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Clyne S. Shaffner papers

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1903.1/1340

Abstract

Title:
Clyne S. Shaffner papers
Author/Creator:
Shaffner, Clyne S.
Collection number:
2003-19
Size:
1.25 linear feet
Bulk dates:
1938-1947
Inclusive dates:
1938-1947
Collection Area:
University of Maryland
Repository:
Special Collections, University of Maryland Libraries, Hornbake Library, College Park, MD 20742. Tel: 301-405-9212, Fax: 301-314-2709, Email: askhornbake@umd.edu
Abstract:

Clyne S. Shaffner (1914-1984) had a lengthy career in Poultry Science, during which he made great advances in preserving chicken sperm through freezing. Shaffner was born April 18, 1914, in Freeland, Michigan. As a young man, he was active in the Michigan Junior Farm Bureau. He earned his B. S. degree at Michigan State College in 1938, his M. S. in 1940, and his Ph. D. from Purdue University in 1947. In 1947 he accepted a position as Associate Professor of Physiology and Genetics in the Department of Poultry Science at the University of Maryland. He served as department head until 1971 and remained at Maryland until his retirement in 1977. A fellow of the Poultry Science Association and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, he also served as president of the Poultry Science Association from 1961 to 1962. Shaffner died in West Laurel, Maryland, on May 19, 1984, at the age of seventy. The Clyne S. Shaffner papers contain notes and assignments from Shaffner's classes at Michigan State College and Purdue University in the early 1940s, publications of the Michigan Junior Farm Bureau, and personal letters to Shaffner from Laura Jean Denham.

Important Information for Users of the Collection

Restrictions:

This collection is open for research.

Preferred citation:

Clyne S. Shaffner papers, Special Collections, University of Maryland Libraries.

Publication rights:

Photocopies of original materials may be provided for a fee and at the discretion of the curator. Please see our Duplication of Materials policy for more information. Queries regarding publication rights and copyright status of materials within this collection should be directed to the appropriate curator.

Status:

This collection is PROCESSED.

Historical Note

Clyne S. Shaffner was born April 18, 1914, in Freeland, Michigan. As a young man, Shaffner helped operate the family farm and was active in the Michigan Junior Farm Bureau. Shaffner earned his B. S. degree at Michigan State College in 1938. He stayed at Michigan for an additional two years, graduating with an M. S. in 1940 before going on to Purdue University to study for a Ph. D.

Shaffner's doctoral studies were interrupted by a stint in the U. S. Navy from 1944 to 1946. Upon his return, however, he picked up his academic work immediately and graduated in 1947. In the same year he accepted a position as Associate Professor of Physiology and Genetics in the Department of Poultry Science at the University of Maryland. By the time Shaffner became department head in 1955, he had met and married his wife Nancy and had become a father. The Shaffners eventually had two children, Neil and Catherine. He served as department head until 1971 and remained at Maryland until his retirement in 1977.

From his doctoral studies on, Shaffner was interested in fowl reproduction, particularly in the emerging field of semen preservation through freezing. A fellow of the Poultry Science Association and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, he also served as president of the Poultry Science Association from 1961 to 1962.

Shaffner died in West Laurel, Maryland, on May 19, 1984, at the age of seventy.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Clyne S. Shaffner papers date from 1938 to 1947 and consist of publications from the Michigan Junior Farm Bureau, personal correspondence, and photographs as well as class notes, research materials, tests, and memos from Shaffner's studies at Michigan State College, Purdue University, and summer school at the University of Missouri.

Shaffner's main interests include farm management and poultry anatomy, but he particularly focused on poultry reproduction and the problem of preserving chicken semen by freezing it.

Custodial History and Acquisition Information

The University of Maryland Libraries originally accessioned the Papers of Clyne S. Shaffner as part of the Records of the Department of Poultry, University of Maryland, in 1974. The papers were separated from the Department of Poultry records when those files were appraised in fall 2002.

Processing Information

Processed by:

Processed by Sarah Heim, January 2003.

Processing note:

The collection was transferred into acid-free folders, housed in acid-free boxes, and organized into four series. The photographs were interleaved with acid-free paper.

Encoded by:

EAD markup created using EAD database in Microsoft Access. Markup completed by Jennie A. Levine.

Arrangement of Collection

The collection is organized as four series:

Detailed Description of the Collection

Series 1: Personal Materials, 1938-1941 and undated (32 items)

This series contains correspondence to Shaffner from Laura Jean Denham. Shaffner and Denham apparently met at Michigan State College, as she refers to their relationship as a "college romance." Most of the letters are undated, but it appears that the two corresponded while Shaffner worked on his M. S. at Michigan and Denham taught in Dowagiac, Michigan. The relationship ended in April 1941, after Shaffner began his doctoral work at Purdue.

Also included are documents from Shaffner's 1938 stay at Waldenwoods, the Michigan Junior Farm Bureau's summer camp. Eight unidentified photographs were transferred to Series IV: Photographs. Arrangement is chronological, except for the correspondence, which remains in the same order as before the papers were processed.

DescriptionSeriesBox / ReelFolder / Frame
Correspondence, 1940-1941 and undated series 1box 1folder 1
[Michigan] Junior Farm Bureau, Waldenwoods publications, 1938 series 1box 1folder 2

Series 2: Course Work, 1938-1941 and undated (152 items)

This series contains tests, papers, syllabi, class notes, and homework assignments for classes Shaffner took at Michigan State College, Purdue University, and the University of Missouri. Arrangement is by institution, then chronological, with undated materials at the end of the series.

DescriptionSeriesBox / ReelFolder / Frame
Michigan State College -- Course Work -- Genetics 501, 1938-1939 series 2box 2folder 1
Michigan State College -- Course Work -- Horticulture 504, Fall 1939 series 2box 2folder 2
Michigan State College -- Course Work -- Physiology 302, Fall 1939 series 2box 2folder 3
Michigan State College -- Course Work -- Physiology 313, Fall 1939 series 2box 2folder 4
Michigan State College -- Course Work -- Physiology 311, Winter 1939-1940 series 2box 2folder 5
Michigan State College -- Course Work -- Physiology 312, Spring 1940 series 2box 2folder 6
Master's Thesis, Michigan State College of Agriculture -- Michigan State College of Agriculture, 1940 series 2box 2folder 7
Commencement -- Michigan State College, June, 1940 series 2box 2folder 8
Purdue University -- Course Work -- Farm Management 106 -- tests, Fall 1940 series 2box 2folder 9
Purdue University -- Course Work -- Histology -- notes, Fall 1940 series 2box 2folder 10
Purdue University -- Course Work -- Statistics 215, Spring 1941 series 2box 2folder 11
University of Missouri -- Course Work -- Cellular Physiology, Summer 1941 series 2box 2folder 12
Course Work [unidentified] -- Anatomy 307, undated series 2box 2folder 13
Course Work [unidentified] -- Anatomy 308, undated series 2box 2folder 14

Series 3: Graduate Research, 1939-1947 (163 items)

This series contains documents relating to Shaffner's doctoral research at Purdue University, including experimental data, administrative memos, and accounts of related research. Arrangement is chronological.

DescriptionSeriesBox / ReelFolder / Frame
Purdue University -- Sex control experiments sponsored by the News [New York], 1939 series 3box 3folder 1
Purdue University -- Graduate Study -- memos, 1940-1947 series 3box 3folder 2
Purdue University -- Poultry notes -- general, 1942 series 3box 3folder 3
Purdue University -- Research -- Project Number 304 -- Original Records, 1946-1947 series 3box 3folder 4
Purdue University -- Research -- Project Number 304 -- Original Records, undated series 3box 3folder 5
Purdue University -- Research -- Project Number 304 -- Additional, undated series 3box 3folder 6
Purdue University -- Research -- Project Number 304 -- Fertility Data, undated series 3box 3folder 7
Purdue University -- Research -- Project Number 304 -- Gland Weights, undated series 3box 3folder 8
Purdue University -- Research -- Project Number 304 -- Metabolism, undated series 3box 3folder 9
Purdue University -- Research -- Project Number 304-B, 1947 series 3box 3folder 10

Series 4: Photographs, Undated (8 items)

These photographs are unidentified and undated, but three of them appear to be from Shaffner's time at the Michigan Junior Farm Bureau's summer camp. Three photographs show an identified woman standing next to a snowman. The two portraits most likely depict Laura Jean Denham (one was taken in Dowagiac, Michigan).

The box inventory for this series is not currently available online. Please refer to the series description above for a broad description of the materials or contact the department for more information.

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