Robert D. Farber University Archives and Special Collections

• George Alpert Collection: This collection has a brief biography of Joseph Ford and some press clippings about the fundraising effort for dedicating the building after Clara and Joseph Ford. The collection has files on the renovations of Ford Hall and the construction of Sydeman Hall. It also has some files on the dedication of Nathan Seifer Auditorium. George Alpert served as chairman of the Brandeis Board of Trustees. Ford served as the treasurer of the Brandeis Board of Trustees and the namesake of Ford Hall.

• David Berkowitz Collection: This collection has information about physical characteristics of Ford Hall and some correspondence with electrical contractors. The collection also has a program from Joseph Ford 60th birthday celebration. Professor Berkowitz served as a member of the history faculty at Brandeis. He also served as executive assistant to the President and he was also the Director of the Office of University Planning during the early years of Brandeis.
• Board of Trustees — Individuals Collection: This collection contains a lengthy eulogy with considerable biographical information on Joseph Ford.
•  Brandeis University — Architecture Collection: This collection contains a book of bound documents and photographs regarding the construction of Sydeman Hall and Nathan Seifer Auditorium.
•  Middlesex University Collection: This collection has a photo album of Ford Hall’s construction, which at the time was known as Main Hall. The collection also has an incomplete run of course catalogs that give brief descriptions of Main Hall when it served as the Veterinary School of Middlesex University.
•  The Ralph Norman and Julian Brown Photography Collection: Ralph Norman served as the University Photographer from 1950 through 1981 and Julian Brown has served as University Photographer since 1983. This photographic collection has campus photos including photos of Ford and Sydeman Halls and Nathan Seifert Auditorium.
• Office of University Planning Collection: This collection of 25 bound volumes of documents concerning the development of the Brandeis campus from 1948 through 1952. These files deal with specific construction projects and general plans for physical development of the whole campus. Files include memos, reports, correspondence, especially with architects and contractors, and plans.
• Abram Sachar Collection — Presidential Papers: This collection has information on the construction of Sydeman Hall and photographs of the science laboratories in Sydeman Hall. It also has files on fundraising for the renovations of Ford Hall.

• Gerald S. Bernstein, ed., “An Architectural Celebration of Brandeis University’s 50th Anniversary,” 1999.

  This book has information about Ford Hall in the introduction and building index. Professor Bernstein is a member of the Brandeis faculty in the Fine Arts Department.

• Gerald S. Bernstein, Michael Hauptman, Ann Lorenz, and Randolph Noe eds., “Brandeis Under Construction,” 1972. Exhibition book of the Poses Institute of Fine Arts, Rose Art Museum

  This book has information on Ford Hall in the “Walking Tour” section and in an article, “Brandeis Architecture: An Historical Perspective” by Ann Lorenz.

• Israel Goldstein, “Brandeis University: Chapter of its Founding,” 1951.

  Israel Goldstein served as one of the key players in the effort to establish a Jewish-sponsored university shortly after the Second World War ended. In his book about the founding of Brandeis, Goldstein gives a description of the Middlesex University campus he visited in 1946, including the Veterinary building, which was to become Ford Hall.

•  Brandeis University Bulletin: From 1949 through 1991 the Brandeis University Bulletin — before 1993 known as the General Catalog — gave brief descriptions of the campus facilities, including Ford and Sydeman Halls. The University Archives has a complete run of Bulletins from 1948 through the present.

• Brandeis University Directory: The campus directories indicates the location of academic and administrative departments on campus. Most of the directories are arranged by department, not by building. The University Archives has an incomplete run of directories from 1957 to the present.

• Material Submitted to the Massachusetts Pre-Medical Approving Authority, Brandeis University, 1951: In order to develop a recognized Pre-Medical program for its undergraduate students, Brandeis had to submit material to the Massachusetts Pre-Medical Approving Authority to demonstrate that its program met certain standards. This material included descriptions of the University’s teaching facilities, which in 1951 were primarily located in Science Hall—which became Ford Hall in 1952. The materials also include an inventory of science equipment in Science Hall.

• Official Publication of Brandeis University: The Official Publication of Brandeis University serves much of the same functions that The Brandeis Review and The Brandeis Reporter serve today, focusing on the activities of the university and geared towards alumni and Brandeis supporters.

  • “Science Hall to be Named in Honor of Clara and Joseph Ford of Boston,” Official Publication of Brandeis University: News Issue, Volume 2, Number 4, April 1952, announces that the building will be renamed the Clara and Joseph Ford Hall.

  • Official Publication of Brandeis University: News Issue, Volume 2, Number 5, August 1952, This issue covers Brandeis’ first Commencement Week and covers the dedication of the Clara and Joseph F. Ford Hall.

  • “Blueprints with Wings,” Official Publication of Brandeis University: News-Review Issue, Volume 2, Number 6, May 1953, describes the development of the campus with references to Ford Hall; includes one photograph of the building.

  • “Another Season,” Official Publication of Brandeis University: News-Review Issue, Volume 2, Number 7, October 1952, has a photo of a Ford Hall lecture hall.

• Steven Lichtman, “Remembering Ford,” Volume 53, Number 15, February 1, 2000. An opinion piece about Ford Hall.

• A Letter to the Editor response to Lichtman’s piece appears in the February 8, 2000 issue.

• Matt Kaliner, “Ford Hall Still Remains Faithful,” Volume 52, Number 8, November 3, 1998. This article provides a history of Ford and Sydeman Halls.

• Chuck Petrowski, “Ford Hall: Aging With Grace,” Volume 27, Number 10, December 12, 1974. A short column about Ford Hall’s history.

The Jewish Advocate

• “Sydeman Estate Makes Gift of Science Building to Brandeis,” December 28, 1950

• “To Dedicate Seifer Hall at Brandeis University, April 25,” April 20, 1950

• “Honor Joseph and Clara Ford with a Building at Brandeis,” April 12, 1951

• “New Laboratory For Brandeis,” November 20, 1952, announces the dedication of the William H. Sydeman Laboratory.

The New York Times

• “Veterinary College Finishes New Home,” December 19, 1940, Section 2, page 6, announces the completion of Main Hall.

• Division of Student Affairs Collection: This collection contains various documents relating to the student occupation.

• Gordon Fellman Collection: This collection has a series concerning the Ford Hall occupation. This series contains statements, fliers, bulletins, petitions, announcements, resolutions and minutes. Gordon Fellman has been a faculty member at Brandeis in the Sociology Department since 1964. An online finding aid is available.

• General Faculty Meetings Collection: This collection is made up of the minutes from General Faculty meetings that included discussions about the student occupation.

• Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Collection: This collection contains various documents relating to the student occupation, including petitions, public statements, memos, newsletters and press clippings. An online finding aid is available.

• Student Organizations Collection: This collection has a microfilm copy of the“Fact Bag,” a collection of documents concerning the student occupation. Three students organized the“Fact Bag” as a“central information service, whose sole purpose is to have available for reading, to any one who asks, copies of any printed, published statement released by any of the parties involved in the current crisis.” The“Fact Bag” has a table of contents listing all the individual documents.

• Morris Abram, “The Eleven Days at Brandeis: As Seen From the President’s Chair,” New York Times Magazine, February 16, 1969.

  Abram, the President of Brandeis University from 1968 to early 1970, provides a chronological narrative of the events that transpired during the student occupation. Letters written in response to Abram’s article appear in the March 9, March 16, and March 30, 1969 issues of the New York Times Magazine.

• Morris Abram (interview),“War of the Words,” Newsweek, Volume 73, January 27, 1969

• “At Brandeis," Jewish Frontier, Volume 36, Number 2, February 1969

• David Brudnoy, “Black Power Play: Report from Brandeis,” National Review, Volume 21, January 28, 1969

• David Brudnoy, “Doves vs. Hawks,” National Review, Volume 21, February 25, 1969

• Kenneth G. Gross, “Angry and Alone Together,” Nation, Volume 208, February 17, 1969

• Ben Halpern, “Brandeis University and Ocean Hill-Brownsville,” Midstream Volume 15, Number 2.

  This article discusses the aspect of Jewish-African American relations in the student occupation of Ford Hall. Halpern served as a member of the Brandeis faculty in the Near Eastern and Judaic Studies Department from 1960 until his retirement in 1980. An online finding aid of the Ben Halpern collection is available.

• Bardin H. Nelson, “How a Liberal University Re-acts to a Black Take-over,” Science, Volume 163, March 28, 1969

• Rosenthal, Michael et al., “Blacks at Brandeis,” Commonweal, Volume 89, March 14, 1969

  Edward Witten wrote a response to Michael Rosenthal in the April 18, 1969 issue of Commonweal.

• The Justice, the main student newspaper, usually published weekly

  The Justice devoted a large portion of their issues published in January and February 1969 to covering the student occupation and its ramifications.

  Also see:

  • Matt Kaliner,“Eleven Days in Ford Hall” and Eve Levavi,“Success of Takeover Evaluated,” Volume 52, Number 15, February 2, 1999
  • Three articles about the Ford Hall occupation, present and past student activism and the Brandeis conference on its past activism—see video section below—appear in Volume 53, Number 24, April 18, 2000.

• National and Local Newspapers

  The student occupation of Ford Hall made national news. Numerous stories about the occupation appeared in local papers like the Waltham News-Tribune (now called the Daily News-Tribune), the Boston Globe and the Jewish Advocate

• Morris Abram, “The Day is Short: An Autobiography,” 1982.

  Abram discusses in his autobiography his time as President of Brandeis University from 1968 to early 1970 which includes his dealings with the student occupation of Ford Hall.

Student Protests 1969-1970: Brandeis and America, April 12, 2000

The University Archives has a video of this one-day conference on the student occupation of Ford Hall and the National Student Strike Information Center that operated on the Brandeis campus in 1970. The conference was presented by the University Archives and the Office of the Dean of Arts and Sciences. Panelists discussing the Ford Hall occupation included Makeda Millet Kamara ’72, Alexander Aikens III ’71, Hon. Edward Redd ’71—all students who participated in the occupation—and Larwence H. Fuchs, Jaffe Professor of American Civilization and Politics, Thompson F. Williams, Jr., Director of the Transitional Year Program, and David Squire, Trustee Emeritus and Vice President for Student Affairs from 1969 through 1970.