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Records of the Office of the President/Chancellor

Call Number

RG.3.0.6

Date

1951-1965, inclusive

Creator

New York University. Office of the President

Extent

8 Linear Feet (16 boxes)

Language of Materials

Materials are primarily in English.

Abstract

This series of presidential administrative records spans the years 1951-1965 and includes material from the administrations of Chancellor James Loomis Madden (1951-1952), Chancellor/President Henry Townley Heald (1952-1956), President Carroll Vincent Newsom (1956-1962), and President James McNaughton Hester (1962-1975).

History of the Office of the Chancellor/Office of the President

The Office of the President is the top administrative office and is responsible for the management of the entire University structure. The duties of the President included the development, implementation, and monitoring of University activities, the cultivation of outreach programs, and the promotion of University activities to prospective donors and to the general public.

During the years 1951-1965, Acting Chancellor James L. Madden, Chancellor/President Henry T. Heald, President Carroll V. Newsom, and President James M. Hester served as chief administrators of New York University. The title of the position was changed from Chancellor to President in 1956, indicative of the concerns during the 1950s with administrative reorganization.

On January 1, 1951, James L. Madden was appointed Acting Chancellor and served in that position for a little over a year. Henry T. Heald was elected Chancellor effective February 1, 1952, and created two new positions during his few months in office: the Executive Vice Chancellor, who assumed the duties of the discontinued Provost's office and became the chief education officer of New York University, and the Vice Chancellor for University Development, who became responsible for the organization and coordination of University fundraising efforts. At this time, a Public Relations Department was also established, which encompassed three new departments: the Office of Publication and Printing, the Office of Information Services, and the Office of Radio and Television. In 1955 Heald added the positions of Director of the Budget, Dean of Admissions and Registrar to the list of general administrative officers and created the post of Vice Chancellor for Medical Affairs later that same year.

On December 16, 1955, the New York State Board of Regents amended the University charter, forcing a number of terminology changes. The supreme governing board of the University, known since the University's founding as the University Council, became the Board of Trustees as of December 16, 1955. The title of the chief executive of the University was changed from Chancellor to President on July 1, 1956. On March 26, 1956, the Board of Trustees adopted a measure providing for an Executive Vice President who would be a general advisor to the President and perform duties in the President's absence. The Executive Vice President was to be assisted by the Director for the University Budget and the Assistant Director of the Budget for Research Service.

On September 26, 1956, Heald resigned, and Executive Vice President Carroll V. Newsom became President on October 1, 1956. Newsom instituted a number of structural changes in the administration of the University in 1957. The Office of Dean of Admissions and Registrar was split to form the Office of Dean of Registration and Financial Aid and the Office of Director of Admissions. Both of these posts were additions to the Office of Executive Vice President. The Office of the Vice President for University Relations was created to disseminate information about University programs and to promote rapport between New York University, its personnel, and the general public. The Vice President would be aided by the Director of University Publications and the Offices of Information Services, Radio and Television, and Photographic Services. On January 25, 1960, an action by the Board of Trustees changed the title of the Executive Vice President to Chancellor/Vice President. No change of duties accompanied this change in name.

President Newsom resigned on September 25, 1961, to be succeeded by James M. Hester on January 1, 1962. The structural order created by previous administrations was preserved by President Hester.

Apart from these changes in administrative structure, the Office of the President was also subject to prominent developments in the content of its executive concern. These developments can be categorized as: 1) educational needs; 2) physical plans; 3) financial needs and resources; and 4) organizational structure.

In the educational area, the ideology of the University as an educational institution came under detailed scrutiny during the the 1950s. A self-study, begun in 1952, and a mission project, initiated a decade later, clearly indicate an ideological concern. One reason may have been that public universities in the metropolitan area were challenging NYU's role as "University of Opportunity."

In the area of physical plans, Chancellor Heald embarked on a ten-year schedule of development in New York University's physical plant and facilities in 1952. President Hester, at the beginning of his tenure in office, announced a second step in the all-University modernization program begun in the previous decade under Chancellor Chase.

Financially, the challenge to the University was both ideological and financial because many students preferred publicly supported colleges to the higher tuition rates of New York University. Also, the program of building development required significant allocation of financial resources, which necessitated requests for grants such as one from the Ford Foundation in 1955 and again, as a result of the mission project, in 1963.

Finally, changes in the organizational structure of the University was of significant and contentious. Before Chancellor Heald's administration, the University was essentially a loose collection of quasi-autonomous schools. A process of centralization began in 1952 and greatly enhanced President Hester's power, especially at the beginning of his term of office. The change stirred discontent among the faculty and university administration.

Sources:

Baldridge, J. Victor. Power and Conflict in the University: Research in the Sociology of Complex Organizations. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1971).Still, Bayrd. "Evolution of Organization of General Administrative Duties." July 11, 1978. New York University Archives.

Arrangement

The files are grouped into a single series.

Folders are arranged alphabetically by subject/author heading.

Scope and Contents

These records are a continuation of the Records of the Office of Chancellor collection, which contains material from the early years of the University (1827-1888) in the Chancellor's Records, and papers from the administrations of Ferris, MacCracken, Brown, and Chase.

This material spans the years 1951 to 1965 and reflects the administrations of Madden, Heald, and Newsom, plus a portion of the administration of Hester. The records detail the activities of the chief administrative offices, departments and schools, faculty, alumni, student activities, community relations, external associations, government agencies, plant and property, and major events. The collection is organized into one subject series, arranged alphabetically, and consists of correspondence, memoranda, minutes, photographs, publications, press clippings, and questionnaires.

Many of the documents reveal the administrative structure of New York University. The physical growth of the University and the concern the growth caused is shown throughout the memoranda and minutes; items concerning these issues can be found in folders titled the architect (Box 4, Folders 11-14), Library, Development of Washington Square project (Box 10, Folder 1), the Faculty Building Committee (Box 6, Folder 3), along with information on the Washington Square Southeast Project (Box 12, Folders 3-9 and Box 13, Folder 1) and University Valley Project (Box 15, Folder 16 and Box 16, Folders 1-2).

International connections with New York University are documented in folders concerning Africa and the Africa Fair (Box 1, Folder 7), the Center for International Affairs and Development (Box 2, Folders 13-14), Ghana visits (Box 7, Folder 16) and a report on NYU in world affairs (Box 8, Folder 3).

Other items document the creation of the Center for Applied Social Research (Box 1, Folders 12-13), the Arts Center (Box 2, Folder 1), Courant Institute of Mathematics (Box 4, Folders 7-8), Engineering Center (Box 5, Folders 5-7), Medical Center (Box 10, Folders 2-7) and special collections such as the James Arthur Clock and Watch collection (Box 3, Folders 8-9) and the Fales collection (Box 9, Folder 14).

Folders concerning administrative reorganization are found in Administrative reorganization (Box 1, Folder 4), Policy Statements (Box 13, Folder 2), Report on Appraisal of Internal Control (Box 14, Folder 8), and the Report of the Committee on Self-Study (Box 14, Folder 13).

Portions of the presidential records were transferred to another location, and some of the records had previously been divided into subject files, which are located in the University Archives' general reference files. A description of this transfer and relocation can be found in a 1961 letter (Box 13, Folders 10-14) describing correspondence files that were transfered. Of special interest in these folders is the C file (Box 13, Folder 10) which contains information on the aborted hiring of professor (and accused Communist) E.U. Condon as chairman of the Physics Department.

Subjects

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

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 President/Chancellor; RG 3.0.6; box number; folder number; New York University Archives, New York University Libraries.

Provenance

The entire collection of presidential correspondence from this time period was transferred from the Kevorkian Building to the Office of the President in Bobst Library in February 1978, only to be shifted to the New York University Archives, then located at 19 University Place. At this time Dr. E. Frederic Knauth, in his capacity as Assistant to the Secretary of the University, arranged two boxes, placed the folders in alphabetical order, and surveyed the remaining four boxes of the collection. In February 1981 the two arranged boxes of the Presidential correspondence were moved when the New York University Archives relocated to the tenth floor of the Elmer Holmes Bobst Library. The remainder of the collection was stored at 19 University Place until April 1982, when these records were transported to the present location of the New York University Archives. The records were processed in portions from 1982 to 1984 by Archival Program students Scott Bowker, Paul Schuchman, and Heidi Wanner. The collections processed by the students were then reintegrated by Steven A. Walker, graduate assistant, in the fall of 1985. This material is a portion of the records of the Office of the President/Office of the Chancellor, which date from 1827 to the present.

Collection processed by

Steven A. Walker

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-20 17:52:35 -0400.
Language: Description is in English.

Edition of this Guide

This version was derived from Chancellors Record Grp. 3.0.6.doc

Repository

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