Table of Contents
- Collection Summary
- Biographical Note
- Scope and Content Note
- Subject Headings
- Related Material
- Administrative Information
- Access and Use
- Encoding Information
- Container List
Collection Summary
| Repository: | Archives and Special Collections Library, Vassar College Libraries |
|---|---|
| Creator: | Asprey, Winifred A. |
| Title: | Winifred Asprey Papers |
| Dates: | circa 1933-2007 |
| Quantity: | 9.2 cubic feet (14 boxes) |
| Abstract: | The collection contains materials related to Winifred Asprey's work as a mathematician and computer scientist, particularly during her years as a faculty member at Vassar College. Materials include biographical materials, research and teaching materials, writings, and photographs. |
Biographical Note
Winifred "Tim" Asprey was a mathematician and computer scientist. She taught at Vassar College from 1945-1982. During her tenure, Vassar became one of the first U.S. colleges to establish a computer center and offer courses in computer science.
Asprey was born in Sioux City, Iowa in 1917. She was the daughter of Peter Asprey Jr. and Gladys Brown Asprey, Vassar Class of 1905. She attended Brownell Hall, a preparatory school in Omaha, Nebraska, from 1933-1934, then went to Vassar herself, graduating in 1938. She completed her graduate work at the University of Iowa in 1945 and returned to Vassar that year to teach in the Math Department. She eventually developed an interest in computing, a new specialization in the mathematics field. She was encouraged in this area by Grace Murray Hopper, another Vassar math professor who had gone on to computing fame for her work with the UNIVAC and applications using COBOL. Hopper had left Vassar by the time Asprey returned, but they maintained a close relationship. Asprey even lived in the house that Hopper and her husband built at Vassar.
Asprey's work went beyond Vassar's walls as well. She conducted research at nearby IBM, taught courses at high schools and other colleges (including Marist and SUNY New Paltz), lectured widely, and was active in the field. She retired in 1982, but stayed active in the Vassar community and continued to live in the Hopper house on the edge of campus until her death in 2007 at the age of 90.
TopChronology
| 1917 Apr 8 | Born in Sioux City, IA |
| 1938 | B.A. from Vassar College |
| 1942 | M.A. from University of Iowa |
| 1945 | Ph.D. from University of Iowa |
| 1963 | Vassar College Computer Science Center founded |
| 1967 | Vassar College purchased IBM System/360 computer |
| 1982 | Retired from Vassar |
| 1989 | Vassar College's Asprey Advanced Computation Laboratory opened |
| 2007 Oct 19 | Died in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. |
Scope and Content Note
The collection contains materials related to Winifred Asprey's work as a mathematician and computer scientist, particularly during her years as a faculty member at Vassar College. Materials include biographical materials, research and teaching materials, writings, and photographs.
TopAccess and Use
Access
This collection is open for research according to the regulations of the Vassar College Archives and Special Collections Library without any additional restrictions.
Restrictions on Use
Permission to quote (publish) from unpublished or previously published material must be obtained as described in the regulations of the Vassar College Archives and Special Collections Library.
Subject Headings
Names:
- Hopper, Grace Murray
Organizations:
- Brownell Hall, (Omaha, Neb.)
- Vassar College--Faculty
- Vassar College--Students
Subjects:
- Computer science--Study and teaching
- Mathematics--Study and teaching
- Women college teachers
- Women computer scientists
- Women mathematician
Document Types:
- Clippings (information artifacts)
- Correspondence
- Diaries
- Photograph albums
- Photographs
- Scrapbooks
VCL Categories:
- Math, Science and Medicine
- Vassar College
Encoding Information
Finding aid encoded by Jason Kovari, 3 February 2009. Updated by Laura Streett, July 2009 and May 2012.
TopAdministrative Information
Preferred Citation
Winifred Asprey Papers, Archives and Special Collections Library, Vassar College Libraries.
Processing Information
Processed by Laura Streett, 2008. Updated 2012.
Please note: the photographic material in this collection is largely unprocessed. Please contact the archivist for further information.
Acquisition Information
Materials acquired from the Estate of Winifred Asprey, 2007, 2009 and 2012. (M2007-019, M2009-021, M2012-004)
Container List
| Box 5 | Audio tapes |
| Box 12 | Biography - Clippings and posters |
| Box 12 | Biography - Clippings of articles by Jonathan W. Brown (Grandfather?) |
| Box 1 | Biography - Date Books/Journals |
| Box 13 | Biography - Education - Yearbooks (2 volumes) |
| Box 1 | Biography - General |
| Box 1 | Biography - Interview transcripts, 2007 |
| Box 1 | Biography - Memorial Service, 2007 |
| Box 2 | Biography - Parents (Peter and Gladys Asprey) |
| Box 6 | Biography - Scrapbook - 90th Birthday, Vassar College, 2007 (1 volume) |
| Box 13 | Biography - Scrapbook - Brownell Hall, circa 1933-1934 |
| Box 13 | Biography - Scrapbook - Vassar College, circa 1934-1938 (3 volumes) |
| Box 1 | Biography - Travel |
| Box 2 | Charitable work |
| Box 1 | Correspondence |
| Box 2 | Grace Hopper |
| Box 2 | Larned B. Asprey (brother) |
| Box 14 | Photographs - Albums (4 albums) |
| Box 2 | Photographs - Albums (4 albums) |
| Box 6 | Photographs - Albums (3 albums) |
| Box 6 | Photographs - Clark Symposium, 1997 Apr (1 disk) |
| Box 11 | Photographs - Lists |
| Boxes 7-10 | Photographs - Miscellaneous Prints |
| Box 12 | Photographs - Portraits of Asprey |
| Box 8 | Photographs - Portraits of Asprey |
| Box 6 | Photographs - Scans for 90th birthday (3 disks) |
| Box 6 | Photographs - Scans for Memorial Service, 2007 (1 disk) |
| Box 5 | Photographs - Slides |
| Box 6 | Photographs - Vassar Reunion, 2004 (1 disk) |
| Box 11 | Research and teaching material |
| Box 4 | Research and teaching material |
| Boxes 2-3 | Vassar College |
| Box 6 | Vassar College - Asprey Advanced Computation Laboratory Guest book, 1989 Apr 22 |
| Box 14 | Vassar College - Asprey Advanced Computation Laboratory plaque |
| Box 6 | Vassar College - Clark Symposium Guest book, 1997 Apr |
| Box 6 | Video - Asprey's remarks at Clark Symposium, 1997 Apr (1 disk) |
| Box 3 | Writings and speeches |
Return to the Table of Contents
Details
The collection contains materials related to Winifred Asprey's work as a mathematician and computer scientist, particularly during her years as a faculty member at Vassar College. Materials include biographical materials, research and teaching materials, writings, and photographs.
