Records of the Office of the President (John Brademas)

Call Number

RG.3.0.10

Dates

1952-2001, inclusive

; 1981-1991, bulk

Creator

Brademas, John, 1927-2016

New York University. Office of the President

Extent

130.75 Linear Feet in 303 manuscript boxes, 2 flat boxes, 1 oversize flat box, and 1 flat-file folder.

36 videocassettes (vhs)

1 audiocassette

Language of Materials

Materials primarily in English, with some publications and correspondence in Greek.

Abstract

John Brademas (1927-2016) was born and raised in Indiana, and later represented the Third District of Indiana in the United States House of Representatives from 1959 to 1980. After leaving public office, Brademas accepted the position of President of New York University (NYU), serving from 1981 to 1992. The Records of the Office of the President (John Brademas) contain files related to the daily administration of the office of the President. Records in this collection include Brademas' daily schedule; event material; speeches; correspondence; funder and institution subject files; Board of Trustees material; reports and communications on NYU Schools and Divisions; files on student groups; audiovisual recordings of speeches and events; and publicity material.

Biographical Note

Stephen John Brademas, Jr. (1927-2016) was born in Mishawaka, Indiana to Beatrice Goble Brademas, a schoolteacher, and Stephen John Brademas, Sr., a Greek-immigrant restaurateur. Brademas graduated from South Bend Central High School and entered the University of Notre Dame in 1945, but soon left to join the Navy where he was appointed to the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps until May 1946. In September of that year, he entered Harvard College and in 1949 graduated with a B.A. in Government. From 1950 to 1953, he studied as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, England, where he received a Doctor of Philosophy in Social Studies.

From 1959 to 1980, Brademas represented the Third District of Indiana in the United States House of Representatives. He served on the Education and Labor Committee, the House Administration Committee, and the Joint Committee on the Library of Congress. Brademas played a principal role in writing major legislation concerning all forms of education, including elementary, collegiate, and vocational training. He was also a major proponent of legislation for services for the elderly and handicapped, as well as Federal support for cultural institutions and the arts. In January 1973, Brademas was appointed Chief Deputy Majority Whip and in 1977 was appointed Majority Whip, a position he held for the next four years.

After leaving public office, Brademas accepted the position of President of New York University (NYU), serving from 1981 to 1992. During his tenure, he worked to change NYU from a primarily commuter school by facilitating the construction or purchase of 11 residence halls, which by the time he left, housed 44 percent of the NYU student population. Under his guidance, NYU also added new academic programs including the Onassis Center for Hellenic Studies and the Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies. During his tenure, Brademas established NYU programs in Cyprus, Egypt, France, Israel and Japan. In July of 1990, he announced his resignation and officially stepped down from his position, becoming president emeritus in 1992 after a sabbatical.

After leaving NYU, Brademas served as chairman of the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities from 1994 to 2001. From 2004 to 2007, he was a member of the New York State Board of Regents. In 2005, NYU established the John Brademas Center of New York University, a research and teaching facility. He was the recipient of more than 50 honorary degrees and awards, many conferred by European governments or cultural organizations. Brademas passed away in 2016.

Arrangement

Material was not arranged by the processing archivist, but remains in the order in which it was received.

The records are arranged into 14 series. The series arrangement of the records is as follows:

Series I. Administration
Series II. Alumni Affairs
Series III. Associations
Series IV. Development
Series V. Facilities and Services
Series VI. Finance
Series VII. Governance
Series VIII. Governmental Relations
Series IX. Art and Memorabilia
Series X. Public Relations
Series XI. Schools and Divisions
Series XII. Student Affairs
Series XIII. Speeches and Writings
Series XIV. Correspondence

Scope and Contents

The collection contains records of New York University's 13th President John Brademas who served from 1981 to 1991. Files created by Brademas' office contain material related to the responsibilities of this position, including public appearances and events; contact with various NYU Schools and Divisions staff; interaction with student groups and representatives; and fostering NYU's relationships with various governmental departments and other organizations as they relate to funding and/or educational policy for universities.

Files in this collection include Brademas' speeches and remarks; NYU Board meeting material; and public relations event planning files which include video recordings related to NYU's acquisition of the La Pietra villa. Additionally, this collection contains internal and external communications, reports, and meeting notes related to NYU facilities, NYU Schools and Divisions, and student groups. Files accumulated by Brademas on individuals, organizations, and companies document his relationships cultivated for the purpose of fundraising, educational policy support, and NYU program development. Although a selection of Brademas' chronological correspondence has its own series, a significant amount of topical correspondence can be found throughout the entire collection.

Pre-1981 office files in this collection were likely a carry-over from the previous President's office and used for reference by Brademas and his staff. Material dated beyond Brademas' term found in this collection covers projects he continued for NYU working as president emeritus, after officially leaving office in 1991.

Subjects

Conditions Governing Access

University Archives staff will review all requested material before providing access.

Administrative records and unpublished reports of New York University are closed for a period of 20 years from the date of their creation. Access to files spanning multiple years will be opened to researchers based on the date of the most recent materials. Board of Trustees records are closed for 35 years from the date of creation. Materials related to personnel, grievances, job and fellowship searches and applications, and all files that fall under the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) are permanently restricted. Additional restrictions may apply to other materials in this collection. For questions regarding specific restrictions, please contact the University Archives.

Individual restricted files in open series are notated in the file title (e.g., "Correspondence RESTRICTED"), physically separated, and stored in shared restricted boxes.

Series VII. Governance files are closed until December 31, 2027.

The following series are closed and access is restricted:
Series IV. Development
Series VI. Finance
Series XIV. Correspondence

Conditions Governing Use

Any rights (including copyright and related rights to publicity and privacy) held by John Brademas and the Office of the President are maintained by New York University. Permission to publish or reproduce materials in this collection must be secured from the New York University Archives. Please contact the New York University Archives, special.collections@nyu.edu, 212-998-2596.

Preferred Citation

Identification of item, date; Records of the Office of the President (John Brademas); RG 3.0.10; box number; folder number or item identifier; New York University Archives, New York University.

Location of Materials

Some 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.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Materials were transferred in multiple accessions. The accession numbers associated with this collection are 12.009, 12.017, 13.002, 13.029, 13.040, 13.041, 14.002, 14.006, 2016.003, 2016.040, 2017.004, 2017.005, 2017.045, 2017.048, 2019.041, and 2022.043.

Audiovisual Access Policies and Procedures

Audiovisual materials have not been preserved and may not be available to researchers. Materials not yet digitized will need to have access copies made before they can be used. To request an access copy, or if you are unsure if an item has been digitized, please contact the University Archives, special.collections@nyu.edu, 212-998-2596 with the collection name, collection number, and a description of the item(s) requested. A staff member will respond to you with further information.

Appraisal

On 1/21/2020, three cartons of duplicate material were removed and shredded as previously agreed upon by the University Archivist.

On 2/2020, one carton of audiovisual material and one carton of NYU publications were removed from the collection, deaccessioned, and sent back to the University Archivist.

On 2/27/2020, 21 boxes of personnel files were removed from the collection, deaccessioned, and shredded.

Separated Materials

Two record cartons of photographs were transferred to the New York University Archives collection (PHOTO 00001); 21 boxes of files were transferred to the John Brademas Personal Papers (MC 241); one record carton of files was transferred to the John Brademas Congressional Papers (MC 168); and one record carton of files was transferred to the Records of the Office of the President (Dr. James McNaughton Hester) (RG 3.0.7).

Related Materials

For additional material on John Brademas, see also: the John Brademas Personal Papers (MC 241) and the John Brademas Congressional Papers (MC 168).

Collection processed by

Stacey Flatt, Marissa Ajamian Grossman, Hannah Kruse, and Peter Sohmer. Preliminary processing by Edwina Nikoi, Alex Starace, Erin Shaw, Jenny Bordo and Julianna Monjeau

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-20 17:49:19 -0400.

Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Language: Finding aid written in English

Processing Information

Decisions regarding arrangement interventions for this collection prior to 2018 are not yet recorded. During this same time, sections of the material were refoldered and an inventory was created.

In 2019 memorabilia was rehoused by Preservation and sent to offsite storage. During the processing of this collection, the remaining material was foldered and previously overstuffed folders were separated and refoldered. Original titles were transcribed onto the new folders when possible. All material was placed in appropriately sized containers. Audiovisual material was removed and boxed separately. Previously untitled and undated files were provided more description and dates, while any new file titles were added to the end of the inventory within each series.

File titles were reviewed by the processing archivist and when identified as restricted, were physically separated, notated in the file title (e.g., "Correspondence RESTRICTED"), physically separated, and stored in shared restricted boxes.

One carton of audiovisual material, four cartons of paper, and 22 boxes of personnel files were removed and deaccessioned from the collection. Twenty-five containers of material were separated from this collection and transferred to other NYU special collections.

Folder titles in the Development Series were not published in the finding aid due to personal information.

Revisions to this Guide

April 2019: Record updated by Rachel Searcy to reflect 2017 accretion

May 2019: Record updated by merging Brademas (Speeches) collection with main Office of the President, Dr. John Brademas collection record

June 2019, July 2019: Updated by Jennifer E. Neal to incorporate materials being sent offsite

Repository

New York University Archives