the Center for Cooperative Education. Over the years, the Division's role expanded as other programs were added, such as the Cooperative Education Research Center and the International Cooperative Education program.
The Division of Cooperative Education was dissolved in 2007 and replaced by an organizational structure in which Cooperative Education placements are handled by each of the individual Colleges with some functions carried on by Central Cooperative Education Services (Central Co-op).
Overview
The records of the Division of Cooperative Education consist of just under twenty-nine cubic feet of material and spanning the years 1914-2007. These records document the early stages of the cooperative education program as well as the Division's administrative, research, and programming activities, particularly from the 1970s into the early 2000s. Included are annual reports, correspondence, meeting minutes, memoranda, publications, and subject files document the activities of the Division and its various departments through the administrations of Roy Wooldridge, Jane Scarborough, Robert Vozzella, and Richard Porter.
System of Arrangement:
Organized into 6 series: 1. Early History and Development; 2. Office of the Vice President; 3. Office of the Dean; 4. Department of Cooperative Education; 5. Research and Special Programs, and 6. Office of the Diversity Coordinator
Technical Access:
One 5 floppy disk in box 37, folder 16 will not open, cassette tape in box 49.
Physical Location
24/2, 33/4, 34/3-4, 44/1, FF1/D9
Immediate Source of Acquisition:
Division of Cooperative Education.
Bibliography
- Barbeau, Joseph E. Second to None: Seventy-five Years of Leadership in the Cooperative Education Movement. Boston:Northeastern University Custom Book Program, 1985.
- Frederick, Antionette. Northeastern University: An Emerging Giant: 1959-1975. Boston: Northeastern University Custom Book Program, 1982.
- Frederick, Antoinette. Northeastern University, Coming of Age: The Ryder Years, 1975-89. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1995.
- Marston, Everett C. Origin and Development of Northeastern University, 1898-1960. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1961.
- Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.). Northeastern University Bulletin (1965-2008).
- Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.). Central Cooperative Education Services. http://www.northeastern.edu/centralcoop/. Accessed 16 September 2010.
Subject
- Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.). Department of Cooperative Education (Organization)
- Madison Park High School (Boston, Mass.) (Organization)
- Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.). Department of Cooperative Education (Organization)
- Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.). Division of Cooperative Education (Organization)
- Porter, Richard D. (Person)
- Pratt, Paul M. (Person)
- Kane, Stephen M. (Person)
- Nightingale, Winthrop E. (Person)
- Scarborough, Jane (Person)
- Venter, Patricia (Person)
- Vozzella, Robert (Person)
- Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.). Center for Cooperative Education (Organization)
- Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.). Cooperative Education Research Center (Organization)
- Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.). Coop in Israel Program (Organization)
- Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.). Department of Cooperative Education (Organization)
- Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.). International Cooperative Education Program (Organization)
- Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.). Office of the Diversity Coordinator (Organization)
- Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.). Office of the Vice President for Cooperative Education (Organization)
- Title
- Finding aid for the Division of Cooperative Education Records
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Kelcy Shepherd; updated by Ellen Lassiter; updated by Anna J. Cook; updated by Claudia Willett
- Date
- March 1997; January 2006; November 2010; April 2015
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections Repository