Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

Conditions Governing Access

The colletion is open to research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Jean Phillips Papers, Ms1998-026, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The Jean Phillips Papers were donated to Special Collections and University Archives in 1998.

Processing Information

The processing and description of the Jean Phillips Papers commenced and was completed in November, 2023.

Biographical / Historical

Jean Allen, daughter of John M. and Catherine Carrie Weller Arnold Allen, was born in Knoxville (Knox County), Tennessee, on December 10, 1918. She earned her bachelor's degree in home economics at the University of Tennessee in 1940 and married Dr. Leonard J. Phillips (1900-1954) in Knoxville on August 4, 1943. The 1950 federal census lists the couple as residents of Chattanooga (Hamilton County), Tennessee, with Jean Phillips working as a homemaker. Phillips returned to school and work following her husband's death, earning her master's degree at the University of Tennessee with the thesis "Student Personnel Supervision at the University of Tennessee Cafeteria" in 1955. She worked as an instructor at the university from 1954 until 1958, when she was hired as associate professor at Purdue University. She earned her doctorate at Purdue in 1966. That same year, she became an associate professor at University of Tennessee at Martin, a position in which she served until 1969, when she joined the Department of Human Nutrition and Foods (later the Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise) at Virginia Tech. During her tenure, Phillips co-authored a college textbook ( Foods (sixth and seventh eds., with Gladys Vail) and wrote several other publications relating to food and nutrition. Phillips was named Virginia's outstanding home economics teacher for 1973/1974, and received the Wine Award for Excellence in Teaching at Virginia Tech in 1975. She retired in 1985. Jean A. Phillips died in Birmingham (Jefferson County), Alabama, on July 16, 2003, and was buried in Old Gray Cemetery, Knoxville.

Scope and Contents

This collection contains papers of Jean Allen Phillips, a professor of human nutrition and foods at Virginia Tech from 1969 to 1985. The papers consist largely of professional correspondence, with much of it devoted to the sixth and seventh editions of Foods: an Introductory College Course (and the accompanying Foods, a Laboratory Manual ), which Phillips co-authored with Gladys E. Vail. Included are letters from Gail and from editor Nancy G. Bergman and others at Houghon Mifflin Copmany. Accompanying the correspondence are Houghton Mifflin sales reports and promotional materials relating to Foods .) Other correspondence relates to Phillips' teaching career and administrative work. Also included are copies of two essays about Phillips, written by Virginia Tech student Evelyn Wight.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Faculty and staff
• Home economics
• University History
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute (1944-1970)
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (1970-)

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the Jean Phillips Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).