Records of the Office of the Chancellor (Elmer Ellsworth Brown)
Call Number
Date
Creator
Extent
Language of Materials
Abstract
This collection represents the administrative papers of Elmer Ellsworth Brown, Chancellor of New York University from 1911-1933.
Biographical Note
On November 9, 1911 Elmer Ellsworth Brown (1861-1934) became the seventh Chancellor of New York University. The previous Chancellor, Henry Mitchell MacCracken, had been working towards changing NYU from a small educational institution to a modern University. Brown was Chancellor during a significant growth in student enrollment, changed the structure of schools within the University, and was present during the challenges to NYU brought by the first World War and its effects on the city and economy.
During the first decades of the century, NYU expanded its academic offerings and physical space. By the end of Brown's tenure, NYU had expanded from three floors in the Main Building, to occupying ten buildings around Washington Square. New academic buildings and athletic facilities increased the Heights campus to 50 acres. Numerous colleges were organized under Brown including Washington Square College, Graduate School of Business Administration, School of Retailing, College of Dentistry, School of Aeronautics, and the College of Fine Arts. Other divisions, notably the School of Education, were reorganized.
During this time, NYU had become one of the largest universities in the country in terms of student numbers. America's entry into the First World War in 1917 affected student enrollment and a wartime economy strained the budget of the University. NYU's agreement to receive branches of the Student Army Training Corps at the University Heights campus and at the Medical College fufilled the University's need to meet its public responsibility and helped to save the school from financial ruin.
Arrangement
This collection is divided into 3 series:
I. Administrative Files
II. Miscellaneous Correspondence
III. Addresses and Public Articles
This files are arranged alphabetically within each series.
Scope and Content Note
The Elmer Ellsworth Brown administrative papers measure 47 linear feet in 94 boxes and date from 1900 to 1937.
This collection includes the administrative records from the office of the president/chancellor, the highest administrative and academic office at New York University at the time. Chancellor Elmer Ellsworth Brown's term at NYU began in 1911 and ended in 1933, when he was name Chancellor Emeritus. Brown died in 1934.
Researchers interested in the growth and evolution of a metropolitan university will find a wealth of information in this collection. Subjects addressed in the collection include changes in the ideological and bureaucratic development of higher education in the 1910s and 1920s; the relationship of NYU to the city, community, and nation; and how the University handled anti-Semitism and racism.
Subjects
Organizations
People
Topics
Conditions Governing Access
Administrative records and unpublished reports of New York University are closed for a period of 20 years from the date of their creation. Access to files spanning multiple years will be opened to researchers based on the date of the most recent materials. Board of Trustees records are closed for 35 years from the date of creation. Materials related to personnel, grievances, job and fellowship searches and applications, and all files that fall under the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) are permanently restricted. Additional restrictions may apply to other materials in this collection. For questions regarding specific restrictions, please contact the University Archives.
Conditions Governing Use
Some materials may be restricted. 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
E-mail: university-archives@nyu.edu
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Records of the Office of the Chancellor (Elmer Ellsworth Brown); RG 3.0.4; box number; folder number or item identifier; New York University Archives, New York University.
Provenance
These materials were part of the New York University Historical Collection in the Gould Library at the University Heights campus. They came down to Washington Square with the closing of the uptown campus in 1973.
An accretion was added in 2022.
Separated Materials
Photographs and oversized materials have been removed from this collection.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Decisions regarding arrangement, description, and physical interventions for this collection prior to 2023 are unknown.
In 2023, the biographical note was edited to remove lauditory language. Researchers can access previous versions of the finding aid in our GitHub repository at https://github.com/NYULibraries/findingaids_eads/commits/master/archives/rg_3_0_4.xml.