Finding Aid of the John R. Hubbard papers 5009
Jacqueline Morin
USC Libraries Special Collections
2018 June
Doheny Memorial Library 206
3550 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles, California 90089-0189
specol@usc.edu
Contributing Institution:
USC Libraries Special Collections
Title: John R. Hubbard papers
Creator:
Hubbard, John R. (John Randolph), 1918-2011
Identifier/Call Number: 5009
Identifier/Call Number: /repositories/3/resources/564
Physical Description:
16.563 Linear Feet
16 boxes
Date (inclusive): 1935-1988
Abstract: John R. Hubbard served as the eighth president of the University of Southern California from 1970 to 1980, during which time
the university rose from 33rd to 19th in National Science Foundation rankings for federally sponsored research. During that
decade, applications for admission to USC rose from 4,100 in 1970 to more than 11,000 in 1979, and the mean grade point average
for admitted freshmen vaulted to 3.4 on a 4.0 scale. Prior to joining USC, Hubbard served as President of Newcomb College,
chief education advisor for the U.S. Agency for International Development in India (where he later served as US Ambassador).
While President of USC, Hubbard established the Office of International Alumni and the Emeriti Center. Hubbard passed away
in 2011. The collection documents more than fifty years of Dr. John Hubbard's life from his life as a naval aviator during
World War II through his many years as an educator, dean, and university president at several universities. A good portion
of his papers consists of correspondence, both personal and business, the bulk of it from the 1940s and 1950s. Hubbard's
multi-faceted career at USC is represented through over twenty years of speeches, recommendations, Board of Trustees files,
and ephemera pertaining to the many organizations with which he was associated in his capacity as Provost, Vice-President,
and President of USC.
Language of Material:
English.
John R. Hubbard served as the eighth president of the University of Southern California from 1970 to 1980, during which time
the university rose from 33rd to 19th in National Science Foundation rankings for federally sponsored research. During that
decade, applications for admission to USC rose from 4,100 in 1970 to more than 11,000 in 1979, and the mean grade point average
for admitted freshmen vaulted to 3.4 on a 4.0 scale.
A graduate of the University of Texas with a Ph.D. in history, Hubbard began his career as a naval aviator during World War
II and attained the rank of lieutenant commander. Following his military service, Hubbard held a variety of academic posts,
including faculty appointments at Louisiana State University, Tulane University, and Yale University. In 1953, he returned
to New Orleans to accept a deanship at H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College, an historic women's college that is part of Tulane
University.
In 1965, Hubbard and his family left for India where he served as chief education advisor for the U.S. Agency for International
Development. Four years later, they returned to the United States where Hubbard accepted the position of vice-president and
provost at USC. He then succeeded Norman Topping as president and established the Office of International Alumni and the
Emeriti Center. In the late 1980s, Hubbard returned to India as U.S. Ambassador and was awarded the Alben W. Barkley Medal
for Distinguished Service.
When he returned to USC, Hubbard continued to support the USC Emeriti Center as a senior advisor and served as a trustee emeritus
on the USC Board of Trustees, and continued to teach history until failing health at age 91 forced him to stop. Hubbard passed
away in 2011 at his home in Rancho Mirage, California.
The collection documents more than fifty years of Dr. John Hubbard's life from his life as a naval aviator during World War
II through his many years as an educator, dean, and university president at several universities. A good portion of his papers
consists of correspondence, both personal and business, the bulk of it from the 1940s and 1950s. Hubbard's multi-faceted
career at USC is represented through over twenty years of speeches, recommendations, Board of Trustees files, and ephemera
pertaining to the many organizations with which he was associated in his capacity as Provost, Vice-President, and President
of USC.
Advance notice required for access.
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Manuscripts Librarian.
Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended
to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Rights Statement for Archival Description
Finding aid description and metadata are licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.
[Box/folder# or item name], John R. Hubbard papers, Collection no. 5009, University Archives, USC Libraries, University of
Southern California
The collection is unprocessed.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Aeronautics, Military -- Archival resources
College presidents -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources
Speeches, addresses, etc., American -- 20th century -- Archival resources
Universities and colleges -- History -- Archival resources
Correspondence
Printed ephemera
Hubbard, John R. (John Randolph), 1918-2011 -- Archives
University of Southern California -- Archives
Newcomb College -- Archives
Tulane University -- Archives
Box 5, Box 6
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/563262 1939-1960s
Correspondence to and from Johh Hubbard from his days with the Interstate Commerce Commission in Washington, D.C. in the late
1930s; in the Navy during World War II; his years at Tulane University including letters from his wife, Lucille; banking notices
and utility bills; greeting cards; and much business correspondence.
Box 5
Box 1
Hubbard's Recommendations /repositories/3/archival_objects/563241 1981-1988
Box 2
Personal Papers /repositories/3/archival_objects/563254 1941-1987
Box 7
Box 1
Speeches, Remarks, and Addresses /repositories/3/archival_objects/563240 1969-1979
Box 3
USC Board of Trustees /repositories/3/archival_objects/563255 1981-1988
Box 4
Vice-President and Provost Files /repositories/3/archival_objects/563261 1969-1970
Correspondence and publications related to the School of Public Administration, Association of Independent California Colleges
and Universities (for which Hubbard served on the Executive Committee), College and University Reports (newsletter), Institute
of Aerospace Safety and Management materials, School of Social Work, agendas and correspondence related to a Deans' Retreat
in 1969, the Von Kleinsmid Center for International and Public Affairs (including the Delinquency Control Institute), Boys
Republic California, and the American Council on Education.
Box 9, Box 11, Box 12, Box 13, Box 14, Box 15, Box 16, Box 17, Box 18
Unprocessed material /repositories/3/archival_objects/652326
The boxes listed under this record were found during shelf-reading following a 2019-2020 collections move from East Library
to Grand Archives. The boxes listed under this record had not been described in the finding aid prior to this move, but have
since been added here to maintain physical control.