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Charles Vert Willie Papers

A description his papers at the Syracuse University Archives


Finding aid created by: Nicole Wright
Date: April 2020

Biography

Charles Vert Willie (1927-2022) was a sociology professor and administrator at Syracuse University. He earned a B.A. from Morehouse College in 1948 and an M.A. from Atlanta University in 1949. In 1950 he came to Syracuse University as a teaching assistant and in 1957 he earned his Ph.D. from Syracuse University. Willie joined the Syracuse University faculty in 1952 as an instructor and in 1967 he was appointed chair of the Sociology Department, becoming the first Black man appointed to an academic administration position at Syracuse University. Willie became vice president for student affairs in 1972. He was also a close friend of Martin Luther King Jr. and helped arrange both of his visits to Syracuse University, one in 1961 and the other in 1965.

Willie was involved in many major school desegregation court cases, serving as a consultant and expert witness. He conducted a study from 1969 to 1970 with a grant from the Ford Foundation on the experience of Black students at predominantly white campuses. In 1977, Willie was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to the President's Commission on Mental Health. He also served on the Board of Directors of the Social Science Research Council and was vice president of the American Sociological Association from 1974 to 1975. Additionally, Willie was involved in the governing bodies of the Episcopal Church in the United States until 1974. An emeritus professor at Harvard University, he received numerous awards and honorary degrees throughout his career.

Scope and Content Note

The Charles Vert Willie Papers spans from 1948 to 1999 and contains a wide variety of materials from his time as a professor of sociology at Syracuse University. Included in the collection are course materials, correspondence, notes and other documents for panels, workshops, speeches, and other similar events, manuscripts, and publication lists. The materials include files related to desegregation, church organizations, community work, conferences, and other subjects. Also of note are files on the National Institute of Education Study on Outstanding Black Scholars and Ford Foundation survey files about the experience of Black students on predominantly white campuses.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The collection is currently unprocessed and not available for research. Please contact University Archives for more information.

School, college and department records are restricted to the office of origin for 30 years. Requests to use restricted records must be obtained in writing from the office of origin.

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 University Archives holds a clipping file and portrait file on Charles Vert Willie.

Selected Search Terms

Names

Willie, Charles Vert, 1927-
Syracuse University -- History.
Syracuse University.

Subjects

African American universities and colleges.
Anti-racism.
Segregation.
Social justice.
Students, Black.
College teachers.
Higher education.

Types of Material

Correspondence.
Manuscripts (documents)
Publications (documents)
Speeches (documents)

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Charles Vert Willie Papers,
University Archives,
Special Collections Research Center
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Charles V. Willie between 1969 and 1976. Gift of Paul Autman in 1981.

Processing Information

The collection is unprocessed.

Arrangement

Materials are in their 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.