Hope Hibbard Papers, 1891-1988
| Oberlin College Archives
Administrative/Biographical History
Hope Hibbard (1893-1988, A.B. 1916, M.A. 1918, Ph.d.. 1921, D.S 1928) was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania to the parents of Mary Scofield (1868-1895), and Herbert Wade Hibbard (1863-1929). Shortly after her mother died in 1895, Hope Hibbard and her family moved briefly to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and later to Ithaca N.Y in 1898. It was during this time that Hibbard's father got remarried to Mary Davis (1872-1967). Eleven years later, Hibbard and her family moved to Columbia, Missouri where she later attended the University of Missouri, and earned an A.B. degree in Biology in 1916. Two years later Hope Hibbard received her M.A degree from the same university.
After leaving the University of Missouri at Columbia, Hope Hibbard went on to earn two doctorates. In 1921 she received her first doctorate in zoology at Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, where she studied the fertilization in sea-urchin eggs. Before receiving her second doctorate, Hibbard taught zoology for three years at Elmira College in New York. In 1925, she decided to continue her research abroad at the Sorbonne in Paris largely under a fellowship from the American Association of University Women. In 1928, Hibbard received her Doctor of Science degree from the Sorbonne for her study of oogenesis in frog eggs.
Hope Hibbard's long and illustrious association with Oberlin College began in 1928 when she joined the college's Department of Zoology. At this particular time, there were only twenty-two women on the Oberlin College faculty. In just two years, she was granted tenure and became an Associate Professor of Zoology at Oberlin College. Aside from her teaching duties, Hibbard published a number of papers based on her research of the tissues and organs of limpets, earthworms, squid and silkworms. During her summers off from teaching at Oberlin, Hibbard visited the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, Massachusetts where a number of zoologists gathered to exchange ideas about their particular areas of research. One of Hope Hibbard's more significant contributions to the field of zoology was her research on the Golgi apparatus. In her last published paper in 1945, Hibbard reported on her findings on the current status of knowledge regarding the golgi apparatus. In recognition of her work, she was appointed to the Adelia A. Field Johnston Professorship in 1952, and later became the chairperson of the Department of Zoology. During her teaching career at Oberlin, Hope Hibbard served on a number of faculty committees such as: Elective Studies, the Board of Advisors, and the Faculty-Student Conference Committee. Hibbard was also an active member of a number of scientific organizations which included: the American Society of Zoologists, the American Society of Naturalists, and the American Institute of Biological Sciences. After thirty-three years of teaching at Oberlin College, Hope Hibbard retired in 1961.
Aside from her teaching and research, Hope Hibbard was also known both for her community work in the city of Oberlin and for her willingness to take positions on a variety of issues. She was active in the following organizations: the American Association of University Women (AAUW), and the Progressive Women's Club of Oberlin; she also helped to organize the Oberlin chapter of the League of Women Voters in 1936. On a number of occasions, she presented lectures on the role of women in education, science, and politics to both local and national women's groups. She was also an advocate of nuclear disarmament and in June, 1982, she attended a demonstration at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City.
During her retirement, Hibbard traveled extensively throughout Europe, South America, Australia and Africa. Remaining single all of her life, Hibbard also devoted some of her free time to her extended family of nieces and nephews; and great-nieces and nephews. Hope Hibbard remained active well into her nineties, but after a long illness, she died in her hometown of Oberlin on May 12, 1988 at the age of ninety-four.
Subjects (links to similar collections) Forms of Material (links to similar genres) Administrative InformationAdditional material regarding Hope Hibbard may be found in the following institutional collections: Annual Reports in Secretary's Office (5), Former Faculty and Staff (28), Papers of the Presidents, Ernest Hatch Wilkins (2/7), and William E. Stevenson (2/8), and the Dean of Arts and Sciences (9).
Hope Hibbard’s 1928 diploma for her Doctor of Natural Science from the Sorbonne, Paris, is housed in RG 45 Miscellaneous Manuscripts, oversize box 1.
The papers of Hope Hibbard document the particular areas of research that Hope Hibbard conducted as a zoologist. The papers also document her extensive career as a teacher and lecturer in the Department of Zoology at Oberlin College. The papers do not however, document Hibbard's work on the various faculty committees she served on while teaching at Oberlin College. The papers are organized into four distinct series which are: 1. Correspondence; 2. Writings; 3. Zoology Alumni Survey File; and 4. Miscellaneous Material.
SERIES DESCRIPTIONS
Series 1. Correspondence 1891-1983, n.d. (2 folders)
This series is arranged into two subseries: 1. Family Correspondence and 2. General Correspondence. The Family Correspondence subseries consists of letters from various members of Hope Hibbard's family that are either addressed to Hope Hibbard or to another member of her family. Many of the letters addressed to Hope Hibbard were written by Hibbard's father, Herbert Wade, during the time she attended college. There is also correspondence between Mary Davis and Mary Scofield which precedes the birth of Hope Hibbard. The General Correspondence subseries consists primarily of announcement or appointment letters from the various colleges and universities that Hibbard was affiliated with.
Series 2. Writings 1919-1952, n.d. (7 folders)
This series is arranged into two subseries: 1. Speeches and Lectures and 2. Publications. The Speeches and Lectures subseries contain written notes and outlines of speeches and lectures that Hope Hibbard gave at faculty and student conferences, seminars, and various other functions at Oberlin College. Aside from lecture notes and outlines on Hibbard's zoological research, the subseries also contain lecture material pertaining to her thoughts and ideas on her experiences abroad, as well as her ideas and her early pro-feminist stance on the changing roles of women in academia, science, and politics. The Publications subseries contains all of the major writings of Hope Hibbard that were either published or reprinted from various scientific journals. It also includes the two doctoral theses that were authored by Hibbard in the 1920's.
Series 3. Zoology Alumni Survey File 1953-1957, n.d. (13 folders)
This series contains material on a particular survey done by Hope Hibbard, which premise was to gather recent data on Oberlin College alumni who studied zoology. The information given by former students in these questionnaires was then to be used for a future newsletter. Contained in the series are: the sample letter, letters from former zoology students, and the filled-out questionnaires. Arranged alphabetically by last name, the questionnaires contain data such as an alumnist's occupation, professional activities, marital status, and an alumnist's non-occupational interests.
Series 4 Miscellaneous Material, 1916-1988, n.d. (2 folders)
This final series is arranged into two subseries: 1. Biographical material and 2. Photographs. The first subseries contains various local newspaper articles and obituary notices on Hope Hibbard. Included are: a copy of Hibbard's vita, commencement programs, the Hibbard family tree, and an unfinished autobiography. The second subseries consists primarily of black and white and color photographs of Hope Hibbard that were taken both during and after her teaching career at Oberlin College.
INVENTORY
Series 1. Correspondence
Box 1
Correspondence
Family Correspondence, 1891-1974
General Correspondence, 1913-1983
Series 2. Writings
Box 1 (cont.)
Writings
Speeches and Lectures, 1928-1952,
n.d. (5f)
Publications, 1919-1945 (2f)
Series 3. Zoology Alumni Survey File
Box 2
Zoology Alumni Survey File
Sample Letter, 1954
Zoology Alumni Correspondence,
1953-1957, n.d. (3f)
Zoology Alumni Questionnaires, A-Z (10f)
Series 4. Miscellaneous Material
Box 2 (cont.)
Miscellaneous Material
Biographical Material, 1916-1988
Photographs, n.d.
Box 3
Travel notebooks and photgraphs
Family Album