The Institute of World Affairs records document the operations of the Institute and its administrators and researchers. Mostly originating from its 1942 founding to its redesignation as the Research Division of the New School for Social Research in 1953, the files include administrative records such as minutes, correspondence, proposals, contracts, and budgets; manuscripts, notes, and published research material; and research project records.

The bulk of the material consists of project files, particularly the records from the Leisure-time project (1947-1953), as well as of projects and studies by researchers and administrators associated with the Institute, including Hans Staudinger, Phyllis Poses, Adolph Lowe, Elizabeth Tood, Lewis Lorwin, Henry G. Aubrey, and Alexander Ringer.

The collection consists of records originating from the office of Mary Urban, who coordinated fundraising and public relations efforts at the New School in the 1940s and early 1950s, and that of her successor, Margarete Westmann, director of Development from 1958-1962. Materials include memoranda and correspondence, financial statements, budgets, advertising contracts, donor and prospect records, and New School Associates membership records.

Also includes event planning materials and invitations, fundraising appeals, minutes, reports, promotional materials, and records documenting the work of the Scholarship Committee and the Graduate Faculty Alumni Association. Part of one file is restricted. Please email archivist@newschool.edu for details.