Navigate the Collection
Summary
- Abstract:
- This collection documents John R. Dunne's first years of service in the New York State Senate, from the mid-1960s until 1970.
- Extent:
- 16.2 cubic ft.
- Language:
- English .
- Preferred citation:
Preferred citation for this material is as follows:
Identification of specific item, series, box, folder, John R. Dunne Papers, 1943-1970. M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University at Albany, State University of New York (hereafter referred to as the Dunne Papers).
Background
- Scope and Content:
This collection contains papers from John Dunne's career as New York State Senator. While Dunne is primarily known for his work during the Attica prison protest in 1971, Dunne's collection does not provide any further details on his involvement. Instead, the Dunne Papers contain Dunne's earlier legislative work including Senate bills to interactions with constituents to correspondence. The legislation that Dunne sponsored ranges from abortion related bills to funding for education in Long Island school districts to corrections law.
- Biographical / Historical:
John R. Dunne was born in Baldwin, New York on January 28, 1930. Dunne graduated from Georgetown University in 1951 and attended Yale Law School soon after. He served as a Republican member of the New York State Senate from Long Island from 1966 until retiring in 1989 to practice law.
During his time in the Senate, Dunne served as Deputy Majority Leader, Chair of the Judiciary Committee, Chair of the Insurance Committee, and Chair of the Joint Legislative Committee on Crime and Corrections. While in office, Dunne advocated for progressive social issues while working alongside other state senators to get laws and bills passed. These laws and bills can be found in Dunne's collection.
Dunne is most famously known for his involvement in the Attica prison protest in 1971 as chief negotiator and later helped to found the Prisoners' Legal Services of New York.
From 1990-1993, Dunne served as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights under President George H.W. Bush. He was senior counsel to the Albany-based Whiteman Osterman & Hanna law firm at the time of his death.
Dunne died on November 1, 2020 and was survived by his wife of 62 years, Denise Maher Dunne, their four children, and nine grandchildren.
- Acquisition information:
- John R. Dunne initially donated his papers to Syracuse University in a series of acquisitions in 1969-1970. The papers were transferred to the M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives in 2006 .
- Processing information:
Processed in 2023 by Britney Colas.
- Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into two series - Subject Files and Legislation. Subject Files is arranged alphabetically and Legislation is arranged by bill number.
- Physical location:
- The materials are located onsite in the department.
Subjects
- Subjects:
- Politics and Politicians
Politicians--New York (State) - Names:
- Dunne, John R.
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 collection is unrestricted.
- TERMS OF ACCESS:
-
This page may contain links to digital objects. Access to these images and the technical capacity to download them does not imply permission for re-use. Digital objects may be used freely for personal reference use, referred to, or linked to from other web sites.
Researchers do not have permission to publish or disseminate material from these collections without permission from an archivist and/or the copyright holder.
The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming to the laws of copyright. Some materials in these collections may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) and/or by the copyright or neighboring-rights laws of other nations. More information about U.S. Copyright is provided by the Copyright Office. Additionally, re-use may be restricted by terms of University Libraries gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks.
The University Archives are eager to hear from any copyright owners who are not properly identified so that appropriate information may be provided in the future.
- PREFERRED CITATION:
-
Preferred citation for this material is as follows:
Identification of specific item, series, box, folder, John R. Dunne Papers, 1943-1970. M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University at Albany, State University of New York (hereafter referred to as the Dunne Papers).