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University of Central Florida Office of the President: Steven Altman records, 1984-1991

 

Summary

Creator:
Altman, Steven
Abstract:
Steven Altman was the third President of the University of Central Florida. He only occupied the position from 1989 until 1991; therefore the quantity of documentation is limited. Series I contains about 1.5 linear feet of materials pertaining to arrangements for his inauguration with a substantial amount consisting of congratulatory messages from other universities. Series II holds strategic planning materials most of which are Academic and Administrative Audits that provide a snapshot of the University at the time and which ultimately led to a strategic plan being formulated.
Extent:
8.25 Linear Feet 13 boxes
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

University of Central Florida Office of the President: Steven Altman Records, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida.

Background

Scope and content:

Series I: Inauguration, 1990 contains materials concerning Steven Altman's inauguration. Materials within folders are arranged in chronological order. The celebrations comprised a series of events, including a lecture by Gennadi Gerasimov, a spokesman for Mikhail Gorbachev, a breakfast at the Brevard Campus, a luncheon at Daytona Beach, Founder's Day ceremonies, the installation, a luncheon given by Dr. Altman, a Campus Showcase, a concert and a formal ball. The materials document the arrangements for all of those events. Research reveals that the instructions for Altman's installation were based on those for UCF's second president, Dr. Trevor Colbourn.

Series II: Strategic Planning, 1984-1991 contains strategic planning materials, primarily Academic and Administrative Audits. Although described as audits, these materials sometimes include presentations, further commentary, and prior or later reports. They vary by department, but generally they include information about numbers of faculty, class load, research interests and numbers of students that form a complete picture of the department. Some reports are embellished with additional departmental publications notably, Music, the Library, and the Honors Program. Fewer details are provided for programs than for departments. Evaluations for each college follow the Academic Audits. Many reports have been annotated, presumably by Dr. Altman; these comments are as revealing of the writer as they are of the departments. Administrative Audits follow a similar pattern to the Academic Audits. The Administrative Audit for the Office of the President includes a long range plan for athletics. Although WUCF-FM has its own audit, further information on the station may be found under Office of Instructional Resources. Some Administrative Audits have recommendations or evaluations attached.

Series III: Miscellaneous, 1989 holds a few materials relating to Altman's term in office including photographs.

Series IV: Additional Materials, 1989-1992 contains chronological files from various meetings.

Biographical / historical:

Steven Altman was born on October 23, 1945. He received his B.A. in Mathematics in 1967 from the University of California, Los Angeles and his M.B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Southern California in 1969. The same year, he married Judy Ellen Ovadenko. Altman completed his education at the University of Southern California where he earned a D.B.A. in Management and Qualitative Methods from the College of Business Administration in 1975.

Altman's teaching career spanned thirteen years. He was Assistant Professor in the Division of Management at Florida International University from 1972-1976and also served as the Chairman of the Division of Management from 1972-1977. He became an Associate Professor in 1976 and full professor in 1984.

Altman also pursued his career in University Administration. He was Assistant Dean at the School of Business, University of Southern California from 1969-1972. At Florida International University, he was Assistant Vice President of Academic Affairs from 1977-1978, while also serving as Provost from 1982-1985. In 1985, he was appointed President of Texas A & I University where he remained until 1989 when he joined the University of Central Florida as its third President. Altman resigned hurriedly in June 1991.

He went on to become president of Medical Telecommunications Associates, which was acquired by the Lido Group in 2002. After the acquisition, Altman became a vice-president with the new company. He has also served as an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association.

Acquisition information:
It is unknown who transferred these materials to the University of Central Florida Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives in 1992 (CFU1992_01) and 2006 (CFU2006_24); however it is believed the Office of the President transferred these materials in 1992.
Processing information:

Collection processed by and finding aid prepared by Judith Beale in 2005. No processing information was included in the original finding aid. The finding aid was updated for consistency among all collections by Mary Rubin in 2012, resulting in edition 2 of the finding aid. The finding aid was placed into Archon, with adjustments made for Archon and resulting in edition 3, by Mary Rubin in 2017. The acquisition method field and the subjects were updated by Kryslynn Collazo in 2018, resulting in edition 4. Data (subseries that were actually folders were split into subseries and folders) was cleaned up as well.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged in three series by subject.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

The entire collection is open for research. Previously restricted folders were unrestricted in 2017; however, some files may still be restricted, such as UCF Facilities drawings, documents, and sensitive data that are available to authorized university staff and approved consultants only, per university policy, and under lawful exception to Florida's Public Records Law.

Terms of access:

Unpublished records are protected by copyright. Permission to publish quote or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.

Preferred citation:

University of Central Florida Office of the President: Steven Altman Records, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida.

Location of this collection:
John C. Hitt Library
12701 Pegasus Drive, Building 2
Orlando
FL
32816-8030
USA