M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives

2013 Patricia Stocking Brown Research Award Recipient Named

2013-05-15T19:46:30Z

ALBANY, N.Y. (May 15, 2013) - The University Libraries at the University at Albany, SUNY presented the 2013 Patricia Stocking Brown Fund for Feminist Social Justice Research Award to University at Albany graduate student Sean Heather McGraw today. McGraw, a fifth year doctoral candidate in the Department of History, received $500 for her project to research the history, influence and uniqueness of the lesbian community in the Capital District of New York since the 1970s. Professor Gerald Zahavi of the Department of History will serve as faculty advisor to the project.

The annual Award honors Professor Patricia Stocking Brown, who taught Biology and Women's and Minorities' Studies for 35 years at nearby Siena College. Trained at the University of Michigan in comparative endocrinology, and a self-described feminist, Patricia Stocking Brown was the first female faculty member in the sciences at Siena. There she established an extraordinary career as a caring and rigorous teacher and researcher who promoted student research, feminist analytical thinking and evidence-based medicine. Brown was the wife of University at Albany Distinguished Teaching Professor of Biology Emeritus Stephen C. Brown.

Professor Patricia Stocking Brown died in 2004 from metastatic breast cancer. The University at Albany Libraries' Department of Special Collections & Archives holds Brown's papers along with those of the grassroots nonprofit Capital Region Action Against Breast Cancer (CRAAB!), which she co-founded in 1997 and the New York State Breast Cancer Network, a coalition of grassroots breast cancer groups around the state, she co-founded soon after.

Donors from the University at Albany's Women's Studies and Biology Departments, including Professor of Women's Studies Emerita Bonnie Spanier, established The Patricia Stocking Brown Fund for Feminist Social Justice Research in University Libraries to support and promote students' interest in and use of primary materials related to the study of social justice, housed in the Department of Special Collections & Archives. Award applicants must be a registered University at Albany graduate or undergraduate student and currently engaged in or planning a research project/class paper related to feminist social justice. Awardees must utilize at least one manuscript or archival collection at the University as part of his or her research.

Waterbury Hall, Dedicated April 23, 1960

2013-04-24T15:39:40Z

On April 23, 1960, the School formally dedicated Waterbury Hall formally for President Edward R. Waterbury, the first graduate of the New York State Normal School to serve as its president, 1882-89. ("Administration to Dedicate Waterbury Hall Tomorrow," State College News, April 22, 1960, p. 1)

Waterbury Hall, the last of the Alumni Quadrangle dormitories constructed, opened as a men's dormitory housing 200 students in September 1959. An underground dining hall shared by both Alden and Waterbury Halls was opened later in the year. Designed by Architect Harold O. Fullerton, the building's cost of $1,050,000. (including the dining hall) was funded by the State Dormitory Authority. From September 1959 until it was formally dedicated as Waterbury Hall in April 1960, the dormitory was known as the Men's Dormitory.

Edward P. Waterbury (1831-1889) Diploma, NYSNS 1849, A.M., Ph.D., served as president of the New York State Normal School from June 1882 until his death on August 28, 1889. Waterbury was the first graduate of the State Normal School to lead it. Among his accomplishments were supervising the construction of a new school building on Willett Street, authoring the first history of the school, A Historical Sketch of the State Normal School at Albany, N.Y. and a History of its Graduates, 1844-1884 (1884), reorganizing of the Alumni Association leading the school's first Alumni fund-raising drive to build the Alumni Memorial Window, and the introduction of a Kindergarten Department.

Today in UA History: 50th Anniversary of Great Campus Pond Flood on Western Avenue

2013-03-19T20:52:49Z

Fifty years ago on March 21, havoc was created during construction of the University at Albany's new uptown campus when the retaining wall for the pond burst, sending millions of gallons of water, large, thick chunks of ice, and trees cascading across Western Avenue, into homes and businesses and stranding one homeowner's car in a tree well south of Western Avenue. ("Flood Hits Western Avenue," Knickerbocker News, Late Edition, March 21, 1963).

The University at Albany's uptown campus was built as part of Governor Nelson Rockefeller's program to improve the State University system in the early 1960s. Rockefeller commissioned Edward Durell Stone to create a master plan and oversee the construction of the new campus resulting in one of the largest modern academic campuses in the United States. Unlike traditional campuses that grow and develop over time, the Uptown Campus was conceived and constructed all at once, over a short period of time, designed and overseen by a single architect. The groundbreaking took place in 1962, and by 1971 all of the buildings were complete and operational.

The site of the uptown campus was at one time known as the Albany Country Club. Founded in 1893 by a private group, the new country club was an instant success, and quickly won the support of prominent Albanians. In addition to golf, by 1930, the club offered tennis, and later dammed a pond (named Kuyl or Kill) for swimming and skating. The damming was done by erecting a 300 foot earthen and wooden dam in exactly the same location as the Campus or Indian Pond is located today. It was the Country Club dam that gave way in March of 1963. For more information on the history of the Uptown Campus site see the "Ask Geoff" column of the Fall 2012 UAlbany Magazine: www.albany.edu/ualbanymagazine/fall12_ask_geoff.shtml

Special Collections Awarded DHP Grant

2013-03-12T18:49:36Z

The M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives has been awarded a $12,000 grant to arrange, describe, and produce an EAD finding aid and MARC record for 210 cubic feet of archival records from the Atlantic States Legal Foundation (ASLF). Located in Syracuse, New York, ASLF was established in 1982 to provide affordable legal, technical and organizational assistance to individuals, community groups, and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs), as a way to effectively remediate threats to the natural environment. Since 1982, the ASLF activities had a significant impact on several facets of environmental affairs including water quality and pollution, the protection of lakes, rivers, coastal zones, and wetlands, and environmental litigation. Many of its activities have been precedent-setting in the areas of environmental law regarding environmental cleanup.

The ASLF collection dates between 1974 and 2009, and consists of correspondence, subject and case files, compliance monitoring reports and data, environmental notice bulletins, newsletters, studies and research reports, including significant information about the effect of environmental hazards on human populations and other life forms and the development and implementation of public policy and planning related to the environment. The collection also contains a significant number of records that document the ASLF's role in litigation campaigns to ensure compliance with the federal Clean Water Act or the federal Water Pollution Control Act and to bring accountability to businesses in terms of environmental risk prevention on behalf of ordinary citizens.

This grant project was made possible in part by a grant from the Documentary Heritage Program of the New York State Archives, a program of the New York State Education Department.

CSPAN's BOOKTV Pays a Visit

2012-12-12T22:23:19Z

The M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives was prominently featured on C-SPAN2's BOOKTV on the weekend of December 8-9. The program featured a discussion of the Grenander Department, the National Death Penalty Archive and the M. Watt Espy Papers. Our feature was part of C-SPAN's LCV (Local Content Vehicle) 2012 Cities Tour of all of America's state capitals. Albany, N.Y. is featured in December 2012.

SUNY Albany Library Special Collections

Local Content page for Albany

From the Great Experiment to the University

2012-10-10T19:21:42Z

The M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives welcomes a new exhibit, "From the Great Experiment to the University: Historic Images of the University at Albany, 1844 - 2004." The exhibit will run from October 10, 2012 through April 15, 2013 in the Science Library Atrium.

Founded in 1844 as the New York State Normal School, the University at Albany was the first state funded school for higher education in New York and fourth in the nation. Using documents, photographs, and artifacts, this exhibit traces the University's administrative history and student culture in the 19th and 20th Centuries, as it transitioned from the New York State Normal School to the New York State College for Teachers to the University at Albany.

In 1962, as part of SUNY's expansion plan, the College for Teachers was designated a university adopting the model of a broad-based public research institution, charged with providing a liberal arts education for large numbers of undergraduates and a robust range of graduate programs.
Exhibit prepared by Special Collections' Faculty members Jodi Boyle and Brian Keough. In December 2012, University Archivist Geoffrey Williams will provide a guided tour of this exhibit. Specific date for this guided tour will be forthcoming.

For more information about the M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, please visit: http://library.albany.edu/speccoll/.

A National Death Penalty Archive Event

2012-09-27T20:05:22Z

A National Death Penalty Archive Event
Friday, October 12, 2012
Standish Room, Science Library, University at Albany
Lecture and Reception at 4:00 pm

The University at Albany's School of Criminal Justice and the University Libraries are proud to host former Dean and Professor Emeritus Victor Streib, of the Ohio Northern University College of Law, who will offer remarks in connection with the announcement of the addition of his papers to the National Death Penalty Archive (NDPA). Dean Streib is recognized as the country's foremost authority on the capital punishment of juveniles and women. His work has been cited extensively by the United States Supreme Court in its cases addressing the constitutionality of the death penalty for juvenile offenders. His remarks will address "Death to the Women and Children," and will analyze national and international trends regarding the capital punishment of these different populations. Discussion, an opportunity for questions, and a reception will follow. Portions of the materials that Dean Streib has donated to the NDPA will be on display. The program is free and open to the public. For a copy of the latest edition of Dean Streib's research report, Death Penalty for Female Offenders, visit: http://deathpenaltyinfo.org/documents/FemDeathDec2011.pdf

Historic Beauty: Dewey Library

2012-09-12T16:22:03Z

From its colorful stained glass to its lush murals, University Archivist, Geoff Williams talks about why the University at Albany's Thomas E. Dewey Graduate Library is an historic treasure.

The Seventeenth Annual Capital Region Archives Dinner

2012-08-30T14:43:21Z

Capital Region Archives Dinner, Thursday October 4, 2012,at the Gideon Putnam, in Saratoga Springs, NY

Go to archivedinner.org for more information about the event.

143rd Commencement, 25 Years Ago...

2012-05-09T20:48:38Z

Donna E. Shalala spoke at the 143rd Commencement on May 17, 1987. Shalala served under President William Jefferson Clinton and is currently president of the University of Miami since 2001. A video of her address is now available online:

Race and the Death Penalty: A Tribute to the Life and Work of David C. Baldus

2012-04-11T18:16:17Z

The School of Criminal Justice and the University Libraries are pleased to invite the public and the University community to an event to be held on Friday, April 20 at 3:30 in the Standish Room, on the third floor of the Science Library, to announce the addition of the personal papers of the late David C. Baldus, Joseph B. Tye Professor at the University of Iowa College of Law, to the National Death Penalty Archive. David Baldus's research and scholarship on the influence of race in the administration of the death penalty are unparalleled. His study of racial disparities in the application of Georgia's death penalty served as the foundation of the landmark Supreme Court case, McCleskey v. Kemp (1987). In that decision, by vote of 5-4, the justices upheld Georgia's death penalty law against constitutional challenge despite dramatic race-of-victim differences in capital charging and sentencing decisions that were revealed by "the Baldus study." The McCleskey decision was issued a quarter century ago, on April 22, 1987. Speakers at the April 20 event will reflect on the legacy of McCleskey v. Kemp and issues involving race and capital punishment as they recognize David Baldus's enduring commitment to equal justice under law and comment on the significance of including his papers within the National Death Penalty Archive. Speakers will include:

Professor Catherine Grosso, Michigan State College of Law
Dr. Alice Green, Center for Law and Justice
Mr. David Kaczynski, New Yorkers for Alternatives to the Death Penalty
Mr. Brian Keough, M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, University at Albany
Professor James Acker, School of Criminal Justice, University at Albany

Discussion and a question-and-answer session will follow. Refreshments will be available. The event is free and open to the public. For additional information, contact: Brian Keough at bkeough@albany.edu

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

CSPAN Coverage of Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on the Death Penalty, with footage to David Baldus testomony

Camp Woodland Reunion July 14, 2012

2012-03-05T21:30:23Z

What: Camp Woodland Reunion and Square and Folk dancing
When: Saturday July 14, 2012, 9:30 AM - 6:30 PM
Where: University at Albany, SUNY, Campus Center

Activities include:
• Panel Discussion on the Norman Studer Vision of a Living Democracy (Lead by Joan Studer, Bill Horn, Sue Rosenberg and others).
• Panel discussion of historical period that Camp Woodland existed, the oral history/folklore of the Catskill area and the role of the SUNY archive in preserving the Camp Woodland Archive.
• Sessions to sing the songs collected in the Catskills and other songs sung at camp Woodland: an informal sing with non-performing campers joining with performers and the singing of the Cantatas sung at Catskill Folk Festivals. Lonesome Train, We've Come from the City, Boney Quillen, Sojourner Truth. Conducted by former Music Counselors.
• Square and Folk dancing to songs from Camp Woodland.
• Oral history interviews of Camp Woodland alumni by Ellen McHale, New York Folklore Society, and Dr. Gerald Zahavi, University at Albany Professor of History, who will be recording alumni memories of camp.
• The Norman Studer Papers Archive will be available for review including Camp Woodland archive, materials such as correspondence, diaries, student writings, audio recordings, 16mm films, and photographs. The papers contain an extraordinary collection of reel-to-reel audiotapes capturing local Catskill informant interviews, a wide array of regional and national folk singers performing at Camp Woodland folk festivals.

Here's a link to the official event website:
http://library.albany.edu/speccoll/campwoodland.htm

Minerva: UAlbany’s Enduring Symbol Since 1888

2012-02-28T19:59:33Z

UAlbany TV interviews University Archivist, Geoff Williams, and he tells the history of the statue of Minerva:
http://www.albany.edu/news/21489.php?WT.svl=image

It Happens Every Four Years...

2012-02-28T15:13:52Z

The ME Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives announces the opening of a new exhibit entitled It Happens Every Four Years: U.S. Presidential Election Campaigns from the Archives of Public Affairs and Policy.

As 2012 will witness a U.S. presidential election, the media, political observers and commentators, academic analysts and ordinary Americans will focus on the election at key points throughout the year. This includes the primaries and caucuses, the campaign trail for the general election, the nominating conventions, and the election in November.

Presented in this exhibit are political photographs, correspondence, books, pamphlets, research, memorabilia, and other archival materials from more than a dozen collections. These items document the many facets of U.S. presidential elections during the past century. Some are well-known, like trade union outreach on behalf of candidates, cultivating media endorsements or ongoing campaign appearances to shake hands with potential voters. Other materials highlight less familiar aspects of the election for the contemporary audience, such as a political party’s selection of a candidate at the nominating convention and not before.

There are many notable and creative pieces of memorabilia such as campaign buttons, posters, a record entitled Rockin for Rocky sung by New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller supporters, a ruler promoting General Dwight Eisenhower and even a paper dress worn by female supporters of Governor George Romney of Michigan in 1968. There is a display of photographs illustrating presidential politics at the University featuring appearances by President Bill Clinton in 1994, campaigning by Nelson Rockefeller in 1968, and the awarding of diplomas at the mid-year closing exercise of the State Normal School by President-elect Grover Cleveland in 1885.

Jodi Boyle, User Services Archivist, selected items from the Archives of Public Affairs and Policy which features more than 100 collections related to public servants and politicians.

The exhibit is located in the Department of Special Collections and Archives Exhibit Foyer on the third floor of the University at Albany’s Science Library. It is open Monday through Friday from 9 am until 5pm.

All of the collections in the Archives of Public Affairs and Policy are accessible in the Department of Special Collections and Archives. Further information is available at: http://library.albany.edu/speccoll/apap.htm.

CSEA Publications Document Aftermath of 9/11 and Impact upon State Workers

2011-09-09T13:29:33Z

This September the University at Albany Libraries’ M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections & Archives is spotlighting the recently digitized publications of the Civil Service Employees Association, Inc., or CSEA, from the fall of 2001 which focused upon the aftermath of the events of September 11. The department holds the records of the CSEA, Local 1000, AFSCME, AFL-CIO. CSEA is the largest public employees' union in New York State with over 260,000 members.

This substantial collection documents the organization’s 100 year-old history with administrative files, subject files, photographs, audio/video materials, scrapbooks, and publications. The official CSEA magazine The Work Force, published from 1978 through today, is just one highlight of the collection.

The commemorative November 2001 issue of The Work Force mourns the 42 state workers, 39 from the Department of Taxation and Finance and three from the Department of Transportation, lost in the tragedy at the World Trade Center. There were five CSEA members among them. The issue discusses the many memorials held to honor the victims, details the pivotal role played by CSEA on September 11 and afterwards, and offers words of encouragement to readers from union representatives. CSEA members submitted poems to The Work Force to share their thoughts and feelings. The issue also tackled safety and health risks posed to workers engaged in recovery and then clean-up efforts at the World Trade Center site.

Following is the link to the complete CSEA finding aid which provides a history of the organization, greater detail about the collection and access to the October and December 2001 issues of The Work Force: http://library.albany.edu/speccoll/findaids/apap015.htm

Also, CSEA's Always Remember commemorates the 10th anniversary 9/11.