Series I: Office of the Dean of Washington Square College, 1938-1961, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Contains material relative to the Senate Committee report which drew up initial charges. Rules of tenure and a statement of policy are present as background distributed to each committee member. The verbatim transcripts (produced from stenotypist tape) reflect the varieties of opinion in collegial discussion, but also the operation of procedures required by the Faculty Handbook.
The Dean's Exhibits (Folders 2, 3) are his collection of clippings and articles from left-wing newspapers and organizations, as well as government documents significant to this case. The HUAC Hearing which initiated the contempt charge is present, as well as (of historic interest) the alien request to leave the country of suspected communist spy, Gerhardt Eisler. The HUAC is represented further in the series in Box 1, Folder 10 and Box 2, Folder 14.
Subsequent are the Dean's topical files, which show his interaction with the Chancellor and the informatory position he took with both the Chancellor and Vice Chancellor. At the inception of this case, it fell to the Dean to explain the University position to many who protested suspension and confused it with dismissal. Some prominent academics, such as Harlow Shapley, were correspondents (Box 2, Folder 11). It is to be noted that the American Civil Liberties Union found no fault with the University's action, but chastised a Massachusetts affiliate for interfering with a local (New York) matter (Box 1, Folder 9).
Student activity and interaction with the Dean may be found in Box 2, Folders 1 and 2; student and political handbills in Box 2, Folders 6 and 15.