Cranbrook Academy of Art President's Office: Roy Slade Records
Collection Scope
The Roy Slade Records are a comprehensive look at CAA and CAM from 1976 to 1998. Slade was an extremely careful administrator, keeping meticulous records on activities and plans. His involvement with repair and restoration and planning issues across campus was vast.
SERIES I: Cranbrook Academy of Art (1951-1995) depicts the varied activities of CAA including faculty and student events and activities, administration’s interaction with faculty and students, meeting minutes, planning documents, and correspondence with alumni/ae.
SERIES II: Cranbrook Art Museum (1977-1993) details the activities of the CAM and the museum staff. It includes documentation of the grants awarded, donor correspondence, exhibits held, publications produced, and the reinstallation of the Cranbrook Collection.
SERIES III: Cranbrook Educational Community (1977-1998) chronicles the interaction between CAA and the rest of Cranbrook Educational Community including the Schools, Institute of Science, and Central Offices such as Development, Public Relations, and Finance.
PART II: This addition consists mostly of subject files from the academic years 1989-1990 and 1990-1991. Similar in topics, types of documents, and order to Part I, these materials fill a gap in the records in Part 1 for those same years.
Dates
- 1951 - 1998
- Majority of material found within 1976 - 1995
Creator
- Slade, Roy (Person)
Access
Access to the collection is unrestricted.
Use
Permission to use collection materials must be requested in writing.
History
Roy Slade (1933-), President of Cranbrook Academy of Art and Director of the Cranbrook Art Museum, came to Cranbrook in 1977 from the Corcoran Gallery and Art School in Washington, DC, where he held similar positions. Slade helped to precipitate change at CAA by recruiting talented new faculty members and staff at the CAA, developing the permanent collection of CAM, shepherding the construction of DeSalle Auditorium and restoring Saarinen House. He was a talented public speaker and a good fundraiser who brought international attention to CAA. Arguably the most important event during Slade’s tenure at CAA was the exhibit Design in America: The Cranbrook Vision, which garnered international exposure for CAA. During Slade’s tenure as President of Cranbrook Academy of Art, Cranbrook Educational Community began a systematic planning process that examined the programmatic, financial and personnel needs of the divisions. The Academy’s work in this activity culminated in the planning of a new studio building by Jose Rafael Moneo. Slade was a tireless advocate of restoring and preserving the historic campus. Slade retired in 1995 to devote more time to painting and sailing.
Extent
15.5 Linear Feet ((37 MS), 1 OS item)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Roy Slade was President of Cranbrook Academy of Art (CAA) and Director of the Cranbrook Art Museum (CAM) from 1977-1995. During his tenure, Saarinen House was restored, DeSalle Auditorium was constructed, the permanent collection of the Art Museum was developed, the New Studios building was planned, and new CAA faculty and staff were hired. Records from his office provide a comprehensive look at CAA, including meeting minutes, planning documents, correspondence with alumni/ae. Also included are materials pertaining to CAM, including documentation of grants awarded, donor correspondence, exhibits held, publications produced, and the reinstallation of the Cranbrook Collection. Additional materials cover Cranbrook Educational Community’s (CEC) relationship with the Schools, the Institute of Science, and Central Offices.
Arrangement
Part 1 is divided into three series: Cranbrook Academy of Art (Boxes 1-22), Cranbrook Art Museum (Boxes 23-27), and Cranbrook Educational Community (Boxes 28-31). This breakdown of series reflects the original order of the files. Each series is arranged alphabetically and, within each folder, chronologically.
Part 2 is arranged in three series that repeat the arrangement of Series I-III: Cranbrook Academy of Art (Box 31-35), Cranbrook Art Museum (Box 35-36), and Cranbrook Educational Community (Box 37). Files are arranged in alphabetical order. Within files, many papers are in reverse chronological order, beginning with the most recent.
Additional Access
An index to the collection is available.
Acquisition
Part 1 transferred from the Academy of Art in 1995. Part II transferred as part of Knodel Records (2008-05).
Separated Materials
Video recordings from Part I were transferred to the Cranbrook Archives Video Collection.
3 SB of photographs from Part 1 were transferred to the Cranbrook Photograph Collection (2020-03) in 2024.
Processing History
Initial inventory by Mignon Jasmer, 1997. Processed and indexed by Cathy Price. Hub Beudert worked on conservation and organization within each folder. Part 2 processed in 2024 by Meredith Counts.
Creator
- Slade, Roy (Person)
- Title
- Guide to the Cranbrook Academy of Art President's Office: Roy Slade Records
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Original finding aid (Part 1) written by Cathy Price. Resource record created by Nichole L. Manlove. Part 2 written by Meredith Counts.
- Date
- 2024-04-30
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Revision Statements
- 2024-04-30: Part 2 inventory and resulting updates to collection-level description reflecting the addition written by Meredith Counts.
Repository Details
Part of the Cranbrook Archives, Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research Repository