TABLE OF CONTENTS

Descriptive Summary

Historical Note

Collection Overview

Restrictions

Online Catalog Headings

Related Material

Administrative Information

Detailed Description of the Collection

Series 1: Documents and photographs

Series 2: Interviews, Transcripts, and Panel Recordings

Series 3: Material Relating to the Hewlett Project

Guide to the Hewlett Diversity Archive, 1912 - 1999

Historical Note

[This narrative was written by Leigh Raiford '94, who in 1999 was in her fourth year of the Joint Ph.D. Program in African-American and American Studies at Yale University. Ms. Raiford worked with the Hewlett Diversity Archive in 1998-99. The narrative was revised by the staff of Special Collections & Archives in the summer of 2000.]

"The Changing Face of Wesleyan: An Introduction to The Hewlett Diversity Archive"

In the summer of 1994, Wesleyan University was chosen as one of 25 public and private U.S. colleges and universities to receive a Pluralism and Unity Grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. This generous grant occasioned a unique and wonderful opportunity to examine and document, celebrate, and critique nearly 170 years of the changing face of Wesleyan. The Hewlett Diversity Archive, one of myriad projects undertaken during the 3-year tenure of the grant, offered students and historians, administrators, and alumni the chance to explore one university's commitment to racial diversity. Indeed, these archives impel us to investigate and make sense of concepts like "diversity," "unity," and "multiculturalism," often used and often misunderstood in the university context. This archive also provides a springboard for envisioning the collective future of Wesleyan University.

The idea for an archive of the history of racial diversity at Wesleyan was conceived by Krishna Winston, Professor of German Studies, Coordinator of the Mellon Minority Undergraduate Fellowship Program, and Coordinator of the Hewlett Project. Along with Monique Sulle, Associate Mellon Program Coordinator and Hewlett Project Associate Coordinator, Professor Winston felt that an archive would be the best and most useful way of cataloguing Wesleyan's vibrant and contentious history of diversity and of preserving the work of the Hewlett Summer Fellows who had culled materials from various university sources in order to document this history.

During the summers of 1995 and 1996, Hewlett Fellows gathered most of the documents and interviews that make up this collection. The 12 Fellows, members of the classes of 1996, '97, '98, and '99, researched various aspects of Wesleyan's history. Their projects included an examination of admission policies over time; of African-American, Latino, Asian and Asian-American, and Native American presence on campus; of student of color protests; of changes in and development of the curriculum; and of the history of the ethno-cultural houses. For their research, the Fellows studied the University archives and the files of the Office of Public Information. They read back issues of the student newspaper, The Argus, and compiled a complete index to all articles concerning racial matters. They also read and compiled a partial index of the student of color publication The Ankh. Under the direction of William Kerr, late Provost and Secretary of the University, the Fellows examined presidential papers as well as committee minutes and reports. They conducted taped interviews with former key administrators, faculty members, and alumni. They collected and catalogued materials produced by students in several tutorials conducted in the mid-1980s by Dean of the College Emeritus Edgar Beckham on the history of Wesleyan, including a substantial number of taped interviews. All of the above, including the Fellows' own notes and reports, are included in the collection.

It is important to note that much of Wesleyan's history of racial diversity can be found in a variety of sources located throughout the campus, including the records of the Office of Public Information, the Presidential files, and the University Archives' vertical files. In addition, there are a number of excellent secondary sources in the form of theses and essays that can be found in the University Archives. Moreover, much of Wesleyan's early history of student-of-color presence on campus (pre-1964) can be found in the Archives' vertical files. These files provide an introductory though fragmentary overview of the experiences of ethnic and gender minorities at Wesleyan prior to the hiring of Director of Admissions John C. Hoy in 1964 and the subsequent dramatic changes in recruitment strategies and admission policies.

The Hewlett Diversity Archive's strength lies in materials that document Wesleyan's changing face in the last 35 years. But more importantly, the Hewlett Archive's singularity and importance lies in the fact that for the first time these materials are gathered together under a single rubric. Taken together, this information provides a look at the formation and development of student-of-color groups, political, social, and cultural; of administrative policies concerning students as well as faculty; of curricular approaches and pedagogical strategies. This archive is a useful tool for charting the expanding meanings of the concept of diversity itself, from an era when diversity was understood as simply the presence of physical difference to a time when diversity also means heterogeneity of thought. The collection also provides a backdrop for recognizing that "unity" is something struggled for, not automatically attained; and that the achievement of unity may not necessarily be a desirable goal if it can be achieved only at the expense of cultural diversity. In short, the archive's strength lies in gathering together history and memory of the evolution, even revolution, of Wesleyan's vision and self-image.

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Collection Overview

In an effort to convey a sense of the dynamism of the history of racial diversity at Wesleyan, the materials are arranged under headings relating to student, faculty, and administrative groups rather than by racial categorizations. To order the large number of materials under such general headings as "African-American," "Asian-American" or "Latino/a" would be reductive. To do so would deny historical context, the ways in which groups often struggled with and against each other (and among themselves) over issues, from black-Asian conflict in the late 1970s and early 1980s to the formation of the Tri-Minority Council (TMC, later the Student of Color Council) in 1989.

Such categorizations also do not allow for the ways in which administrative initiatives geared toward one group often affected another group. For example, admission policies aimed at matriculating more African-American students opened doors for increased Latino presence. General racial designations are themselves historically contingent, products of particular cultural moments and political exigencies. This is not to deny the ways in which groups are identified and choose to self-identify. Rather it is to encourage enumeration and fuller illumination of the many meanings and manifestations of racial diversity. Finally, separate categories wrongly emphasize that the history documented in this archive is the sole property of the ethnic and racial groups under whose heading it falls, rather than the property and legacy of the institution as a whole.

In this vein, the collection is divided into three series, and sub-groups within each:

Series 1: Documents, photographs, and textiles collected by the Hewlett Pluralism and Unity Project to document the history of diversity at Wesleyan University;

Series 2: Audio material and transcriptions documented by Hewlett Fellows as part of the project; and

Series 3: Documents relating to the Hewlett project and its participants.

Within the first series, there are folders on topics such as admissions, educational funding, curriculum, racial statistics, administration and faculty, students, alumni, student groups, campus events, racial incidents, special interest housing. Included are documents from and about the 1969 Fisk Hall takeover, which resulted in the first attempt at an Afro-American Studies curriculum; the lampooning of Boon Tan, an Asian member of the class of 1980; and the racist letters to the Malcolm X House and the campus response in 1980. Also included are documents concerning Wesleyan-Middletown relations and collaboration.

Student groups are an integral component of any campus; accordingly, the archive includes papers of many of these organizations. There are extensive papers of the Asian-American Cooperative Theater (AACT) in particular. Also interesting are the papers of inter-ethnic groups such as Society Organized Against Racism (SOAR) and Racism Awareness Workshop (RAW). It is important to note that names of these organizations changed periodically to reflect new nomenclature and new missions. For example, Asian and Asian-American students first organized as Wesleyan Asian Students Party (WASP), later renamed themselves Wesleyan Asian Interest Group (WAIG), then Wesleyan Asian/Asian-American Student Union (WAAASU), and now, in the most recent incarnation, as Asian-American Pacific Alliance (AAPA). Student publications are also included, as well as event fliers, invitations, and notices of speakers.

There is also an array of documents concerning admission strategies and curricular development. Particularly interesting are admission brochures and booklets aimed at recruiting students of color dating back to 1975. There are also admission policy statements and minutes from Board of Trustees meetings; "special minority group" admission profiles; and recruitment strategies developed by task forces of color. There is extensive documentation of the founding and growth of the Afro-American Institute, the first attempt at instutionalizing African-American Studies and a center for black culture and research; and of the first Asian-American Studies course offered in the 1985-86 school year. Juxtaposed with these files is the Ford Foundation Grant for Multicultural Perspectives in Curriculum, submitted by Joanne Creighton, Vice President of Academic Affairs, in September 1991. One can also find administrative documents on the ethno-cultural houses.

Throughout the last 35 years, there have been many committees, task forces, and ad-hoc groups that have sought to make sense of and improve racial diversity and racial interaction on campus. Papers from some of these groups are gathered here, including the Multicultural Committee, the Committee on Human Rights and Relations, and the Presidential Commission on Race Relations.

There are also documents from the various Alumni Councils. We are fortunate to have some of the papers of the late Professor of German Theodore Chadbourne (Chad) Dunham, among the first faculty to teach a course with racial themes; a folder entitled "Alumni of Color in the Arts," which showcases some of the work of Glenn Ligon '86 and Olivia Astrid Smith '92, both accomplished photographers; and speeches of Edwin (Ted) Etherington '48, president of the University during the turbulent period of 1968-1970. Finally, there is a 1980 Alumni Reunion T-shirt "Where Is Boon Tan?"

The second series continues with material collected by Hewlett Fellows, and includes audio tapes, including Edgar Beckham's seminars, various interviews with alumni produced by students of the seminars, and speeches by distinguished guests to the campus.

The third series is documentation of the Hewlett Project itself, incorporating the work of the Summer Research Fellows (including the various publication indices), Fellows' research notes, various tutorial readings and assignments, the original grant proposal and progress reports, and further documents and directories on diversity. This series provides an understanding of the scope and mission of the project.

A final note: It is the hope of participators in and shapers of the Hewlett Project and the Hewlett Diversity Archive that this collection will continue to grow and expand, that students, faculty, and administrators, past and present, white and of color, will contribute documents and memorabilia to the archive. The history and memory of Wesleyan's commitment to racial diversity is the property and responsibility of all of us, just as the course of Wesleyan's future is our collective obligation.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

No restrictions.

Copyright Notice

Copyright for Official University records is held by Wesleyan University; all other copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

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Related Material

Vertical Files, Special Collections & Archives, Wesleyan University

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Online Catalog Headings

These and related materials may be found under the following headings in online catalogs.

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Hewlett Diversity Archive, Collection #1999-61, Special Collections & Archives, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, USA.

Acquisitions Information

Gift to Special Collections & Archives from the Hewlett Pluralism and Unity Project, September 1999.

Processing Information

Processed by Hewlett Diversity Fellows and Leslie Starr, 2000

Encoded by Valerie Gillispie, February 2008

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Detailed Description of the Collection