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Council of the Princeton University Community Records

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This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: University Archives. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

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Princeton University. Council of the Princeton University Community.

In the tumultuous decade of the 1960s, the fight for civil rights and the escalating war in Vietnam dominated the American sociopolitical landscape. The college campus was but one stage on which these issues played themselves out. In 1964, student activists at the University of California, Berkeley came into conflict with administration officials over what they saw as their right to conduct civil rights and antiwar campaigns on campus. The confrontations that ensued began a wave of student protests intent on asserting the right to free speech. In December 1964, some 800 students were arrested for occupying the UC Administration building.

In the years that followed, student unrest gripped campuses across the country, including Princeton's. The 1967-68 academic year was particularly tense. A number of issues were being hotly debated on campus: the future of the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program and military recruitment, counseling students about the draft, the rule regarding women visitors in dormitories, and the relationship of the University to the Institute for Defense Analysis (IDA). On May 2, 1968, demonstrators marched on campus to the rallying cry "Community Control of Community Affairs" and demanded that the administration change its policies on all of these issues. In the largest demonstration in Princeton's history, more than 1,100 people marched on Nassau Hall to protest the exclusion of students and faculty from university decision-making. Peter Kaminsky, president of the Undergraduate Assembly (UGA), criticized University Trustees and administrators for what he called an "arrogant dismissal of student and faculty demands." The University, in the view of demonstrators, should be "a community of students and faculty, not businessmen." Their primary demand was a complete break with IDA. IDA, a Washington-based nonprofit research organization whose principal customer was the Department of Defense, was under the direction of retired General Maxwell D. Taylor, who also served as a special presidential assistant on Vietnam. Concerned members of the Princeton community expressed that association with IDA suggested a corporate stand on political issues, something that the University had traditionally avoided. "Change and advance in the university," observed University President Robert F. Goheen, "must always be pursued by argument and debate, by reasoning rather than force." In May 1968, Goheen established the Special Committee on the Structure of the University to be the agent of change for Princeton University.

In May 1969, the Committee publicized its final plans for a university-wide senate to be called the Council of the Princeton University Community (CPUC). Providing a forum through which all the major groups of the University could address problems and reach consensus, the first meeting of the Council took place on October 27, 1969.

The membership of CPUC is comprised of the University President, the Provost, and five representatives chosen by the President from among the Financial Vice President, the Treasurer, the Secretary of the University, the General Counsel, the Dean of the Faculty, the Dean of the Graduate School, the Dean of the College, and the Dean of Student Life. One member of the Library Staff, Administrative Staff, Research Staff, Technical Staff, and Office Staff also serves, in addition to fifteen faculty members, twelve undergraduate students, seven graduate students, and four alumni.

CPUC is primarily a deliberative and consultative body, with the authority to "consider and investigate" university policy, governance, and any general issue related to the welfare of the University. Recommendations are then made to the appropriate decision-making bodies, or to the appropriate officers, of the University. Typically the Council meets once a month, October through May, with special meetings as needed. Moreover, all Council meetings are open to the public. Much of the work of the Council is conducted through its standing committees. When first established in 1969, CPUC consisted of six such committees: Rights and Rules, Governance, Plans and Resources, Trustee Relations, External Relations, and Community Relations. Reflecting two of the most explosive issues on campus at the time, the committees on Trustee Relations and External Relations were established to ensure that the make-up of the University's Board of Trustees was less exclusive and to review Princeton's association with outside organizations to avoid the conflicts that grew out of the relationship with IDA.

Five years later, in 1974, CPUC issued a new charter that dismantled the Trustee Relations and External Relations Committees. The Committee on Priorities was established to review the budget and consider any issues that surfaced during budget preparations. The Committee on Community Relations became the Committee on Relations with the Local Community, but the focus was the same: ensuring a productive relationship between the University and the surrounding community. The Judicial Committee was established to hear cases of misconduct that involved alleged violations of the established rules and regulations of the University, such as infringements against the Honor System. When individuals contended that the proceedings against them were not conducted fairly, the Judicial Committee agreed to consider appeals.

The charter underwent a third revision in 1977, and the committees underwent their third and final evolution. The Committee on Relations with the Local Community was dropped, leaving only the Executive Committee, Committees on Rights and Rules, Governance, Priorities, Resources (formerly the Committee on Plans and Resources), and the Judicial Committee. In this final arrangement, the Executive Committee continued to set the annual agenda for CPUC committees. The Committee on Rights and Rules contemplated the fairness and effectiveness of rules of conduct within the university community, making recommendations to amend or reconsider regulations as appropriate. The Committee on Governance continued to manage concerns related to university authority and, in consultation with the Committee on Honorary Degrees of the Board of Trustees, offer advice on the awarding of honorary degrees. While the Committee on Priorities continued to review budgetary matters, the Committee on Resources concentrated on questions of general policy concerning the procurement and management of the University's financial resources. Finally, the Judicial Committee continued to hear and rule on cases of alleged violations of university regulations.

Special committees also have been established from time to time. For example, in 1970, the Special Committee on Sponsored Research was charged with an examination of Princeton's unwillingness to accept any outside funds for weapons-related research. In 1969, the Subcommittee on the Operation of the University Store examined the need for a new store to serve a growing student body with an eye toward profitability. The Subcommittee issued its report in 1970 recommending that the store not exist as a passive resource for books and supplies, but should rather proactively influence the community through a wider selection of books, parking options, a new and larger location, and the addition of lines of merchandise that "appeal[ed] to the changing composition of the University," i.e., women.

Material in the collections consists of minutes of meetings, reports, and correspondence produced by CPUC and its subsidiary committees. In addition, transcripts of judicial hearings as well as accompanying audio tapes of the hearings are included.

Donated to the Archives by the Council of the Princeton University Community.

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

This collection was processed by Susan Hamson and Hiroko Hosaka '03 in September 2002. Finding aid written by Susan Hamson and Hiroko Hosaka '03 in September 2002.

Appraisal has been conducted according to University Archives policies and procedures.

Publisher
University Archives
Finding Aid Author
Susan Hamson; Hiroko Hosaka '03
Finding Aid Date
2002
Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research use with the exception of the group and individual case files of CPUC's Judicial Committee concern persons who were the focus of investigative or disciplinary action. These files (Box 7, folders 6-15, Box 8, Folders 1-11, and Box 15), together with Judicial Committee material in Box 6, Folders 4-12, and Box 7, Folders 1-2, are therefore closed for the lifetime of the persons to whom they relate.

Use Restrictions

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Collection Inventory

Scope and Contents

Series 1, Council Administration, 1970-1983, contains rosters of members and CPUC minutes arranged in chronological order.

Arrangement

(arranged by topic)

Physical Description

3 boxes

Committee Memberships, 1970-1980. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Roll Call/Votes, 1973-1974. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Membership, 1975-1983. 16 folders.
Physical Description

16 folders

Election Protocols, 1975. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Minutes, 1974-1983. 9 folders.
Physical Description

9 folders

Minutes, 2011-2016. 1 item.
Scope and Contents

Consists of CPUC meeting minutes posted on the CPUC website that cover the years 2011/12, 2012/13, 2013/14, 2014/15 and 2015/16.

Physical Description

1 item

Materials Viewable Online
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Minutes and Memoranda, 1974 January-May. 9 folders.
Physical Description

9 folders

Scope and Contents

Series 2, Committees of the Council of the Princeton University Community, 1969-2000, contains minutes of meetings, reports, and correspondence produced by the Executive Committee, the Committee on Governance, the Judicial Committee, the Priorities Committee, the Committee on Resources, and the Committee on Rights and Rules.

The Judicial Committee material contains group and individual case files that involve individuals who were the focus of investigative or disciplinary actions. These files, together with material in Box 6, Folders 4-12, and Box 7, Folders 1-2, are restricted for the lifetime of the individuals identified.

Arrangement

(arranged alphabetically by committee and topic)

Physical Description

9 boxes

Executive Committee Business, 1969-1982. 5 folders.
Physical Description

5 folders

Executive Committee: Minutes and Memoranda, 1969-1979. 12 folders.
Physical Description

12 folders

Executive Committee: Minutes, 1980-1982. 3 folders.
Physical Description

3 folders

Executive Committee: Nominating Sub-Committee, 1972-1983. 4 folders.
Physical Description

4 folders

Governance Committee, 1969-1983. 13 folders.
Physical Description

13 folders

Governance Committee: Material on Board of Trustees, 1970-1973. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Governance Committee Minutes, 1969-1979 March. 2 folders.
Physical Description

2 folders

Governance Committee: Unionized Library Staff Representation, undated. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Judicial Committee, 1970-1983. 9 folders.
Physical Description

9 folders

Judicial Committee: Correspondence, 1969-1973. 4 folders.
Physical Description

4 folders

Judicial Committee: Correspondence, 1973-1977. 2 folders.
Physical Description

2 folders

Judicial Committee: Procedures, 1970. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Judicial Committee: Procedures, Changes in, 1969-1973. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Judicial Committee: Rules and Regulations, 1971-1973. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Judicial Committee: Group Cases: Firestone Sit-In, 1980 March 17. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Judicial Committee: Group Cases: Nassau Hall Sit-In, 1978 April 14. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Judicial Committee: Group Cases: Nassau Hall Sit-In: Appeals, 1972. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Judicial Committee: Group Cases: Nassau Hall Sit-In: Hearings, 1972. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Judicial Committee: Group Cases: Nassau Hall Sit-In: Pre-Hearing Conference, 1972. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Judicial Committee: Group Cases: ROTC Classes, 1972 Fall. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Judicial Committee: Individual Cases, 1973-1979. 4 folders.
Physical Description

4 folders

Judicial Committee: Individual Cases, 1972-1977. 11 folders.
Physical Description

11 folders

Priorities Committee, 1969-1981. 6 folders.
Physical Description

6 folders

Priorities Committee, 1981-1990. 10 folders.
Physical Description

10 folders

Priorities Committee, 1989-1993 November. 5 folders.
Physical Description

5 folders

Priorities Committee: Report to the President: Recommendations Concerning the Budget, 1970-1983. 13 folders.
Physical Description

13 folders

Priorities Committee: Report to the President: Recommendations Concerning the Budget, 1983-2000. 17 folders.
Physical Description

17 folders

Resources Committee, 1969-1979. 6 folders.
Physical Description

6 folders

Resources Committee, 1979-1983. 4 folders.
Physical Description

4 folders

Rights and Rules Committee, 1969-1983. 7 folders.
Physical Description

7 folders

Scope and Contents

Series 3, Ad-Hoc Committees, Subcommittees, and Reports, 1965-1977, includes material generated by short-term committees that addressed narrow issues of interest to the Council. Also in this series are various reports made to the Council by the President, Ad-Hoc Committees, and others. Material generated by the short-lived Local Relations Committee is also located here.

Arrangement

(arranged alphabetically by committee and report)

Physical Description

3 boxes

Ad Hoc Committee on ROTC, undated. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Free Speech, 1973. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Advisory Environmental Committee, 1970-1973. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Charter Amendments, 1973-1977. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Committee on Land Resources and Development, 1975-1976. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Committee on Relations with the Local Community: Correspondence, 1969-1973. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Committee on Relations with the Local Community: Minutes, 1970-1972. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Correspondence, Ad-Hoc Committees and Subcommittees, 1971-1975. 4 folders.
Physical Description

4 folders

Institute for Defense Analysis Negotiations, 1970-1972. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

President's Report, 1970 October 16. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Report of the Chairman of the University Research Board and the Annual Report of the Office of Research and Project Administration, 1970-1971. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Report: The Use of Time in University Governance, 1975 September. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Special Committee on Outside Speakers, 1971. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Special Committee on Sponsored Research: The Kuhn Report, 1970. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Steering Committee of the Office and Library Staff, 1972-1973. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Subcommittee on the Operation of the University Store: Correspondence, 1965-1975. 4 folders.
Physical Description

4 folders

Subcommittee on the Operation of the University Store: Surveys, 1970. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Recommendations: Student Search Procedure, 1974. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Recommendations: Various, 1973-1975. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

Scope and Contents

Series 4, Audio Material, 1972-1977, is comprised of the reel-to-reel and cassette audiotaped Judicial Committee hearings for individual students whose cases are documented in Boxes 7 and 8 of Series 2. This series is restricted.

Arrangement

(arranged alphabetically by last name)

Physical Description

1 box

Judicial Committee: Individual Cases, Tapes, 1972-1977. 9 folders.
Physical Description

9 folders

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