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Chancellor Melvin A. Eggers Records

A description of the records at the Syracuse University Archives


Finding aid created by: Jaihyun Park
Date: 2018

Biography

Melvin A. Eggers (1916-1994) was the ninth Chancellor of Syracuse University. Eggers was born February 21, 1916, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He received his bachelor's degree and master's degree in economics in 1940 and 1941, both from Indiana University, and pursued graduate work at the University of Chicago. During World War II, Eggers was a Japanese-language officer in the U.S. Navy. After the war he was an economic analyst for the U.S. War Department in Tokyo. He was discharged in 1946 with the rank of lieutenant. While working on his doctorate at Yale, he lectured on the economics of eastern Asia. His doctoral dissertation was on the economic development of late ninteenth century Japan. He joined the faculty of Syracuse University in 1950, the year he earned his Ph.D. at Yale University. As a professor of economics his fields of specialization included finance, industrial organization and economic development. Ten years after he accepted a faculty at Syracuse University, he became chair of the Economics Department. In 1970, he was appointed provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs. Eggers was inaugurated to the University's highest office on June 4, 1971, following four months as acting Chancellor.

Eggers changed the face of the campus through two dozen major building projects including the Carrier Dome, Center for Science and Technology, and Schine Student Center. Eggers made the executive decision to build the Dome in the tight space on the southwest corner where Archbold Stadium stood. The Dome was completed in 1980, making Syracuse University's trademark facility the only domed stadium in the Northeast and the largest structure of its kind on a college campus in the entire country at that time. When Pan Am Flight 103 blew up mid-air over Lockerbie, Scotland -- an act of terrorism -- with 35 Syracuse University students aboard, Eggers would face one of the toughest challenges of his chancellorship. A Place of Remembrance was constructed on campus in commemoration of the tragedy.

Eggers retired on August 19, 1991, after a 20-year tenure as Syracuse University's Chancellor. In October of 1994, Syracuse University dedicated Eggers Hall, which connected to Maxwell Hall and brought together all the programs of the Maxwell School for the first time since the late 1930s. Eggers passed away on November 20, 1994.

Scope and Content Note

The Chancellor Melvin A. Eggers Records comprises various materials, which document his service as Chancellor at Syracuse University, including travel files, materials on commencements, correspondence, subject files, University Senate minutes, and memorabilia. The memorabilia include plaques, certificates, and photographs of himself and Eggers Hall. He had also collected items from foreign countries, such as a medallion bestowed by the Korea Information Society Development Institute and a letter opener from Hiroshima Jogakuin College in Japan. Records pertaining to the Carrier Dome are part of this collection, ranging from budget, reports about feasibility, stadium commission, and environment impact reports.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The collection is currently unprocessed and not available for research.

Office of the Chancellor records are restricted to the office of origin for 50 years.

Use Restrictions:

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

Related Material

The clipping files of Eggers are available in the University Archives.

Selected Search Terms

Names

Eggers, Melvin A.
Syracuse University -- History.
Syracuse University.

Subjects

College buildings.
College administrators.
Higher education.

Types of Material

Correspondence.
Medallions (medals)
Memorabilia.
Photographs.
Plaques (flat objects)

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Chancellor Melvin A. Eggers Records,
University Archives,
Special Collections Research Center
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

The University Archive aquired these records between 1987 and 2002. While most of them were sent from the Office of the Chancellor, some records were collected from Bird Library when Eggers occupied an office there.

Processing Information

These records are not processed.

Arrangement

The collection is unprocessed and remains in original order.

Table of Contents

Inventory

An inventory has not yet been created for this collection. Please contact the Repository listed above for more information.