Bureau of Public Administration Archives, 1921-1962

Summary

Creators:

University of California (1868-1952). Bureau of Public Administration

Abstract:

Box 1-8: Chiefly correspondence between the Bureau of Public Administration and local, state and federal organizations; private organizations; civic, statewide and regional committees and councils; legislators and other individuals with regard to matters of public administration and policy.
Box 9-10: The files express the Bureau's relationship with the Administration of the University of California, Berkeley.
Box 11-12: Personal papers of Samuel S. May, including correspondence and teaching material; his students' notebooks and research papers; and miscellaneous Bureau-directed research.

Extent:

12 boxes

Language:

English

Background

Scope and content:

CU-46 consists of the office files from the Bureau of Public Administration accumulated during the years of Samuel C. May's direction, 1921-1955, and includes some files from the late 1950s when Milton Chernin was the Bureau's director. In 1962 the name of the Bureau was changed to the Institute of Governmental Studies.

The Bureau was founded by Samuel C. May, Professor of Political Science at UC Berkeley, as a center for research and training in the areas of public administration and public policy. The Bureau functioned as an adjunct of the Political Science department and became an independent unit in the 1930s. The Bureau functioned as a library and clearinghouse for publications, as a sponsor for original research, and as a center for training undergraduates and graduate students in public administration. In the 1920s the Bureau functioned primarily as a library, notable for its collection of fugitive publications. In the 1930s the Bureau expanded its role as a service organization by providing original studies and research papers to legislators and state officials. (This series of publications, the “Legislative Problem Series,” is housed separately from the collection in the IGS library.) During the 1930s and 1940s the Bureau expanded its role in state politics by providing “legislative service” which included stationing Bureau members in Sacramento. In the 1950s the Bureau emphasized its role as a research organization rather then its role as a service organization. The change of the name to Institute of Governmental Studies reflected the change in the organization's goals. From its inception, the Bureau concerned itself with public policy and administrative matters on the local (city, county), statewide, regional (western) and federal levels.

Samuel C. May was the force behind the Bureau's inception and growth during its first thirty years. CU-46 documents May's leadership of the Bureau, not only in the files containing his personal papers, but thoughout the collection as a whole. The collection traces May's memberships in professional, civic, statewide and national committees, councils and organizations (as well as functionary in such organizations on behalf of the Bureau), and his career as administrator and professor.

Biographical / historical:

Founded by Samuel C. May, Professor of Political Science, in 1921 as an adjunct to the Political Science Dept., it became independent in the 1930s. In 1962 it became the Institute of Governmental Studies.

Physical location:

For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.

Location of this collection:

UC Berkeley, University Archives

University of California, Berkeley, University Archives, The Bancroft Library

Berkeley, CA 94720-6000, US

Contact:

(510) 642-6481

bancref-library@berkeley.edu

Website