By Kristin Smits
University of North Texas graduate student in Library Science
(Kristin is doing a practicum at the McGovern Historical Collections and Research Center. She processed the UT Dental Branch collection as part of her work here.)
The images of correspondence at the bottom of this entry are about students getting out of sorts about toilet tissue and an associate dean’s weary reply. Click on the images below to read the letter. Page 2 is a gem from an administrator who has been one semester too long at his desk. The papers are from the UT Dental Branch collection (IC 009). This collection was recently processed and a printed finding aid can be found on site and will soon be located on the website (https://library.tmc.edu/mcgovern/).
This correspondence is between the Vice President of Student Council and the Associate Dean of the school. These memorandums were written in March of 1981. This correspondence was dealing with an issue the students’ felt was important and as you can tell from the response the faculty did not agree that it was important.
The Texas Dental College was established in Houston in 1905.In 1932, Dr. Frederick C. Elliott from the University of Tennessee was brought on to serve as dean of the college. The University of Texas took over the dental college as of September 1, 1943 leaving Dr. Elliott as the dean. Today the University Of Texas School Of Dentistry occupies handsome quarters in the Texas Medical Center, provided by funds from the State of Texas, the M.D. Anderson Foundation and the Houston Chamber of Commerce.
This collection includes historical information about the UT Dental Branch The collection includes items such as photographs, elevation drawings, information about the accreditation of the school as well as its curriculum. The collection also includes directories from UT Dental Branch, as well as Texas Dental Journal and Houston District Dental Society. There is information on student graduation dating back to 1906. There is ephemera from various school events such as ground breaking, centennial celebration, and various guest speakers. There are publications in this collection including handbooks, student guides, brochures, video tape catalogs and research manuals. There are articles, library history, memorandums and information about the law that govern dentistry.
