Summary |
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| Creator: | Hoople, Gordon D. |
| Title: | Gordon D. Hoople Papers |
| Dates: | 1908-1972 |
| Size: | 3.75 linear feet |
| Abstract: | Materials from Gordon D. Hoople's time as a student, professor, Alumni Association President, and Chair of the Board of Trustees at Syracuse University |
| Language: | English |
| Repository: |
University Archives, Special Collections Research Center Syracuse University Libraries 222 Waverly Ave., Suite 600 Syracuse, NY 13244-2010 https://library.syracuse.edu/special-collections-research-center/university-archives |
Biography
Gordon D. Hoople (1895-1973) graduated from Syracuse University, Class of 1915, and its College of Medicine, Class of 1919. He was not only a physician but he also served as professor and chairman of the Board of Trustees at Syracuse University as well as president of the University's Alumni Association.
Gordon D. Hoople grew up in Brooklyn, New York. After high school, he moved to Syracuse, New York to study medicine, following his siblings who also attended Syracuse University. Hoople graduated magna cum laude from Syracuse University in 1915 and then graduated summa cum laude from the College of Medicine in 1919. He was president of his class as well as a member of the 1915 championship crew team, Phi Beta Kappa and other honor societies, the YMCA, and senior council.
Early in his career as a physician, Hoople made two journeys to China. In 1921, while working as an intern at the Brooklyn Hospital, Hoople went to Chongqing, China as a medical missionary and co-founded Syracuse-in-China. This missionary program, modeled after similar programs at Yale and Harvard, brought doctors overseas to staff hospitals. In 1922, he returned for a honeymoon with his new wife, Dorothy.
In 1923, Hoople settled back in the United States and became a professor of otolaryngology at the College of Medicine (now SUNY Upstate Medical Hospital). Hoople inaugurated Syracuse University's Student Health Services in 1923 and helped created the University's Department of Special Education in the 1940s.
From 1928 to 1935 Hoople served as president of Syracuse University's Alumni Association. He was elected to the University's Board of Trustees in 1938 and continued to serve until 1967.
With the advent of the World War II, Hoople's time at Syracuse University was interrupted. He served as medical chief in the ear, nose, and throat section of a hospital overseas from 1942 to 1945. Hoople earned a Bronze Star Medal for his service in 1945 and wrote frequently about his feelings toward the war, most of which were negative. One of his letters begins, "The days aren't long enough. For which I am thankful." Upon returning home, Hoople spoke at length about the tragedies he witnessed; however, it was working with men deafened by the war that pushed him to find new solutions to deafness.
In 1951 he was awarded the Arents medal, the highest award for Syracuse University alumni, for his work in otology. In 1953, when he retired as a professor, the Hoople Special Education Building was constructed at Syracuse University, and he served as director of the Hearing and Speech Center housed inside. His career in medicine continued well into his late sixties when he also served as medical advisor for the Deafness Research Foundation from 1960 to 1965.
Gordon D. Hoople was a member of the American Medical Association and the New York State Medical Association, and he served on the Board of Directors of the American Hearing Society. He was also a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology. Hoople received many certificates of recognition during his career, including acceptance into the American College of Surgeons in 1964.
Hoople was elected chairman to the Board of Trustees in 1963. While serving on the board, he helped in Chancellor Tolley's efforts to expand the University as part of the "Syracuse Plan." He continued to serve as chairman until 1967. He regularly spoke at special events and convocations and in 1967 was awarded an honorary doctorate of laws from Syracuse University.
Gordon D. Hoople died in 1973.
Scope and Content Note
The Gordon D. Hoople Papers include personal and professional materials, much from his time at Syracuse University. This collection includes the following series:
The Alumni Association series contains Hoople's correspondence regarding the 50th anniversary of the Class of 1915, as well as photographs and speeches related to his involvement in the association.
The Board of Trustees series comprises clippings about his involvement on the board, correspondence, photographs of Hoople at convocations, reports, and speeches given while he was a member of the Board of Trustees.
The Personal materials series includes items related to Hoople's time in the military, including his Bronze Star Medal, correspondence, journal, and photographs. There are also certificates and correspondence related to his receiving the Arents Medal, materials related to his travels in China, correspondence with his niece, Carol Janet Rawlings, photographs of his family and friends, notes of his speeches, and some church and other religious material.
The Professional materials series contains a report given to the Syracuse University Department of Special Education, copies of his speeches, certificates from the societies of which he was a member, as well as correspondence, clippings, and photographs related to his work with the College of Medicine. There are also a series of projector slides with quotes related to his profession as an otologist.
Restrictions
Access Restrictions
Please note that the collection is housed off-site, and advance notice is required to allow time to have the materials brought to the Reading Room on campus.
Use Restrictions
Written permission must be obtained from the Syracuse University Archives and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.
Related Material
All clippings related to the dedication of the Newhouse Center in 1964 were removed and incorporated into the University Archives clippings collection.
The Archives holds both a clippings file and portrait file for Gordon D. Hoople.
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Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Preferred citation for this material is as follows:
Gordon D. Hoople Papers,
University Archives,
Special Collections Research Center
Syracuse University Libraries
Acquisition Information
Gift of the Hoople Estate in 1983 and Dr. Robert Hoople in 2021 and 2023.
Processing Information
Materials were rehoused in acid-free folders and boxes.
Finding Aid Information
Created by: Tim Carter and Meg Mason
Date: 2016
Revision history: 29 April 2021 - 0.25 linear feet added, stylistic changes to finding aid
(EMB);
July 2023 - 7 photographs added, photo moved to oversize folder (SS)