Collections : [University Archives]

Podcasts produced and narrated by UAlbany students and alumni on successfully navigating their time at UAlbany.

This collection is made up of faculty handbooks for professors at the University of Albany.

Reference file of former and current UAlbany faculty members.

The research laboratory at General Electric was the launching pad for some of Vincent Schaefer's most pivotal scientific work. This series contains research notes, photographs, reports (published and unpublished, internal and external), and correspondence relating to all of his more famous experiments as well as a range of lesser-known work accomplished during his years at the G.E. Research Laboratory in Schenectady. The materials cover topics such as smoke/artificial fog generation, surface chemistry, studies of ice and snow particles, and early cloud seeding. The series is divided according to areas of specific interest to Schaefer as well as correspondence and publications.

The Vincent J. Schaefer Papers represent the professional accomplishments and personal interests of the scientist who discovered cloud seeding. Schaefer spent more than 20 years with General Electric in Schenectady, New York, working his way up from apprentice, to research assistant, to research associate. In those years he was mentored by Irving Langmuir, Nobel Prize winner in chemistry. The work Schaefer did at General Electric laid the foundation for further success as he became director of research for the Munitalp Foundation, began a highly successful summer science program for high school students, acted as an independent consultant, and founded the Atmospheric Sciences Research Center at the State University of New York at Albany. This collection contains research data, notes, correspondence, publications, and photographs that showcase Schaefer's long, industrious scientific career as well as highlighting his many hobbies in local history and environmentalism.

The formation and behavior of snow and ice crystals were a lifelong interest of Schaefer's, and in his time at General Electric he was able to focus on the subject during the World War II years as ice related to the safety of U.S. Air Force planes. Schaefer and Irving Langmuir's interest in that topic grew as a result of their World War II-era contract work with the military, and the experiments they conducted after the war's end led directly to their Project Cirrus contract in 1947—an undertaking so extensive that their work in that area merited its own series in this collection. Much of their foundational work in snow and ice composition and behavior was grounded in observations and experiments conducted on Mount Washington in New Hampshire. Schaefer discovered during this time that ice crystals and snowflakes could be captured and observed using Formvar plastic. Using this method, he documented very specific data about ice and snow before creating some of the first replicas of specific snowflake shapes. The work of Schaefer and his colleagues regarding ice research includes handwritten notes, drawings, charts, photographs, reports, and correspondence specific to ice, snow, and Mount Washington.

A student film narrating the evolution of school into a research university during the 1960s and 1970s.

Faced with major cutbacks in support for the Humanities in the mid-1970s, the Institute for Humanistic Studies was created to stimulate research and critical thinking in the Humanities on the State University of New York at Albany campus.

Contains correspondence with potential speakers, funding and annual financial reports, brochures, newspaper and journal clippings relating to three international conferences: "Helios: From Myth to Solar Energy," 16-18 March, 1978; "Apollo Agonistes: The Humanities in a Computerized World," 19-21 April, 1979; "Asclepius at Syracuse: Thomas Szasz, Libertarian Humanist," 17-19 April, 1980. Also includes correspondence and program related material for a planned local lecture series of 14 dates titled, "Thanatos: Perspectives on Death," which was to be held from the fall of 1979 through the winter of 1980. The Conference was never held.

The records of the Institute of Gerontology include materials from the Institute on Aging, the Institute of Gerontology and the Ringel Institute of Gerontology, all of which served the same function within the State University of New York at Albany. Records include materials about program creation, correspondence, day files, grant applications, budgets, publications, research materials and professional development.

Schoolwork and scrapbooks from Lillian Coons's time at the State College for Teachers (1935-1939) where she was a member of Phi Delta and studied English, Social Studies, and Library Science.

First volume scrapbook from the Lillain Coons collection. Created by Lillain during her Freshman year, containing schoolwork, pamphlets, programs, letters, personal notes, and newspaper clippings.

Second volume scrapbook from the Lillain Coons collection. Created by Lillain during her Sophomore year, containing schoolwork, pamphlets, programs, letters, personal notes, and newspaper clippings.

The papers of Lou Ismay document the history of the Environmental Forum at the University at Albany, SUNY, (State University of New York at Albany as it was then known) from 1969-1977, as well as the Environmental Studies Program. The collection contains information on the Environmental Forum, the Protect Your Environment Club, administrative files, student writings, subject files, correspondence, and publications. The student writings are from Ismay's Environmental Forum classes from 1969-1977. This series is restricted from use, along with parts of the Environmental Forum and correspondence series. This course was held under different numbers during its existence, including A&S 201 and Env.250a and b. The strength of the collection lies not in the educational departments that are represented by the collection, but by the overall impression one can gather about the rise of environmental awareness among students at the university. Access to certain student material is restricted. Consult a staff member for details.

The projects of students in the Environmental Forum that were kept by Lou Ismay can be found in this series. The projects are filed in alphabetical order by name of student. Journals, student papers, student project reports, and student autobiographies are part of this series. The papers are on a range of environmental issues with many relating to recycling and other relevant projects done around campus and the Capital Region. Photographs and slides that accompany student papers were kept together with the papers. Oversized material is filed separately and includes 4 posters and other oversized projects. Audiovisuals for student projects are also in the series, including 11 audiocassette tapes and 1 reel-to-reel audiotape.

The Martin Fausold Papers documents Fausold's involvement in in the Faculty Association of the State University of New York and his two-decade long Oral History of SUNY Project.

The second series of this collection consists of Fausold's research and subject files. A majority of this series are research materials for the Oral History of SUNY Project. These materials include a large number of dissertations, newspaper articles, and multiple finding aides to archival collections, some annotated by Fausold. There are also multiple copies of Fausold's Draft History of the State University of New York as well as executive committee meeting minutes and membership lists. Fausold's applications and acceptance letters into the Research Foundation and Visiting Professorships' GRI Program can be found in this series. Fausold also kept records of Research Foundation expenses, correspondence, and funding possibilities. This series also contains Fausold's correspondence from the 1980s to the 2000s about the Oral History of SUNY Project.