Web Boodey and Audrey Meyer interview, 1994 November 10, 1994 November 10

Web Boodey and Audrey Meyer discuss their time with the Social Science Department. Boodey was a world affairs professor and Meyer a professor of sociology who, though retired, still taught as an adjunct at the time of the interview. They talk about the dress code upheld by Marion Brandriss in the 1960s as well as FIT’s former requirement of 30 hours of mandatory volunteer work. They discuss when FIT’s faculty shared a large office, each with their own cubicle, and the beginnings of the school's union. They talk extensively about the social justice movements of the 1960s and 1970s, especially in the aftermath of the Kent State Massacre. They mention the formation of the Soul Club and the Black Student Club, which published a paper called “Black Rap.” They also discuss the formation of an ad hoc committee on race which advocated for more faculty of color. Boodey and Meyer talk about the affective education movement and the growth of their department. In 1971 Meyer put on a one-day conference called “Dialogue on Women,” which brought in myriad activists including Florynce Kennedy and Bella Abzug. Boodey discusses his time as the chair of the faculty association. The two remember Marvin Feldman and Gladys Marcus fondly, and then discuss other professors in their department when it was coupled with Art History. They touch on linkages with the United Nations as well as student trips, including one to Riker’s Island. They have invited formerly incarcerated people to speak to their students and frequently host lectures on human rights. The two also talk about the growth of environmental activism and clubs in the 1970s.