Willard Joseph Poppy Papers
Scope and Contents
The arrangement of the first three boxes of papers very closely follows the order in which they were received. For the most part, these three boxes contain curricular material associated with Poppy's teaching at the University of Northern Iowa. However, these boxes also contain material relating to courses that Poppy took while a student and courses that Poppy taught to Army Air Corps personnel from 1942-1944. The curricular material includes quizzes, tests, lecture notes, and laboratory manuals. This material is arranged alphabetically by subject. There is also a small amount of professional correspondence associated with these curricular files. The fourth box in this series relates to a Digital Equipment Computer unit used by the Department of Physics in the middle 1970s. This device is reputed to be one of the first computers used in association with instruction on the UNI campus. It is probable that the material in this box is not really related to Poppy.
Dates
- 1942-1975
Creator
- Poppy, Willard J. (Person)
Language of Materials
Materials entirely in English.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions. Materials are open for research.
General Use, Reproduction, and Copyright Policies
Many items housed in the Rod Library Special Collections & University Archives, including unpublished images and manuscripts, may be protected by copyright, publication rights, trademarks, or model release rights which the library does not own and for which the library cannot grant permission or licensing. Materials currently under copyright are usually still available for research and limited reproduction under Fair Use laws. However, it is the sole responsibility of the patron to determine whether or not their use of a given material falls within Fair Use guidelines and to obtain permission for said use from the rightful copyright owner.
Sensitive Materials Statement
Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy or similar laws, and the Iowa Open Records Law (see Iowa Code ยง 22.7). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of Northern Iowa assumes no responsibility.
Biographical / Historical
Willard Joseph Poppy was born June 23, 1907, in New London, Wisconsin. He received his Ed.B. degree in Mathematics and Physics from Oshkosh State Teachers College in 1930. In 1933 and 1934, he earned his M.S. in Physics and his Ph.D., respectively, from the University of Iowa. In the summer of 1930, Poppy served as an Instructor of Math at Oshkosh State Teachers College. From 1934 to 1942, he worked as an Associate Professor and Head of Physics at Fenn College (now Cleveland State) in Cleveland, Ohio. He then spent a year as a visiting lecturer at the University of Iowa before returning to Fenn College in 1943 as a full professor. Poppy taught in the Physics Department at the University of Northern Iowa from 1940 until his retirement in 1975. He became a full professor in 1953 and was head of the department during the 1968-1969 academic year. His achievements included being named the Fenn Student Council's "Outstanding Professor" in 1945; receiving the UNI College of Natural Sciences' "Dean's Award for Superior Achievement'; and served as president of the Iowa Academy of Science from 1976-1977. Poppy also co-authored two books, The Physical Sciences with Emmett Cable, Robert Getchell, and William Kadesch; and Exploring the Physical Sciences with Leland Wilson. He was also a member of the Arcturus Club and the American Association of Physics Teachers. Poppy died on April 12, 1996, in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Extent
1.67 Linear Feet (4 boxes)
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Professor Ralph Engardt, a colleague of Poppy in the UNI Department of Physics, brought this collection of papers to the Archives in 1997.
Processing Information
Material processed by Gerald L. Peterson and finding aid prepared by Gerald L. Peterson and Susan Basye, September and October 1997. Updated by Library Associate Dave Hoing, January 2018 and April 2018. Linear Feet updated September 17, 2017.
- Title
- Willard Joseph Poppy Papers
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script