ARCHIVAL COLLECTIONS
Office of the President
Assistant
to the President for Special Projects Records, 1977 - 1994
UPA 5.8
7 Cubic ft.
Prepared by Kaiyi Chen
February 1996
Access to collections is granted in accordance with the Protocols for the University Archives and Records Center.
PROVENANCE
Transferred to the Archives in August 1995. Access restrictions: in accordance with the "Protocols for the University Archives and Records Center," all administrative records are closed for twenty-five years from the date of their creation.
ARRANGEMENT
This collection has been organized into three series. They are: files pertaining to the award of honorary degrees, 1977-1994; files pertaining to the special events and projects of the University, 1981-1983; and correspondence of the President, 1977-1980. All the files have been arranged chronologically.
AGENCY HISTORY
During his term as President of the University of Pennsylvania from 1970 to 1980, Martin Meyerson created an assistant to the President position entitled the Assistant to the President for Special Projects. The President appointed Dilys Pegler Winegrad to this position in September 1975. The position's duties were principally those of speech-writing, but extended to a broad range of special projects, including the preparation of a volume of University history, and the organization of lectures, symposia, and exhibitions, and after it was established in 1982-1983, the management of the Arthur Ross Gallery, as well as other special tasks assigned by the University President. The position continued through the three administrations of Meyerson, Sheldon Hackney (1980-1993) and Claire Fagin (Interim President, 1993-1994), but by early 1994 the duties of directing and curating the Arthur Ross Gallery had increased to the point where that role became Dr. Winegrad's full-time responsibility in March 1994 and her reporting line moved to the Office of the Provost soon after the arrival of a new President, Judith S. Rodin, in July 1994.
SCOPE AND CONTENT
These records relate to Dilys P. Winegrad's tenure as Assistant to the President for Special Projects from 1975 to 1994 and includes drafts of speeches, award citations and correspondence for the President of the University. An overwhelming proportion of the collection regards the matter of honorary degrees awarded by the University and individual schools during the annual University commencement and on various special occasions. The papers in this series consists of the manuscripts of speeches given by the University President during the ceremonies, the drafts and approved version of citations of honorary degree recipients, correspondence to and from the University President concerning the procedure, and background informational material of each honorary degree recipient. Included in the collection are also speeches the Assistant drafted for the President in relation to other special University or school events as well as correspondence she handled for the President on a regular basis.