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 Record Group
Identifier: RG 15/A2

Inventory to the Records of the Rutgers University Provost and Vice-President (Richard Schlatter)

Dates

  • 1945-1972

Scope and Content Note

The records of the Provost and Vice-President, Richard Schlatter, consist of 54 manuscript boxes. The collection spans the years 1945 to 1974, with the majority of material dating from the 1960s. The papers pertain to Schlatter's many responsibilities as Provost and consist largely of correspondence and reports.

The collection has been divided into three series, each arranged alphabetically.

The General Correspondence Files series consists of material Schlatter had originally filed under the titles "Miscellaneous Correspondence" "Student Correspondence" and material found in a collection of Provost's Materials. This series features correspondence from people who may have contacted Schlatter only once or twice (that is, not enough for a separate name file to be established) during his tenure as Provost. This series is filed alphabetically.

The Subject Files series provides an overview of the many aspects of Rutgers that Schlatter was involved in. These areas ranged from those pertaining to students, faculty, administration, and the community at large. The folders reveal Schlatter was in constant communication with other members of the university, or being copied on correspondence regarding a variety of matters. Material in this series shows Schlatter's and Rutgers' concerns about and reactions to the social and political climate of the 1960s. Many folders are devoted to urban studies, and follow the establishment of Livingston College as a school for students coming from economically and educationally disadvantaged backgrounds.

The Name Files series contains correspondence, largely from other Rutgers University members. The individual files may contain correspondence from a particular person or about that person. Not all correspondence involved Schlatter directly, but he appears to have received copies of correspondence. The Name Files are arranged alphabetically.

Extent

22 Cubic Feet (55 manuscript boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Conditions Governing Access

Boxes 1 through 54 are available for access at Rutgers University Special Collections and University Archives.

Abstract

The records of Rutgers University Provost and Vice-President Richard Schlatter document the state of education at Rutgers in the 1960s, a decade of exceptional growth. The records reflect the concerns of administrators, staff, and students who were dealing with the expansion of and changes in the role of the university, social changes, and the Vietnam War. The papers demonstrate that the Provost's duties involved him in many aspects of the operation of the university and required that he have deep knowledge of university structures and policies. The records are contained in three series: I. General Correspondence Files, II. Subject Files, and III. Name Files.

<emph render="bold">Administrative History</emph>

The Office of the Provost was created in 1949 to take on responsibilities delegated by the President. In a statement of appointment that appeared in the July 1949 faculty newsletter, President Robert C. Clothier wrote that Rutgers had become larger in terms of size, complexity and public recognition, and that it had "a special obligation to meet in view of its debt to the returning veterans and its designation as the State University of New Jersey." Clothier stated that the administration had not grown at the same rate as the university, and therefore, new positions needed to accompany the new duties its members found themselves taking on. The Presidency had become "a two-man" job, and it would be the Provost's duty to be this "second man." (1)

Rutgers University's first Provost was Mason Welch Gross, who held the position until 1959, when he was elected Rutgers' President. The position of Provost remained vacant until 1962, with the appointment of Richard Schlatter, who had served as a professor of history since coming to Rutgers in 1946. When Schlatter took over the position, the title was amended to Provost and Vice-President.

As Provost and Vice-President, Schlatter appears to have been involved with many issues and in constant communication with department heads, professors, and administrators. He served on or was kept informed on the activities of many committees. His work in tandem with Gross is credited for establishing Rutgers as a major university. In particular, their leadership during the turbulence of the 1960s was seen as a steadying force at Rutgers. (2) During Schlatter's time as Provost, Rutgers had continued to grow in physical size and in the number of students (from an enrollment of 21,000 to 37,000 students). (3) It also continued to growing in complexity and diversity, and these changes were reflected in the Provost's duties and his records.

Schlatter resigned his position as Provost and Vice-President in 1971. At that time, Gross had retired and was succeeded by Edward J. Bloustein, who had become president of Rutgers with the intention of implementing a reorganization plan for its administrative structure. In accordance with this plan, the position of Provost and Vice-President ceased to exist. Instead a provost was designated for each of the Rutgers campuses. Kenneth Wheeler became New Brunswick Provost in July 1972. James E. Young became Newark Provost in 1973 and Russell Fairbanks became Camden Provost in 1974.

Biographical Sketch of Richard Schlatter

Richard Schlatter was born on March 3, 1912. He grew up in Ohio, the only child of a butcher. He received his BA from Harvard in 1934 and went on to win a Rhodes scholarship, graduating from Oxford with a doctorate of philosophy degree in 1938. He then taught at Harvard until 1946 when he came to Rutgers as a professor of history.

Schlatter had a distinguished career at Rutgers. He received a Fulbright Award to teach and conduct research at the University of Liverpool during the academic year 1949-1950. He served as chair of the history department between 1955 and 1960, and became Provost in 1962. He served as Acting President in 1971 when Mason W. Gross became ill. In 1971 he resigned from the Provost's position and continued at Rutgers as a professor of history. He retired from Rutgers in 1982.

Schlatter's career was marked with many distinctions. Along with his Rhodes scholarship and Fulbright, he also received a Ford Foundation fellowship and a Danforth Foundation grant. He was the author of several books, including Private Property (1951), and wrote many articles and essays. After his retirement from Rutgers, Schlatter served as chair of the Committee on Literature at the Century Association in New York City, and was active with other societies and organizations.

Schlatter was married to Suzanne Wynmalen. They had two children, a daughter, Heidi, and a son, Daniel. Schlatter died on October 22, 1987 at the age of 75. He committed suicide during a hospital stay in Princeton after receiving a diagnosis of terminal cancer of the spine.

Notes

(1) See President Robert C. Clothier's statement "Appointment of a Provost" in Faculty News-Letter, 1949, 234-235.Available from Special Collections and University Archives R-PUBS LD4751.8.R8. (2) See Harris, Andrew Steven, "Retired RU Provost Schlatter Commits Suicide" in The Daily Targum, October 26, 1987. (3) Ibid.

Arrangement Note

Records of the Provost and Vice-President are arranged into three series. Each series is arranged alphabetically.

  1. I. General Correspondence Files, 1962-1972
  2. II. Subject Files, 1945-1972
  3. III. Name Files, 1959-1971

Related Material

Two biographical files on Richard Schlatter are available from the Rutgers University Archives Faculty Biographies Collection.

The Records of the Rutgers University Office of the President (Mason Welch Gross) contains material covering the same time period as Schlatter's records. It also contains records pertaining to Gross's tenure as Provost. For more information on Gross's records, see the Inventory to the Records of the Rutgers University Office of the President (Mason Welch Gross) .

Provost's Cabinet materials are available from the Rutgers University Archives. For more information on these records, see the Inventory to the Records of the Rutgers University Provost's Cabinet .

Bibliography

"Appointment of a Provost." Faculty News-letter July 1949. Available from Special Collections and University Archives R-PUBS LD4751.8.R8. Harris, Andre Steven "Retired RU Provost Schlatter Commits Suicide." The Daily Targum, October 26, 1987. McCormick, Richard P., Academic Reorganization in New Brunswick 1962-1978: The Federated College Plan, New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University, 1978. Available from Special Collections and University Archives R-PUBS LD4745.8.M3 1978.
  • "Appointment of a Provost." Faculty News-letter July 1949. Available from Special Collections and University Archives R-PUBS LD4751.8.R8.
  • Harris, Andre Steven "Retired RU Provost Schlatter Commits Suicide." The Daily Targum, October 26, 1987.
  • McCormick, Richard P., Academic Reorganization in New Brunswick 1962-1978: The Federated College Plan, New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University, 1978. Available from Special Collections and University Archives R-PUBS LD4745.8.M3 1978.
  • "Appointment of a Provost." Faculty News-letter July 1949. Available from Special Collections and University Archives R-PUBS LD4751.8.R8.
  • Harris, Andre Steven "Retired RU Provost Schlatter Commits Suicide." The Daily Targum, October 26, 1987.
  • McCormick, Richard P., Academic Reorganization in New Brunswick 1962-1978: The Federated College Plan, New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University, 1978. Available from Special Collections and University Archives R-PUBS LD4745.8.M3 1978.

General

(1) See President Robert C. Clothier's statement "Appointment of a Provost" in Faculty News-Letter, 1949, 234-235.Available from Special Collections and University Archives R-PUBS LD4751.8.R8.

General

(2) See Harris, Andrew Steven, "Retired RU Provost Schlatter Commits Suicide" in The Daily Targum, October 26, 1987.

General

(3) Ibid.

General

(1) See President Robert C. Clothier's statement "Appointment of a Provost" in Faculty News-Letter, 1949, 234-235.Available from Special Collections and University Archives R-PUBS LD4751.8.R8.

General

(2) See Harris, Andrew Steven, "Retired RU Provost Schlatter Commits Suicide" in The Daily Targum, October 26, 1987.

General

(3) Ibid.

Processing Note

The records of Richard Schlatter were preliminarily processed in Spring 2005 as a class project for the Manuscripts and Archives class offered as part of the Master's in Library and Information Studies program at Rutgers. The students in this class refoldered, and arranged and described the contents of individual manuscript boxes.

After examining the contents of the folders, the processor arranged the collection into its three series. Items from another small collection of Provost's material were added to Schlatter as they consisted of his correspondence and material on the Humanities Council. Folders belonging to a fourth series, pertaining to the Provost's Cabinet, were removed and placed in a separate Provost's Cabinet collection. The majority of the folders have retained the names given to them by Schlatter. Several name files were created if there was sufficient material to do so in the general correspondence files (For example, the Doak and Easton name files were created out of this material).

This finding aid includes descriptions of material in individual folders. Given the volume of material, the descriptions are not exhaustive, but meant to provide an overview of what documents might be found in a folder and the parties involved.

Title
Inventory to the Records of the Rutgers University Provost and Vice-President (Richard Schlatter), 1945-1972 RG 15/A2
Status
Edited Full Draft
Author
Caryn Radick
Date
January 2006
Language of description note
Finding aid is written in English.

Part of the Rutgers University Archives Repository

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