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Records of the Office of the President (John Crittenden Sawhill)

Call Number

RG.3.0.8

Dates

1974-1981, inclusive
; 1975-1979, bulk

Creator

New York University. Office of the President

Extent

33.3 Linear Feet (80 boxes)

Language of Materials

Materials are primarily in English.

Abstract

The Papers of John Crittenden Sawhill include materials generated during the years 1974 – 1981, including selected materials created in the Office of the President by Acting President Ivan Loveridge Bennett Jr., 1979 – 1981, as well as some created elsewhere within the University community dating from as early as 1955. The papers have been divided into eleven series and two addenda.

History of the Office of the President, 1974-1981

At New York University (NYU) the decade 1964-1974 had witnessed President James M. Hester's ambitious development efforts on behalf of the institution. Important events, including constructing Bobst Library and installing selective admissions requirements, had begun to transform its character. (1) However, by 1972 major external and internal pressures confronted the University, including student protests, rampant inflation, and declining enrollments. (2) The sale of the University's University Heights Campus in the Bronx to the City University that year and the ensuing reorganization at Washington Square brought only temporary relief to the institution's growing deficit.

By 1975 a national recession accompanied by continuing inflation was driving NYU into ever more severe fiscal difficulty. Dr. Hester left the University that year to become Rector of the United Nations University. He was succeeded at NYU by Dr. John Crittenden Sawhill, an economist with a Ph.D. from the University's Graduate School of Business Administration and a career history in both the corporate financial services and management sector and the federal government. Most recently (1974), he had been deputy and then Administrator of the Federal Energy Office, subsequently reorganized as the Federal Energy Administration, a temporary independent executive agency that oversaw, among other initiatives, "Project Independence"--the Nixon Administration's project "to reduce United States reliance on foreign energy sources." He was forced to resign by President Gerald Ford after proposing in a public interview an increase in the federal gasoline tax, a position opposed by the President. (3) In announcing his appointment, NYU Board of Trustees Chairman John M. Schiff cited Sawhill's "demonstrated capacity for managing large institutions and handling their financial affairs." (4)

Upon assuming the NYU Presidency (Acting President beginning June 16, 1975, formally installed as President November 20, 1975), Sawhill found an institution "in the red" with a projected $5 million deficit for the 1975-1976 year. (5) He quickly imposed a set of economy measures including a job freeze and defined as his job "the installation of an effective management system." (6) One notable feature of his efforts was the sale in 1976 of the Law School-owned C.F. Mueller Spaghetti Company, the $115 million proceeds of which, while shared with the Law School, enriched the University's unrestricted endowment by $47.5 million. (7) Another was his attention to long-range planning endeavors (see Box 29, folders 14-20 and Box 30, folders 1-3). A third was his seemingly tireless approaches to corporate contacts and other potential sources of funding for the University (see Box 16, folders 14-15 and Boxes 17-23 inclusive).

The President's emphasis on effective management prompted reorganization of the Board of Trustees (see Box 28, folders 1-3); establishment of an Office of the President and its subsequent restructuring with the departure of the Chancellor in 1977 (see Box 5, folders 7-8); and reorganization of the School of Continuing Education along with recasting of the University Without Walls program into the newly structured Gallatin Division (see Box 69, folders 8-10). In efforts to reduce redundancy in local institutional educational offerings, he promoted programs of academic linkages with Columbia University, the New School and the City University (see Box 2, folders 9-16 and Box 3, folders 1-2) and library linkages with Cooper Union and the New School (see Box 3, folders 3-5).

Sawhill also spoke out publicly on various aspects of higher education (see Box 52, folders 5-7 and Boxes 53-56 inclusive), as well as took part in New York City civic life (see Boxes 8-9 inclusive). Engaged by the concept of "Intellectual life in the City," (see Box 44, folders 14-22 and Box 45, folders 1-5), he championed the creation at NYU of the New York Institute for the Humanities (see Box 73, folders 3-11). With the University's student body in transition (commuter to residential), Dr. Sawhill fostered enhanced student life opportunities through an expanded and reorganized Office of Student Affairs. In this connection, an important public relations decision was to transfer the annual Commencement ceremony from Madison Square Garden to Washington Square Park in 1976 (8). Faculty and clerical staff unionization drives took place as well during this presidency; while a faculty union was voted down (in a second organizing drive), the clerical staff unionization effort resulted in the organization and recognition of a clerical staff union despite the opposition of the University's Central Administration (see Box 39, folders 19-22).

By Spring 1979 Sawhill's emphasis on implementation of new fiscal and management systems, and the progress of a three-year "Leadership" development campaign initiated in 1976 (see Box 23, folder 16), heralded a "new" NYU, and could be construed as the fulfillment of the Trustees' charge to him in 1975. An 11% increase in freshman applications for Fall 1979, progress in undergraduate curriculum revision, and a set of school-by-school long range plans for academic excellence were also in the picture (see Box 5, folder 9).

In September 1979 Sawhill took a year's leave of absence from the University, returning to Washington, D.C., to assume the post of Deputy Secretary of Energy in President Jimmy Carter's Cabinet. He had maintained his strong interest in energy-related national and international policy issues while at NYU, speaking out through remarks, speeches, papers and interviews (see Box 42 inclusive, Box 43, folders 1-2, Boxes 57-59, part of Box 78, Box 79, and part of Box 80). He did not return to NYU, resigning the following year, and becoming, briefly, chief executive of the United States Synthetic Fuels Corporation. Sawhill reentered the corporate sector early in 1981, where he remained until assuming the presidency of The Nature Conservancy in 1990. John Crittenden Sawhill died May 18, 2000 at the age of 63. (9)

Sources:

(1) Hester Papers (RG 3.0.7), Historical Note.(2) The Chronicle of Higher Education, September 27, 1971.(3) Current Biography, April 1979, Volume 40, Number 4. (4) New York University Press Release, April 21, 1975.(5) New York Times, July 31, 1975.(6) Ibid.(7) Current Biography, op cit. (8) Washington Square News, March 20, 2006(9) New York Times, May 20, 2000.

Arrangement

The files are grouped into 11 series:

Missing Title

  1. Administration
  2. Associations
  3. Development
  4. Facilities and Services
  5. Finances
  6. Governance
  7. Government Relations
  8. Personnel
  9. Public Relations
  10. Schools and Divisions
  11. Student Affairs
  12. ADDENDUM I: Energy: Managing the Transition
  13. ADDENDUM II: Restricted Materials

Scope and Contents

These papers of John Crittenden Sawhill reflect his work life while President of New York University from 1975-1980 (on leave 9/79-9/80). This collection was transferred to the University Archives from the Office of the President in several accessions from 1981-1988. In addition to records pertaining to the University, some incorporated subset of the whole represented activities bearing little or no connection to the University's administration and management. In consultation with the University Archivist, a considerable amount of the latter was discarded; the remaining materials, much of which related to Sawhill's interests in energy policy matters, were re-integrated into the collection (see Box 10, folders 16-19; Box 11, folders 1-6; and Box 12, folders 12-17).

Thus part of these records is a small collection, primarily of speeches, pre-dating his NYU term of office, as well as documentation of the preparation of a major study/report on energy he undertook for the Trilateral Commission from 1977-1979.** Another component reflects Sawhill's service as a member of a variety of corporate Boards of Directors from 1974-1979. This collection contains as well a limited amount of material generated by New York University School of Medicine Dean Ivan Loveridge Bennett, Jr., in his capacity as Acting President of the University from Sawhill's leave of absence and subsequent resignation to the selection by the University Trustees of former Rhodes Scholar and U.S. Congressman from Indiana John Brademas as successor to John Crittenden Sawhill.

This assembled collection consists of correspondence, invitations, newspaper, magazine and journal clippings and reprints, and speeches, grouped into eleven categories (series) followed by two Addenda. The series are: Administration; Associations; Development; Facilities and Services; Finances; Governance; Government Relations; Personnel; Public Relations; Schools and Divisions; and Student Affairs. Addendum I is titled: "ENERGY: MANAGING THE TRANSITION," Trilateral Commission. Addendum II contains restricted material.

The series, with the exception of the Addenda, are generally congruent with those of the Hester Papers (RG 3.0.7) and the Borowitz Papers (RG 6.0.7). Correspondence sequences are exceptions, with general correspondence and energy-related correspondence located in Series IX, along with speeches, op-ed pieces, interviews, etc., while donor cultivation correspondence appears in Series III, and correspondence with NYU personnel in Series VIII. A description of each series, highlighting notable material, appears at the beginning of the Box and Folder List for that category.

As in some other recently processed collections, folders, and in some instances, individual documents were transferred in the interests of content consistency and clarity. Nevertheless, some overlap remains (for example invitations and speeches, which, where practical, have been cross-referenced). Some materials concerned with matters already the subject of separately existing collections within the University Archives have been cross-referenced through notations on separation sheets placed at the front of folder contents. In yet other instances, among them faculty unionization, University Senate Financial Affairs Committee, and the United States Bicentennial celebration, transfers of substantial amounts of documentation to relevant collections have been made. A small group of audiotapes of energy-related speeches 1974-1975 was transferred to the University Archives A/V collection. Another small group of materials, on the U.S. Labor Party, were transferred to NYU's Tamiment Library vertical file.

The collection is in good physical condition. Material is organized chronologically in folders. Folder titles in general reflect date and broad content subject matter. Green plastic clips have been placed on folders and on the right margin of material within these folders highlighted in this finding aid.

Numerous tissue copies and newspaper and magazine clippings were photocopied and the originals discarded. Significant amounts of primarily energy-related technical and scholarly papers were among the discards in accordance with the above referenced consultation with the University Archivist, along with duplicative copies and drafts, including speeches and remarks. Photographs, most relevant bulky booklets, reports and publicity materials were removed for storage elsewhere in the University Archives, in school and division files, and in the John Crittenden Sawhill Biographical file. Copies of several energy-related publications of which John Crittenden Sawhill was a major or principal author can be found on the University Archives Reading Room bookshelves.

A preliminary inventory was prepared in 1984 by Dr. E. Frederick Knauth of the University Secretary's Office.

** Trilateral Commission. "A Private North American-European-Japanese Initiative on matters of Common Concern…it was formed in 1973 by private citizens of Western Europe, Japan and North America to foster closer cooperation among these three regions on common problems…(and) to improve public understanding of such problems, to support proposals for handling them jointly, and to nurture habits and practices of working together among these regions." In "Energy: Managing the Transition," The Triangle Papers: 17 O 1978.

Access Restrictions

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.

Use Restrictions

Any rights (including copyright and related rights to publicity and privacy) held by the creator are maintained by New York University. Permission to publish or reproduce materials in this collection must be secured from New York University Archives, (212) 998-2646, 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 (John Crittenden Sawhill); RG 3.0.8; box number; folder number; New York University Archives, New York University Libraries.

Collection processed by

Nancy Greenberg.

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-20 17:52:43 -0400.
Language: Description is in English.

Edition of this Guide

This version was derived from AllSawhillFiles.doc

Repository

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