The Combined Executive Committee was composed of members of the executive committees of Mannes's three divisions: Mannes College, the Preparatory School, and the Extension Division. Much of the material documents the 1999 controversy during the term of Mannes dean Joel Lester in which the Metropolitan Opera Guild fired its union orchestra members and attempted to hire Mannes students to replace them.

Correspondence, memoranda, articles, and notes concerning the attempted merger of Mannes with Manhattan School of Music in 1978, the firing of Mannes faculty by acting president Jack M. Watson, and the subsequent protests by students and faculty resulting in the removal of the Mannes board of trustees by the New York State Board of Regents. The folder title is retained from the original file compiled by Elizabeth Aaron.