Athletics and Sports

For reference queries contact Grenander Department Reference staff or (518)–437–3935.

ALBANY COUNTY CIVIC CENTER
Collection, 1976, 1984–1986, 1988, .75 cubic ft. (APAP-004)
Reports and other records pertaining to the environmental impact of the construction of the Albany County Civic Center (the Knickerbocker Arena, now the Pepsi Arena), a multi–purpose sports, entertainment, and convention center that opened in downtown Albany, New York in 1989.

ALPHA PI ALPHA
Records, 1952–78, 13.28 ft. (UA–XXX)
Alpha Pi Alpha was chartered on September 29, 1952, as an independent non-discriminatory fraternity at the New York State College for Teachers. Alpha Pi Alpha was the successor to the Gamma chapter (founded in 1915) of the national fraternity Kappa Delta Rho. Found in the records are 16 scrapbooks, 1952-1978, the fraternities certificate of incorporation, a fraternity paddle, and rug, the fraternity crest, fraternity trivia, and the fraternity hymn. Apparently no minutes of APA meetings survive. The scrapbooks contain the basic record of the fraternity’s activities. The first 1952 scrapbook contains the Gamma chapter’s correspondence with the Kappa Delta Rho national and newspaper clippings documenting the struggle to end official and unofficial discrimination of the Kappa Delta Rho national. The second scrapbook, 1952-56, contains some documentation regarding pledging rituals.

ATHLETICS AND RECREATION, OFFICE OF
Records, 1952–77, 12 ft. (UA–746)
Includes annual reports, 1971–73; budget summaries, 1955–74; director's memoranda and correspondence, 1968–71; minutes, proposals, and annual reports of the Athletic Advisory Board, 1955–74; publications; team programs, rosters and statistics, 1966–76; and photographs and memorabilia.

BLINKEN, DONALD
Papers, 1969–2003, 4.95 cubic ft. (APAP–080)
Ambassador Donald Blinken's professional career was spent as an investment banker, most prominently at E. M. Warburg & Company. He has also held many public service positions including that of Trustee of the State University of New York, September 1976–March 1990, Chairman of the SUNY Board of Trustees, 1978–1990, and Ambassador to Hungary, 1994–1997. The Blinken papers consist entirely of Trustee and subsequently Chairman Blinken's retained records from his service on the SUNY Board of Trustees. In addition to general correspondence with SUNY schools, 1976–90, and files on specific SUNY schools such as a late 1970s Committee on the Future of the State University College at Utica/Rome and the mid–1980s upgrading of athletic competition SUNY Buffalo, there is a substantial documentation of SUNY/CUNY relations, SUNY System/Council of Independent Colleges and Universities relations, the 1984–85 Independent Commission on the Future of SUNY, and an unsuccessful 1985 campaign to free SUNY schools from over–regulation by the legislature. Included is Chairman Blinken's correspondence with Governors Hugh Carey, 1980–82, and Mario M. Cuomo, 1983–89, regarding the SUNY System. Also included is Blinken's correspondence with SUNY Chancellor Clifton Warton, Jr., 1977–87.

CAPITAL DISTRICT COALITION AGAINST APARTHEID & RACISM (CDCAAR)
Records, 1981–1995, 6 reels of microfilm (APAP–011)
Contains newspaper articles, newsletters, legal papers and correspondence relating to the group's protest against the Springboks (South Africa's then all–white rugby team) game that was scheduled to take place in Albany, NY on September 21, 1981, and to court cases that grew out of the protests; correspondence, minutes, and reports relating to CDCAAR's struggle against apartheid in South Africa (especially related to a campaign to force NYS to divest pension funds invested in South Africa and a boycott of South African performers); and also documenting the organization's struggles against police abuse in Albany N.Y. (particularly the Jessie Davis case).  Also includes a 1995 history of CDCAAR written by Vera Michelson. Includes a small group of papers from the Northeast Southern Africa Solidarity Network and the African National Congress. Founded in 1981 as an inter–racial group opposed to Apartheid, the group changed its name in 1995 to the Capital District Coalition for Southern Africa and Against Racism.

FALCONER, RAYMOND
Papers, 1942–1999, 97 cubic ft. (UA–902.014)
The Raymond Falconer Papers include film, video tape, weather data, weather forecasts, and correspondence. Much of the collection is currently unavailable until treated for mold and mildew. Falconer was a meteorologist and early research associate at the Atmospheric Sciences Research Center (ASRC), and his papers document the establishment and research programs of the Whiteface Mountain Observatory which he directed, particularly meteorological and pollution studies. Falconer's Papers also contain a complete record of his scientific activities at the Mount Washington Observatory, 1942–1946; at General Electric in Schenectady where he headed the GE Weather Bureau, 1947–1957, including his work on Project Cirrus and long range weather forecasting, as an assistant to Vincent Schaefer at Munitalp, 1957–1958, and weather forecasts he gave for Albany, New York radio stations from the mid-1960s through the mid–1990s. One notable use of Falconer's research and weather reports was for the 1980 Olympic Winter Games in Lake Placid, NY.

MILNE SCHOOL
Records, 1890–77, 35.24 cubic ft. (UA–659)
Includes student publications, 1905–77; reports, 1907–69; school library records, 1929–77; and records on the closing of this elementary school, 1972–76.

NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR WOMEN--NEW YORK STATE
Records, 1966–1988, 23.75 cubic ft. (APAP-029)
Includes correspondence, minutes, by-laws, financial reports, documentation of lobbying activities, subject files on women's issues, and printed materials pertaining to NOW--New York State, founded in 1974, the state affiliate of NOW, which was founded in Washington, D.C., in 1966. The records of this women's organization pertain to sexual discrimination in education and employment, reproductive rights, gay and lesbian rights, the Equal Rights Amendment, and other gender issues. The records are organized into five series: subject files, 1968–1988; issues files, 1966–1988; lobbyists' files, 1976–1985; chapter newsletter file, 1966–1985; and a feminist publications collection, 1966–1985.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION, ATHLETICS, AND RECREATION, DEPARTMENT OF
Records, 1950–77, 7.9 ft. (UA–654)
Included in the departmental records are administrative papers including correspondence, bulletins, memoranda, minutes, paper clippings, photos, and reports, 1950–78; papers of the Athletic Advisory Board, including budgets, minutes, correspondence, reports, and memoranda, 1952, 1955–77; files called "Men's Sports" containing correspondence, memoranda, sports information, sports schedules, publicity forms, and sports statistics books, 1954–79; papers of Women's Intercollegiate Athletics, including annual reports, budget requests, team score books, seasonal sports' schedules, team rosters, and publications dealing with sports, 1966–79; and sports publications and booklets, 1960–79, 1985–86.

SCHAEFER, VINCENT, physicist, environmentalist
Papers, 1891–1979, 100 ft. (UA–902.010)
Papers relating to his career at the General Electric Laboratories in Schenectady, New York; the Munitalb Foundation, Inc.; and at the University at Albany, State University of New York and its Atmospheric Sciences Research Center, including correspondence, diary, laboratory records, films, offprints, reports on environmental projects, and other materials, 1922–79.  Correspondents include Rachel Carson, Arthur Parker, P. Van Epps, and Irving Langmuir.  Schaefer is a pioneer in the field of atmospheric science and a prominent New York environmentalist concerned with the Adirondack Mountains and other regional issues.

STAFFORD, RONALD B.
Papers, 1965–2005, 225 cubic ft. (APAP–217)
Elected to the New York State Senate in 1965 to represent the 45th District, Ronald B. Stafford represented the North Country for a 37-year Senate career which included membership on several committees. He ended his career as chairman of the powerful Finance Committee. Stafford, a Republican, was the first chairman of the Senate’s Higher Education Committee. During his Senate career, he chaired the Senate Finance Committee, Higher Education Committee, Codes Committee, and the Judiciary Committee. In 1974, as Chairman of the Senate’s Higher Education Committee he helped shape and create the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP), a landmark program that opened access to college for New Yorkers who would otherwise have been unable to afford opportunities in higher education . He was a protector of the environment through his involvement in Adirondack Park affairs. Stafford was instrumental in bringing the 1980 Olympic Winter Games to Lake Placid, and in 1974 was appointed chairman of the New York State 1980 Olympic Winter Games Commission. He remained a leading figure in the Senate and in NYS politics throughout his career and until his death in 2005. The papers consist of correspondence, letters, memorandum, meeting minutes, press releases, legislative memorandum, newsletters, writings, photographs, clippings reprints, and other archival resources.

STUDENT ASSOCIATION
Records, 1921–88/89, 5.3 ft. (UA–804)
Includes minutes of the Student Association and Central Council, 1921–49, 1969–89; Cenral Council bills and resolutions, 1966–89; subject files, 1940–44, 1959–88, consisting of a budget, constitutions, ACT (teaching assessment) proposals, announcements and newsletters; and committee records, 1941–88.  Originally called the Student Council of the New York State College for Teachers, the Student Association was begun in 1921 at the suggestion of Myskania, a semi–secret student council organized in 1917.  In its early years, the association was responsible for managing student assemblies.  The Student Association is now the major policy-making body of the students on campus.

STUDER, NORMAN
Papers, 1817–1988 (APAP–116)
Papers of Norman Studer, educator, folklorist, and writer. The papers primarily document Studer's activities as an educator at the Little Red School House/Elisabeth Irwin High School, an educator and administrator at the Downtown Community School, founder and Director of Camp Woodland, and his various writing projects. The papers reflect Studer's two principal life-long interests: progressive education and folklore. The collection is particularly strong in its representation of Catskill folklore and folk music, including manuscript material, photographs, reel-to-reel audio recordings, and 16mm movies documenting interviews with indigenous Catskill informants, folk festivals, and life at Camp Woodland. The inclusive dates of the collection are 1817–1988, with the bulk of the material dating 1952–1978.

UNIVERSITY SENATE
Records, 1915–37, 1944–89, 21 ft. (UA–200)
Includes agenda, minutes, correspondence, and legislative bills of the University Senate, 1969–85, and its predecessor bodies: Faculty Council, 1915–37, 1944–66; Faculty–Administration Council, 1944–52; Academic Council, 1952–63; Faculty Senate, 1966–69, and of the councils and committees of those bodies. The University Senate serves as the "principal policy–forming body of the University."

YWCA OF ALBANY, NEW YORK
Records, 1863–1996, 20.21 cubic ft. (APAP-137)
The collection documents the history of the YWCA of Albany, which was founded in 1888 by a group of women led by Mrs. Acors Rathbun in order to provide housing and recreational activities for young women searching for work. Through the years, the organization expanded to include classes, childcare, athletics, essay contests, teen issue programs, and an annual awards dinner honoring women. Strengths include the extensive photographic material and meeting minutes from the board of trustees and directors. The collection is weakest at the beginning and end of the YWCA of Albany's existence.