Collection inventory

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Harry S. Ganders Papers

An inventory of his papers at the Syracuse University Archives

Finding aid created by: Kyle C. Wilson
Date: 2007

Revision history:

Biography

Harry Stanley Ganders (1894-1978) first entered the field of education upon receiving bachelors and masters degrees in education from the University of Washington (1920 and 1922 respectively) and a Ph.D. in philosophy from Columbia University (1926). While still completing his own higher education, Ganders began what would become a long career of teaching others about education in 1924. After two years as a Professor of Education at Colorado State Teachers College, Ganders took a similar position at the University of Cincinnati from 1926 to 1930. In 1930, Syracuse University offered Ganders the dean position at the University’s Teachers College. Ganders would hold this position for 22 years, during which time he would work to transform the Teachers College into the "all-University" School of Education. This evolution of the college, developed around an integrated undergraduate program and dual professorship, helped bring the school national attention. In 1943, Ganders also became the acting dean of the Graduate School, and he would similarly lead efforts for progressive development in that position.

While Ganders advanced his vision for the School of Education at the administrative level, he also taught numerous classes on education at Syracuse University. His classes would cover topics that he would speak about throughout his career, ranging from practical matters of school administration and assessment to theoretical approaches to the philosophy of education and the role of education in a democracy.

Ganders’ teaching efforts during this time were not limited to Syracuse University. He also often acted as a visiting professor, guest lecturer, or committee leader at other universities and organizations, such as the University of British Columbia, the University of California, Berkeley, and Cazenovia Junior College. Most notably, in 1948 Ganders was a visiting professor at the University of London, which would be the first of many engagements with British universities.

In 1952, Ganders stepped down from his administrative positions at Syracuse University, in part due to health-related concerns, which allowed him to teach at Syracuse full-time. In his correspondence, Ganders expressed excitement about the opportunity to focus entirely on teaching and further developing his own knowledge on the philosophy and history of education, and he would spend several years doing that while teaching as the Hammond Professor of the Philosophy of Education. In 1960, after 30 years of teaching and administrative leadership, Ganders decided to end his time at Syracuse University. He would continue his career in education in the next few years in new positions, such as acting as a Fulbright Senior Lecturer in the United Kingdom, taking the dean position at Alaska Methodist University, and continuing to accept invitations to guest lecture at various universities—including a return to Syracuse University in 1963 to lecture once more.

Scope and Content Note

The Harry S. Ganders Papers include course-related materials, speeches, publications, notes, personal correspondence, bulletins, and newspaper clippings from 1916 to 1972. The collection includes four series: Course-Related Materials, Speeches and Lectures, Subject Files, and Writings.

The Course-Related Materials series includes annotated syllabi, notes, proposals for designing new courses, and other papers related to courses Ganders taught or helped organize. The Speeches and Lectures series contains notes and full texts used for Ganders' speeches, as well as publications of the Street Lectures series, a project Ganders helped lead. The Subject Files series contains extensive correspondence, notes, newspaper clippings, official documents, and other materials Ganders kept throughout his professional career. The Writings series contains subseries of Bound and Unbound works. Bound Writings include published books written (or co-written) by Ganders, as well as a bound, multi-volume collection of his writings titled Miscellaneous Papers. The Unbound Writings include published articles, manuscripts, and some notes and correspondence on his work.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

Please note that the collection is housed off-site, and advance notice is required to allow time to have the materials brought to the Reading Room on campus.

Pieces of correspondence that contain confidential information have been placed into a restricted-access folder.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from University Archives,
Special Collections Research Center
Syracuse University Libraries and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Related Material

Two Bulletins from the School of Education that were not annotated by Ganders were placed with the Syracuse University Archives' existing collection of School of Education Bulletins.

Selected Search Terms

Names

Ganders, Harry Stanley.
Syracuse University -- History.
Syracuse University.
Syracuse University. -- School of Education.

Subjects

College faculty.
Comparative education.
Education.
School management and organization.
College teachers.
Higher education.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Harry S. Ganders Papers,
University Archives,
Special Collections Research Center
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Correspondence from an administrative file indicates that Ganders worked with the Syracuse University Archives to provide the University with this collection. This cooperation seemingly first began in 1971, with the last documented addition to the collection being acquired in 1977.

Processing Information

All materials in this collection were transferred from deteriorating folders into acid-free folders and boxes. The original organization of the materials was kept when possible, though loose materials, illegible folder titles, etc., required some re-organization. Paper clips, rubber bands, and other materials damaging to the collection were removed and replaced with safe holding materials. The many newspaper clippings in this collection were photocopied for preservation (the acidic originals were discarded).

Several pieces of professional and personal correspondences were pulled from their original folders to be made restricted materials because they contain confidential information.

Arrangement

Folders are arranged alphabetically within each series.

Table of Contents

Course-Related Materials

Speeches and Lectures

Subject Files

Writings

Inventory