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Administrative Papers of Chancellor George Bugliarello

Call Number

RG.007

Date

1995-2011, inclusive

Creator

Extent

66 Linear Feet (59 boxes, 1 hard drive)

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 Chancellor's 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 Chancellor of Polytechnic University between 1994 and 2003 and his subsequent term as President Emeritus from 2004 to 2011.

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. He 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. These series have been organized according to size:

Arrangement

  1. Organizations
  2. Subject Files
  3. Publications
  4. Polytechnic Institute
  5. Audio-Visual Material
  6. Speeches & Presentations
  7. Correspondence
  8. Photographs & Slides
  9. Ephemera
  10. Hard drive

Scope and Content Note

The Administrative Papers of Chancellor George Bugliarello documents the activities of George Bugliarello, the 13th President of Polytechnic Institute of New York (1973-1994), who served as Chancellor from 1994 to 2003 and President Emeritus from 2003 to 2011. The records consist of correspondence, memoranda, reports, minutes, financial records, published and unpublished writings, clippings, architectural floor plans, photographs, research notes, bound appointment books and digital files 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 term as Chancellor (1994-2003), however the dates in this collection span from 1953 to 2011.

Access Restrictions

Portions of the collection that contain sensitive or personal information and are restricted from use. 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 Chancellor George Bugliarello; RG 007; 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 Chancellor George Bugliarello were transferred to the Archives of the Polytechnic Institute of New York University in 9 installments between September 2011 and January 2012. The papers were collected from Chancellor's Office in the Jacobs Building (Room 350) and George Bugliarello's home. The records in this collection were created and collected by George Bugliarello and his office staff in the Chancellor's Office.

Related Archival Material at Polytechnic Institute of New York University

RG.6: Guide to the Administrative Papers of President George Bugliarello

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

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-22 10:08:35 -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