Arthur J. Vidich (1922-2006) was a long-term member of the faculty at the New School for Social Research as a professor of Sociology (1960-1991). He published dozens of books, papers, and edited anthologies, notably Small Town in Mass Society: Class, Power, and Religion in a Rural Community (1958). This collection contains material documenting his teaching, writing, lectures, and other academic and professional work spanning his entire career. Included are correspondence with colleagues, friends, and presses; manuscript and typescript drafts of his writings; conference and lecture materials; subject files relating to his colleagues and personal life; and items pertaining to his teaching at the New School and other institutions, as well as his role as chair of the New School Sociology Department; photographs; and audio and video recordings of lectures, talks, and courses.

These papers document the academic career of Reuben Abel (1911-1997), beginning with his undergraduate study at Columbia College and doctoral philosophy studies in the Graduate Faculty of the New School for Social Research, through his professorship at the university. It includes course notes and syllabi, and material documenting his student activities, such as his role as founder and editor of the New School student magazine, 12th Street: A Quarterly. Abel's papers reflect his position within the Graduate Faculty, consisting of correspondence with colleagues and deans, appointment letters, faculty minutes, and committee documents; in addition to his role as instructor and advisor to students, consisting of lecture notes, thesis committee work and doctoral exam requirement reviews. Contains one annotated typescript of his work, Man Is the Measure.

Correspondence with publishers and environmental groups including the Constitutional Council for Forest Preserves, 1970–71; Defenders of Wildlife, 1970–76; Albany Environmental Council, 1965–76; draft manuscripts and typescripts, 1956–79, of texts, scholarly and popular articles and books relating to local, state, national, and international government and to environmental issues such as the anti-nuclear movement, forest preservation, wildlife preservation, the Adirondack Mountains, lecture notes taken as a student and given to his classes, 1930–70, scripts for his television series "Man Against His Environment", 1970–71, drafts of speeches on environmental concerns, tape cassettes on environmental issues created as staff lecturer for the Center for Cassette Studies, clippings files on government and environmental issues, photographs of Rienow and his wife. Robert Rienow was educated at Carthage College (B.A., 1930), and Columbia University (M.A., 1934; Ph.D., 1937), served as Instructor, 1936–41, Assistant Professor, 1941–47, and Professor, 1947–80, of Social Science at the State University of New York at Albany, now the University at Albany. Through out his career Rienow maintained an active interest in environmental issues and a belief in the need to popularize issues of public concern. (See also papers of his wife Leona Train Rienow).

Stanley Diamond (1922-1991) was an anthropologist and poet instrumental in establishing the Anthropology Department of the New School for Social Research. He chaired the department for fourteen years, during which time he founded and edited the journal Dialectical Anthropology. These papers document Diamond's writings and research, his role as a teacher and administrator, and material related to his participation in conferences and public seminars. Includes drafts of journal articles and presentations, ethnographic research data and notes, teaching materials, and correspondence with colleagues and publishers. Materials span the entirety of Diamond's career, from his doctoral dissertation on the Kingdom of Dahomey to his later interest in the intersection of anthropology and poetry. Some files are restricted. Please email archivist@newschool.edu for details.

The Schools of Public Engagement was formed in 2011 with the reorganization of the New School for General Studies. As of 2016, the division consisted of: the Bachelor's Program for Adults and Transfer Students (BPATS); the School of Languages; the School of Media Studies; the Milano School of International Affairs, Management, and Urban Policy; and the Creative Writing Program. The collection also holds the 1991-2008 records of the World Policy Institute. Dating largely from the 1990s until 2014, these records contain correspondence, memoranda, reports, budget and financial material, and faculty and personnel files relating to the administration and governance of the Schools of Public Engagement and their predecessor programs, departments, and schools. Some files are restricted. Please email archivist@newschool.edu for details.