Using These Materials
- RESTRICTIONS:
-
Access to this record group is unrestricted with the exception of several folders which are marked. While Dr. Ivan Steen, the Project's Director, subsequently asked individuals interviewed for the oral history projects he conducted to sign a clearance form or an agreement, not all interview files donated to the archive contain forms. In addition, some individuals asked for their interviews to be permanently sealed or sealed until a later date. Therefore notes, transcripts and audio of a select number of interviews are restricted until clearance may be obtained from the interviewees or their heirs.
Navigate the Collection
Summary
- Abstract:
- The UUP Oral History Project's intent was to capture the history of the UUP as well as its predecessors through interviews with union executives and members.
- Extent:
- 2.73 cubic ft.
- Language:
- English .
- Preferred citation:
Preferred citation for this material is as follows:
Identification of specific item, series, box, folder, United University Professions (UUP) Oral History Project Collection, 1968-2003. M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University at Albany, State University of New York (hereafter referred to as the UUP Oral History Project Collection).
Background
- Scope and Content:
The United University Professions (UUP) Oral History Project Collection consists of four series: the recorded audio tapes of the formal oral history interviews, transcripts of those interviews, the interviewer's research files including her interview notes and materials she collected on UUP, and the project's administrative files.
The interviews primarily focus on the early history of UUP from the activities in the early 1970s of the Senate Professional Association (SPA) and the State University Federation of Teachers (SUFT) which merged to form UUP in 1973 through the administrations of UUP's first three presidents (Lawrence DeLucia, Samuel Wakshull, and Nuala McGann Drescher, who served between May 1973 to May 1987), and part of the administration of UUP's fourth president, John M. Reilly, who was president at the time the interviews were conducted in 1990.
Records regarding the activities of UUP during this time period, and relating to the many of the events, individuals, and organizations to which interviewees refer, can be found in the records of United University Professions (APAP-039). The records of the United University Professions (UUP) Albany Chapter (APAP-054) document some of the activities of this UUP chapter. Interested researchers also should condult the papers of Eugene Link (APAP-025), a professor of history at SUNY Plattsburgh who was active in the early years of UUP and in UUP's establishment of membership for retired members. Link's papers focus on his career as a teacher, author, social historian, labor activist, and Christian minister. The records of WAMC/Northeast Public Radio (APAP-138) include episodes of programs on which UUP leaders appeared.
For a detailed history of UUP itself, see the Administrative History for the records of United University Professions (APAP-039).
For more oral histories conducted by Dr. Ivan Steen, researchers should refer to the Ivan Steen Papers (APAP-219).
- Biographical / Historical:
United University Professions (UUP), established in 1973, is the collective bargaining agent representing the faculty and non-teaching professional staff of the State University of New York (SUNY). The United University Professions Oral History Project was funded by UUP and conducted by the Oral History Program of the Department of History, University at Albany, SUNY, under the supervision of Professor Ivan D. Steen. The primary intent of the UUP Oral History Project was to document the early history of UUP and its predecessor organizations. Angelica Lewis, a University at Albany graduate student in Public History, was hired to conduct the interviews. After researching UUP's history and conducting preliminary interviews with numerous people formerly and currently active in UUP, Lewis formally interviewed forty-two individuals. Those interviews were conducted between February and October 1990.
Topics of discussion include UUP's early history and its predecessor (the Senate Professional Association [SPA]) and other organizations that attempted to become the bargaining agent of the faculty and professional staff at SUNY, including the State University Federation of Teachers (SUFT, which would later merge with SPA to form UUP) and the American Association of University Professors (AAUP); the interviewees' reasons for becoming active in UUP; events and activities at various SUNY campuses regarding collective bargaining, UUP's predecessors, and UUP; negotiations and other dealings with the State of New York, and the individuals from the Governor's Office of Employee Relations who were involved in the negotiating process; the individual personalities that made up the early UUP leadership; internal political activities at UUP, particularly its Reform Caucus and United Caucus; the creation and impact of the agency fee law on UUP and its members; the challenge to UUP's position as collective bargaining agent in 1978 by the National Education Association and its affiliate, the New York Educators Association (NEA/NYEA); and the different objectives/interests of academic and professional members in the bargaining unit represented by UUP.
- Acquisition information:
- The M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives received the UUP Oral History Project Collection in a series of donations, from Tom Curringham in 1994, Cindy Sauer in 1999, and Dr. Ivan Steen in 2000 and 2012-2013.
- Processing information:
Processed in 2001 by Cynthia K. Sauer.
- Arrangement:
The collection is organized into the following series:
- Series 1 - Audio Tapes, 1990
- Series 2 - Interview Transcripts, 1990
- Series 3 - Interview Notes and Background Material, 1968-1996, Undated
- Series 4 - Administrative Files, 1989-2000, Undated
All series are arranged alphabetically.
- Physical location:
- The materials are located onsite in the department.
Subjects
- Subjects:
- State University of New York SUNY, Central Administration
Social Activists and Public Advocates
Labor
Education
Albany, New York
Oral history--New York (State)
Labor union members--New York (State)
Labor unions--New York (State)
Audio cassettes
Interviews
Transcripts
Articles
Correspondence - Names:
- United University Professions (Association : N.Y.)
Steen, Ivan D., 1936-
Drescher, Nuala McGann
Budin, Morris, 1920-
Contents
Access
Using These Materials
- ACCESS:
- The archives are open to the public and anyone is welcome to visit and view the collections.
- RESTRICTIONS:
-
Access to this record group is unrestricted with the exception of several folders which are marked. While Dr. Ivan Steen, the Project's Director, subsequently asked individuals interviewed for the oral history projects he conducted to sign a clearance form or an agreement, not all interview files donated to the archive contain forms. In addition, some individuals asked for their interviews to be permanently sealed or sealed until a later date. Therefore notes, transcripts and audio of a select number of interviews are restricted until clearance may be obtained from the interviewees or their heirs.
- TERMS OF ACCESS:
-
The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of copyright. Whenever possible, the M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives will provide information about copyright owners and other restrictions, but the legal determination ultimately rests with the researcher. Requests for permission to publish material from this collection should be discussed with the Head of Special Collections and Archives.
- PREFERRED CITATION:
-
Preferred citation for this material is as follows:
Identification of specific item, series, box, folder, United University Professions (UUP) Oral History Project Collection, 1968-2003. M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University at Albany, State University of New York (hereafter referred to as the UUP Oral History Project Collection).