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Norman Hackerman personal and professional papers

 Collection
Identifier: MS 0407
Finding aid note: Stored off-site at the Library Service Center. Please request this material via woodson@rice.edu or call 713-348-2586.

Scope and Contents

Professional and personal papers of chemist Dr. Norman Hackerman, the fourth president of Rice University (1970 - 1985), including correspondence, notes for speaking engagements, mainly concerning his membership in the National Science Foundation, National Science Board, and trips to Antarctica.

NOTE: Appointment books and itineraries, which contain a mixture of Rice-related and non-Rice-related entries, have been transfered to the Hackerman Presidential Papers (Boxes 125-128).

Dates

  • 1956-1986

Access Restriction

This material is open for research. Stored off-site at the Library Service Center. Please request this material via woodson@rice.edu or call 713-348-2586.

Use Restrictions

Permission to publish materials from this collection must be obtained from the Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University.

Biographical Note

Norman Hackerman served as Rice Univerity's fourth President from 1970 - 1985, after serving 25 years at the University of Texas. Immediately preceeding Hackerman was Acting President Frank Vandiver (1969-1970), who succeeded Kenneth Sanborn Pitzer.

During his tenure at Rice, the university launched the Jeese H. Jones Graduate School of Administration, and the Shepherd School of Music, as well as establishing separate engineering and social sciences schools, and new biochemistry, linguistics, and computer science departments. The endowment was significantly increased by his fundraising efforts, and the residential college system went co-ed under his approval.

Controversy touched his presidency in the early 1980s, when Rice hired Watson Brown as head football coach at a high salary, bringing many complaints from academic-oriented students and faculty. Hackerman reportedly considered the criticism a "commentary on society, not on [himself]".

Hackerman, a chemist, was born in Baltimore, MD in 1912, and graduated with bachelor's (1932) and doctoral (1935) degrees from Johns Hopkins University. He joined the University of Texas faculty as an assistant professor in 1945, and worked his way up through the academic ladder to become President in 1967.

Extent

5 Linear Feet (10 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Overview

Professional and personal papers of chemist Dr. Norman Hackerman, the fourth president of Rice University (1970 - 1985), including correspondence, notes for speaking engagements, etc., mainly concerning his membership in the National Science Foundation, National Science Board, and trips to Antarctica.

Arrangement

This material remains in the original order created and maintained by Dr. Hackerman. The files are arranged alphabetically and include correspondence, notes, and travel information.

Acquisition Information

Transferred from Dr. Norman Hackerman and Information Services, 1985 and 1986.

Subjects

Record Groups

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Guide to the Norman Hackerman personal and professional papers, 1956-1986
Status
Completed
Date
2015
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Woodson Research Center, Rice University, Houston, Texas Repository

https://library.rice.edu/woodson
Contact:
Fondren Library MS-44, Rice University
6100 Main St.
Houston Texas 77005 USA

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Harmful Content Statement
© 2023 Woodson Research Center
Fondren Library, Rice University
Physical Address: 6100 Main, Houston, Texas 77005-1827
Mailing Address: MS-44, P.O. Box 1892, Houston, Texas 77251-1892