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Records of the New York University Self-Study

Call Number

RG.15.5

Date

1953-1956, inclusive

Creator

New York University

Extent

7.5 Linear Feet (18 boxes)

Language of Materials

Materials are primarily in English.

Abstract

The Records of the New York University Self-Study contain memoranda, correspondence, departmental evaluations and reports for the New York University Self-Study Final Report, published in 1956. The Self-Study marked the first serious attempt at comprehensive self-evaluation, and the results enabled the University to plan ahead for years to come. The material in this collection comprises the background to the Self-Study and includes material listed only in the appendices of the Final Report.

History of the New York University Self-Study

The New York University Self-Study was proposed in 1952 by Dr. Henry T. Heald, then Chancellor of NYU, in a conversation with Mr. Charles Dollard, President of the Carnegie Corporation. A letter from Dr. Heald requesting a $250,000 grant from the Carnegie Corporation to fund the study explains the impetus behind such an undertaking. He writes:

"New York University is the largest privately supported institution of higher education in the country. The way in which it solves its problems will have meaning for higher education throughout the country and perhaps in other parts of the world. How best to meet the higher educational needs of Americans of the second half of the twentieth century in the large cities where most of the people now live and in large universities, to which most of our college students now go, is of fundamental significance to the future of America."

The study was administered by the Office of Institutional Research and Educational Planning (OIREP), established June 14, 1953, and the Directing Committee of the Self-Study. Faculty and administrators were asked to evaluate their departments. The study also incorporated evaluation of University-community relations and solicited evaluations by alumni. On September 27, 1955, the Self-Study Committee issued an Interim Report, which outlined many of the subjects covered by the Final Report. The Self-Study is significant in that it was the first time a large university, like NYU, undertook such a comprehensive self-evaluation.

This collection contains the background material for the self-study, including individual departmental reports, a series of working files, documents relating to the organization of OIREP, as well as conference reports and proceedings.

Sources:

New York University Self-Study Final Report, New York: New York University Press, 1956.

Arrangement

Folders are arranged alphabetically within each series.

The files are grouped into ten series:

Missing Title

  1. Alphabetical Series Working Files
  2. The Schools and Colleges of NYU
  3. OIREP Internal Organization
  4. OIREP Outgoing Reports
  5. Alphabetical Series of Topics for Self-Study
  6. Reference Material for Part I of The Final Report
  7. Departmental Reports
  8. Self-Study Conferences
  9. Advisory Groups/Committees' Reports
  10. Community Activities

Scope and Contents

This collection contains seven and a half linear feet of background material and working papers that resulted in The New York University Self-Study Final Report, published in 1956.

Folders 1-57 contain mostly background material used by the OIREP, including a set of progress reports and the Interim Report. The Final Report was actually composed from files 58-194. These folders include 100 departmental reports given by faculty and chairmen of departments, which are only listed in Appendix A of the Final Report. The collection also includes reports of the nine conferences that proved crucial to the Self-Study.

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.

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); The Records of New York University Self-Study; RG 15.5; box number; folder number;
New York University Archives

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.

Provenance

This collection was brought together from the files of M. de Capriles, Director of the Office of Institutional Research and Educational Planning (OIREP), established at NYU in June 1953, and member of the Directing Committee of the Self-Study, and G.D. Stoddard, Chairman of the Directing Committee of the Self-Study. E.F. Knauth, staff assistant to de Capriles, organized the material and deposited it in the University Archives in 1975.

Physical Access

Please note that this collection is stored offsite, and you must contact the repository to schedule access.

Collection processed by

Jenny Bordo.

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-20 17:50:32 -0400.
Language: Description is in English.

Edition of this Guide

This version was derived from a printed finding aid.

Repository

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