University records are closed for 25 years from the date of creation unless they were originally created for public distribution.
Miscellaneous records, including correspondence and printed material, documenting the history of the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine, formerly the School of Dental and Oral Surgery (founded 1916), and its predecessor institutions, including the College of Dental and Oral Surgery of New York (1892-1923).
History and Biography
Established by Columbia University in 1916 as the School of Dentistry. Absorbed the New York School of Dental Hygiene and the New York Postgraduate School of Dentistry in 1917. In 1923, merged with the College of Dental and Oral Surgery of New York (founded in 1892 as the New York Dental School) and changed its name to the School of Dental and Oral Surgery (SDOS). In 2006, it was renamed the College of Dental Medicine.
From 1934 to 1959, the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine also served as the Dean of the dental school, and from 1945 to 1959, the Faculty of Dental and Oral Surgery was absorbed into the Faculty of Medicine. Since 1959, the College has again been a separate Faculty of the University with its own Dean.
Historical Timeline
| 1892 | Columbia President Seth Low discusses the possibility of establishing a dental school with a group of prominent New York dentists led by Dr. Charles F. W. Bodecker; the University declines to pursue the idea. | |
| 1915 | Nov.15 | Faculty of Medicine urges the founding of a dental school "along University lines." |
| 1916 | Mar. 6 | University Board of Trustees approve recommendation of Faculty of Medicine. |
| May | The Committee for a Columbia University Dental School publishes "A Dental School along University Lines." It calls for a four-year course, the first two to be identical to the medical course, and recommends an entrance requirement of two years of college, the most stringent in the nation at that time. James N. Jarvie, brother of Committee member Dr. William Jarvie, pledges $100,000 for a dental school endowment. |
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| Sept. 27 | Two students begin dental course at the College of Physicians & Surgeons. | |
| 1917 | Mar. 5 | University Board of Trustees formally establishes the School of Dentistry, retroactive to September 1916. It is only the fourth university-affiliated dental school in the country. |
| March | New York School of Dental Hygiene is absorbed. | |
| April | New York Postgraduate School of Dentistry merges with Columbia. | |
| 1922 | Columbia awards its first DDS to Joseph Schroff. | |
| 1923 | July 1 | College of Dental and Oral Surgery of New York (CODOS), founded in 1892 as the New York Dental School, merges with Columbia; combined institution is renamed School of Dental and Oral Surgery (SDOS) SDOS moves to former CODOS buildings on East 34th & 35th Streets. |
| 1928 | Sept. | SDOS moves to Vanderbilt Clinic wing of the new Columbia- Presbyterian Medical Center. |
| 1934 | Willard Rappleye, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine (College of Physicians & Surgeons), also becomes Dean of SDOS, a position he retains until his retirement in 1958; day-to-day running of the School is left to an Associate Dean. | |
| 1935 | Dec. 12 | Deranged handyman murders two faculty members including Associate Dean Arthur T. Rowe. |
| 1945 | Feb. 5 | Faculty of Dental and Oral Surgery merged into Faculty of Medicine, although SDOS retains a separate corporate identity |
| 1959 | July 1 | Faculty of Dental and Oral Surgery reconstituted as separate faculty. Gilbert P. Smith becomes the School's first separate Dean since 1933. |
| 2006 | Renamed College of Dental Medicine. |
Administrators, 1917-1989
- James C. Egbert (Director, University Extension), Chairman, Administrative Board, 1917-1920
- Frank T. Van Woert, Chairman, Administrative Board, 1920-1923; Director, 1923-1926
- Alfred Owre, Dean, 1927-1933
- Willard C. Rappleye, Dean, 1934-1958
- Arthur T. Rowe, Associate Dean, 1934-1935
- Houghton Holliday, Acting Associate Dean, 1935-36; Associate Dean, 1936-1945
- Bion R. East, Associate Dean,1945-1948
- Maurice J. Hickey, Acting Associate Dean, 1948-1949, Associate Dean, 1949-1956
- Gilbert P. Smith, Associate Dean, 1956-1959; Dean,1959-1968
- Melvin L. Moss, Dean, 1968-1973
- Edward V. Zegarelli, Acting Dean, 1973-1974; Dean, 1974-1978
- Allan J. Formicola, Dean, 1978-2001
Organization
Miscellaneous records, including correspondence and printed material, documenting the history of the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine (founded 1916; known 1923-2006 as the School of Dental and Oral Surgery) and its predecessor institutions, including the College of Dental and Oral Surgery of New York (1892-1923).
This is an artificially created collection of historical records relating to the College of Dental Medicine, known until as the School of Dental and Oral Surgery (SDOS). While it contains records from the throughout the school's history, the bulk documents the period 1916-1936.
The largest part of the collection appears to have come from the records of Dr. Henry Gillett, a member of the college's organizing committee and long-time professor of dentistry at Columbia (Box 1:2-5). Dating from 1916 to 1927 and including letters received and carbons of his responses, the correspondence covers both his work for Columbia as well as his tenure as Dean of the New York Postgraduate School of Dentistry (founded in 1916 but affiliated with Columbia from 1917). Henry S. Dunning, William J. Gies and Frank T. Van Woert are among his correspondents. There is also an undated memoir by Gillett on the founding of the New York Postgraduate School and its relationship to the University's dental school (Box 1:14).
Also included in the records is William Dunning's correspondence, 1929-1941, with Alfred Owre (Dean, 1927-1933) and, later, Houghton Holliday (Associate Dean, 1935-1945). Correspondence, letters of condolence and newspaper clippings relating to the 1935 shooting deaths of two faculty members by a crazed handyman are in Box 1:12. Leuman Waugh's overview of orthodontics instruction at the dental school can be found in Box 1:11. A wide variety of miscellaneous secondary historical material for both the College of Dental Medicine and the College of Dental and Oral Surgery is in Box 1:14-15.
| Box | Folder | Contents |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Synopsis of Correspondence (undated): lists of correspondence, publications, alumni, memoranda, reports, etc., possibly compiled by William B. Dunning |
| 2 | Gillett, Henry W.: correspondence with Henry S. Dunning, 1916-1918, and other materials on the founding, organization and funding of the School of Dental and Oral Surgery (SDOS) | |
| 3 | Gillett, Henry W.: administrative correspondence with William J. Gies, Frank T. Van Woert, William Jarvie; list of dentists; equipment estimates; invoices; Van Woert tribute, etc., 1917-1918 | |
| 4 | Gillett, Henry W.: administrative correspondence with Frank T. Van Woert, Henry S. Dunning, etc., 1919, 1924-1927 | |
| 5 | Gillett, Henry W.: correspondence as Dean, New York Postgraduate School of Dentistry, 1916- 1919; includes information on faculty recruitment, merger with Columbia, courses; letters from Louis Weinstein, William Jarvie, Theodor Blum, Lewis Mobley, William J. Gies, Henry S. Dunning | |
| 6 | Van Woert, Frank T.: correspondence with F.A. Goetze (University Treasurer), Maurice William, etc, 1918-1919 | |
| 7 | Dunning William B.: correspondence with Houghton Holliday, Assoc. Dean, and Alfred Owre, Dean, 1929-1941; includes list of donors to SDOS, with amounts, 1916-1929; inscription for Jarvie Infirmary plaque; photostat of minutes of NY Odontological Society regarding consolidation of dental societies | |
| 8 | Blum, Theodor: dispute with Dr. Riethmuller; income from courses, 1917-1918 | |
| 9 | Chayes, Herman E.S.: appointment to SDOS faculty as professor of crown and bridgework, 1916 | |
| 10 | Owre, Alfred: publications, 1920s-30s; correspondence with Owre's son, 1980-1989 | |
| 11 | Waugh, Leuman: correspondence with Dean Gilbert Smith on the history of orthodontics instruction at SDOS, 1959; "Report on the Restoration of Autonomy to the Faculty of Dentistry at Columbia University" made to the New York Academy of Dentistry, 1959 | |
| 12 | Dental School Shooting (Dec. 12, 1935): newspaper clippings; letters of condolences from dental school deans; correspondence re: memorial service, flowers, survivors, 1935-1936 | |
| 13 | Handling of Patients in Infirmary: undated memorandum by O.J. Chase. | |
| 14 | History of Dental School 1892-1941: Photostat of charter, New York Dental School (later College of Dental and Oral Surgery of NY) and excerpt from NYS Regents' minutes, 1892; William Jarvie obituary, 1921; Gillett's history of founding of SDOS and its relationship with NY Postgraduate School of Dentistry; manuscript draft of "C.U.S.D.O.S. First Quarter Century" including table of contents and 3 chapters; J. Howard Reed's notes on College of Dental and Oral Surgery of NY (CODOS) | |
| 15 | General Historical material, 1917-1964: William Dunning-Roger Howson correspondence on history of SDOS (1940); faculty lists, 1917-1942; misc. correspondence | |
| 16 | Maslansky, Manuel: article on Amos Westcott, founder of New York College of Dental Surgery (1851-1856), including correspondence, manuscript and reprint, 1941 | |
| 17 | College of Dental and Oral Surgery of New York: excerpts from Trustees' minutes, 1910-1923 | |
| 18 | Abstracts of Literature on Status of Dental Education in U.S.: bibliography, call slips, quotations | |
| 19 | Printed Matter 1919-1952: both general and Columbia University material on dentistry and dental education |
Subject Headings and Related Records
Administrative Information
Internal evidence suggests most of the collection was created by college administrators, while other material seems to have been donated to the College before being accessioned by Archives and Special Collections in the 1980s.
The collection originally formed part of the "William J. Gies Collection in the History of Dentistry," an amalgam of Dunning family papers, Gies memorabilia, dental schools records, and records relating to the College that had been removed from the Central Records of the Office of the Vice President for Health Sciences. With the accession by Archives and Special Collections of the complete Central Records of the Vice President in 1993, it was decided to return the Vice President's records in the "Gies Collection" to Central Records and split the remainder of the Collection into its component parts.
Collection processed, and finding aid written by Stephen E. Novak, 2001. Processing was supported by funding from the William J. Gies Foundation for Dental Education.