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Records of the Office of the Chancellor and Executive Vice President (David D. Henry and Carroll V. Newsom, John E. Ivey, Jr., George D. Stoddard, and Russell D. Niles)

Call Number

RG.6.0

Dates

1942-1966, inclusive
; 1952-1956, bulk

Creator

New York University. Office of the Chancellor and Executive Vice President

Extent

38.5 Linear Feet
72 manuscript boxes

Language of Materials

Materials are in English

Abstract

This collection contains the administrative records of the Chancellor and Executive Vice President at NYU from 1952-1966: David Dodds Henry (1952-1955) and Carroll Vincent Newsom (1955-1956); John Eli Ivey, Jr., (1957-1959); George Dinsmore Stoddard (1960-1964); and Russell Denison Niles (1964-1966).

Historical Note

Upon taking office in 1951, Chancellor Henry T. Heald began to centralize administrative functions. He found the administration's history of making decisions based on budgetary demands to be at odds with the goals of an institution for higher learning. Heald sought to develop a policy emphasizing essential educational objectives at a time when the University's rapid growth threatened academic development. In order to preserve the accomplishments achieved through expansion and at the same time execute greater control over educational policy, Heald bolstered the ranks of the central administration by appointing in 1952 David D. Henry to the newly created position of Executive Vice Chancellor. Henry assumed the duties of the discontinued Office of the Provost and served as the chief educational officer of the university. Shortly thereafter, Heald appointed an assistant to the Executive Vice Chancellor for University Development.

The grant-funded New York University Self-Study Plan, an exhaustive analysis of NYU's policies and practices, outlined a new administrative organization as part of a comprehensive, long-range plan. In affirming centralized authority, the self-study prompted the revision of executive titles: the Chancellor became the President, Vice Chancellors became Vice Presidents, and the University Council became the Board of Trustees.

In 1960, the Board of Trustees amended the bylaws to change the title of the Executive Vice President to Chancellor and Executive Vice President (C/EVP). Although the new title did not bring with it a change in duties, it more accurately reflected the C/EVP's position as second in command, while indicating that the Office of the C/EVP was endowed with NYU's original conception of the Chancellor: the head of faculty, the chief liaison between faculty, students, and Board of Trustees, and the officer to recommend faculty.

The C/EVP served as the academic alter ego of the President. As chief of University Operations, the C/EVP supervised schools and divisions, student housing, special programs, relations with the State and Federal Departments of Education, and training programs like the now defunct ROTC. The C/EVP was in charge of most "internal organizational problems," and also attended to related educational activities outside the immediate needs of the university, such as educational television and various research projects. In addition, the C/EVP oversaw the Academic Council (later changed to the Dean's Council, then the Committee of Deans), a small advisory group resulting from a self-study recommendation and consisting of high ranking officers who are each "responsible for a major segment of the university's educational program, as to policy and administration." In addition, the Office of Institutional Research and Educational Planning operated until 1975, under the authority of the C/EVP. The C/EVP office was dissolved in 1977.

David Dodds Henry, 1952-1955

David Dodds Henry was named the first Executive Vice Chancellor of NYU in September 1952. During his tenure he served as chairperson of the Metropolitan New York Educational Agencies Committee on Television, and two other committees on educational television, sponsored by the American Council on Education. In addition, he was a member of the Special Committee for Rubber Research of the National Science Foundation, and a member of the National Planning Association. Henry frequently lectured on educational television, the use of computers in education, and the university in an urban environment. In 1955 Henry left NYU to assume the presidency of the University of Illinois.

Carroll Vincent Newsom, 1955-1956

In July 1955, Carroll Newsom was appointed to succeed David Henry. Newsom brought a distinguished career as a mathematics professor and administrator to NYU. He was subsequently elected president of the University at the time of Henry Heald's resignation in September 1956. Newsom resigned as President in September 1961 and became a senior Vice President at Prentice Hall Publishers.

John Eli Ivey, Jr., 1957-1959

John Ivey, formerly a sociologist at the University of North Carolina, was appointed Executive Vice President of NYU in March 1957. Ivey supported many special projects and exploratory programs at NYU, expanding his position and the scope of the central administration. He resigned in September 1959 and later became Dean of the College of Education and Professor of Sociology at Michigan State University.

George Dinsmore Stoddard, 1960-1964

George Stoddard, a psychologist and former president of the University of Illinois, came to NYU in 1953 after diplomatic service with the post-war educational mission to Japan. Before becoming Chancellor and Executive Vice President in January 1960, Stoddard directed the NYU Self-Study and served as Dean of the School of Education. He played a central role in constructing a new hierarchy of administrative offices that centralized educational policy and budgetary control. In 1964, Stoddard resigned to become Distinguished Professor of Education.

Russell Denison Niles, 1964-1966

Russell Niles' long association with NYU began in 1929, when he joined the University as an assistant law professor. He became Dean of the School of Law in 1948, and was named Chancellor and Executive Vice President in February 1964. He resigned in 1966 to become President of the Bar of the City of New York. Niles continued many of the policies of Stoddard, and was an important influence in helping to further centralize and strengthen the administration.

Sources:

Barrett, Ellen. "Inventory of the Records of John E.Ivey, Jr., 1957-1959," NYU Archives, 1981.Cricco, Nancy. "Inventory to the Records of the George E. Stoddard and Russell D. Niles Administrations, 1963-1965," NYU Archives, 1988. Sabol, Maria. "Inventory to the Records of David D. Henry, 1952-1956," NYU Archives, 1981.Still, Bayrd. "Evolution of Organization of General Administrative Offices, 1880-1978," NYU Archives, 1978.

Arrangement

Folders are arranged alphabetically by subject.

The files are grouped into 5 series:

Missing Title

  1. I, David D. Henry/Carroll V. Newsom
  2. II, John E. Ivey, Jr.
  3. III, George D. Stoddard
  4. IV, Russell D. Niles
  5. V, Additional Accession

Scope and Content Note

The administrative records of the Office of the Chancellor and Executive Vice President span the years 1952-1966. The records were processed in ten different segments for the purpose of student assignments. The material has now been merged into one cohesive collection, and access is provided by this guide. The records consist of correspondence, circular memoranda, minutes, reports, meeting notes, policy statements and analyses, evaluations, press releases, printed material, newspaper clippings, surveys and questionnaires, and a few photographs. Original order - alphabetical in most instances - has been maintained, and the series generally reflect the manner in which the documents were originally filed. Folder contents have been arranged chronologically.

The collection has been divided into five subgroups, representing each of the Chancellor and Executive Vice Presidents, with the exception of David Henry and Carroll Newsom, who have been combined into one subgroup due to the paucity of the Newsom material and an inability, in some cases, to differentiate between tenures (see series note below). In addition, a small portion of records generated in the final months of the George Stoddard administration were originally interfiled with the bulk of the Russell Niles' papers and have been maintained that way for reasons of continuity and logic (see series note below). Within each subgroup the material has been further divided into series and subseries according to original order. Series titles generally reflect the original file titles and have been changed only when it was necessary to highlight a particular grouping and facilitate access without disturbing the inherent arrangement.

The last series, Additional Accession, contains records from all five C/EVPs. Within each subgroup the material has been further divided into series and subseries according to original order. Series titles generally reflect the original file titles and have been changed only when it was necessary to highlight a particular grouping and facilitate access without disturbing the inherent arrangement.

The adminstrative records of Henry and Newsom span the years 1942-1964, with the bulk of the material created from 1952-1956. The scant number of records attributed to Newsom suggest that he took many of his files with him upon being elected President of NYU in 1956, leaving records that were indistinct or closely linked to the files of Henry, as in the case of the educational television series. The records of Henry contain some gaps as well; not all files seem to cover his full term in office.

Access Restrictions

Institutional records of New York University are closed for a period of 20 years from the date of their creation (the date on which each document was written). Board of Trustees records are similarly closed for 35 years from the date of creation. The opening date for files spanning several years will be 20 years from the most recent date. Access will be given to material already 20 years old contained within a collection that is not yet open when such material can be isolated from the rest of the collection.

Materials related to personnel, faculty grievances, job searches and all files with information that falls under the University's Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) policy are permanently restricted.

Please contact the University Archivists with specific questions regarding restrictions.

Use Restrictions

Some materials may be restricted. Permission to publish materials must be obtained in writing from the:
New York University Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012
Phone: (212) 998-2641
Fax: (212) 995-4225
E-mail: university-archives@nyu.edu

Preferred Citation

Published citations should take the following form: Identification of item, date (if known); Records of the Office of the Chancellor and Executive Vice President; RG 6.0; box number; folder number; New York University Archives, New York University Libraries.

Location of Materials

Materials are stored offsite and advance notice is required for use. Please request materials at least two business days prior to your research visit to coordinate access.

Separated Material

Former Series I, Subseries B: Educational Television has been removed and described in its own finding aid:

Guide to the Records of the Educational Television Subseries of the Office of the Executive Vice-Chancellor, Administrations of David D. Henry and Carroll Newsom 1952-1956 RG 3.1

Collection processed by

Processed by New York University

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2024-02-06 14:27:23 -0500.
Language: Description is in English.

Processing note

Some materials are described on an item level based on a 2015 Marcel Breuer digitization project that made use of this collection.

Repository

New York University Archives
New York University Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
2nd Floor
New York, NY 10012