Title: Ira Steinberg Papers, 1959-1987

ID: RG 30/111

Extent: 12.6 Linear Feet

Ira Sherman Steinberg was born in Boston, Massachusetts on 12 January 1933. He received the B.A. degree in Economics from Brandeis University in 1954, the Ed. M. from Boston University in 1959, and the Ed. D. from Harvard University in 1963. From 1954 to 1956, Steinberg served as an Assistant Buyer for the Boston department store of Filene and Sons and then as a draftee in the U.S. Army in Korea. He married Priscilla Sawyer (b. 1933) in 1955. The Steinbergs had three children: Daniel, Jill, and Ethan.

Steinberg's teaching career began in academic year 1958-1959 in the Natick, Massachusetts Public Schools. In 1961, Steinberg became Instructor in Education at Oberlin College, reaching the rank of Professor in 1975. His teaching centered on the social and philosophical foundations of education, the philosophy of social science, and American philosophy. From 1975 to 1978, he served as Chairman of the Department of Education. He taught in the department until its discontinuation in 1978 when his tenure was transferred to the Department of Philosophy. He has been a visiting professor at Brown University (Summer 1971) and the University of British Columbia (Summer 1977); Visiting Academic at the University of London's Institute of Education (1974-1975); and Subfaculty at Oxford University (1980,1983). His most recent publications include Behaviorism and Schooling (1980) and The New Lost Generation: Population and Public Policy (1982). He has authored numerous articles and reviews and has been an active member of the professional organizations in his field.

In addition to his teaching in the departments of Education and Philosophy, Steinberg was involved in the creation, administration, and evaluation of several special academic programs. From 1975 to 1978, he chaired the Special Educational Opportunities Program, helping to develop, coordinate, and fund minority education programs at Oberlin. Within the Department of Education as Chairman, he supervised the training and certification of undergraduate candidates for the secondary school teaching credential as well as candidates for the Elementary and Secondary Master's in Teaching degree. He served on the M.A.T. faculty committees, working closely with officials from the Ohio Department of Education. In 1985, he served as Chairman of the Educational Plans and Policies Committee which reviewed the Department of Physical Education.

In 1987, after nine years of teaching in the Department of Philosophy, Steinberg was appointed Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. In this position, Steinberg oversaw the Office of Student Academic Affairs and reviews policy and practices relating to Academic Advising, Distribution Guidelines, and the Freshman Year. He was also responsible for the budgeting and fiscal management of the College of Arts and Sciences. After a year on sabbatical, he returned to the teaching faculty and the Department of Philosophy in FY 1996-1997. He retired from teaching in 1998.

Author: Valerie S. Komor

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Scope and Contents:

The Ira Steinberg Papers (1959-1987) document the academic career of their creator, a member of the Arts and Sciences faculty of Oberlin College since 1961. The records span Steinberg's teaching career in the departments of Education (1961-1978) and Philosophy (1978-), including his chairmanship of the Department of Education (1975-1978). The records do not document his present activities as Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (1987-1994?). There is virtually no information in this collection relating to Steinberg's personal life, except for several letters from his friend and colleague Professor Jonas F. Soltis.

The records consist of correspondence, minutes, memoranda, computer printouts, teaching materials, and writings, including manuscript drafts of books, articles, talks, and book reviews. The collection is divided into six records series: I. Academic Teaching Files, 1963-1987; II. Committee Files, 1963-1978; II I. Correspondence Files, 1959-1972; IV. Historical Files, Department of Education, 1961-1980; V. Professional Activities, 1965-1982; and VI. Writings and Talks, 1960-1982. Within the series, the papers are typically arranged alphabetically by type of document and thereunder chronologically.

The papers thoroughly document Steinberg's teaching, his membership in professional organizations, consulting projects, and scholarship, but their overall research value lies predominantly in the Committee Files (Series II) and in the Historical Files of the Department of Education (Series IV). The Committee Files (1963-1978) provide a detailed chronology of the work of the Special Educational Opportunities Program Committee from its beginning in 1963 to 1978. Steinberg assisted Professor Kiyoshi Ikeda (b. 1928) in the work of the committee during SEOP's early years (1963-1973) and served as Chairman of the SEOP Committee from 1975-1978. This committee oversaw the development of supportive educational programs for students from culturally diverse backgrounds. The SEOP Committee files, created by Professor Ikeda and inherited by Ira Steinberg, document all aspects of program development, fund-raising, student recruitment and admissions, and educational services for minorities. Except for a gap from 1967 to 1969, the files provide a thorough record of Oberlin's commitment to minority education during the mid-nineteen sixties and the seventies.

Series IV, Historical Files, Department of Education, includes departmental records for the years 1961-1980 relating to the administration, review, and discontinuation of the department and its replacement by the short-lived "Program in Education." Administrative files include faculty meeting minutes only for the period 1969-1973. Consult Record Group 9, Department of Education, for minutes of earlier and succeeding years. Extensive inter-office memoranda, departmental correspondence (1969-1973), and dean's office correspondence (1975-1977) provide information relating to curriculum changes in the department, the Educational Plans and Policies Committee review of the department and its M.A.T. programs (1971), and ongoing budgetary and staffing problems. The M.A.T. program files (1963-1971) document fully the administration of both Elementary and Secondary M.A.T. programs. Records relating to teacher certification (1976-1979) reveal the difficulties faced by one liberal arts college, Oberlin, in meeting increased state certification requirements for teachers.

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

Series I. Academic Teaching Files, 1963-1987 (2 l.f.)

The Academic Teaching Files are arranged into four subseries: 1. Regular Courses, 2. Winter Term Courses, 3. Classbooks, and 4. Special Academic Programs. The Regular Courses files and Special Academic Program files are arranged alphabetically by course or program name. The Winter Term Courses files are chronologically arranged, as are the five spiral classbooks.

Subseries 1. Regular Courses, 1969-1987 (31 folders)

Includes course descriptions, midterm, final exam, and essay assignments, bibliographies, and student papers for courses taught by Steinberg in the Departments of Education and Philosophy.

Subseries 2. Winter Term Courses, 1972-1979 (4f)

Includes course descriptions, outlines, and supporting correspondence relating to the planning of Steinberg's winter term courses.

Subseries 3. Classbooks, 1962-1973 (5 spiral notebooks)

These notebooks contain student names and grades received in classes taught by Steinberg.

Subseries 4. Special Academic Programs, 1963-1984, n.d. (17f)

These files contain correspondence, printed materials, interoffice memos, and unpublished reports relating to the implementation and operation of several special or experimental academic programs, many of them aimed at minority students. Programs include the Apprenticeship in the Social Sciences, the Cooperative Urban Studies Center, and Upward Bound. Also filed here are Steinberg's records of his teaching for the Peace Corps training program at Oberlin (1963-1964).

Series II. Committee Files, 1963-1978 (4 l.f., 78f)

Committee Files are arranged alphabetically by committee name and contain interoffice correspondence between committee members and committee meeting minutes. Included are the Admissions Committee, the Honors Committee, and the Committee to Review Minority Programs. The Special Educational Opportunities Program Committee files comprise 2.5 linear feet of this series. These files are alphabetically arranged by type of material and chronologically arranged thereunder. They include carbon copies of SEOP Committee meeting agendas and minutes, correspondence from Committee chairmen, financial aid records, foundation profiles, student statistics, and reports. Also filed here are the records of the SEOP subcommittees, alphabetically arranged by subcommittee name.

Series III. Correspondence Files, 1959-1972, 1966-1980, n.d. (0.4 l.f.)

The correspondence series is arranged into two subseries, Correspondence 1959-1972, n.d., and Name and Subject Files.

Subseries 1. Correspondence, 1959-1962, n.d. (6f)

Incoming correspondence is chronologically arranged. It is largely personal in nature and includes a series of letters from Jonas F. Soltis of the Teachers College at Columbia University, as well as letters from Harvard faculty relating to the completion of Steinberg's Ed.D. thesis.

Subseries 2. Correspondence (by name and subject) 1966-1980 (4f)

These files are arranged alphabetically by name or subject and include incoming correspondence from English scholar Rom Harre, Department of Education Chairman Frank Laycock, and various publishers. The Kazepides file relates to a Greek court case (1980).

Series IV. Historical Files, Department of Education, 1961-1980 (1.8 l.f.)

These files relate to Steinberg's administrative activities for the Department of Education and its successor, the Program in Education. They are arranged into six subseries: 1. Administrative Files, 2. M.A.T. Program Files, 3. Program in Education Files, 4. Receipt Books, 5. Teacher Education Files, 6. Teacher Certification Files.

Subseries 1. Administrative Files, 1968-1980 (7f)

These files are alphabetically arranged by type of material and include inter-office memoranda (1969-1973), Dean's office correspondence (1975-1977), and minutes of departmental faculty meetings (1969-1973).

Subseries 2. M.A.T. Program Files, 1963-1971 (0.65 l.f.)

This subseries contains student applications, resumes, and classroom observation reports; M.A.T. Committee meeting minutes; and correspondence.

Subseries 3. Program in Education Files, 1978-1980 (2f)

These files include memos and correspondence from Chairman Ira Steinberg to Dean Robert Longsworth relating to the formation and subsequent discontinuation of the Program in Education.

Subseries 4. Receipt Books, 1977-1978 (1f)

Two receipt books of departmental expenditures with carbon receipts signed by Steinberg.

Subseries 5. Teacher Education Files, 1961-1977 (3f)

These files include the records of Project 419, a state-funded project to improve teacher education in Ohio; project reports by Project Director Ira Steinberg; and supporting correspondence between Steinberg and the state's Project Administrator, Patricia Mills. Also filed here are materials relating to a 1968 conference held at Baldwin-Wallace College on Teacher Preparation in Liberal Arts Colleges.

Subseries 6. Teacher Certification Files, 1976-1979 (6f)

Included in these files are letters to Department of Education Chairman Ira Steinberg from Paul W. Hailey, Director of State Teacher Education and Certification, regarding Oberlin's compliance with the 300 hour practice-teaching requirement. Includes the State's report of their On-Site Evaluation of Oberlin College for March 1977.

Series V. Professional Activities, 1965-1982 (2.0 l.f.)

This series is divided into four subseries: 1. Consulting Projects, 2. Professional Affiliations, 3. Research Proposals and Grants, and 4. Teaching Appointments outside Oberlin.

Subseries 1. Consulting Projects, 1967-1971 (5f)

These files are arranged alphabetically and mainly include the records of the Elyria Project for Innovative Curriculum (EPIC).

Subseries 2. Professional Affiliations, 1965-1982 (18f)

Professional Affiliation files are arranged alphabetically by name of organization. They contain memos, meeting agendas, copies of papers presented at conferences, and correspondence between committee members relating to speaker selection and program funding.

Subseries 3. Research Proposals and Grants, 1969-1979 (9f)

These files are arranged alphabetically by granting institution and include research proposals and supporting correspondence. Includes some research materials, 1965-1981, collected by Steinberg.

Subseries 4. Teaching Appointments Outside Oberlin, 1959-1961, 1971, 1977-1978 (4f)

Includes files chronologically arranged documenting early teaching done at Harvard University (1959-1961) and summer teaching appointments at Brown University (1971) and at the University of British Columbia (1977).

Series VI. Writings and Talks, 1960-1982 (2.4 l.f.)

This series is arranged into four subseries: 1. Articles, 2. Books, 3. Reviews, and 4. Talks. Within each subseries, writings are arranged alphabetically by title.

Subseries 1. Articles, 1960-1982 (17f)

Subseries 2. Books, 1967-1982 (28f)

Subseries 3. Reviews, 1970-1973 (4f)

Subseries 4. Talks, 1965-1978 (10f)

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