RG 15/H0

Inventory to the Records of the Rutgers University Vice Provost and Dean of the University (Albert E. Meder), 1917-1968

By Caryn Radick

June 2005

Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University

Administrative History

The Vice Provost and Dean of the University was a new position when Albert E. Meder assumed the title in July 1958. This position was one of several created in the anticipation that the next decade would bring an increase in the number of students attending Rutgers. The position evolved out of Meder's previous position of Dean of Administration and his status as a Vice Provost.

According to a job description of the postion, the Vice Provost and Dean of the University was responsible for "developing and formulating educational plans and programs for the future development of the University." (1) His primary duty was described as implementing the policy of forming the university departments into sections or faculties. This meant that he would be working to reduce a duplication in operation by departments for the same discipline at different colleges. For example, members of the English departments at the various colleges would be part of a larger universitywide "section." Many of his other job duties related to the operations of the sections and faculties. He was also expected to be aware of the activities of other universities and developments in the academic world, make recommendations regarding academic jurisdicional disputes. It was also expected that his office be a "clearinghouse for studies of the educational and research needs of Rutgers University and the State of New Jersey."(2) The position of Vice Provost and Dean of the University ceased to exist after Meder's retirement in 1968. Although many of the papers in this collection predate Meder's tenure as Vice Provost and Dean of the University, the diversity of topics and people reflected in Meder's papers from that time display the many responsibilities and obligations of this position.

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Biographical Sketch of Albert E. Meder

Albert Eugene Meder was born March 19, 1903 in New York City. He was married to Janet Davis. He received his A.B. and A.M. degrees in mathematics from Columbia University in 1922 and 1923 respectively. He stayed at Columbia as a mathematics instructor from 1923 to 1926.

In 1926, Meder came to Rutgers as a Professor (instructor) of Mathematics at the New Jersey College for Women (later renamed Douglass). In 1929, he became assistant professor; he was made associate professor in 1932 and full professor in 1943.

Meder held several administrative positions at Rutgers. From 1932 to 1934 he was Acting Dean of the New Jersey College for Women (NJC). He was Chairman of the Committee on Admissions at NJC (1933-1944), and Secretary of the Rutgers Board of Trustees (1947-1953). In 1944, he entered the administration as Secretary of Rutgers University, a position he relinquished in 1950.

In 1945, Meder became the Dean of Administration for Rutgers University. His title became Dean of the University in 1948. As Dean of the University, Meder was responsible for overseeing many offices. In 1952, his title changed back to Dean of Administration, and some of his responsibilities changed as a result of a reorganization that followed a report by the management engineering firm of Cresap, McCormick, and Paget. In their report, the firm noted that the Dean of the University carried an "extremely excessive workload," (3) and suggested that some of these responsibilities be shifted to other positions. As Dean of Administration, Meder was responsible for "inaugurating and furthering a program of research with respect to University educational services." (4) He was responsible for university records, including faculty personnel records, student and alumni records, and for university publications. He was also given general supervision over university public functions. Meder was named to both the President's Cabinet and the "Provost's Cabinet" at this time and was made Vice Provost although this was not added to his formal title.

In 1958, Rutgers reorganized its administration in response to an anticipated increase in enrollment expected over the next decade. (5) During this time, Meder, who had been on leave in 1957 and 1958 to serve as executive director of the Commission on Mathematics, an agency of the College Entrance Examination Board, was made Vice Provost and Dean of the University. He remained at Rutgers in this capacity until his retirement in 1968.

After leaving Rutgers, Meder held several positions at academic institutions. He was named Executive director of the Lehigh Regional Consortium for Graduate Teacher Education in Bethlehem. He stayed active in the world of education.

In addition to his professional duties, Meder was Chair of the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the Middle States Association, of the Board of Trustees of Bloomfield College, and first chairperson of the Federation of Regional Accrediting Commissions of Higher Education. He served as Treasurer and Trustee of the American Mathematical Society, and as a Trustee of Union Junior College. He has been a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Beta Gamma Sigma, and Pi Mu Epsilon. Fairleigh Dickinson recognized him with an honorary LL.D. in 1956, and Bloomfield College gave him an honorary L.H.D. in 1961. Meder died on December 3, 1998 in Vermont.

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Notes

(1) See Job Description "Vice Provost and Dean of the University," April 1958. Records of the Vice Provost and Dean of the University (Albert E. Meder). (Box 20, Folder 7) Rutgers University, Special Collections and University Archives, New Brunswick, NJ (hereafter cited as SC/UA).

(2) See Job Description "Vice Provost and Dean of the University," April 1958. Records of the Vice Provost and Dean of the University (Albert E. Meder). (Box 20, Folder 7) SC/UA

(3) See Cresap, McCormick, and Paget. Administrative Survey, Rutgers University, (New York: Cresap, McCormick, and Paget), October 6, 1952 p. II-5, item 6. SC/UA

(4) See Faculty News-letter. "University Organization," July 1953 p. 483. SC/UA.

(5) See "Rutgers Makes 9 Staff Changes in Move Preparing for Expansion," New York Times. July 3, 1958, p. 27.

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Scope and Content Note

The records of the Vice Provost and Dean of the University, Albert E. Meder, consist of more than 13 cubic feet of papers. They are housed in forty manuscript boxes. The collections spans the years between 1917 and 1968 and relate to the many positions held by Meder at Rutgers. The majority of these papers reflect his administrative duties at Rutgers rather than his professorial duties. The collection largely consists of reports and correspondence.

The collection has been divided into three series, which have been arranged alphabetically.

The Subject Files series contains documents from 1933 to 1968. The series documents the many academic areas Meder was involved in at Rutgers, with files representing many academic departments and issues. This series also contains the Meder's files on the Middle States Association Evaluation in the 1950s and 1960s.

The Committee Files series documents the many committees Meder served on and received reports from during his time at Rutgers. These files span between 1917, predating Meder's arrival at Rutgers, to 1968, the year of his departure. In some cases, the committee names reflect the growing concerns of the times, such as the War Curricula files from the mid 1940s and the Television files from the 1960s. Other more longstanding committee concerns include academic standards and personnel policy.

The Name Files series contains the voluminous correspondence to and from Meder to many different members of the Rutgers community between 1943 and 1968. This series also contains memoranda Meder sent out to deans and department heads along with a large number of letters to and from President Mason W. Gross before and during tenures as provost and president of Rutgers.

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Arrangement Note

Records of the Vice Provost and Dean of the University are arranged in three series. Each series is arragned in alphabetical order.

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Name and Subject Tracings

Researchers can facilitate access to related materials in other collections by searching the Rutgers University Libraries' online public catalog (IRIS) and other union catalogs under the following index terms used for people, organizations, and subjects represented in these records.

Personal Names

Corporate Names

Subject Headings

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Rutgers University. Vice Provost and Dean of the University (Albert E. Meder). Records, 1917-1968 (RG 15/HO), Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries.

Processing Note

The papers of Albert E. Meder were preliminarily processed as a class project for the Manuscripts and Archives class offered as part of the Master's in Library and Information Science program at Rutgers. The students in this class refoldered, and arranged and described the contents of individual manuscript boxes.

After the class's initial work, further examination of the papers revealed that some "multiple filing schemes" were in existence. That is, two or more folders pertaining to the same topic or person during the same or overlapping time periods existed in different boxes. In such cases, the processor integrated the files by ordering the material chronologically. For example, correspondence with Mason Gross existed in several boxes, along with some that had been placed in a General Correspondence folder. The Gross correspondence is now chronologically ordered among eight consecutive folders.

The processor also examined the original folder order and divided the collection into its three series. Although most of the original order was maintained, some folders were moved to better align with the series designations. For example, a folder with "Committee" in the title was moved into the Committee Files series. Folders of correspondence between Meder and another person were moved into the "Correspondence" series. It should be noted, however, that the series as they exist now largely follows their original set up. Also, there is some overlap between what is found in the folders within the different series. Subject Fies may contain information about committee meetings and correspondence is found throughout the collection. With the exception of miscellaneous correspondence, memoranda, and correspondence to multiple recipients, only files that were listed with a person's name are in the correspondnce series.

In the course of going through Meder's papers, the processor found that much of the Middle States Association material consisted of copies of more general reports about Rutgers various programs that had been provided to Meder for his files. These and other such reports were removed from this collection.

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Bibliography

"Administrative Histories, Biographies, and Chronologies." New Brunswick, NJ: Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries (hereafter cited as SC/UA).

Rutgers Faculty Biographical Files—Albert E. Meder SC/UA New Brunswick, NJ: 1952

Cresap, McCormick, and Paget. Administrative Survey, Rutgers University. New York: Cresap, McCormick, and Paget, 1952. (at SC/UA)

Rutgers University. Faculty News-Letter New Brunswick, NJ: Secretary of the University,July 1953 at SC/UA

"Rutgers Makes 9 Staff Changes in Move Preparing for Expansion," New York Times, July 3, 1958, p. 27.

"Rutgers Recasts Executive Branch," New York Times, August 2, 1953 p. 66.

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Detailed Description of the Papers/Container List

This section provides descriptions of the materials found within each series. Each series description is followed by a container list, which gives the titles of the folders and their locations in the numbered boxes that comprise this collection.