Access is granted in accordance with the
Protocols for the University Archives and Records Center.
PROVENANCE
The majority of the film in this artificial collection comes from the
now defunct Motion Picture Services division of the News Bureau. Yet
other offices on campus, such as Wharton Public Relations Office, have
contributed to the collection. The Motion Picture Services division
began documenting University life in 1954 and was phased out of operation
sometime around 1980. The collection was transferred to the Archives
in partial shipments each year beginning in 1974 with at least one,
but most often several, shipments per year during each subsequent year
to 1980. Accretions to the collection have been sporadic with transfers
most recently in 1990 and 1994.
This collection is arranged in seven major, topical series. They include:
General, Campus/Buildings, Individuals, Administration/Faculty, Student
Organizations/University Activities, Alumni/Parents, and Schools/Departments.
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AGENCY HISTORY/NEWS BUREAU
In 1919 Edward Bushnell was appointed publicity agent for the University
of Pennsylvania. In 1925 he was joined by Henry L. Herbert, who assumed
the position of Manager of the Bureau of Publicity. Herbert served as
manager until 1947 when the office underwent administrative restructuring
and the Department of Public Relations absorbed the Bureau of Publicity.
Herbert's title changed to Manager of General Publicity. When the Bureau
was re-named the News Bureau in 1950, Herbert was appointed as its director.
He served in that capacity until his retirement in 1962.
Coinciding with Herbert's tenure was that of Florence Bell. She started
as a secretary in the Bureau of Publicity and later as Office Manager
of the News Bureau. Her principal duty was creating and maintaining
the history files, which served as a point of reference for the entire
department. These files included draft and final news releases, internal
memoranda contributing to the news releases, newspaper clippings (many
of which were provided by Burrell's Clipping Service), biographical
materials, subject-specific material, and photographs.
In 1954 the Department of Public Relations expanded its work to include
two new units, Motion Picture Services and the Office of Radio and Television.
From 1954 to 1975, Donald T. Sheehan served as the Director of the Department
of Public Relations. During his tenure, Margaret E. (Betty) Gamble assumed
responsibility for the administration of the history files In 1975 Sheehan
was appointed the Secretary of the University, but his new duties incorporated
administrative oversight of the department. After his retirement in
1976, Jack H. Hamilton, the new Assistant Vice-President and Director
of Communications, took charge of the News Bureau, Radio-TV Office,
Motion Picture Services, and Almanac. Hamilton reported to the newly
appointed Secretary, John C. Hunt.
For a brief time, things continued as before. In February of 1978,
however, President Martin Meyerson's chief of staff, D. Bruce Johnstone,
announced "a unique opportunity to integrate the University's communications
services into a single comprehensive unit." Units under Hamilton's
charge were combined with those of the Department of Publications Office
and renamed the Department of Communications Services. Curtis L. Barnes,
Jr., Director of Publications since 1973, was named Director of the
merged department. Barnes, charged with streamlining the operation in
keeping with the cost-conscious demands of the central administration
of the University, conducted broad administrative changes. Within two
years Barnes phased out the Motion Picture Service and the Radio-TV
Office.
Among the changes initiated by Barnes was the appointment of Edward
J. McFall as the director of the News Bureau in 1979. Under McFall's
leadership, the department developed the "News Digest," a
monthly review of the University in the news. The role of the "News
Digest" gradually eclipsed that of the reference files. Maintenance
of the reference files continued for a while, but space problems, which
were magnified by frequent office relocations, and the advancing state
of technology, ultimately led to an ebbing of contributions to these
files.
In 1984 the University reorganized the Department of Communications
Services, renaming it the Department of University Relations. Ann Duffield,
Deputy Director of Communications and former Director of Publications,
was appointed as its Director; Ed McFall, former Director of the News
Bureau was appointed Associate Director; and Virgil N. Renzulli, Jr.,
McFall's successor, was appointed Associate Director for the News Bureau.
The new, and present, department of University Relations, oversees the
News Bureau (renamed News and Public Affairs in 1990) and the campus
newspaper Compass.
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SCOPE AND CONTENT
This collection of film, 1915-1920, 1940-1989, n.d. (69 cubic ft.
and 53 oversize containers) documents University life, traditions, and
activities during a period of change and growth.
The bulk of the films in the General series were made for the purposes
of public relations. Most of these films celebrate anniversaries and
focus on all aspects of the University. Included in this first series
is a group of films that snapshot the University. Not only are the academic
and research strengths of the University discussed, but researchers
interested in some earlier traditions will find these films valuable.
There is a sizable group of films in the General series that shows
the growth of the University. One could get a sense of the physical
make-up of the campus in this series, but to get a true perspective
of the vastly changing campus, one should turn to the Campus/Buildings
series. This series gives both general and specific looks at the campus
from construction to dedication to the occupation of a building.
Pennsylvania has attracted many prominent individuals. This collection
contains film footage for visits by: Marian Anderson, U.S. Senator Joseph
S. Clark, President Gerald R. Ford, Valery Giscard d'Estaing, U.S. Senator
Eugene McCarthy, Princess Grace Kelley, U.S. Senator Robert Kennedy,
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Lord Mountbatten to name a
few.
The remaining series give a researcher an understanding of the University
through the people connected with it. The core of University life with
all its traditions is best seen by looking at the film footage connected
with the Administration/Faculty, the Student Organizations/Activities,
the "Alumni/Parents, and the Schools/Departments series. Researchers
might expect to find documentation of the tumultuous late 1960's and
early 1970's. Although there is a significant amount of coverage for
these period, there is no coverage of any political activism aside from
a Press Conference held after a sit-in protesting the schools involvement
with Dow Chemical. Instead, a researcher will find images of a campus
with many traditions.
The final series, Schools/Departments, is particularly strong in the
areas of engineering, medicine (including dental and veterinary medicine),
business, and finance. For those interested in humanities, there is
material on art and on the University Museum; there is very little for
the School of Arts and Sciences.
Ultimately, both the strength and the weakness of the collection lies
in the generalized coverage these films provide. On the one hand, the
researcher may get a good picture of the University's academic and social
traditions. But on the other hand, there is little to help a researcher
focus deeply on any topic specifically.
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How to obtain
reproductions of images