Skip to main content Skip to main navigation

Administrative Papers of the President George Bugliarello

Call Number

RG.006

Dates

1973-1994, inclusive
; 1973-1994, bulk

Creator

Extent

59 Linear Feet (57 boxes)

Language of Materials

Materials entirely in English.

Abstract

George Bugliarello was a visionary engineer, educator and administrator who was instrumental in reviving Polytechnic after its financial crisis in the early 1970s as well as developing a MetroTech Center, a university-industry park in downtown Brooklyn. The Presidential papers of George Bugliarello contain administrative and personal correspondence, memoranda, reports, publications, clippings produced by George Bugliarello, 13th President of then Polytechnic Institute of New York, during his tenure as President of Polytechnic University between 1973 and 1994.

Biographical Note

On October 15, 1973, George Bugliarello was inaugurated 13th President of what was then known as the Polytechnic Institute of New York. President Bugliarello took the reins at the most precarious time in Polytechnic's long history. Amid a national economic crisis in the 1970s, several private academic institutions in New York City were on the brink of collapse, including Polytechnic and New York University. On the brink of bankruptcy, New York University was forced to sell its University Heights campus in the Bronx to the City of New York. New York University also lost its School of Engineering in a merger with Polytechnic University of Brooklyn, which was then renamed Polytechnic University of New York. George Bugliarello, who served as President for between 1973 and 1994 and subsequently served as President emeritus and Chancellor until 2011, proved to be lucky Number 13 for the Institute and for the struggling neighborhood of Downtown Brooklyn.

Giorgio Bugliarello was born Georgio Bugliarello-Wondrich on May 20, 1927 to Spera Bugliarello-Wondrich and Colonel Federico Bugliarello Magnano di San Lio in Trieste, Italy. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Padua where he earned a Dottore in Ingegneria (Dott.Ing.) in Civil Engineering. In 1954 he earned a Master's in Civil Engineering from the University of Minnesota on a Fulbright Scholarship. He then attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology's School of Engineering from 1956-1959, earning a doctorate in Civil Engineering and Hydronamics. George Bugliarello married his wife of over 50 years, Virginia Harding, in 1959. The couple had two sons, Nicholas and David.

Bugliarello taught Civil Engineering, Biotechnology and Bio-Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) between 1959 and 1969, serving as founding directory of the Bio-Engineering program at CMU in 1964. In 1969, Bugliarello was appointed Dean of Engineering and Professor of Civil Engineering and Biotechnology at University of Illinois at Chicago Circle.

Despite a large deficit and bitterness and confusion among students and faculty of NYU's School of Engineering and Polytechnic Institute during the merger, Bugliarello made it his mission to revive Polytechnic by focusing on three goals: Increasing enrollment and academic programs through satellite campuses in Westchester and Long Island, increasing fundraising efforts and alumni outreach and develop a technological-industrial park in downtown Brooklyn. George Bugliarello was instrumental in the development of the MetroTech Center in Downtown Brooklyn which currently houses the NYU-Polytechnic campus. Bugliarello's success in combining academic, scientific and public development during his career was immortalized in the term he coined "Biosoma", a contraction of biology, society and machines. It's therefore unsurprising to learn that Bugliarello was instrumental in designing the seal of Polytechnic University – Homo Et Homines Opera Partes Naturae: Man and the works of man belong to nature.

George Bugliarello's professional and academic involvements and achievements are almost innumerable. Bugliarello served as member and chair of American Society of Civil Engineers, American Society of Engineering Education, National Academy of Engineering, National Academy of Sciences, National Science Foundation, New York City Mayor's Commission on Science and Technology, and many others. Highlights include serving as founder and editor of the journal Technology in Society, president of Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society, founding fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, fellow of dozens of scientific, academic and business societies, and receiving eight honorary degrees. Over his lifetime, Bugliarello published 17 books, over 350 articles, reports, and editorials and 18 newspaper articles. George Bugliarello died on February 18, 2011 in Port Washington, New York at the age of 83.

Arrangement

This collection has been organized into eight series.

Additional materials were donated to the Poly Archives by Virigina Bugliarello in 2013. These items were integrated into the original collection and created some irregularities in box numbering (i.e. Box 44.1).

This collection has been organized into eleven series:

Arrangement

  1. Subject Files
  2. Bern Dibner Library / CATT
  3. Polytechnic
  4. Organizations
  5. Speeches & Symposiums
  6. Publications and Manuscripts
  7. Correspondence
  8. Clippings
  9. Photographs
  10. Early Career
  11. Addendum
  12. Addendum II

Scope and Content Note

This collection documents the activities of George Bugliarello, who was 13th President of Polytechnic Institute of New York between 1973 and 1994. The records consist of correspondence, memoranda, reports, minutes, financial records, published and unpublished writings, clippings, architectural floor plans, photographs, research notes and bound appointment books pertaining to the professional, scientific and academic activities of President George Bugliarello. The records in this collection highlight the extent of George Bugliarello's professional involvement in a wide array of scientific, academic and public organizations, committees and conferences. The bulk of the collection falls within the span of George Bugliarello's presidency (1973-1994), however the dates in this collection span from 1952 to 1997.

Access Restrictions

Portions of the collection that contain sensitive and personal information have been restricted from view. Folders containing restricted material have been marked and will be separated from the collection prior to use by researchers.

Use Restrictions

Use and reproduction of certain items may be restricted by law, university policy, or donor stipulation. Consult the archivist for more detailed information regarding use. Additionally, the archivist reserves the right to restrict access to items when usage poses a threat to the physical integrity of the items. Those items will be returned to active use after appropriate preservation actions have been taken, if feasible.

Preferred Citation

Identification of item, date; Administrative Papers of the President George Bugliarello; RG 006; box number; folder number or item identifier; Poly Archives at Bern Dibner Library of Science and Technology, New York University.

Location of Materials

Bern Dibner Library of Science and Technology 5 MetroTech Center Brooklyn, New York, 11201 (646) 997-3943 polyarchives@nyu.edu

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated by Virginia Bugliarello in 2011.

Provenance

The Administrative Papers of President George Bugliarello were deposited at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University in 1995 following Geroge Bugliarello's stepping-down as President and transitioning to his position as Chancellor and President emeritus. The records in this collection were created and collected by George Bugliarello and his office staff in the President's Office.

Related Archival Material at Polytechnic Institute of New York University

RG.7: Guide to the Administrative Papers of Chancellor George Bugliarello, 1994-2011

Sponsor note

This project was made possible by a generous grant from Violet J. Jacobs and the Jacobs Family Trust.

Collection processed by

Julianna Monjeau and Lindsay Anderberg

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-22 10:07:08 -0400.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: English

Revisions to this Guide

November 2021: Finding aid revised and edited by Zoe Blecher-Cohen, Mandy Abokhair, and Aileen Thong in 2021 to update the institutional change from NYU-Poly to NYU and for compliance with DACS Required Elements for Archival Description.

Repository

Poly Archives at the Bern Dibner Library of Science and Technology, NYU Libraries
Poly Archives at Bern Dibner Library of Science and Technology
Bern Dibner Library of Science and Technology
5 MetroTech Center
Brooklyn, NY 11201