Thomas Raymond McConnell Papers, 1934-1988

Summary

Creators:

McConnell, Thomas Raymond, 1901-

Abstract:

Papers reflect McConnell's career, containing correspondence, manuscript drafts, and published papers, as well as his notes and working files. His work after coming to U.C. Berkeley in 1954 is well represented while coverage is weakest in his early years in Iowa and Minnesota. Of note are files on "The Restudy of California's Needs in Higher Education," which provided the basis for California's Master Plan for Higher Education. Contains records on development of the Center for the Study of Higher Education, which later became affiliated with U.C Berkeley as the Center for Research and Development in Higher Education. In addition to working drafts of books and articles, there are transcripts of interviews relating to higher education in Britain, and with California administrators. Clippings files cover Berkeley social and academic politics, and include clippings on Angela Davis' case against the Regents, People's Park, the School of Criminology, and experimental programs at Berkeley. Material on the careers of David Gardner and Clark Kerr, and autobiographical essays and other biographical material also included.

Extent:

Number of containers: 4 boxes, 5 cartons Linear feet: ca. 8

Language:

English

Background

Scope and content:

The Papers of Thomas R. McConnell provide an overview of the greater part of his career as a professor, researcher, author, and administrator. The collection dates from 1934 to 1988 and contains correspondence, manuscript drafts, and published papers, as well as his notes and working files. The work Dr. McConnell did after coming to U.C. Berkeley in 1954 is the strength of the collection, while coverage is weakest in material from his early years in Iowa and Minnesota. Original folder divisions and titles have been retained for most of the collection, although some regrouping of the folders was done to create more logical divisions of subject matter.

McConnell's extensive correspondence files, along with his publications and speeches, provide a solid overview of his scholarly work. Of particular note are his files on The Restudy of California's Needs in Higher Education, which provided the basis for the development of California's "Master Plan" for Higher Education. The collection also contains records on the institutional and financial development of the Center for the Study of Higher Education founded by McConnell, which later became affiliated with U.C Berkeley as the Center for Research and Development in Higher Education. In addition to working drafts of books and articles, there are transcripts of interviews Dr. McConnell conducted with administrators and civil servants in higher education in Britain, upon which he drew for his articles on British higher education. Interviews with California administrators, used for comparison, are also included here.

McConnell's clippings files cover an interesting and turbulent time in Berkeley social and academic politics, and include clippings on Angela Davis' case against the Regents, People's Park, the School of Criminology, and "experimental" programs at Berkeley. Material on the careers of David Gardner and Clark Kerr, with whom McConnell maintained a long correspondence, can be found here as well as in Series 1: Correspondence.

Autobiographical essays, found near the end of Series 2: Scholarly Publications and Speeches, supplements the files on McConnell's professional activities and the transcript of an interview done for the Carnegie Foundation. A written interview on the subject of his years as Chancellor of the University of Buffalo provides autobiographical information on Dr. McConnell's early years.

Biographical / historical:

Born in Mediapolis, Iowa in 1901, Thomas Raymond McConnell received his B.A. in English in 1924 from Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa and his Ph.D. in Educational Psychology in 1933 from the University of Iowa. He taught at Cornell College from 1925 to 1932 and served as a Dean from 1932 to 1936. McConnell was a Professor of Educational Psychology and Higher Education at the University of Minnesota from 1936 to 1950, receiving the L.L.D. in 1949. He served as Chancellor at the University of Buffalo from 1950 to 1954, receiving a D.H.L. from Syracuse University in 1952. During this period, Dr. McConnell established guidelines and articulated a philosophy for general education requirements and the value of a "liberal arts" education.

Dr. McConnell came to California in 1954 to serve as chief consultant for the Restudy of the Needs of California in Higher Education, many parts of which formed the basis of the 1960 Master Plan for Higher Education in California. In 1956, he founded the University's Center for the Study of Higher Education, which in 1965 under his chairmanship, became a national resource for research and information as the Center for Research and Development in Higher Education.

Thomas R. McConnell served on presidential commissions under Presidents Truman, Kennedy, and Johnson. Among other appointments, he was a member of the Advisory Committee of the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education, the Subcommittee on Master Planning of the American Association of University Professors, the Subcommittee on Management and Financing of Colleges of the Committee for Economic Development, and the International Council for Educational Development.

Throughout his long career as an educator, researcher, author, and university administrator, Dr. McConnell was concerned with many issues in education, ranging from problems of academic leadership and the degree of faculty and student participation in the governance of higher education to the question of access to higher education and the concept of the "elite" university.

Acquisition information:

The Thomas Raymond McConnell papers were given to The Bancroft Library by Dr. McConnell via Dr. Ann Heiss in July 1988. They were an addition to Dr. McConnell's earlier gift of materials relating to California's Master Plan for Higher Education, which was received in 1969.

Physical location:

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

Location of this collection:

UC Berkeley, Bancroft Library

University of California, Berkeley, The Bancroft Library

Berkeley, CA 94720-6000, US

Contact:

510-642-6481

bancref-library@berkeley.edu

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