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Records of the Office of the Dean of Washington Square College

Call Number

RG.19

Dates

1929-1984, inclusive
; 1951-1980, bulk

Creator

New York University. College of Arts and Science

Extent

26 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

Materials primarily in English.

Abstract

The Office of the Dean of Washington Square College and Washington Square and University College of Arts and Science is the administrative head of the College and is responsible for facilitating interactions between the administration and the students.

Historical/Biographical Note

Beginning in 1947 and ending in 1962, Thomas Clark Pollock served as Dean of Washington Square College. William Earl Buckler succeeded Pollock in 1962 and remained in that position until 1969. In that year, Richard Bayly Winder became Dean of Washington Square College; he presided until 1971. Phillip Mayerson, who had served as Vice Dean of Washington Square College from 1969 to 1971, became the Acting Dean from 1971 to 1973. In 1973 he became Dean of Washington Square and University College (formed when the University College of Arts and Science merged with the Washington Square College following the sale of the University Heights campus). Mayerson served in that capacity until 1978.

The Dean of Washington Square College served a variety of functions within the University's administration, including oversight of the development of curricula in various departments and serving as a liaison between administration and students. These functions and others are reflected within the collection.

Under the administrations of Buckler and Winder, the major purpose of the Dean's office involved helping Washington Square College live up to its potential as an undergraduate college in a large and complex University located in an equally large and complex city.

Under Mayerson, the Dean's office broadened its outlook. He added fundraising as a major function of his office, in addition to attracting and holding students. Mayerson did everything in his power to bring larger enrollment numbers into Washington Square College. He concentrated on personalizing the admissions process, helping the students to mix more with the faculty, cutting red tape in dealing with the problems of individual students, and created a closer relationship between his office and that of the Director of Admissions. These initiatives are well documented in this collection.

Arrangement

The collection had previously been processed in individual parts and has been intellectually combined for the purposes of this finding aid. As such, the arrangement of folders varies between alphabetical and topical.

The files are grouped into two series: Series I: Washington Square Dean's General Files Series II: Additional Dean's Files

Scope and Content Note

This collection consists of materials relating to the administrative functions of the Dean from 1929 to 1984, bulk dates 1951 to 1980, mainly correspondence, financial records, minutes, printed material, publications, reports, and subject files. There is a great deal of information about the Sunrise Semester in particular.

The collection consists of 52 Paige boxes that highlight the administrative activities undertaken by the Office of the Dean of Washington Square College. Issues such as the early admissions program, Sunrise Semester, and the merger of Washington Square and University College are elucidated in the collection.

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.

Preferred Citation

Published citations should take the following form: Identification of item, date (if known); The Office of the Dean, Washington Square College and Washington Square and University College of Arts and Science; RG 19; box number; folder number; New York University Archives, New York University.

Location of Materials

This collection is in offsite storage, and you must contact the repository for access.

Provenance

The records of the Dean's Office of WSC and WSUC of Arts and Science that comprise Series I were acquired by the New York University Archives on August 1, 1979, when they were transferred by the Assistant to the Dean, Eliana Covacich. The records of Series II were most likely transferred to the Archives in 1981 by then-Dean Jill N. Claster.

Separated Material

Photographs have been integrated into the Photo Collection under the title "Early Admissions."

Collection processed by

University Archives staff, including Evan Friss and Rachel Harrison.

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-20 17:50:39 -0400.
Language: Description is in English.

Repository

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