Bethel, Lawrence L.
Person
Biography
Lawrence L. Bethel was President of FIT from 1953-1965. He was considered a prime mover in the expansion of the school and was the driver behind a 10-year, $36 million dollar plan to add four additional buildings to the campus. He was born in Warrensburg Missouri and graduated from Central Missouri State College in 1928. From there, he earned degrees from Columbia and Yale. He was the author of several books on industrial management and opened new doors to link the fashion industries with FIT. He was also instrumental in helping Mexico and Israel set up schools like FIT. He believed that the growth of community colleges was the most significant development in education in the 20th century.
Found in 8 Collections and/or Records:
Alfred Sloan interview, 1994 November 1, 1994 November 1
Item
Identifier: SC.FITA.3.20.4.9.4.6
Scope and Contents
In this interview with Dr. Alfred Sloan, Jr. he discusses his 1958 arrival at FIT following two years of teaching at Orange County Community College, another SUNY school. He was a veteran of World War II and had spent over ten years working in the fashion industry. Sloan discusses FIT’s first home at the Central High School of Needle Trades and their eventual move to the C building. Sloan lists various founders of the school and their roots on 7th avenue in the garment industry. He describes...
Dates:
1994 November 1
Commencement programs, June 9, 1960-June 9, 1969, 1960 June 9-1969 June 9
folder
Identifier: SC.FITA.5.2.6.1.2
Scope and Contents
This folder contains eighteen commencement programs, one for each year, from June 9, 1960 through June 9, 1969, plus eight duplicates.David Zelinka, Chairman, Educational Foundation for the Apparel Industry, gave the commencement address for June 9, 1960 and for June 15, 1961.David Schwartz, President, Educational Foundation for the Apparel Industry, gave the commencement address for June 14, 1962.Lawrence L. Bethel, President, FIT, gave the commencement...
Dates:
1960 June 9-1969 June 9
David Zeigler interview, 1994 November 11, 1994 November 11
Item
Identifier: SC.FITA.3.20.4.9.4.13
Scope and Contents
This is an interview with David Zeigler who began at FIT’s continuing education division in 1956 following a transfer from the Board of Education. At the time, the school was still based in the Central Needle Trades High School. Zeigler discusses contentions within the English department, the formation of a union in response, and how he came to be elected as the first faculty president of FIT. Zeigler mentions various faculty in his department and emphasizes how deeply he became entrenched...
Dates:
1994 November 11
Interview with executive members of the Union of United College Employees (UCE) of FIT: Joe Garofalo, Judy Wood, Arthur Levinson, & Juliette Romano, 1994 November 14, 1994 November 14
Item
Identifier: SC.FITA.3.20.4.9.4.4
Scope and Contents
This is an interview with four executive members of the Union of United College Employees (UCE) at FIT: Joseph Garofalo, Judy Wood, Juliette Romano, and Arthur Levinson. The four begin by explaining their backgrounds and initial involvement with FIT in the 1960s and 1970s. They discuss how difficult it was to get promotions under the administration of Lawrence Bethel, and how the union had to fight for many rights such as faculty status for “non-classroom faculty.” They also discuss the...
Dates:
1994 November 14
Jeanette Jarnow interview, 1994 December 20, 1994 December 20
Item
Identifier: SC.FITA.3.20.4.9.4.15
Scope and Contents
Jeannette Jarnow, former Chair of the Fashion Buying and Merchandising Department (FBM), discusses the small and intimate nature of FIT when she joined in 1956. She discusses the founding of the school by Morris Haft, Virginia Pope, and a handful of fashion industry insiders. She then describes the birth of the FBM department thanks to an endowment by Bergdorf Goodman as well as close relationships with Lord & Taylor, Abraham and Strauss, and Bloomingdale's. Jarnow touches on influential...
Dates:
1994 December 20
Lawrence Bethel records, 1946-1964, 1946-1964
Series
Identifier: SC.FITA.2.11
Scope and Contents
The records of Lawrence Bethel include programs and guest lists for his inauguration, correspondence, and photos as well as records relating to F.I.T.'s international educational initiatives in accordance with the Agency for International Development of the U.S. State Department. This series also includes speeches and other works written by Bethel.
Dates:
1946-1964
Sidney Bernstein interview, 1985 February 5, 1985 February 5
Item
Identifier: SC.FITA.3.20.4.9.12.7
Scope and Contents
Vice President of the Educational Foundation for the Fashion Industries Sidney Bernstein discusses his childhood and educational development in New York City. The launch of his successful real estate career put him in proximity to myriad furriers in the city. Eventually this led him to become more and more involved with the fur industry. He discusses the origins of the Educational Foundation for the Fashion Industries and its work abroad at the Shenkar School in Israel. Bernstein initially...
Dates:
1985 February 5
The Reminiscences of Theodore Fred Kuper, 1967 September 29 and 1969 August 15, 1967 September 29 and 1969 August 15
Item
Identifier: SC.FITA.3.20.4.9.12.9
Scope and Contents
Articles and interview of Theodore Fred Kuper about the origins of the Fashion Institute of Technology (New York, N.Y.), conducted by the Oral History Research Office of Columbia University in 1969. "These reminiscences of Theodore Fred Kuper refer to the creation and development of the Fashion Institute of Technology, a Community College of the City of New York under the program of the University of the State of New York, together with the creation of the Educational Foundation for the...
Dates:
1967 September 29 and 1969 August 15
Additional filters:
- Subject
- FIT history 4
- Fashion education 4
- Fashion merchandising 2
- Labor unions 2
- Baseball 1
- Career counselor 1
- College sports 1
- Community colleges 1
- Counseling 1
- Department stores 1
- Dress codes 1
- Education (Continuing education) 1
- Fur trade 1
- Immigrant business enterprises 1
- Immigrants 1
- Liberal arts 1
- Oral history 1
- Public speaking 1
- Real estate business 1
- Scholarships 1
- Student affairs administrators 1
- Teaching 1
- United States 1
- Women's rights 1
- Yiddish language 1