Collections

The Committee for Progressive Legislation records document the efforts of the group in bringing attention to issues important to many New Yorkers, especially abortion, family planning, welfare rights, and the attack on separation of church and state.

The Guy Gabrielson Papers contain materials that document the political career of Guy George Gabrielson from his start in New Jersey state politics through his years as Chairman of the Republican National Committee. Many of the materials document the 1952 U.S. Presidential election and Republican National Committee Convention which Gabrielson presided over as chairman.

This collection documents the life, work and activism of Helen Quirini of Schenectady, New York. The collection represents Quirini's numerous activities and interests including her early work owning a local market with her brother, her 39 year employment for General Electric, her activism in unions during her employment and retirement, as well as her charitable activities where she pursued civil, housing, pension, women's and senior citizen's rights.

This collection documents many aspects of the career of Howard Palfrey Jones, including work in the civil service in New York State, foreign service, and with local governments.

The John H. Herz Papers consist of documents and autobiographical materials, professional and personal correspondence, copies of Herz's published and unpublished writings, texts of numerous speeches and lectures, teaching materials, as well as Herz's research collections on topics relating to his writings and lectures.

Personal and professional papers of Paul Bruce Pettit, professor of theatre at the University at Albany, 1947-1972. Includes essays, play scripts and literary writings produced while enrolled in graduate programs at Cornell University, his theses (M.A. 1943 and Ph.D. 1949), correspondence, offprints of articles about theater related subjects, newspaper clippings, scripts of radio broadcasts (1947-1948), and lecture notes from Pettit's tenure as a professor and chairman of the Department of Theatre. While on a Fulbright Scholarship Pettit directed the National Theater in Cyprus (1964 and 1965) and was known for his work in arena theater.

The Ralph Boyd, Sr. Papers contain personal and professional correspondence, news clippings, work manuals and agendas that document his career as a General Electric employee, community activist and member of the Schenectady branch of the NAACP.

Correspondence with publishers and environmental groups including the Constitutional Council for Forest Preserves, 1970–71; Defenders of Wildlife, 1970–76; Albany Environmental Council, 1965–76; draft manuscripts and typescripts, 1956–79, of texts, scholarly and popular articles and books relating to local, state, national, and international government and to environmental issues such as the anti-nuclear movement, forest preservation, wildlife preservation, the Adirondack Mountains, lecture notes taken as a student and given to his classes, 1930–70, scripts for his television series "Man Against His Environment", 1970–71, drafts of speeches on environmental concerns, tape cassettes on environmental issues created as staff lecturer for the Center for Cassette Studies, clippings files on government and environmental issues, photographs of Rienow and his wife. Robert Rienow was educated at Carthage College (B.A., 1930), and Columbia University (M.A., 1934; Ph.D., 1937), served as Instructor, 1936–41, Assistant Professor, 1941–47, and Professor, 1947–80, of Social Science at the State University of New York at Albany, now the University at Albany. Through out his career Rienow maintained an active interest in environmental issues and a belief in the need to popularize issues of public concern. (See also papers of his wife Leona Train Rienow).