S. Stewart Gordon papers

Collection

Identifier: BUA-0036

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The S. Stewart Gordon papers contains the administrative and research files of S. Stewart Gordon. The majority of the papers are made up of the subject files series, i.e. Gordon's administrative files from his time at Binghamton University. These files cover a wide range of topics that Gordon oversaw at the University, including curriculum, personnel issues, governance and regulations, student life, buildings and campus management, budgeting, committees, enrollment, grading, new academic programs, the academic calendar, major events, and administrators. These files contain correspondence, reports, and clippings about each subject. Note that in the subject files, the acronym "SUBI" appears frequently, which appears to be Gordon's acronym for Binghamton University.

Other series in the collection contain the files about particular projects or time periods in Gordon's career. These include a series about a study on college dormitories in the United States Gordon conducted, a series on the Health Education Cooperative (HEC) for the NY-Penn Area, a series of restricted personnel files, and a series of materials related to Gordon's career after his retirement from Binghamton University.

Dates

Creation: 1941 - 2005

Creator

Gordon, S. Stewart (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Materials in this collection have been thoroughly reviewed for possible restrictions. Some folders in the collection have been designated as restricted, and these designations can be found in the title information for those folders in this finding aid. Restricted files generally fall into three categories. First, there are files that contain information about students that are protected by FERPA. Second, there are files that contain information about performance evaluations, raises, discipline, and hiring of University personnel. Third, there are files related to the Binghamton Foundation. If you have questions about the restricted materials or wish to access this collection, please email speccoll@binghamton.edu

Biographical Note

S. Stewart Gordon was the first Dean of Harpur College (later Binghamton University). He served in various positions in the University administration from 1955 to 1976, including as Dean, Interim President, Vice President of Academic Affairs, and Executive Vice President for Planning.

Stanley Stewart Gordon was born in St Louis, MO, in 1913. In World War II, Gordon served as a weather forecaster in the USAAF in the U.S. and China. He received his B.A. and D.H.L from Westminster College and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. He taught English at the University of Chicago and served as the Assistant to the Executive Dean for Four Year Colleges and Professional Schools at SUNY Central Staff.

In 1955, Gordon was appointed as Dean and Professor of English at Harpur College. Gordon served as the Interim President twice, first in 1964-1965 and again in 1971-1972. In 1967 Gordon became Vice President for Academic Affairs and in 1972 he became Executive Vice President. In 1973 until his retirement in 1976, Gordon served as Executive Vice President for Planning.

After his retirement, Gordon served as Acting President of SUNY Cortland, Acting Director of the Foundation of SUNY Binghamton, and Interim Director of the Roberson Center for the Arts and Sciences. Gordon died in 2000 in Johnson City, NY. After his death, Binghamton University honored Gordon by creating a scholarship for graduate students in English and naming a wing of the Fine Arts Building after him.

Extent

24 Linear Feet (25 boxes and 1 map case folder)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The S. Stewart Gordon papers contains the administrative and research files of the first Dean of Harpur College (later Binghamton University) Gordon served in various positions in the University administration from 1955 to 1976, including as Dean, Interim President, Vice President of Academic Affairs, and Executive Vice President for Planning. The majority of the papers are made up of the subject files series, i.e. Gordon's administrative files from his time at Binghamton University.

Arrangement

This collection is divided into four series.

Series:

Subject files
Dormitory study
Health Education Cooperative for the NY-Penn Area
Personnel files
Professional life after retirement

Immediate Source of Acquisition

In 1978, S. Stewart Gordon donated materials related to the Health Education Cooperative and his dormitory study. In 1996, files from Gordon's office on campus were transferred to the archives.

Related Materials

S. Stewart Gordon was heavily involved in the Harpur College Oral History Project, which is held by this archive.

Processing Information

Sometime between 1996 when the collection was donated and 2025, the subject files series was created. This series alphabetized Gordon's research and working files. It is unclear whether this series incorporated several sections that were already alphabetized by Gordon, or if archivists created it from scratch out of some other organization.

In 2025, Madison White (Archival Processing Manager) and Anna Liu (Student Processing Assistant) processed the collection. Files that were likely to contain restricted materials were reviewed for restrictions. Restricted files generally fell into three categories: information about students that are protected by FERPA; information about performance evaluations, raises, discipline, and hiring of University personnel; and files related to the Binghamton Foundation.

During the restrictions review, the files were also selectively weeded. Because not all folders were reviewed, only those most likely to contain problem materials, there is likely duplicates or low value materials in other sections of the collection. Major categories of weeded materials include discussions of salary increases for individual faculty members, duplicates, requests for furniture and equipment, receipts and travel plans, disciplinary cases that identified individuals, and news clippings from major national papers.

After weeding and restrictions were complete, oversize materials that had been folded to fit into folders were removed, flattened, and placed in oversize boxes. The finding aid and description was then updated.