Records of the Office of External Affairs, Commencement and Special Events
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Abstract
The New York University Commencement and Special Events division was part of the Office of External Affairs which operated under the leadership of the Vice President for External Affairs. In 2002, the Office of External Affairs was replaced by the Office of University Relations and Public Affairs, while the Office of University Events took over the role of event planning. This collection contains files created by these offices for University-wide and individual New York University school events dating from 1834 to 2019. Event planning files contain correspondence, notes, audio recordings, ephemera, and published material created for these events. This collection also contains a large assemblage of All-University Commencement programs, tickets, invitations, speeches, rosters, and plannings notes dating from 1834 to 2024. Baccalaureate service programs and other Commencement-related events ephemera are also in this collection. Files created for various Commencement financial prizes and awards document their creation and administration, dating from 1941 to 2000.
Historical Note
The Commencement and Special Events division was part of the Office of External Affairs and operated under the direction of the Vice President for External Affairs. The Commencement and Special Events department was responsible for the planning, organization, and overseeing of university events and commencement ceremonies. Other than convocation ceremonies, the department regularly organized university events such as anniversary celebrations, guest lectures, fundraising dinners, and site dedications. In 2002, the Office of External Affairs was replaced by the Office of University Relations and Public Affairs. The Office of University Events operates within this division and coordinates the many events formerly handled by the Commencement and Special Events department of the Office of External Affairs.
Arrangement
Organized into four series: Series I. Events; Series II: Publications; Series III. Commencement; and Series IV. Commencement Prizes and Awards.
Series I and III are arranged chronologically, and in Series II the same events are grouped together and arranged chronologically within those groups. Series IV is arranged alphabetically.
Scope and Contents
This collection contains planning files, publications, and ephemera generated by the Commencement and Special Events division of the Office of External Affairs, and the Office of University Events. Event planning files date from 1870 to 2019, documenting preparation for New York University events which includes lectures, faculty convocations, honorary degrees, NYU Presidential Inaugurations, and NYU's Sesquicentennial celebration (1980) activities. Published material in this collection includes programs and ephemera from 1956 to 1995 related to NYU events such as dedications, convocations, lectures, and building openings. These materials complement event files in Series I. Commencement files document the experience of attendees through ephemera, graduation rosters, speeches, audio recordings, event scripts, and planning notes for the Commencement ceremony itself and related events dating from 1834 to 2024. Files accumulated on prizes and awards in this collection typically contain correspondence and supporting documentation on financial awards distributed to individuals during Commencement week. These files date from 1941 to 2000.
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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
Any rights (including copyright and related rights to publicity and privacy) held by NYU are maintained by New York University. Permission to publish or reproduce materials in this collection must be secured from the University Archives. Please contact University Archives, special.collections@nyu.edu, 212-998-2596.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Records of the Office of External Affairs, Commencement, and Special Events; RG 7.4; box number; folder number or item identifier; New York University Archives, New York University.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The records were first accessioned from the Office of External Affairs by the University Archives in 1997. Additional boxes were accessioned from the Office of University Events in 2011. Accretions were transferred to the Archives in 2016, 2018, 2019, 2022, and 2024.
Audiovisual Access Policies and Procedures
Audiovisual materials have not been preserved and may not be available to researchers. Materials not yet digitized will need to have access copies made before they can be used. To request an access copy, or if you are unsure if an item has been digitized, please contact the University Archives, special.collections@nyu.edu, 212-998-2596 with the collection name, collection number, and a description of the item(s) requested. A staff member will respond to you with further information.
Born-Digital Access Policies and Procedures
Advance notice is required for the use of computer records. Original physical digital media is restricted. An access terminal for born-digital materials in the collection is available by appointment for reading room viewing and listening only. Researchers may view an item's original container and/or carrier, but the physical carriers themselves are not available for use because of preservation concerns.
Appraisal
Eight school banners, eleven audiocassettes, and two cartons of books previously owned by former University President John Brademas were removed and returned to the University Archivist.
Separated Materials
Oversized materials from the NYU Celebrates 2000 event were incorporated into general University Archives collections created for specific formats.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Decisions regarding the arrangement, description, and physical interventions taken on this collection prior to 2017 have not yet been recorded. In 2017, an accrual was incorporated into the collection in accordance with the existing arrangement scheme in Box 42. In 2018 an accrual was incorporated into the collection's existing Series I. and III. In 2019, materials were rehoused by Preservation and sent to offsite storage. Further accruals were received in 2021, 2022, and 2024 and incorporated into Series III.
In 2023, titles from the existing inventory were edited, adding dates, combining duplicate title listings of the same event, and moving the titles into chronological order as was originally stated in the arrangement note.
Unprocessed material had been foldered, but when necessary, overstuffed folders were divided into smaller groupings. Most of the manuscript boxes were found to be discolored and damaged. These were replaced with new boxes. All but two copies of print material were retained and the remaining were removed from the collection. The audio cassettes were numbered and labeled and listed appropriately within the inventory.