The University of Chicago Library > The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center > Finding Aids > Guide to the University of Chicago University Committees on Ranking Policy. Records 1966-1967
© 2006 University of Chicago Library
| Title: | University of Chicago. University Committees on Ranking Policy. Records |
|---|---|
| Dates: | 1966-1967 |
| Size: | .5 linear feet (1 box) |
| Repository: |
Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center |
| Abstract: | A committee was appointed in May 1966 to study the university's policy of submitting rank upon the request of the student to his local draft board. Growing dissatisfaction with the University's policy of compiling male class ranks had culminated with the occupation of the Administration Building for six days by groups of students. Another committee was appointed to examine in greater depth the first committee's findings. The collection contains minutes, surveys, reports, and documentation on draft laws and the Selective Service System. Includes material related to the occupation of the Administration Building by students, May 11-16, 1966; class ranking practices at other schools; and statements by administrators, faculty and students regarding the use of student ranking by draft boards. |
No restrictions.
When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: University of Chicago. University Committees on Ranking Policy. Records, [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library
The first Committee on University Ranking Policy was appointed on May 16, 1966, by the Council of the University Senate and charged to study "...the consequences over the coming summer and fall of adhering to or reversing the present university policy of submitting rank upon the request of the student." The expansion of the Vietnam War in the mid-1960's had made the student deferment no longer automatic, and local draft boards were using, among other measures, a student's rank among other males in his class to determine whether to grant a deferment. Growing dissatisfaction with the University's policy of compiling male class ranks had culminated the week before with the occupation of the Administration Building for six days by groups of students, notably Students Against the Rank.
Series I: FIRST STUDENT-FACULTY COMMITTEE ON RANKING (DUNHAM COMMITTEE) The first Committee was composed of six faculty members and six students, and was chaired by Professor Allison Dunham of the Law School. The Committee's papers record the methods which they used to carry out their charge. Materials on the draft laws and the Selective Service System were acquired, as were statements on the policies of other schools. The Committee also used the results of a questionnaire survey made of undergraduate male opinion. Minutes of meetings and outlines and drafts show the rapid evolution of the Committee's report, which was submitted in time for the June 7 meeting of the University Senate. Series II: SECOND STUDENT-FACULTY COMMITTEE ON RANKING (FISKE COMMITTEE) A second Committee was soon appointed to update the Dunham report, as the work of the First Committee was called, and to consider the ranking question and its implications in greater depth than was possible for the Dunham Committee. The Second Committee included five faculty members and five students, whose chairman was psychology Professor Donald W. Fiske. The greater bulk of the Second Committee's papers reflects the greater thoroughness with which they were able to use the methods of their predecessors. Their report was submitted in January 1967.
The following related resources are located in the Department of Special Collections:
http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/spcl/select.html
Series I: First Student-Faculty Committee on Ranking (Dunham Committee) |
| Box 1 Folder 1 | May Sit-in; Statements by the administration and faculty on the occupation of the Administration Building by students, May 11-16, 1966 |
| Box 1 Folder 2 | Statements by the administration and the Council of the University Senate on the position of the University regarding the use of student ranks by draft boards |
| Box 1 Folder 3 | Statements and reports on the Student Government referendum on the University's use of ranks, held May 25, 1966 |
| Box 1 Folder 4 | Statements by individuals and organizations on the May Sit-in and the University's use of ranks |
| Box 1 Folder 5-6 | Minutes, notes of the Committee's meetings and activities, mostly by Chairman Dunham |
| Box 1 Folder 7-9 | Information on the draft laws and on the practices of other schools accumulated by the Committee |
| Box 1 Folder 10 | Committee survey of student opinion; draft of questionnaire and list of students in the sample |
| Box 1 Folder 11-14 | Committee survey of student opinion; completed questionnaires |
| Box 2 Folder 1-3 | Committee survey of student opinion; completed questionnaires |
| Box 2 Folder 4-5 | Committee Report; notes, outlines, drafts |
| Box 2 Folder 6 | Committee survey of student opinion; final version, June 1966 |
Series II: Second Student-Faculty Committee on Ranking (Fiske Committee) |
| Box 2 Folder 7-15 | Committee meetings and deliberations; notes and minutes, mostly by Chairman Fiske |
| Box 3 Folder 1-5 | Communications with other schools regarding their policies toward the use of student ranks by draft boards |
| Box 3 Folder 6-11 | Newspaper and magazine articles dealing with the draft and the position of the student |
| Box 3 Folder 12 | Documents and statements providing information on the draft laws and the Selective Service System |
| Box 4 Folder 1-5 | Documents and statements providing information on the draft laws and the Selective Service System |
| Box 4 Folder 6-8 | Statements by faculty members of their opinions on the ranking issue |
| Box 4 Folder 9 | Committee survey of undergraduate male opinion; completed questionnaires |
| Box 5 Folder 1-6 | Committee survey of undergraduate male opinion; completed questionnaires |
| Box 6 Folder 1-7 | Committee survey of undergraduate male opinion; completed questionnaires |
| Box 7 Folder 1-7 | Committee survey of undergraduate male opinion; completed questionnaires |
| Box 8 Folder 1-3 | Committee survey of undergraduate male opinion; completed questionnaires |
| Box 8 Folder 4-9 | Committee survey of undergraduate male opinion; analysis of data |
| Box 9 Folder 1-2 | Committee survey of undergraduate male opinion; completed questionnaires |
| Box 9 Folder 3-7 | Committee report; notes, outlines, drafts |
| Box 9 Folder 8 | Report of the Second Student-Faculty Committee on the University Ranking Policy, January 1967 |
| Box 9 Folder 9 | Open discussion on ranking held by Fiske Committee, February 18, 1967 |
| Box 9 Folder 10 | May Sit-in; statements of opinion, mostly from faculty and the administration |
| Box 9 Folder 11 | Special meetings of the University Senate to discuss the ranking controversy, May 27, 1966 |
| Box 9 Folder 12 | Statements and documents from student organizations; Student Government, Students Against the Rank, Committee for a Free Choice, Chicago Area Draft Resistors |
| Box 9 Folder 13 | Administration statements on the sit-in, student conduct, and the ranking issue |
| Box 9 Folder 14 | Documents from conferences on the draft; National Collegiate Conference on Selective Service Reform, Antioch College, November 17-20, 1966; American Veterans Committee, National Conference on the Draft, November 11-12, 1966 |
| Box 9 Folder 15 | Documents from conferences on the draft; University of Chicago Conference on the Draft, December 4-7, 1966 |
| Box 10 Folder 1-6 | Documents from conferences on the draft; University of Chicago Conference on the Draft, December 4-7, 1966 |
| Box 10 Folder 7 | Statements about the proposal of universal national service |
| Box 10 Folder 8 | A Short History and Analysis; the Rank Protest of 1966-67. Paper by Vern Visick for the Special Divinity Committee, October 25, 1967 |