Collection inventory

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University Council on Education for Public Responsibility (UCEPR) Records

An inventory of its records at Syracuse University


The adult education holdings are collectively known as the
Alexander N. Charters Library of Resources for Educators of Adults.

Finding aid created by: AMV
Date: May 1971

Biographical History

The University Council on Education for Public Responsibility (UCEPR) was founded in 1961 and incorporated in the state of Illinois by the presidents of eleven institutions. It was the brainchild of F. Scott Fletcher, president of the Fund for Adult Education (FAE), and arose from the members' interest in liberal adult education and education for public responsibility. The various institutions had received grants from the FAE which was then terminating its activities. The purposes of UCEPR were (1) to perpetuate and strengthen the ideas and practice of continuing education; (2) to foster the exchange of ideas, specific program materials, and suggestions among the cooperating institutions and others; and (3) to undertake cooperative and experimental programs within the field of activity of the Council.

The Council undertook several ambitious projects. One of the more successful was the urbanism project, demonstrating the positive and negative forces at work in the American city, which resulted in a nationally televised series and a book of selected readings. George Stoney, writer/director/producer of more than 50 documentaries and television series, was involved in the development of the series. Another less successful project was the study of automation. Carl Tjerandsen, chairman of the program planning committee and well-known in the field of civic education, competence, and responsibility, was closely involved with UCEPR from its inception.

UCEPR is no longer in existence; the exact date of termination is unknown, though it was still operating in 1975.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The University Council on Education for Public Responsibility (UCEPR) Records consist of three series. Correspondence comprises general correspondence, primarily internal, of the organization. Organization records contains bylaws, financial material, historical background, lists of officers and members, position papers on various topics, and proposals to the Ford Foundation and other funding institutions. Projects contains material on a number of projects that the UCEPR undertook. The bulk of this concerns the 1964 urbanization project, which resulted in a nationally televised series, "Metropolis: Creator or Destroyer?" and a book of readings, "Metropolis: Values in Conflict." There is also some preliminary material on an automation project and some on educational/leadership programs tested at different universities.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Related Material

The library holds a considerable number of collections related to adult and continuing education. Please refer to the SCRC Subject Index for a complete listing of all adult education collections.

Subject Headings

Persons

Alter, Henry G.
Davis, Granville Daniel, 1909-
Fletcher, Cyril Scott, 1904-
Liveright, A. A. (Alexander Albert), 1907-
Tjerandsen, Carl.

Corporate Bodies

National Educational Television and Radio Center.
University Council on Education for Public Responsibility.

Associated Titles

Metropolis: creator or destroyer? [Motion picture]
Metropolis: values in conflict.

Subjects

Adult education.
Community leadership.
Television in adult education -- United States.
Urban renewal -- Citizen participation.
Urbanization.

Genres and Forms

Clippings (information artifacts)
Correspondence.
Memorandums.
Minutes (administrative records)
Position papers.
Proposals.

Occupations

Educators.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

University Council on Education for Public Responsibility Records,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of the Association of University Evening Colleges, 1971.

Table of Contents

Correspondence

Organization records

Project files

Inventory