LibGuides: A Verbal History of Erie Community College: Audio and Transcript

James E. Shenton's History in its Original Format

Photo credit: Matthew Best, 2010.

Pictured above are the tapes and transcript material included with the master version of James E. Shenton's oral history of Erie Community College. These audio recordings and transcript documents represent Mr. Shenton's memoirs of the college from its inception in 1946 to his retirement in August, 1974. The master recordings and transcipt were created in 1982. They are housed in the Erie Community College Archives, located in the Dry Memorial Library on the College's North Campus in Williamsville, NY.

Streaming Audio

Tape One: 1946 through 1947, (23 min., 19 sec.)
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1946 through 1947: [Introduction by Margaret Barrey] The Board of Regents' Post-War Plan first suggests starting two-year technical education in New York State. The beginning of the New York State Institute of Applied Arts and Sciences on Elmwood Avenue is related through many anecdotes. The experiences converting the Pierce-Arrow Plant into a two-year college are vividly described. Also included: State funding problems, explanation of the Co-op Program, and the first College President, Richard R. Dry.
Tape Two: 1948 through 1955, (15 min., 24 sec.)
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1948 through 1955: The State University system in New York is created. The dedication of the Elmwood Avenue Campus and first graduation are described. Funding for the college changes from State to County fiscal control as a direct result of the Community College Law, Article 126. The college becomes Erie County Technical Institute (ECTI).
Tape Three: 1955 through 1960, (16 min., 28 sec.)
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1955 through 1960: The first faculty dinning room is created. Mr. Shenton reflects on the Elmwood Avenue Campus in the "early years," college organizations and publications, and Lawrence E. Spring's presidency. Expansion into a permanent, suburban campus is considered. Also included are the selection of the Amherst site, ground-breaking, and move to the new Amherst Campus. The Richard R. Dry Memorial Library is the first named building at the Amherst Campus. Mr. Shenton becomes Associate Dean in June, 1960.
Tape Four: 1960 through 1966, (23 min., 34 sec.)
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1960 through 1966: Classes begin on the Amherst Campus. Finishing touches are completed on the Amherst Campus. Mr. Shenton becomes Dean in May 1963. President Lawrence E. Spring dies in the fall and Mr. Shenton becomes acting College President on November 1, 1963. Co-op Program is phased-out. Enrollment grows rapidly. Liberal Arts Curriculum begins. Plans for expanding the Amherst Campus begin. The Urban Center is created in downtown Buffalo, N.Y. Planning for the creation of the South and City Campuses begins.
Tape Five: 1966 through 1974, (24 min., 14 sec.)
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1966 through 1974: Building expansion is completed and Middle States Accreditation is pursued for the Amherst Campus. Site selections and openings of what later become South and City Campuses are detailed. President Shenton recalls the challenges of multi-campus operation and the one-college concept. The college changes its name to Erie Community College - North, South, and City campuses. (An explanation of college versus county fiscal responsibilities under Community College Law, Article 126 appears only on page 44 of the original transcript and also on page 64 of the corrected transcript.)
Tape Six: 1946 through 1974, (17 min., 41 sec.)
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1946 through 1974: College governance changes over the years as the Taylor Law is enacted. The relationship between faculty and administration is discussed along with their joint efforts to get more control over college finances and privileges such as sabbatical leaves. Mr. Shenton concludes by remembering the college's 25th Anniversary in 1971, his permanent appointment to College President by inauguration in 1966, and his retirement celebration in 1974.
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If you experience problems with the audio controls, click the links to each tape to download the audio files and play them as MP3 files through your device's default media player.

Transcript

View the original outline of the tapes as a PDF
May be searched by word or phrase.
View the original transcript of the tapes as a PDF
Contains chapter bookmarks and may be searched by word or phrase.
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This is the original typed transcript of Mr. Shenton's Verbal History of Erie Community College. It was first produced in 1982 along with six corresponding audio recordings. The transcript was reproduced digitally in 2011 using optical character recognition (OCR). The OCR results were proofread and corrected to match the text as it was originally typed. Any grammatical, typographical, or spelling errors were retained from the original. The results are a fully searchable document that looks just as it did when it was created in 1982.
View the corrected transcript as a PDF
Presents the text of the original transcript edited to correct typographical and spelling errors. A larger font was also selected to improve readability. Contains chapter bookmarks and may be searched by word or phrase.
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