Office of General Counsel
Collection Scope and Content Summary
This collection contains mixed materials from the Office of General Counsel (OGC) from the late 1960s through the present, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1980-2002, primarily during the tenures of General Counsels Kathryn J. Rodgers (early 1980s-1993/4) and Michael Feierman (1995-2010). The materials attest to the various functions of OGC, including dealing with tenant complaints, managing real estate and mortgages, negotiating with labor unions representing Barnard employees, and addressing policy issues, such as the admission of transgender students at Barnard. There is significant correspondence with union representatives from UAW 2110/District 65 as the union tried to negotiate contracts with the College. The materials include memos, correspondence, notes, strike contingency plans, opinions of counsel, agreements, mortgages, and research files. The collection also includes digital copies, in PDF format, of various policies and codes of conduct that OGC has produced since around 2011.
Dates
- Creation: 1968 - 2024
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1980 - 2002
Creator
- Barnard College. Office of General Counsel (Organization)
- UAW Local 2110 (Organization)
Publication Rights
Permission to publish material from the collection must be requested from the Barnard Archives and Special Collections. The Barnard Archives and Special Collections approves permission to publish that which it physically owns; the responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.
Reproductions Restrictions
Single photocopies or scans may be made for research purposes, except for documents in Series 1, Folders 1-6 (Tenant Harasssment Complaints) which cannot be reproduced in order to protect the identities and addresses of tenants.
Historical Background
The General Counsel is the chief legal officer of the College and serves as legal counsel to the President and Board of Trustees (General Counsel | Barnard College). Barnard’s first General Counsel was appointed in the early 1980s (Smith, Columbia, Barnard Digital Collections). The Office of the General Counsel (OGC) makes sure that the College is compliant with federal, state and local laws and regulations, along with other responsibilities (General Counsel | Barnard College). The General Counsel reports directly to the President of the College. The office may have been called the Office of the General Secretary before it became OGC.
OGC is responsible for negotiating contracts with the four unions representing Barnard employees (Barnard). This includes the Transport Workers Union (TWU), which represents Barnard’s security, housekeeping and maintenance workers, and United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 2110 (formerly District 65), which represents the College’s clerical workers (Spectator).
In 1985,OGC developed Barnard’s first formal maternity leave policy for faculty (Spectator). In 1988, the General Counsel was named a vice president of the College and took over some of the responsibilities of the Vice President for Student Affairs, including supervision of Barnard Health Services, student residential life, Barnard Food Services, commuter concerns, and other college activities (Spectator). OGC was also responsible for negotiations of the affiliation agreement of the College with Columbia University (Spectator).From 1993 to 1994, General Counsel Kathryn J. Rodgers briefly served as interim president of the College (Spectator). After the departure of General Counsel Kathryn J. Rodgers in 1995, the role was restructured so that the Office of Health Services, the Office of College Activities, and Food Services were now supervised by the Dean of the College and the Dean of Student Life (Spectator). At the time, OGC’s responsibilities included working with the College’s bylaws and the Board of Trustees; finance and administration, including doing tax assessments; issues with the bursar, including collection matters and student bankruptcies; facilities, including vendor and construction contacts; and personnel, including labor contract negotiations and grievances. In December 1995, when Local 2110’s contract expired, a breakdown of negotiations led to one of the longest strikes in a university setting, which lasted through the spring and fall semesters of 1996 (Spectator).
In 2023, OGC was responsible for negotiations with the newly-formed Barnard RA Union (Spectator). As of June 2024, the Office of Nondiscrimination and Title IX now reports to OGC (Bwog). OGC also produces codes of conduct and policies for the student body, faculty and staff of the College, including rules about postings, political activity, and campus demonstrations. These policies have come into greater focus in light of the 2024 student protests against the genocide in Gaza.
Sources:
https://web.archive.org/web/20230922085821/https://barnard.edu/general-counsel
https://web.archive.org/web/20241106155335/https://garden.smith.edu/people/kathy-rodgers-70
https://web.archive.org/web/20230601090212/https://barnard.edu/human-resources/twu-local-264-faq https://web.archive.org/web/20241106155251/https://digitalcollections.barnard.edu/do/5234/iiif/40b9c4b8-c975-4853-ab83-f7ac2bce2b58/full/full/0/BC12-03_19950203.pdf
https://web.archive.org/web/20241106155747/https://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/?a=d&d=cs19851024-01.2.5&srpos=7&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-%22barnard++general+counsel%22+------
https://web.archive.org/web/20241106160357/https://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/?a=d&d=cs19850320-01.1.1&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-%22barnard++general+counsel%22+------
https://web.archive.org/web/20241106160616/https://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/?a=d&d=cs19880126-01.2.2&srpos=5&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-%22barnard++general+counsel%22+------
https://web.archive.org/web/20241106160735/https://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/?a=d&d=cs19990121-01.2.6&srpos=4&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-%22barnard++general+counsel%22+------
https://web.archive.org/web/20241106161039/https://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/?a=d&d=cs19931115-01.2.2&srpos=18&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-%22barnard++general+counsel%22+------
https://web.archive.org/web/20240904083825/https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2023/10/23/barnard-ra-union-organizes-rally-following-weeks-of-bargaining-with-administrators/
https://web.archive.org/web/20240617124446/https://bwog.com/2024/06/barnard-announces-senior-staff-member-turnover-and-administrative-structural-changes/
Extent
3.33 Linear Feet (8 boxes)
0.038 Gigabytes
Language
English
Abstract
This collection includes the files of the Office of General Counsel, from 1968 to 2024, with the bulk of the materials produced between 1980 and 2002. The collection includes real estate transactions and real estate tax assessments. The materials also cover key moments of tension between the College and the surrounding community, including tenant harassment complaints, as well as conflicts between the College and its employees, which includes negotiations with the Barnard clerical workers’ union (District 65/UAW 2110) and the College’s preparation for and responses to the union’s strikes, which were supported by College students. The collection also includes research and memoranda about various campus issues, including the admission and inclusion of transgender students at Barnard.
Collection Arrangement
Arranged in four series:
Series 1: Real Estate and Financing, grouped by topic and then chronologically
Series 2: Labor Relations: arranged roughly chronologically
Series 3: Research Files, Memoranda, arranged alphabetically by topic and then chronologically
Series 4: Codes of Conduct and Policies, arranged alphabetically by policy and then chronologically
Physical Location
This collection is located in the Barnard Archives and Special Collections, Barnard Library. To use this collection, please contact the Barnard Archives and Special Collections at 212.854.4079 or archives@barnard.edu.
Acquisition Information
Records were transferred from the Office of General Counsel in 2002. Additional records were transferred in 2011 from the Provost's Office. Additional records were acquired through a large transfer of administrative materials in 2024.
Accruals
Accruals are expected.
Processing History
This collection was processed and the finding aid written by Dinah Handel in February, 2015.
A large accrucal was processed and the finding aid was updated by Maia Hirschler in November 2024.
The materials in the accrual were loosely grouped by topic and arranged chronologically. Several documents had duplicates, which the archivist deaccessioned, as well published works like a Harvard personnel manual or a copy of the Barnard Bulletin. One document containing an Social Security number was shredded.
- Copies of Barnard Bulletin, Columbia Daily Spectator, New York Times, Village Voice; copies of Harvard's 1989 personnel manual; document containing an individual's SSN; duplicates of documents.
- Title
- Guide to the Office of General Counsel
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Dinah Handel; Maia Hirschler
- Date
- 2015; 2024
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the Barnard Archives and Special Collections Repository