University
of Florida Archives
College of Engineering. Office of the Dean.
Administrative
policy records, 1930-1966.
18.1 linear ft.
(45 boxes)
Subseries 19a
is divided into two sections: Correspondence Files and Genre Files.
Subseries 19a
consists of the administrative records of Blake Van Leer and Joseph Weil
(1932-1966). Records from the early 1930s include some of Weil's
as head of the Department of Electrical Engineering. These were apparently
integrated into this file when Weil became dean. The subseries also includes
a few of Weil's files after he stepped down as dean in 1966. The
original accession also included speeches, writings and some personal correspondence
of Dean Weil. These were removed and now constitute Manuscript Collection
42.
The College
of Engineering was an influential force in Florida's industrial development
in the mid-1900s, and members of the College frequently served as advisors
to the state on a number of matters. The subseries contains records related
to nuclear energy development, including records of the Florida Nuclear
Development Commission and the Florida Assembly of Atoms for Power, records
of the Florida State Planning Board (1934-1944), and the Florida Mapping
Authority (1934-1942).
During
much of this period, the College of Engineering performed several functions
that are today the duties of the University's Physical Plant Division.
The subseries includes good statistics on electrical power consumption
at UF from 1929-1948, records related to drainage of Lake Alice, records
related to the University's phone system, and records related to the University's
water supply.
Also of interest
are records related to the construction of the experimental nuclear reactor,
the College's work in hurricane tracking, the College's early relationship
with military contractors including development of a proximity fuze during
World War II, and relief project proposals by the College to the Florida
Emergency Relief Administration in 1935.