United States Army Supply Officers Training School (Harvard University) records
Overview
Classroom instructional materials and other administrative records from the United States. Army. Supply Officers Training School (Harvard University).
Dates
- Creation: 1942-1944
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research. Materials stored offsite; access requires advance notice. HBS Archives collections require a secondary registration form, please contact specialcollectionsref@hbs.edu for more information.
Extent
9 linear feet (8 cartons, 1 flat box)The bulk of the collection consists of student folders, preserved as a record of who attended the Army Supply Officers Training School (but restricted according to Harvard policy for 80 years from date of creation). Unrestricted documents consist primarily of classroom instructional materials. This collection does not contain materials pertaining to student recreational or social activities, or to evaluation of trainees.
Historical Note:
The U.S. War Department established a three month Advanced Technical Training Course at Harvard Business School on April 10, 1943, for Army Supply Officers, as part of the program of wartime service schools that operated between the spring of 1942 and January 1946. The Army Supply Officers Training School (ASOTS) admitted and trained 200 Army quartermaster officers every three months. (The precursor of ASOTS at HBS had been the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps ROTC Program, eliminated in 1943 after the War Department activated all reserve officers.) Students were selected for ASOTS on the basis of outstanding military records. The objective of the course was to prepare officers for higher responsibilities in supply work for the Army by teaching them the language, problems, and viewpoints of businessmen and industrial organizations. Students learned industrial methods adaptable to supply operations and analyzed administrative problems by means of the case method.
Series Outline
The collection is arranged in the following series:
- Series I. General Records, 1943-1944
- Series II. Student Records [restricted], 1942-1943
Physical Location
ARCAD
Processing Information
Processed: November 1995
By: Jeff Mifflin
Processing Note:
Materials for the collection were brought together from several locations at Baker Library Historical Collections. In some cases, folders were removed from other collections (such as registration materials, examinations, etc.) and added to this collection. Student face cards, alumni file cards, grade point averages and class ranks, and folders containing routine housekeeping information were removed or destroyed. Paper clips, rubber bands, and binders were removed and discarded, but no attempt was made to remove examinations from the bound volume in which they were found. Materials have been refoldered and rehoused in acid-neutral containers, with the exception of student records.
- Title
- United States. Army. United States Army Supply Officers Training School (Harvard University) Records, 1942-1944: A Finding Aid
- Author
- Baker Library
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- bak00183
Repository Details
Part of the Baker Library Special Collections and Archives, Harvard Business School Repository
Baker Library Special Collections and Archives holds unique resources that focus on the evolution of business and industry, as well as the records of the Harvard Business School, documenting the institution's development over the last century. These rich and varied collections support research in a diverse range of fields such as business, economic, social and cultural history as well as the history of science and technology.
Baker Library | Bloomberg Center
Soldiers Field Road
Boston MA 01263 USA
(617) 495-6411
specialcollectionsref@hbs.edu