The Martha J. Vicinus papers date from 1968 to 1976 (primarily 1969 to 1972) and measure 1.25 linear feet (4 Hollinger boxes). The papers detail only Vicinus' involvement in the New University Conference, its programs, publications and meetings. Arranged alphabetically into one series, the collection includes incoming and outgoing correspondence, position papers, reports, minutes of the organization, pamphlets and related newspaper clippings.
Some of the file folders concern the organizational workings of NUC. These include National Office, National Committee, and Executive Committee. Others consist of reports and papers on subjects of interest to NUC, notably Child Care, the Peoples' Peace Treaty (Vietnam), and the reform of course grading. Of note are the folders for the Modern Language Association relating to the efforts of Vicinus and other NUC members to organize radical caucuses and thereby affect the decision-making process in this and other professional organizations.
Martha J. Vicinus, professor of English, feminist, and a director of the University of Michigan's Women's Studies Program, was one of the founders of the New University Conference (NUC), a radical organization whose purpose was the overhaul of the aims and practices of American higher education. Though she had many other interests, Victorian studies and women's rights among them, Vicinus has donated only those files relating to her involvement with NUC.
Vicinus received her B.A. in English from Northwestern University in 1961, her M.A. from Johns Hopkins in 1962, and her Ph.D. in 1968 from the University of Wisconsin. In 1968, she became assistant professor of English at the University of Indiana and editor of Victorian Studies.
As a student in the Sixties, Vicinus was witness to, if not participant in, facets of the student movement. In addition to the women's movement and opposition to the war in Vietnam, one of her great interests was educational reform. In 1968, together with other like-minded faculty and graduate students, she helped to form NUC, an organization that sought to provide an outlet for radical political expression within the various academic disciplines. As well as encouraging the formation of leftist caucuses within professional associations, the NUC also attempted to provide a center for radical initiatives on the nation's campuses. Specific parts of its agenda included the creation of a radical curricula alternative, the abolishment of course grades, and the curtailment of university involvement in military research.
NUC's national office was in Chicago, but it was left to the local chapters on the various campuses to initiate debate over questions of local concern. Though active in the University of Indiana chapter, Vicinus was most involved with the national organization. She was chairwoman of its executive committee from 1970 to 1971, and chairwoman of its finance committee from 1971 to 1972. In 1972, she was part of the NUC delegation invited to Cuba by the University of Havana.
At one time, there were more than 80 local chapters of NUC. But soon its strength began to dwindle. As a result of internal conflicts and decreasing membership, the leadership of NUC decided to disband. Though informal communication between members continued on, NUC ceased to exist after June 1972.
