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[Identification of item], Ellwood S. Harrar Papers, Duke University Archives, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.
The Ellwood S. Harrar Papers was received by the University Archives as a gift in 1969 and 1974.
Processed by Valerie Gillispie
Completed May 27, 2003
Although original folder names were preserved, they have been alphabetized within each series for easier access. Date ranges were added to folders where no dates were provided originally.
Personnel information was discarded for reasons of privacy.
Encoded by Valerie Gillispie, May 27, 2003
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
Ellwood Scott "Scotty" Harrar was born on January 18, 1905 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He attended Oberlin College for two years, but received his bachelor's degree from the New York College of Forestry at Syracuse University. Syracuse also awarded Harrar his master's and doctoral degrees, in 1928 and 1936, respectively. Harrar taught at the College of Forestry at the University of Washington in Seattle from 1928 until 1936, when he joined the faculty of Duke University.
At Duke, Harrar began as an Associate Professor of Wood Technology, and in 1945 became a full Professor of Wood Technology. In 1957, he was named Dean of the Duke University Graduate School of Forestry. He served in this capacity until 1967, and in 1974 Harrar retired from teaching. In his 38-year career at Duke, Harrar left only once: during World War II, he served as Chief Administrative Engineer of the Airplane Division of the Curtiss Wright Corporation.
During his tenure at Duke, Harrar participated in a number of professional organizations, including the Society of American Foresters, of which he was elected Fellow in 1965. He also served as Secretary-Treasurer of the International Society of Wood Anatomists from 1938-1948, President of the North Carolina Forestry Council in 1958, and President of the Forest Products Research Society in 1959. Harrar published extensively, and his
Harrar was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Science from his alma mater, Syracuse in 1961. In 1967, he was named a James B. Duke Professor, the highest honor awarded to faculty at Duke University. In 1974, Harrar donated his collection of over 5,000 wood samples to the Winterthur Museum in Winterthur, Delaware, for future researchers. Harrar died on February 5, 1975, at the age of seventy.
Collection includes correspondence, papers, photographs, and other documents related to Ellwood S. Harrar's career as a professor of forestry and Dean of the School of Forestry at Duke University. It is organized into the following series: Series 1, Personal, 1928-1975; Series 2, Duke University, 1951-1974; and Series 3, Correspondence, 1946-1974.
These and related materials may be accessed under the following subject headings in the Duke University Libraries online catalog.
This series features biographical information about Harrar. Included are biographical sketches, letters of congratulation, and Harrar's Ph.D. Thesis. The Personal series also includes administrative correspondence with Duke officials regarding sabbaticals, committee appointments, and retirement.
The documents are arranged alphabetically by subject.
The Duke University series includes correspondence, photographs, and other papers that document Harrar's interactions with Duke University as a faculty member and Dean. Among the documents are extensive correspondence and several photographs related to the construction of and furnishings for the Biological Sciences Building. Also included are materials, mainly correspondence, about the School of Forestry, and its educational philosophy, curriculum, and funding. In 1965, the Duke School of Forestry hosted the International Symposium on Tropical Forestry, and this series includes papers, summaries of proceedings, and biographical sketches of the participants of this symposium.
This series is arranged alphabetically by subject.
The correspondence series contains letters to and from Harrar regarding his professional career as a researcher and forestry expert. Among Harrar's correspondents were those associated with the lumber industry, in regard to marketing, foreign resources, and technical problems related to wood. The series documents Harrar's work as a consultant to the Navy Bureau of Ships, Army Corps of Engineers, and the Army Engineer Research and Development Laboratories. The series also contains information about Harrar's participation with North Carolina's Governor's Advisory Committee on Forestry and the Presidential Commission on Increased Use of Agricultural Products.
The documents are arranged alphabetically according to the name of either the individual or organization with which Harrar corresponded. The only exception is folder titled "[General] Correspondence - Miscellaneous," which is filed at the end of the series.