TABLE OF CONTENTS

Overview of the Collection

History

Scope and Content

Arrangement

Restrictions

Index Terms

Related Material

Administrative Information

Bibliography

Detailed Description

Series I: University Files, (1965-1978)

Series II: State Files, 1974-1978

Series III: Paul Capra Files, 1972-1978

Series IV: Edward V. Grant Papers, undated

Series V: Audiovisual materials, 1975

University of Connecticut

President's Office Records [Glenn W. Ferguson, 1973-1978]

History

Glenn W. Ferguson was the ninth President of the University of Connecticut. He served from August 1973 to April 1978. His tenure occurred during a difficult period in the school's history, a period marked by financial retrenchment because of economic recession and inadequate financial support from the state legislature. The University experienced little growth during these years, but it did manage to maintain stability and quality.

A native of Syracuse, New York, Ferguson earned a bachelor's degree in economics and master's degree in business administration at Cornell University and a law degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1957. From 1961-1969, he held various posts in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, including Director of the Peace Corps from 1962-1964, President of VISTA from 1964-1966, United States Ambassador to Kenya from 1966-1969. In 1969, he was appointed Chancellor of Long Island University, and, from 1970-1973, was President of Clark University. In addition to his administrative posts, he also held a variety of teaching positions from 1969-1971, including Adjunct Professor of Government at Clark University and Professor of Political Science at Long Island University. Ferguson was 44 years old when he assumed the presidency of the University of Connecticut.

Total enrollment at UConn rose only slightly during Ferguson's presidency. In 1974, it cost the average resident UConn student about $2,800 per year to attend the University. By 1978, that amount had risen to $3,400. From 1975 to 1978, a time of severe inflation, the University operating budget grew by approximately thirty million dollars, while state appropriations actually declined by 2 per cent.

Despite a lack of adequate state public support, a number of major advances were made in the University's physical plant during Ferguson's tenure. Ground was broken for a new School of Fine Arts building, and the Psychology, Institute of Materials Science, and Physics buildings were completed. The Co-op bookstore was opened, as was the John N. Dempsey Hospital at the Health Center in Farmington. The crowning achievement was the completion, in 1978, of the new University of Connecticut Library, later renamed the Homer Babbidge Library.

Advances were made, as well, in both academic programs and research. During the 1973-1974 academic year, the Political Science Department created a Masters of Public Affairs degree to meet the growing demand for experts in public service and administration. In that same year, a research team from the School of Medicine announced that its vaccine against meningitis would be marketed nationally by two drug firms.

During the 1976-1977 academic year, the University admitted four students from a pilot group at the Stamford Branch that marked the formal beginning of the Bachelor if General Studies program, a degree program for non-traditional students. A Stamford grandmother was the first recipient of such a degree in 1978. The first annual Day of Pride, an event intended to inspire and encourage minority young people to pursue a college education was also held.

During the 1977-1978 school year, the University and the University of Belgrade launched a hands-across-the-sea collaboration for a scientific and educational exchange program. This was also the year that clinical certification tests of graduate students in speech pathology and audiology indicated that the University's advanced degree programs in these areas ranked in the top ten nationally.

Glenn Ferguson resigned his presidency in April 1978, in order to accept a position as Chief Executive Officer of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Glenn W. Ferguson died at his home in Sante Fe, New Mexico on 20 December 2007.

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Scope and Content

This collection consists of the administrative files of the University's office of the President during Glenn W. Ferguson's tenure from 1973-1978. Also include in this collection are the files of Ferguson's assistant, Paul Capra, as well as those of Edward Gant, who was acting president of the university for six months following Ferguson's resignation.

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Arrangement

Series I: University Files (1965-1978) consist of communication between the President's Office and university departments and Branches; materials related to university functions, policies, and concerns; budget and financial data; committee reports; as well as general information on post-secondary education. The files are arranged alphabetically within a chronological order.

Series II: State Files (1974-1978) consist of administrative files involving the state government's interaction with the university and the state university system as a whole.

Series III: Paul Capra Papers (1972-1978) contain the files of the assistant to the president, and includes such materials as annual reports, administrative procedures, correspondence, physical plant data, and files on collective bargaining, the Storrs campus police, university finances, and research contracts.

Series IV: Edward Gant Papers (undated) consist of one box of materials from Edward Gant's term as acting president from August 1978 to March 1979. The materials include files on the Appropriation Committee, the capital budget, collective bargaining, the Health Center, and veterinary medicine.

Series V: Audiovisual materials (1975)

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Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

There are no access restrictions on this collection.

Restrictions on Use

Permission to publish from these Papers must be obtained in writing from both the University of Connecticut Libraries and the owner(s) of the copyright.

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Related Material

Archives & Special Collections has a substantial collection of pertaining to the University, its history, administration, faculty, staff and students. For detailed information on these collections please contact the curator or ask at the reference desk.

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Index Terms

This record series is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.

Organizations:

Document Types:

Occupations:

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

[Item description, #:#], University Of Connecticut, President'S Office Records [Glenn W. Ferguson, 1973-1978]. Archives & Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, University of Connecticut Libraries.

Acquisition Information

The materials were transferred to the University Archives from the President's Office.

Return to University of Connecticut, President's Office Records.

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Bibliography

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Detailed Description