Alexander N. Charters Library of Resources for Educators of Adults

Records consist of photographs and slides. Organizations represented in the collection include the Center for the Study of Liberal Education for Adults (CSLEA), the Fund for Adult Education (FAE), the National University Extension Association (NUEA), and Syracuse University. There are also portraits of important people in adult education such as Lyman Bryson, Alexander N. Charters, and A.A. Liveright.

International Congress of University Adult Education

The International Congress of University Adult Education (ICUAE) was formed in 1960 to exchange information and opinions about activities in adult education, and to discuss ways of advancing adult education on a broad front. Records include correspondence, membership records, memoranda, minutes and reports. Organizations represented in the collection include the Center for the Study of Liberal Education for Adults and Unesco. Correspondents whose letters are of greatest depth and duration include Alexander N. Charters, Alexander Albert Liveright, and Paul Henry Sheats.

University Council on Education for Public Responsibility

The University Council on Education for Public Responsibility was founded in 1961 by the presidents of eleven institutions to facilitate inter-university cooperation in promoting more responsible citizenship. Records include correspondence (Henry G. Alter, Alexander Charters, Granville Davis, C. Fletcher Scott, A.A. Liveright, and Carl Tjerandsen); organization records including bylaws, financial reports, lists of officers, meeting papers, minutes, and notes; and records of various projects undertaken by the organizationl, including urbanization, automation, and leadership programs at universities.

Blakely, Robert J.

Papers of journalist, writer and professor of adult education Robert J. Blakely. The majority of the collection consists of Blakely's writing and includes books, papers, speeches, presentations, articles and essays. There is also a small amount of correspondence and printed material, and the transcript of an interview. Organizations represented include the Fund for Adult Education and the MacArthur Foundation.

National University Extension Association

The National University Extension Association was founded in 1915. Membership consists of universities and colleges engaged in university extension. The Association’s purpose is to develop and advance ideals, methods, and standards in continuing education and university extension. Its activities include a national annual conference and a number of publications. Records include Board of Directors’ correspondence and meetings, minutes and reports; committee files; correspondence; Project Head Start (U.S.) papers and manuals; Job Corps Driver Education Training papers; papers and photographs of the Office of Education, Adult Basic Education Teacher Trainer Institutes; and subject files for various adult education organizations and divisions. Correspondents whose letters are of greatest depth and duration include those of: Alexander N. Charters, James R.D. Eddy, A.A. Liveright, Ernest Edward McMahon, Julius M. Nolte, Lloyd W. Schram, Paul H. Sheats, and Thurman White. Subject files include those of the Center for the Study of Liberal Education for Adults and the Division of Correspondence.

Syracuse University Publications in Continuing Education.

Material collected or published by Syracuse University Publications in Continuing Education (SUPCE). Publications include original monographs as well as works from the Clearinghouse of Resources for Educators of Adults, Fund for Adult Education, the International Seminar on Adult Education, the Center for the Study of Liberal Education for Adults, ERIC, American Foundation for Continuing Education, the Library of Continuing Education at Syracuse University, and miscellaneous publications by notable adult educators including Alexander N. Charters, Cyril O. Houle, J. Roby Kidd, A.A. Liveright, John Ohliger, James B. Whipple, et al.

Center for the Study of Liberal Education for Adults

Established by a grant from the Fund for Adult Education in 1951, the Center for the Study of Liberal Education for Adults (CSLEA) worked with universities seeking to initiate or to improve adult education programs. Its purpose was to help American higher education develop greater effectiveness and a deeper sense of responsibility for the liberal education of adults. During its tenure the Center had three directors; John S. Diekhoff (1952-1953), John B. Schwertman (1953-1956), and A.A. Liveright (1956-1968). The records include correspondence, organizational files, publication files, writings, and miscellany. Key correspondents, mostly from the Center, are James T. Carey, Alexander N. Charters, Roger DeCrow, John S. Diekhoff, C. Scott Fletcher, Freda H. Goldman, Morton Gordon, Kenneth Haygood, Cyril Orvin Houle, A. A. Liveright, Harry L. Miller, John B. Schwertman, Peter E. Siegle, Marilyn M. Vaughan, and James B. Whipple.

Liveright, A. A. (Alexander Albert), 1907-1969

Alexander A. Liveright was a professor of adult education and director of the Center for the Study of Liberal Education for Adults (CSLEA) for more than ten years. Correspondence, minutes and reports which highlight Liveright’s professional interests and affiliations. Included are papers generated while professor in the schools of education at Boston University and Syracuse University, as director of The Center for the Study of Liberal Education for Adults, and as founding member and Secretary of the International Congress of University Adult Education. Sagamore Conference papers and those of the New Institutional Forms Project, a research project begun by Liveright to study the development of comprehensive adult education programs, also appear in the collection. International adult education is the focus of records from trips to Australia, Hong Kong, India, New Zealand, the Philippines, and Thailand. Miscellaneous material includes newspaper clippings, War Manpower Commission documents, and material from the Highlander Folk School.

Adult Education Association.

The Adult Education Association of the U.S.A. (AEA-USA) was formed in 1951 by the merger of the American Association for Adult Education (supported by the Carnegie Foundation) and the Department of Adult Education of the National Education Association. In 1982, the AEA-USA combined with the National Association of Public School Adult Educators (NAPSAE) to become the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE). The collection contains material from both organizations.

Association of University Evening Colleges (U.S.)

The Association of University Evening Colleges (AUEC) was formerly (until 1939) the Association of Deans and Directors of University Evening Colleges; in 1973 it became the Association of Continuing Higher Education. AUEC's purpose was to study the problems of the evening college and to encourage mutual interchange and stimulation of ideas among members. The papers of the AUEC consist of minutes of committees, convention records; general correspondence; enrollment statistics; history, including six phono-tapes of oral interviews with staff members; newsletters, including press releases and copy; personnel records, including vitae and correspondence; regional meeting reports; and statistical reports of the AUEC. Major correspondents include members of the Executive Committee, editors of AUEC publications, and various education organizations. Correspondents whose letters are of significant depth and/or duration include: Gurth I. Abercrombie, E. Brandenburg, Alexander N. Charters, Richard T. Deters, Cortrell K. Holsapple, Ralph C. Kendall, Daniel R. Lang, A.A. Liveright, Robert A. Love, Howell McGee, Ernest E. McMahon, Richard A. Matre, Richard A. Mumma, Frank R. Neuffer, George A. Parkinson, Bernard W. Reed, Kenneth W. Riddle, and Edwin H. Spengler.