I. Subject Files,, 1945-1975

Arrangement: Material is arranged alphabetically.

Summary: As the official records keeper for the Board of Governors, the University Trustees and the University Senate, Karl Metzger was reposible for the documentation and paperwork associated with a variety of projects and plans involving Rutgers. The material in this series varies widely in content and includes correspondence on a range of subjects, plans for university events, invitations to building dedications and honorary degree ceremonies, as well as complicated plans for civil defense, arrangements for University wide public events and military deferments.

Numerous files are dedicated to Deferment Cases and Deferment Cases (Military) Faculty and Graduate Student, dating from 1952-1966. Karl E. Metzger, as a member of the Rutgers University Committee on Military Service was given the responsibility of keeping track of Faculty and students military status and seeking out deferments for those who could not join the draft because of University obligations, special graduation requirements, children, or other factors.Minutes of meetings comprise a substantial portion of the series, since Metzger was required to keep files of minutes of faculty meetings and meetings of other university committees. Metzger also kept copies of questionnaires on topics ranging from ROTC facilities at Rutgers to Eisenhower's 1956 presidential campaign.

Another file of interest concerns Eugene D. Genovese, a history professor at Rutgers. During a teach-in on April 23, 1965, which focused on American foreign policy with respect to Vietnam, Genovese, was quoted as saying, " I am a Marxist and a Socialist, and I would welcome a victory by the Viet Cong." Files in this group include information surrounding this controversial case. It also includes letters from residents throughout the state commending Charles Brower, the chairman of this case, and Rutgers University, for their actions towards academic freedom.

Perhaps the most interesting files in the collection deal with the Civil Defense Committee of Rutgers University around the time of World War II. Metzger, as organizer of the Civil Defense plans at Rutgers, kept extensive files on Ground Observer Corps, air raid rescue operations, survival and welfare plans and records as they dealt with civil defense on the University level. Students were also made aware of what to do in case of an air raid or bombing through blackout preparation documents and lists of refugee locations around campus.