Martin Nurmi papers

Finding Aid

Prepared by Philip W. Harbison, August 3, 1995; Last Updated: September 2021

Inclusive Dates: 1967-1981
Extent: 2 cubic feet (2 record storage boxes)
Physical Location: 11th floor

Biographical Note: Martin Nurmi was a Professor of English at Kent State University from 1955 until his retirement in 1984. He received his doctoral degree in English from the University of Minnesota in 1954. While at Kent, Professor Nurmi also served as chairman of the English department, was a member of the Faculty Senate, serving as its chairman in 1970-71, and also served as the head of the graduate school for four years. He has held visiting professorships at the University of Washington, University of Minnesota, Michigan State University, the University of British Columbia and Aristotle University in Thessaloniki, Greece. He is the author of Blake's Marriage of Heaven and Hell: A Critical Study (1957), A Blake Bibliography (1964), Poetry: An Introduction and Anthology (1967) and William Blake (1975).

Scope and Content: The Martin Nurmi papers include his non-teaching activities in the English Department at Kent State University from 1967 to 1981. These activities center around his work with: the Faculty Senate, the Academic Due Process Subcommittee, the Task Force on Racial Understanding, Commission on the Role and Status of Graduate Student Appointees, Integrated Life Sciences Humanities Requirement Committee, Grievance Committee, and Report of the Committee to Evaluate the Chairperson of the Philosophy Department -- Dickoff. Also included are materials dealing with a conference Nurmi attended entitled: "The Humanities and the Arts of Healing Conference," held at Kent State on October 31 and November 1, 1975.

Perhaps the most significant part of Nurmi's papers is his involvement with two major legal cases that took place from 1974 to 1976. In 1974, he was apppointed to a special four member faculty "Ad Hoc" committee to investigate allegations of unprofessional conduct in the College of Business Administration that concerned the awarding of a Doctorate degree to Andres Bermundez. The second court case centered around a Sexual Descrimination suit filed against the English Department by Joanne Kantrowitz that occurred in 1976.

Arrangement : The Nurmi papers are arranged in four series.

• Series 1: Correspondence
• Series 2: Committees and Conference
• Series 3: Legal Cases: The Andres Bermudez Case
• Series 4: Legal Cases: The Joanne Kantrowitz Case

Related Materials: Please see also Martin Nurmi's May 4 papers collection for additional information about his work and career at Kent State University.

Series 1: Correspondence

Box 1
Folder - Contents

 1. "English Instructors -The Eight". Contents include the proposed dismissal of eight first-year instructors from the English Department. This action was protested by the other faculty members since they felt that such action represented a change in school policy: February 22, 1967 to May 1, 1967

 2. "Faculty Senate". Minutes of Executive Committee Meetings: December 15, 1969 to June 7, 1971

 3. "English Faculty Salaries". [For a more detailed listing see Box 2, Folder 9]: 1970 to 1976

 4. "Correspondence with Harold Kitner-Faculty Ombudsman": November 4, 1970 to March 23, 1971

 5. "Correspondence with President White": June 10, 1970 to April 5, 1971

 6. "Miscellaneous Items": A faculty handbook and a few teaching notes.

Series 2: Committees and Conference

 7. "Academic Due Process Subcommittee (of EPC)": December 12, 1967 to February 19, 1968

 8. "Academic Due Process Subcommittee (of EPC)". Includes a copy of: "Developments in the Law Academic Freedom" that appeared in the March issue of The Harvard Law Review, Vo. 81, pages 1045-1159: February 20, 1968 to March 27, 1968

 9. "Academic Due Process Subcommittee (of EPC)": May 6, 1968 to January 5, 1971

10. "Task Force on Racial Understanding". Includes the results of a Faculty Senate Racial Questionnaire conducted during the 1970-1971 school year: July 1970 to November 23, 1970

11. "Task Force on Racial Understanding": January 1971 to March 30, 1971

12. A Notebook entitled: "Commission on the Role and Status of Graduate Appointees": 1970

13. "Commission on the Role and Status of Graduate Student Appointees": June 24, 1970 to August 10, 1970

14. "Commission on the Role and Status of Graduate Student Appointees": August 14, 1970 to October 29, 1970

15. "Commission on the Role and Status of Graduate Student Appointees": November 4, 1970 to May 13, 1971

16. "Integrated Life Sciences Humanities Requirement Committee- Medical School". Includes a copy of: Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, Summer 1975, "The State of Humanities.": February 4, 1975 to August 8, 1975

17. "Grievance Committee": June 4, 1974 to October 7, 1976

18. "Grievance Committee": March 9, 1977 to June 7, 1977

19. "Report on the Committee to Evaluate the Chairperson of the Philosophy Department- Dickoff": May 24, 1978 to April 6, 1981

20. Conference: "The Humanities and the Art of Healing Conference-October 31 and November 1, 1975": February 4, 1975 to October 16, 1975

21. Conference: "The Humanities and the Art of Healing Conference-October 31 and November 1, 1975": October 20, 1975 to December 8, 1975

Series 3: Legal Cases: The Andres Bermudez Case

Box 2
Folder - Contents

 1. "Andres Bermudez ase": January 18, 1974 to October 28, 1975

 2. "Andres Bermudez Case": February 5, 1976 to July 22, 1977

 3. A Notebook containing the: "Record of Twark Charges and President Responses". [ Allan J. Twark, Professor of Finance]: February 5, 1976 to October 5, 1976

 4. Copies of newspaper articles dealing with the Andres Bermudez Case: October 3, 1976 to February 10, 1977.

Series 4: Legal Cases: The Joanne Kantrowitz Case

 5. A notebook containing materials dealing with Kantrowitz case: January 12, 1972 to May 1, 1975

 6. "Miscellaneous Items: Kantrowitz Case": May 1971 to October 16, 1975

 7. "Miscellaneous Items: Correspondence with Kantowitz": June 9, 1972 to December 7, 1976

 8. "Miscellaneous Items: Kantrowitz Case": January 12, 1972 to April 21, 1974

 9. "Kantowitz vs English Department-Current". Includes a listing of the English Faculty Salary and Employment Records-Regional Campuses (dates: 1965- 1975): January 12, 1972 to September 24, 1975

10. "Miscellaneous Items: Stuff from Notebook-Photocopies, etc.": January 31, 1972 to December 3, 1973

11. "Miscellaneous Items: Stuff from Notebook-Photocopies, etc.": January 14, 1974 to May 30, 1976

12. "Miscellaneous Items: Kantowitz Case": February 23, 1976 to July 26, 1976

13. "Miscellaneous Items: Kantowitz Case": November 26, 1976 and February 4, 1977

14. Copies of Legal Documents: Kantowitz Case: "Court Deposition". Joanne E. Kantrowitz, et al., Plaintiffs vs Kent State University, et al., Defendants: June 4, 1976

15. Copies of Legal Documents: Kantowitz Case: "Summons" Also included are some miscellaneous correspondence.: January 5, 1975 to February 4, 1977

16. Copies of Legal Documents: Kantowitz Case: "Plaintiff's First Set of Interrogatories to Defendants"

17. Copies of Legal Documents: Kantowitz Case: "Plaintiff's Second Set of Interrogatories to Defendants"

18. Copies of Legal Documents: Kantowitz Case: "Defendants Interrogatories to Plaintiff and her answers and comments"