Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Use Restrictions

Permission to publish material from the Virginia Social Science Association Records must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Virginia Social Science Association Records, Ms1964-004, Special Collections, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va.

Acquisition Information

The Virginia Social Science Association Records were donated to Special Collections in several accruals, dated 1964, 1965, 1966, 1978, 1987, 1989, and 1992.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Virginia Social Science Association Records commenced in August, 2011 and was completed in September, 2011.

Historical Note

The Virginia Social Science Association (VSSA) was founded at the University of Virginia on May 8, 1926, in a meeting arranged by W. E. Garnett of Virginia Polytechnic Institute. Established "to provide a common meeting ground for men and women of the academic, professional and pragmatic realms who are working or interested in the social sciences--in those sciences which deal with man's everyday human relationships with his fellow-man--economics, sociology, history, political science and law," the association had 59 charter members and within three years had grown to nearly 200. The group held its initial annual conference at VPI in 1927, with the location changing with each successive year. Since 1966, the VSSA has published the Virginia Social Science Journal

Scope and Content Note

This collection contains the records of the Virginia Social Science Association, including correspondence, committee minutes and reports, annual meeting programs and working files, presentation papers, committee reports, and financial and membership records.

The correspondence contains letters to and from various organizational officials, as well as committee reports, financial statements, membership lists, and other materials. Included is correspondence of the association's various secretary-treasurers from 1936 to 1960. From 1961 to 1967, the correspondence is comprised of the files of George T. Blume, who served in turn as VSSA secretary-treasurer, vice-president, president, and publications committee chair during those years. Also included is the correspondence of VSSA presidents R. Wayne McCubbins (1972-1973), John Wood (1973-1974), Charles Lane (1975-1976), and Arthur B. Gunlicks (1976-1977). The collection also includes the correspondence of James F. Herndon, who served as VSSA president and on the executive, development awards, and ad hoc self-study committees during the years 1980-1990, and as the local arrangements chair for the VSSA's 1989 annual meeting, held at Virginia Tech. Also included is correspondence of Catherine Seaman, VSSA president from 1987 to 1988.

Though the collection includes a small selection of files from committees, much of the material relating to committee work is filed with the correspondence and the annual meeting papers. The files devoted to the annual meetings also include business meeting minutes, programs, registration lists, and correspondence on planning and presentations, as well as presentation texts.

The collection also includes copies of the association's newsletter, VSSA News; financial records, including receipts, account statements, and audit reports; and files on membership and subscriptions, including mailing lists.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged by file type, including correspondence, committees, annual meetings, newsletters, financial records and membership lists.

Related Material

Volumes of the Virginia Social Science Journal and the VSSA's published annual proceedings may be located using the library's catalog.

Index Terms

Subjects:

• Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Local Subjects:

• University Archives

Adjunct Descriptive Data