Fonds - Richard Splane and Verna Huffman Splane fonds

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

Richard Splane and Verna Huffman Splane fonds

General material designation

    Parallel title

    Other title information

    Title statements of responsibility

    Title notes

    • Parallel titles and other title information: Formerly known as the Richard B. Splane fonds

    Level of description

    Fonds

    Reference code

    Edition area

    Edition statement

    Edition statement of responsibility

    Class of material specific details area

    Statement of scale (cartographic)

    Statement of projection (cartographic)

    Statement of coordinates (cartographic)

    Statement of scale (architectural)

    Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

    Dates of creation area

    Date(s)

    • 1936-2013 (Creation)
      Creator
      Splane, Richard B.
    • 1936-2013 (Creation)
      Creator
      Splane, Verna Huffman

    Physical description area

    Physical description

    7.12 m of textual records and other materials.

    Publisher's series area

    Title proper of publisher's series

    Parallel titles of publisher's series

    Other title information of publisher's series

    Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series

    Numbering within publisher's series

    Note on publisher's series

    Archival description area

    Name of creator

    (1916-2015)

    Biographical history

    Richard Beverly Splane was born in 1916 in Calgary, Alberta. During the Great Depression Richard worked in construction camps with Frontier College in Alberta and then taught in a one-room school for two years. Following this he went on to earn a B.A. in economics and history from McMaster University (1944) and M.A. (1945), M.S.W. (1951) and D.S.W. (1961) from the University of Toronto. He served in the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War, afterwards staying in London to complete a certificate in Social Science and Administration from the London School of Economics. He returned to Canada with his wife, Marion, to continue his education at the University of Toronto after which he worked for the federal government in various important positions in the Department of National Health and Welfare including: Economist, Research Division; Executive Assistant to the Deputy Minister of National Welfare; Director, Unemployment Assistance; Director General, Welfare Assistance and Services; Assistant Deputy Minister, Social Allowances and Services. In addition to his significant contributions to the development of the social welfare system in Canada, Splane was also very interested in international welfare issues. He served as Canada's representative on the UNICEF Board and was a member of the United Nations' Expert Group on Social Welfare Policy and Planning. In 1973 he became a professor in the School of Social Work at the University of British Columbia and served as acting director of the School 1980/81. He retired from UBC in 1982. Before and after his retirement he served on the boards of many organizations such as the International Council on Social Welfare, the International Association of Schools of Social Work, the World Federalists, and the Vancouver Branch of the the United Nations Association of Canada. He held many honours and awards – he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and was awarded honorary degrees from Wilfred Laurier University, McMaster University, the University of Toronto, and UBC. He died in November 2015.
    Verna and Richard were married in 1971 following the death of Richard’s first wife Marion. After their move to Vancouver they were active members of the University Hill congregation of the United Church of Canada, and together undertook a study on Chief Nursing Officer positions around the Globe, which resulted in the 1994 publication Chief Nursing Officers in National Ministries of Health: Focal Points for Nursing Leadership. In 1996 they were awarded UBC’s first ever-joint honorary degree.

    Name of creator

    (1914-2015)

    Biographical history

    Verna Huffman Splane was born in 1914 in Peterborough, Ontario. She became a nurse after high school. In 1939 received a diploma in Public Health from the University of Toronto School of Nursing, and worked from the Victorian Order of Nurses until she entered Columbia University where she graduated with a Bachelor in Science in 1957 and then went on to earn a master’s degree in public health from the University of Michigan. After she graduated she worked for the World Health Organization as a nurse advisory in the health ministries of Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, and the Windward and Leeward Islands. Upon her return to Canada she joined the federal Department of National Health and Welfare as a public health nursing consultant from 1963-1966, though she returned to the WHO to work on a national health planning project in Libya in 1966. In 1967 she once again returned to Canada, becoming Canada’s first Chief Nursing Officer, a position that she held until 1972. After her marriage to Richard Splane in 1971 the couple moved to Vancouver in 1973 where Verna joined the UBC School of Nursing from 1975 to 1984, and in 1985 she joined the University of Victoria School of Nursing faculty until 1991. She was made an Officer of the Order of Canada, and was granted the Queen’s Silver and Golden Jubilee medals (1977 and 2002). She held several honorary degrees and won awards such as the Jeanne Mance Award and the Lillian Carter Centre for International Nursing Award from Emory University. She died in January 2015.
    Verna and Richard were married in 1971 following the death of Richard’s first wife Marion. After their move to Vancouver they were active members of the University Hill congregation of the United Church of Canada, and together undertook a study on Chief Nursing Officer positions around the Globe, which resulted in the 1994 publication Chief Nursing Officers in National Ministries of Health: Focal Points for Nursing Leadership. In 1996 they were awarded UBC’s first ever-joint honorary degree.

    Custodial history

    Scope and content

    Fonds contains records pertaining to the separate careers and personal lives of both Verna Huffman Splane and Richard Splane, and their life together as a couple. Work records reflect Richard’s work in Alberta, his time in the RCAF, and his lengthy career in the federal government as well as Verna’s work for WHO, the federal government, and as a faculty member at UBC and the University of Victoria. These records include government reports, meeting minutes and agenda, correspondence, articles, course outlines and notes. Personal records reflect both Richard and Verna’s social lives and interest in social welfare outside of their careers. These records include correspondence, curriculum vitae, photographs (print and digital), notes, articles and publications, meeting minutes and agenda, and certificates.
    The records reflecting Richard and Verna’s joint life has been arranged into eight series: Chief Nursing Officers Study, Home and Social Life, Personal Correspondence, University Hill Congregation, Social Welfare Work, Honours and Awards, Photographs, and Audio-visual. The fonds also includes two sous-fonds: the Richard Beverly Splane sous-fonds and the Verna Huffman Splane sous-fonds.

    Notes area

    Physical condition

    Some fax documents were severely deteriorated, so were photocopied and originals were removed.

    Immediate source of acquisition

    Arrangement

    Language of material

      Script of material

        Location of originals

        Availability of other formats

        Restrictions on access

        Some files are restricted because they include health information of third parties.

        Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

        Finding aids

        Associated materials

        Related materials

        Accruals

        General note

        Includes the contents of the former Richard B. Splane fonds, which consisted of correspondence between Splane and Leonard Marsh, and is now incorporated into the Richard Beverly Splane sous-fonds.

        Alpha-numeric designations

        BCAUL control number: UBCARCH-992

        Physical description

        Includes 176 photographs, 2 CDs, 16 audiocassettes. CDs contain digital photographs.

        Alternative identifier(s)

        Standard number

        Standard number

        Access points

        Subject access points

        Place access points

        Name access points

        Genre access points

        Control area

        Description record identifier

        Institution identifier

        Rules or conventions

        Status

        Level of detail

        Dates of creation, revision and deletion

        Language of description

          Script of description

            Sources

            Accession area