Frank Newman was born on February 24, 1927, in Orinda, California. He graduated from Brown University in 1946 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Naval Science and Economics. In 1949 he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering, also from Brown. Later that year he traveled to England, where he studied economics at Oxford University. Upon returning to the States, Newman began working for the Honeywell Regulator Company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His last position at Honeywell was as a market manager in New York, N.Y. He graduated from Columbia University with a Master of Science in Business Administration, which he earned during his employment at Honeywell. In 1955 he started a new job with Beckman Instruments, Inc., where he worked until 1966, ending his employment for Berkeley as Division Manager in Richmond, California.
Newman began working as Director of University Relations for Stanford University in 1967. His responsibilities included federal, state, and public relations management, public and cultural events coordinator. He was also Associate General Secretary, and participated on the President's staff. In 1969, while still Director of University Relations at Stanford, Newman was asked by Secretary Robert Finch of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) to chair the first Task Force on Higher Education. The project was being funded by the Ford Foundation and Newman was given the opportunity to choose the people he wanted to serve on the task force. He selected a handful of education professionals, but most of the research and preparation was done by interns and university students. In 1971, they presented HEW Secretary Elliot Richardson with the 130 page Report on Higher Education. This was the first of two documents that later became known as the "Newman Reports." The findings revealed that many of the federal financial aid policies available to students of higher education were inordinately selective and biased towards the agendas of the institutions that regulated them. The report was received enthusiastically by HEW officials, but remained controversial and widely debated in the academic community.
In 1973, the Assistant Secretary of HEW, Sidney P. Marland, appointed a second Task Force to recommend an itemized plan to address the problems raised in the first Report on Higher Education. This project was supported by the federal government and received national attention. Newman was again chosen as chairman of the Task Force on Higher Education and, in January of 1974, he and his staff produced The Report on National Policy and Higher Education. This second report recommended increased funding for work-study and internship programs, tuition credit for community service modeled after the G. I. Bill, and increased fellowships for graduate students. It also strongly recommended that the federal government adopt a strict anti-trust position toward organized professions, such as the medical and legal, and investigate prerequisites for certifying and licensing examinations. Both these reports helped generate expanded student scholarship and loan programs and encouraged increased educational opportunities for minorities.
Newman became the eighth president of the University of Rhode Island on August 1, 1974, succeeding Dr. Werner A. Baum and academic vice president Dr. William R. Ferrante, who had served as acting president during the interim. The selection process was one of the most extended and involved in the University's history. It took an eleven-member panel six months to review 389 applications and recommendations. The panel consisted of four faculty members, two administrators, two students, an alumni representative, a regent, and a member of the staff of the state commissioner of education. The field was narrowed to three candidates and further inquiries were conducted until one was chosen.
In 1981, Newman received a Ph. D. in History from Stanford University. His dissertation, "The Era of Expertise: the Growth, the Spread and Ultimately the Decline of the National Commitment to the Concept of the Highly Trained Expert, 1945 to 1970," focused on the success of higher education institutions to adapt to rapid advancements in technology while at the same time adapting to unpredictable economic environments.
Newman served as President for nine years until July 31, 1983, when he resigned to accept a presidential fellowship with the Carnegie Foundation, where he was asked to develop a new national policy on education. During his tenure at URI, he managed to secure over 25 million dollars in annual funding for University research within the oceanography, resource economics, robotics and pharmacy programs, which in due course gained international prestige. His emphasis on human resource development and academic excellence helped keep the University of Rhode Island's reputation intact despite numerous state and federal budget cuts throughout the latter half of his presidency.
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Frank Newman Papers, Mss. Gr. 152, University of Rhode Island.
These records contain files on Newman's activities before and during his tenure at the University of Rhode Island. Much of the collection revolves around Newman's work with the two federal task forces on higher education that he was chairman of in the early 1970's. A large percentage of this collection is devoted to research material he used to write his dissertation in the early 1980's. The actual notes, drafts, and copies of the dissertation are contained in Series II. There is also a correspondence series that contains general correspondence files organized chronologically from 1977 to 1982, as well as correspondence that is filed by subject and person. The last series contains published material relating to the task force projects and miscellaneous publications.
Series I, Subject Files, consists of records pertaining to trusteeships, federal task force projects, post-URI plans, events attended, drafts and criticisms of speeches and reports, news articles and releases on the "Newman Reports," political science course materials, interspersed correspondence, and several files on women's issues. Also included are five black and white photographs of Newman giving a classroom lecture. These records are filed alphabetically by subject.
Series II, Research, is organized alphabetically by subject. These records were used as research materials for Newman's dissertation, "The Era of Expertise: the Growth, the Spread and Ultimately the Decline of the National Commitment to the Concept of the Highly Trained Expert, 1945 to 1970." They consist of news and journal articles, government reports, correspondence, published government and private reports, handwritten and typed notes, business directories, scholarly journal articles, data sheets, and company profile booklets.
Series III, Dissertation, is organized alphabetically by subject matter. These records represent the work performed by Newman on his dissertation, "The Era of Expertise: the Growth, the Spread and Ultimately the Decline of the National Commitment to the Concept of the Highly Trained Expert, 1945 to 1970," for which he received a Ph. D. in History from Stanford University in 1981. Separate folders are included for bibliographies, first and second rough drafts, and style sheets. Box 19 contains the notes for each chapter, one through eight, plus the epilogue.
Series IV, Correspondence, is filed alphabetically by subject. Most of these files consist of general correspondence that contain letters to and from colleagues in the education, business, and political fields. Many of the letters express congratulations and thanks for favorable comments on past and present successes. There are also files on personnel, inauguration, promotion and tenure, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, and the University of Rhode Island's Administrative Council.
Series V, Publications, consists of one document box containing a paperback copy of the Report on Higher Education; a hardcover copy of
The collection is arranged into five series as follows:
The Frank Newman Papers were transferred to Special Collections from the Carlotti Administrative Building in several installments between 1984 and 1985. They were part of a larger collection called Records of the President's Office, which are kept in the University Archives. Since these records were not generated by activities associated with the University of Rhode Island, they were set aside and treated as a manuscript group.
The Subject Files consist of records pertaining to trusteeships, federal task force projects, plans for events following tenure at the University of Rhode Island, events attended, drafts and criticisms of speeches and reports, news articles and releases on the "Newman Reports," political science course materials, interspersed correspondence, and several files on women's issues. Also included are five black and white photographs on Newman giving a classroom lecture. These records are filed alphabetically by subject.
Newman was a member of the Board of Trustees of Barnard College and some of those files are included in this series. These records contain reports of academic programs, investment and funding data sheets, correspondence from faculty and administration, and news articles pertaining to the activities of the college. Newman was also a member of the Carnegie Foundation for which he assumed a presidential fellowship after his resignation from the University of Rhode Island. These files include agendas, financial statements, project outlines, correspondence from within the organization, and a report to the Board of Trustees from President Ernest L. Boyer.
Of note are the many news clippings, press releases, and journal articles relating to the "Newman Reports" that Newman kept. Included are also criticisms and correspondence on the "Reports," as well as notes and special reports from various government agencies covering the years from 1971 to 1974.
Newman also taught a political science course in 1970 and 1971 at Stanford University as an associate professor. The course materials for these classes are located in two folders titled "Political Science Course."
During Newman's tenure at URI, the issue of equal opportunity for female staff and faculty members was particularly controversial. Consequently, there are several folders at the end of this series devoted to this topic. Records include correspondence, reports, recommendations, assembly bills, and research project agendas.
These records were used as research materials for Newman's dissertation, "The Era of Expertise: the Growth, the Spread and Ultimately the Decline of the National Commitment to the Concept of the Highly Trained Expert, 1945 to 1970." They consist of news and journal articles, government reports, correspondence, published government and private reports, handwritten and typed notes, business directories, scholarly journal articles, data sheets, and company profile booklets.
One of the dominant themes running through Newman's dissertation was the success of higher education institutions in adapting to rapid advancements in technology while adapting to unpredictable economic environments. Accordingly, there are several folders full of research material relating to the burgeoning computer and semi-conductor industries between 1950 and 1972. Newman was interested in how the Russian advancements in satellite technology induced the United States to take a new approach to its educational programs and a number of files dealing with economic history, education, and the Cold War are included as well. Other topics that Newman kept material on emphasize international technology competition, the industrial revolution, history of corporations, and materials relating to technological developments in Mexico, Russia, India, Japan and Israel. A folder titled, Thesis Draft Notes, contains notes for a research paper Newman wrote while at Stanford University.
This series is organized alphabetically by subject.
This series contains materials relating directly to Newman's dissertation, "The Era of Expertise: the Growth, the Spread and Ultimately the Decline of the National Commitment to the Concept of the Highly Trained Expert, 1945 to 1970," for which he received a Ph.D. in History from Stanford University in 1981. There are folders designated for bibliographies, first and second rough drafts, and style sheets. Box 19 contains the notes for each chapter, one through eight, plus the epilogue.
The correspondence files consist of letters and memoranda to and from colleagues in the education, business, and political fields. Correspondence on personnel, inauguration, promotion and tenure, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW), and the University of Rhode Island's Administrative Council is also included.
The bulk of this series is filed under a "General" subject heading reflecting the original organization. These folders contain a miscellany of memoranda, personal letters, and administrative and professional correspondence. They are filed chronologically from 1975 to February 1982. Correspondence from Acting URI President William Ferrante in 1974, as well as HEW Secretaries Sidney P. Marland and Richard Elliot, is also included. Other folders include correspondence relating to Newman's resumes and to candidates requesting promotion and tenure.
This series consists of one document box containing a paperback copy of the