Open with the following exceptions:
Folder “Halazun, Hadi J., 2008-2009” is closed in accordance with the provisions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), educational records of living students and alumni are open only to the student/alumni, his/her guardian, those researchers who have been granted access by the student/former student, or to University administrators with a need to know. Educational records of deceased students are closed for 25 years after date of last attendance, or, if death date unknown, 100 years or more since last date of attendance.
Technical access: Digital access copies are available to view on demand, onsite, in Archives and Special Collections. Access copies of audio files in .dss format must be converted to .wav. Use of Windows Photo Viewer, Adobe Acrobat Reader or similar software needed to view digital image files.
Terms Governing Use and Reproduction: Copyright held by Peter Wortsman.
For those passages in the interview transcripts noted as “off the record,” either in those precise terms or in another formulation, researchers must sign an agreement prior to accessing the transcripts stating that they will not quote “off the record” material during the lifetime of the subject, or that they will contact the subject to get his/her approval to quote such material.
Requests to access digital records must be made in advance. Users may not modify, rearrange, edit, or make copies of digital archival records. Users may not print copies of the records without permission from staff.
Interviews with Columbia University Medical Center alumni, faculty, and staff in the form of transcripts, audio recordings, and writings; conducted by Peter Wortsman, and published in the alumni magazine P&S, currently known as Columbia Medicine.
History and Biography
Wortsman began work in alumni relations in 1985 at the Columbia University School of Law and went on to write for the Association of The Alumni, College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University from 1987. He interviewed distinguished alumni and faculty at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center under the direction of Anke L. Nolting, Director of Development and Executive Director of Alumni Relations (1985-1990) and later Associate Dean and Executive Director of Alumni Relations and Development.
Organization
Arranged into series I. Name files A-Z, II. Administration, and III. Audiovisual.
The third series is further subdivided into subseries: 1. VHS tapes, 2. Cassette tapes, 3. Microcassette tapes and 4. Digital photographs 5. Digital Wortsman interviews. Arranged alphabetically within series and subseries.
Interview transcripts are often heavily highlighted with sticky notes that seem to correspond with themes in the highlighted text. These interviews would inform the alumni profiles written by Wortsman. These transcripts contain much more information found in the published articles. Itineraries, brochures, maps and other materials document Wortsman's travels to visit and interview alumni.
The bulk of the correspondence occurs among Wortsman and alumni, Anke Nolting, or other administrators. Administrative files contain general correspondence with the Alumni Association, arranged by year, along with topics relating to fundraising, brochures, and other programs. Audiovisual materials record Alumni Weekend lectures, White Coat ceremonies, Dean’s day lectures, Parents Day, Bard dinners and other events. The bulk of audio recordings is labeled with VP&S alumni names on dictating microcassettes. Some interviews and photographs are found in digital form.
Subject Headings and Related Records
Administrative Information
Gift of Peter Wortsman, 2018 (accession #2018.035).
Paper material was rehoused into legal-sized folders and boxes to accommodate the interview transcripts with sticky notes adhered around all edges of the paper. Some photographs were rehoused; they remain within the paper materials. Audio tape cases were numbered and titles transcribed. Born digital records were downloaded at the time of the accession in 2018. Additional records were ingested from optical disks in 2022.
Copies of student records; travel receipts, tickets, and expense reports; statistics on class members containing applicant names and social security numbers; and copies of records containing donor financial information were discarded. Duplicates were also discarded.
Microcassettes unlabeled (24 items) and those labeled “reusable” (7 items) were discarded. Two tapes marked as “murmur tape” and “too fast” were discarded.
Optical disks “San Francisco 2009 and shots of Jay Levy ’65 and Ephrain Engleman ‘37” were unreadable. Four JPG files were corrupted and not ingested from the optical disk “Robin Cook”. One file from optical disk “Chicago 2009 (and Nelson Levy ’67)” was unreadable. Optical disk: “Bassett 3/18/15” contain duplicate audio recording and were discarded.