History
The Berkeley Chancellorship was established in 1952. The President of the University was the chief administrative officer at Berkeley until July 1952. Between July 1945 and 1947 delegation of 'full authority, under the president, to administer the [academic] departments on the campus' was granted to a provost-at that time Monroe E. Deutsch. Following the retirement of Deutsch in 1947, the President again assumed direct administrative control of the campus until July 1952, when the first chancellor was appointed and directed to assume operating jurisdiction over the colleges, schools and other organizational units on the Berkeley campus in accordance with the policies of the Regents and of the President of the University.
Beginning with this date, therefore, the records of the Office of the Chancellor, represent the highest level records for the Berkeley campus. At the same time it must be said that the process of decentralization begun in the early 1950s continued for many years: it was not until 1960 that each campus had control over the administration of admissions offices, not until 1961 that each campus had authority over campus publications and graduate divisions. While campuses could nominate candidates to faculty positions, and while in 1954 the Regents acted only on appointments and promotions to tenure rank faculty, it was not until 1966 that chancellors were given authority to make tenure appointments and promotions of faculty and to approve all in-scale merit salary increases. And only in 1966 could chancellors award and execute construction contracts and appoint architects.
These records represent all phases of activity of the Chancellor's immediate office, not of just the Chancellor himself. Correspondence, memoranda, reports, etc., of the holders of various vice-chancellorial positions will also be found in these files, as well as interaction with academic schools, colleges and department, organized research units, the faculty (including the Academic Senate), student organizations, with campus and systemwide administrative offices, and with extra-university organizations such as the City of Berkeley.
From the guide to the Records of the Office of the Chancellor, University of California, Berkeley, 1952-[ongoing], (The University Archives.)
