This collection documents Van Allen's tenure as head of the University of Iowa's Department of Physics (renamed Physics and Astronomy in 1959). Van Allen was an active participant in the efforts to improve and expand the facilities within the physics department and the university which resulted in a new Physics Research Center, a radio telescope, an optical observatory, and a particle accelerator for the department. At the university level, Van Allen and Dr. E. F. Lindquist combined forces to obtain the University's first digital computer in the early 1960s. Each of these activities is documented through proposals, correspondence, and reports. Series I (University Activities, 1951-1985) documents Van Allen's and the Physics Department's involvement in the operations of the Graduate and Liberal Arts Colleges and their respective committees. Series II (Physics Department papers, 1951-1987) documents the daily operations of the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the growth and expansion of the department through the addition of faculty, staff, students, and facilities including the Physics Research Center, proposed accelerators, Hills Optical Observatory, satellite tracking and radio astronomy facility, and the computer center; there is also material showing the department's development into an internationally known institution for the performance of space science research. Documentation of teaching includes curricula and exams and lecture announcement and notes from departmental colloquia and seminars.