Charles Haynie papers

Collection — Box: 1-4

Identifier: 34-9-1071

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Documented in this collection are Haynie's academic work, his activist activities, correspondence, and writings.

I contains Haynie's correspondence with family, friends, students, and colleagues.

II contains records of Tolstoy College. This series documents the college's controversial 1984 closure as well as the dispute regarding Haynie's academic appointment.

III contains extensive course material of the Social Sciences Interdisciplinary Degree Program, in which Haynie taught following the elimination of Tolstoy College.

IV contains Haynie's collection of activist materials, and mostly includes flyers, political, social, and environmental pamphlets, announcements, newsletters, and clippings of local, national, and international concerns. This series also includes records and documents regarding Haynie's 1979 campaign for the City of Buffalo Common Council, in which he ran in the Delaware District.

V includes Haynie's writings, most notably his involvement with the Civil Rights movements of the 1960's, the occupation of Seabrook Nuclear Station and campus rebellion at UB.

Dates

1963-2002

Creator

Haynie, Charles A. (Charles Atkinson) (Person)

Language of Materials

Collection material in English.

Terms of Access

Charles Haynie papers, 1963-2002, are open for research.
Please note: This collection is stored off-site. Access to collection requires 3 business days’ notice. Contact University Archives at (716) 645-2916 or lib-archives@buffalo.edu to schedule an appointment.

Copyright

Copyright of papers in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs or assigns. Researchers must obtain the written permission of the holder(s) of copyright and the University Archives before publishing quotations from materials in the collection. Most papers may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures unless otherwise specified.

Biographical Note

Charles Atkinson Haynie was former administrative coordinator and an instructor for the university's Leo Tolstoy College and a lecturer in the Social Sciences Interdisciplinary Degree Program. Born in Queens, New York, Haynie studied engineering physics at Cornell University. In 1956, Haynie left his graduate studies in mathematics and became involved in the civil rights movement. After a brief period doing engineering research, Haynie was a math instructor at Franklin and Marshall College and at Cornell University.

Haynie participated in numerous political, social, and environmental causes throughout his life, many of which influenced his popular courses. From 1963-1965, he was Field Director for a voter registration project in Fayette County, Tennessee, during which time he was also a Congressional lobbyist for various civil rights groups. In 1967 he worked with Massachusetts Political Action for Peace (Mass Pax) as a State Peace Organizer of anti-war delegations in all twelve congressional districts in Massachusetts. Haynie also participated in demonstrations against the Seabrook nuclear power plant in New Hampshire.

In 1969, Haynie came to Buffalo to teach at the university's free-thinking and experimental college, Tolstoy College. Teaching such courses as "The American Left," "Reactionary Movements," and "Grassroots Environmental Movements," Haynie was a voice of the liberal perspective on campus and in Buffalo. He was one of the "Faculty 45", a group of faculty members who were arrested during a campus protest in 1970. Haynie also ran for a Buffalo Common Council seat in the Delaware district in 1979 and helped organize the Buffalo Unity Day rally to ease racial tensions.

Haynie taught in the Social Sciences Interdisciplinary Program until his retirement in 2000. After a battle with cancer he died in 2001 at the age of 65. "Charles is remembered by his colleagues because he cared deeply about each individual student and demonstrated this concern through his involvement in the university, the local community and the nation," according to the Interdisciplinary Program website. Each year a memorial award is given in his name to a graduating senior who exemplifies Haynie's commitments.

Extent

5 Linear Feet (4 cartons)

Additional Description

Abstract

Collection includes Haynie's correspondence, teaching files, publications, and information on political, social, and environmental activism.

Arrangement

The collection is organized into five series: I. Correspondence, II. Tolstoy College, III. Social Sciences Interdisciplinary Degree Program, IV. Activism, and V. Writings.