Ira Steinberg Papers

Collection

Identifier: RG 30-111

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Ira Steinberg Papers (1959-1987) document the academic career of their creator, a member of the Arts and Sciences faculty of Oberlin College since 1961. The records span Steinberg's teaching career in the departments of Education (1961-1978) and Philosophy (1978-), including his chairmanship of the Department of Education (1975-1978). The records do not document his present activities as Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (1987-1994?). There is virtually no information in this collection relating to Steinberg's personal life, except for several letters from his friend and colleague Professor Jonas F. Soltis.

The records consist of correspondence, minutes, memoranda, computer printouts, teaching materials, and writings, including manuscript drafts of books, articles, talks, and book reviews. The collection is divided into six records series: I. Academic Teaching Files, 1963-1987; II. Committee Files, 1963-1978; II I. Correspondence Files, 1959-1972; IV. Historical Files, Department of Education, 1961-1980; V. Professional Activities, 1965-1982; and VI. Writings and Talks, 1960-1982. Within the series, the papers are typically arranged alphabetically by type of document and thereunder chronologically.

The papers thoroughly document Steinberg's teaching, his membership in professional organizations, consulting projects, and scholarship, but their overall research value lies predominantly in the Committee Files (Series II) and in the Historical Files of the Department of Education (Series IV). The Committee Files (1963-1978) provide a detailed chronology of the work of the Special Educational Opportunities Program Committee from its beginning in 1963 to 1978. Steinberg assisted Professor Kiyoshi Ikeda (b. 1928) in the work of the committee during SEOP's early years (1963-1973) and served as Chairman of the SEOP Committee from 1975-1978. This committee oversaw the development of supportive educational programs for students from culturally diverse backgrounds. The SEOP Committee files, created by Professor Ikeda and inherited by Ira Steinberg, document all aspects of program development, fund-raising, student recruitment and admissions, and educational services for minorities. Except for a gap from 1967 to 1969, the files provide a thorough record of Oberlin's commitment to minority education during the mid-nineteen sixties and the seventies.

Series IV, Historical Files, Department of Education, includes departmental records for the years 1961-1980 relating to the administration, review, and discontinuation of the department and its replacement by the short-lived "Program in Education." Administrative files include faculty meeting minutes only for the period 1969-1973. Consult Record Group 9, Department of Education, for minutes of earlier and succeeding years. Extensive inter-office memoranda, departmental correspondence (1969-1973), and dean's office correspondence (1975-1977) provide information relating to curriculum changes in the department, the Educational Plans and Policies Committee review of the department and its M.A.T. programs (1971), and ongoing budgetary and staffing problems. The M.A.T. program files (1963-1971) document fully the administration of both Elementary and Secondary M.A.T. programs. Records relating to teacher certification (1976-1979) reveal the difficulties faced by one liberal arts college, Oberlin, in meeting increased state certification requirements for teachers.

Dates

Creation: 1959 - 1987
Other: Date acquired: 09/22/1975

Conditions Governing Access

Access by permission of the Archivist.

Biographical Sketch

Ira Sherman Steinberg was born in Boston, Massachusetts on 12 January 1933 to Bernard George (1910-1990) and Ruth Brilliant Steinberg (1911-1978). He received the B.A. degree in Economics from Brandeis University in 1954, the Ed. M. from Boston University in 1959, and the Ed. D. from Harvard University in 1963. From 1954 to 1956, Steinberg served as an Assistant Buyer for the Boston department store of Filene and Sons and then as a draftee in the U.S. Army in Korea. He married Priscilla Sawyer (b. 1933) in 1955. The Steinbergs had three children: Daniel (b. 1959), Jill, and Ethan.

Steinberg's teaching career began in academic year 1958-1959 in the Natick, Massachusetts Public Schools. In 1961, Steinberg became Instructor in Education at Oberlin College, reaching the rank of Professor in 1975. His teaching centered on the social and philosophical foundations of education, the philosophy of social science, and American philosophy. From 1975 to 1978, he served as Chairman of the Department of Education. He taught in the department until its discontinuation in 1978 when his tenure was transferred to the Department of Philosophy. He has been a visiting professor at Brown University (Summer 1971) and the University of British Columbia (Summer 1977); Visiting Academic at the University of London's Institute of Education (1974-1975); and Subfaculty at Oxford University (1980,1983). His most recent publications include Behaviorism and Schooling (1980) and The New Lost Generation: Population and Public Policy (1982). He has authored numerous articles and reviews and has been an active member of the professional organizations in his field.

In addition to his teaching in the departments of Education and Philosophy, Steinberg was involved in the creation, administration, and evaluation of several special academic programs. From 1975 to 1978, he chaired the Special Educational Opportunities Program, helping to develop, coordinate, and fund minority education programs at Oberlin. Within the Department of Education as Chairman, he supervised the training and certification of undergraduate candidates for the secondary school teaching credential as well as candidates for the Elementary and Secondary Master's in Teaching degree. He served on the M.A.T. faculty committees, working closely with officials from the Ohio Department of Education. In 1985, he served as Chairman of the Educational Plans and Policies Committee which reviewed the Department of Physical Education.

In 1987, after nine years of teaching in the Department of Philosophy, Steinberg was appointed Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. In this position, Steinberg oversaw the Office of Student Academic Affairs and reviews policy and practices relating to Academic Advising, Distribution Guidelines, and the Freshman Year. He was also responsible for the budgeting and fiscal management of the College of Arts and Sciences. After a year on sabbatical, he returned to the teaching faculty and the Department of Philosophy in FY 1996-1997. He retired from teaching in 1998. He died on April 15, 2019 in Oberlin, Ohio.

Note written by Valerie S. Komor.

Extent

12.60 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Method of Acquisition

The papers of Ira Steinberg were transferred by deed of gift to the Oberlin College Archives in three separate accessions in 1977, 1980, and 1987.

Accruals and Additions

Accession Nos: 1977/35, 1980/02, 1987/61.

Related Materials

For additional materials relating to the SEOP Committee, particularly for the years 1967-1969, consult Record Group 33, Box 22, "Various Committees." The papers of J. Milton Yinger, 30/188, contain some SEOP files (1963-1970). For more extensive materials relating to the M.A.T. programs, consult the files of the Department of Education, Record Group 9/4. For related materials, consult the records of the Office of the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.