Administrative records of the Department of Economics at the University of
Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The majority of the records date from the 1950's to the 1970's. They
document the development of masters and Ph.D. programs, committee business, impact of the
UWM on the surrounding community, and the daily affairs of the Department of Economics.
The correspondence files (1957-1973) consist of letters write to and from Chairs Arthur P.
Becker (1957-1963), M. Mason Gaffney (1963-1965), Richard Perlman (1965-1967), Melvin Lurie
(1968-1973), and Acting Chair Tong Hun Lee (June-December 1970). The correspondence files
document the daily functioning of the Department of Economics, program changes and concerns,
and the growth and accreditation of the masters and Ph.D. programs.
The correspondence of WWII servicemen to Dr. C. C. Janzen (1942-1946) are mainly personal
in nature, though some do make reference to the Department of Economics.
The records of the Department of Economics meetings (1956-1980) document departmental
concerns such as major requirements, information about various committees within the
Department of Economics, course descriptions and content, and personnel concerns.
The executive committee records include minutes of the weekly meetings of the committee.
The committee consisted of the chair of the department and select professors and dealt with
staffing concerns, promotion concerns, and salary concerns within the Economics
Department.
Graduate program in economics (1963-1972) records document proposals for, creation of, and
administration of a masters program in education. The records outline the program offerings
and requirements, reasons why the University should have a masters program, development of
the program, and its administration. Once the masters degree was part of the curriculum
(1963), the minutes of the Graduate Committee are also included in these records. Records in
the late 1960's include discussion of the Ph.D. program.
The Graduate Faculty Committee records include minutes of committee meetings (1962-1975).
These concern the development of the graduate program, program requirements, and changes in
the program.
The Joint Conference Committee of the Department of Economics (1957-1960) contain
correspondence concerning and minutes of the meeting of the Joint Conference Committee. The
committee consisted of professors from the Department of Economics at UW-Milwaukee and
UW-Madison. The minutes deal with staffing and course requirements and offerings.
The Joint Council on Economic Education records deal with the establishment of a Joint
Council on Economic Education and the National Joint Council on Economic Education. The
records include correspondence and meeting minutes which discuss the need for requirements
on economic education in elementary and secondary schools, how to implement these
requirements and enable schools to meet them. The Joint Council was meant to facilitate this
education by expanding training for teachers and developing consultants. This led to the
creation of the Wisconsin Center for Economic Education, which gave training in economics
education to primary and secondary school teachers.
The records of the National Defense Education Act (NDEA) Institute for Advanced Study in
Economics (1967-1968) include reports by Dr. Leon Schur at UWM about the objectives of the
institute and the courses offered to achieve these objectives. The records also include a
"Sample Teaching Unit and Conceptual Framework for Grades K-6."
The Ph.D. Program in Economics (1967-1969) records include proposals for the program, and
requests for accreditation.
