Entomology at Oregon State University 1890-2008. Entomology has a long
and proud history at Oregon State University since its founding as the
state’s designated land grant institution in 1868. Entomology as an
undergraduate subject has been taught at the university since 1873. The
Department of Zoology and Entomology was formed in 1889-1890.
Entomology became a separate department in 1914 and has offered B.S.
and B.A. degrees in Entomology since that time. The first M.S. degree
in Entomology was awarded in 1914 and the first Ph.D. degree in 1942.
As recently as 1995, the Entomology Department at Oregon State
University was the largest of its kind in the Pacific Northwest with 19
professorial faculty members and strong, widely recognized programs in
undergraduate and graduate teaching, research and extension. The
Entomology Department was recognized four times in US News & World
Report as one of the top five entomology departments in the United
States – the only department at Oregon State University ever included
in that list.
In 2003, an administrative decision was made by the College of
Agricultural Sciences and the College of Science to disband the
Department of Entomology and disperse its faculty among existing
departments in the two colleges. Since then, Entomology at Oregon State
University has continued as a skeletal interdepartmental program
administered by the Dean’s Office in the College of Agricultural
Sciences. The Entomology Program continued to offer graduate degrees in
Entomology but discontinued the undergraduate major and minor. In 2007,
the Entomology faculty asked the College of Agricultural Sciences to
create the position of Entomology Program Coordinator to help revive
Entomology at Oregon State University and provide administrative
leadership for the program.
Historical documents that were owned by the department were deposited into the OSU Archives.
