Series I: Administrative Files, early 1970s through 1996, inclusive

Subseries I.A Founding and Dissolution (dated early 1970s-1996) primarily contains files related to the early years of the Humanities Council, with one file about winding down Council activities. The founding documents include files from the Presidential Panel on Humanities, the predecessor to the Council, Council organizational charts, and research files about humanities education generally and humanities programs at other universities.

Subseries I.B Committees (dated 1976-1990) documents the activities of the full Humanities Council, its Executive Board, and topical committees and subcommittees that were part of the Council. The documents are primarily paper, with a minority of electronic records, and include agendas, minutes, and documents circulated to committee members. This subseries also includes committee rosters.

Subseries I.C Funding, Budgets, and Expenses (dated 1976-1995) contains records of the Humanities Council's finances. The Council relied on outside funding sources, and this subseries includes drafts and copies of grant proposals and reports, as well as correspondence between the Council and the granting institutions. It also includes other records related to Council fundraising, including research files on and correspondence with potential funders and records related to the Council's plan to build an endowment fund. Additionally, the Humanities Council itself provided funds for humanities programming at NYU. The Council ran a small grants program, Grant-in-Aid, which is represented with applications for funds and Council responses. The Council also issued calls for funding requests and received requests outside of the Grant-in-Aid program, which are included in this subseries.

Subseries I.D Reports and Publications (dated 1976-1989) contains Humanities Council annual reports and other reports compiled for University administration. This subseries also includes various publications produced by the Council, including program guidelines and informational booklets. The Humanities Council also published "Highlights," which provided lists of humanities-related events in poster format, and these posters are included in this subseries. This series is primarily made up of paper materials, but also includes born-digital drafts of some reports and publications.

Subseries I.E Programs and Events (dated 1976-1992) contains records evidencing Humanities Council-wide events and programs. Events documents include correspondence, invitations, mailing lists, and records related to logistical matters such as catering and hotel arrangements. The Council hosted some visitors who were political and governmental figures, and individual files are present for the visits of French President François Mitterand, King Juan Carlos I of Spain, the Duke of Alba, and National Endowment for the Humanities Chair Lynne Cheney. This subseries also contains documents about council-sponsored fellowships, assistantships, and professional development programs. From 1984 to 1992, the Council organized the Graduate Student Forum, which held meetings and provided financial support for graduate student research and conference attendance. The Graduate Student Forum was funded by the Samuel and May Rudin Foundation, and this subseries includes reports to the Foundaton, planning files for GSF events. This series also includes audio recordings of a lecture at a Graduate Student Forum event, Lynne Cheney's remarks during her visit, and event photographs.

Subseries I.F Medical and Dental Humanities (dated 1977-1992) comprises records demonstrating the Humanities Council's efforts to reach out to NYU's medical and dental schools and records created during the planning and administration of these programs. The subseries includes program proposals and reports, correspondence with NYU's medical and dental community members, and expense reports. Also included is one poster advertising Humanities Council programming and another poster created for the Dental School's 125th anniversary.

Subseries I.G Publicity and Communications (dated 1979-1992) is comprised of files documenting the the Humanities Council's efforts to promote itself and its programs, including newspaper advertisements, distribution lists, press releases, and a feature in the journal Annals of Scholarship. The Council's communication strategy both within and outside of the NYU community are evidenced with correspondence with faculty, interoffice memos, as well as posters and brochures it printed and distributed.