Sam Chauncey
Encyclopedia
Henry "Sam" Chauncey, Jr. was a longtime administrator at Yale University
. He has been credited in part with management of the volatile atmosphere on campus and in New Haven, Connecticut
associated with the New Haven Black Panther trials
.
Chauncey was appointed in 1963 as a special assistant to then Yale President Kingman Brewster, 1963–1977. He had been a student at Groton School
before Yale. Senior year he had worked in the University Secretary's office. He graduated with the Yale Class of 1957.
Chauncey is a descendant of Yale College's first graduate, and his father, Henry Chauncey, was founder and head of the Educational Testing Service
, and an important aide to James Bryant Conant
, Harvard's president, 1933–1953, when that school expanded its admissions net. Chauncey did likewise for Brewster, with R. Inslee Clark, Jr.
, much as his father did for Conant in recruiting and admitting incoming classes more diverse and academically able than their predecessors.
Rather than the apocalyptic student riot that consumed Kent State University
on May 4, 1970, Yale, under the leadership of Kingman Brewster on behalf of the faculty and Kurt Schmoke
on behalf of the undergraduates, embraced and then managed the spirit of the protest. The protest lasted two days, May 1 and 2.
Brewster and Chauncey met with Archibald Cox
of Harvard to discuss what went awry April 15, 1970 in Cambridge, Massachusetts
at a protest organized by an offshoot of the white radical group Students for a Democratic Society
(SDS). The consensus was locking the gates to the university incited the violence, and it had done likewise at Columbia University
. Abbie Hoffman
vowed that Yale would burn May 1 after the experience at Harvard.
The transition to a co-ed from all-male Yale undergraduate student body was managed by Chauncey. "I wanted straight coeducation. I thought the Vassar thing, frankly, was stupid," he remarked about the plan to bring Vassar College
to New Haven as a coordinate campus to Yale, akin to Radcliffe
's relation to Harvard or Pembroke College
to Brown
or Barnard College
to Columbia. The idea was dubbed "the Vassar flirtation" in the press. The Yale Corporation
voted to accept women to Yale College on a full coeducational basis beginning in the fall of 1969.
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. He has been credited in part with management of the volatile atmosphere on campus and in New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
associated with the New Haven Black Panther trials
New Haven Black Panther trials
In 1970 there were a series of criminal prosecutions in New Haven, Connecticut against various members of the Black Panther Party. The charges ranged from criminal conspiracy to felony murder. All indictments stemmed from the murder of nineteen-year-old Alex Rackley in the early hours of May 21,...
.
Chauncey was appointed in 1963 as a special assistant to then Yale President Kingman Brewster, 1963–1977. He had been a student at Groton School
Groton School
Groton School is a private, Episcopal, college preparatory boarding school located in Groton, Massachusetts, U.S. It enrolls approximately 375 boys and girls, from the eighth through twelfth grades...
before Yale. Senior year he had worked in the University Secretary's office. He graduated with the Yale Class of 1957.
Chauncey is a descendant of Yale College's first graduate, and his father, Henry Chauncey, was founder and head of the Educational Testing Service
Educational Testing Service
Educational Testing Service , founded in 1947, is the world's largest private nonprofit educational testing and assessment organization...
, and an important aide to James Bryant Conant
James Bryant Conant
James Bryant Conant was a chemist, educational administrator, and government official. As thePresident of Harvard University he reformed it as a research institution.-Biography :...
, Harvard's president, 1933–1953, when that school expanded its admissions net. Chauncey did likewise for Brewster, with R. Inslee Clark, Jr.
R. Inslee Clark, Jr.
Russell Inslee "Ink" Clark, Jr. was an educator, administrator, and a key player in the transition of the Ivy League into co-education in the 1960s.-Personal life:Clark was born in 1935 and graduated from Garden City High School in 1953....
, much as his father did for Conant in recruiting and admitting incoming classes more diverse and academically able than their predecessors.
Rather than the apocalyptic student riot that consumed Kent State University
Kent State University
Kent State University is a public research university located in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university has eight campuses around the northeast Ohio region with the main campus in Kent being the largest...
on May 4, 1970, Yale, under the leadership of Kingman Brewster on behalf of the faculty and Kurt Schmoke
Kurt Schmoke
Kurt Lidell Schmoke is the Dean of the Howard University School of Law and a former mayor of Baltimore, Maryland. The son of Murray and Irene B. Reid , he attended the public schools of Baltimore...
on behalf of the undergraduates, embraced and then managed the spirit of the protest. The protest lasted two days, May 1 and 2.
Brewster and Chauncey met with Archibald Cox
Archibald Cox
Archibald Cox, Jr., was an American lawyer and law professor who served as U.S. Solicitor General under President John F. Kennedy. He became known as the first special prosecutor for the Watergate scandal. During his career, he was a pioneering expert on labor law and also an authority on...
of Harvard to discuss what went awry April 15, 1970 in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
at a protest organized by an offshoot of the white radical group Students for a Democratic Society
Students for a Democratic Society (1960 organization)
Students for a Democratic Society was a student activist movement in the United States that was one of the main iconic representations of the country's New Left. The organization developed and expanded rapidly in the mid-1960s before dissolving at its last convention in 1969...
(SDS). The consensus was locking the gates to the university incited the violence, and it had done likewise at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. Abbie Hoffman
Abbie Hoffman
Abbot Howard "Abbie" Hoffman was a political and social activist who co-founded the Youth International Party ....
vowed that Yale would burn May 1 after the experience at Harvard.
The transition to a co-ed from all-male Yale undergraduate student body was managed by Chauncey. "I wanted straight coeducation. I thought the Vassar thing, frankly, was stupid," he remarked about the plan to bring Vassar College
Vassar College
Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...
to New Haven as a coordinate campus to Yale, akin to Radcliffe
Radcliffe
- Places :England* Radcliffe, Greater Manchester, England** Radcliffe Tower, the remains of a medieval manor house in the town* Radcliffe, Northumberland, England* Radcliffe-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, EnglandUnited States* Radcliffe, Iowa, USA...
's relation to Harvard or Pembroke College
Pembroke College (Brown University)
Pembroke College in Brown University was the coordinate women's college for Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1891 and closed in 1971.-Founding and early history:...
to Brown
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
or Barnard College
Barnard College
Barnard College is a private women's liberal arts college and a member of the Seven Sisters. Founded in 1889, Barnard has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1900. The campus stretches along Broadway between 116th and 120th Streets in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough...
to Columbia. The idea was dubbed "the Vassar flirtation" in the press. The Yale Corporation
Yale Corporation
The Yale Corporation, sometimes, and more formally, known as The President and Fellows of Yale College, is the governing body of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.The Corporation comprises 19 members:...
voted to accept women to Yale College on a full coeducational basis beginning in the fall of 1969.