CMU Histories
Scope and Contents
The materials of this collection consist of textual documents and audio cassette tapes. The collection appears to be a compilation of the research materials the four authors utilized in the preparation of their books. This research material includes information such as university statistics or departmental histories and chronologies. A significant portion of the collection is also made up of written transcripts of the interviews captured on the audio cassette tapes. These interviews were conducted by Ludwig Schaefer in preparation for his book and contain recollections of university history by members of the CMU faculty, staff, and administration. Finally, the collection also contains manuscripts of three of the four books.
Dates
- 1903-1991
Creator
- Tarbell, Arthur W. (Arthur Wilson), 1872- (Person)
- Cleeton, Glen U. (Person)
- Wright, Austin, 1904-1979 (Person)
- Schaefer, Ludwig Frederick (Person)
Biographical / Historical
Arthur Tarbell: Arthur Wilson Tarbell was born on 22 September 1872 in Boston, Massachusetts. Before coming to Carnegie Tech, Tarbell was a magazine editor in that city. In 1908, he was hired as a secretary to President Arthur Hamerschlag. He later became registrar and dean of men. He retired as dean emeritus in 1938. He died on 26 November 1946.
Glen Cleeton: Glen Urial Cleeton was born on 2 July 1895 in Green City, Missouri. He received his education from Northeastern Missouri State and the University of Iowa. He later taught at higher education institutions across both states. He came to Carnegie Tech in 1926, eventually becoming the dean of the college of Humanities and Social Sciences. He retired in 1963. He died on 24 June 1980.
Austin Wright: Austin Wright was born on 20 May 1904 in Bedford, Pennsylvania. He received his bachelor's degree from Haverford College, later attending Harvard College where he received a Master of Arts degree and a Doctorate of Philosophy. Wright served as a member of the Carnegie Tech faculty for forty-five years, twenty-two of which as head of the Department of English. He retired from the university in 1973. He died on 24 September 1979.
Ludwig Schaefer: Ludwig Frederick Schaefer was born on 27 November 1923 in Maplewood, New Jersey. He received his bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College, his master’s degree from Harvard College, and his Ph.D. from Yale University. After a period at the University of Tennessee, Dr. Schaefer came to Carnegie Mellon. He would spend the next thirty-two years as a member of the faculty, fourteen of which as head of the Department of History. He died on 31 October 2010.
Extent
6 Linear feet (6 boxes)
Language
English
Overview
Between 1937 and 1992, a series of four books were written on the history of Carnegie Mellon: “The Story of Carnegie Tech: 1900-1935” by Arthur Tarbell (1937), “The Story of Carnegie Tech, II: The Doherty Administration” by Glen Cleeton (1965), “The Warner Administration at Carnegie Institute of Technology” by Austin Wright (1973), and “Evolution of a National Research University, 1965-1990: The Stever Administration and the Cyert Years at Carnegie Mellon” by Ludwig Schaefer (1992). This collection contains research materials used by the four authors as they wrote their books. The collection also includes a series of approximately 75 interviews conducted by Ludwig Schaefer.
Processing Information
The collection is arranged in boxes, with five containing only textual materials and one only audio cassette tapes. The textual materials are separated by the author who created them. However, it is believed that these materials may have been passed on from one author to another. As such, it is possible that some materials were used for multiple books and may not be filed correctly. The textual materials were largely left as filed by the authors. The filing system, including file names and content groupings, reflect the choices made by the authors themselves. This is not true, however, for the interview transcripts. These have been refiled and had their file names standardized. Most interview transcripts have both uncorrected and corrected copies. Where size permitted, they were placed together in the same folder. For larger transcripts, the uncorrected and corrected copies were placed in separate folders. The materials for the four books are broadly organized chronologically, with materials for Tarbell’s book housed in boxes before materials for Wright’s book, and so on. Within the individual author’s serieses, most materials are organized alphabetically. This was not strictly confirmed, however, except in the case of the interview transcripts. The audio cassette tapes are not organized in any systematic way. Each cassette tape is, however, labeled with a number that corresponds to a number in the finding aid. The final box contains miscellaneous materials from all four authors.
- Author
- Nicholas Mlakar
- Date
- 7 February 2023
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Carnegie Mellon University Archives Repository