Walter J. Blenko Sr. Papers

Collection

Identifier: 0000-0001

Staff Only

Scope and Content Note

The Walter Blenko Papers are housed in four archival boxes and arranged into three series. Series have been designated for Trustees' committees, correspondence, and subject files. Generally, these papers include meeting minutes, correspondence, and reports. Generally, this collection provides additional information about issues covered by the meeting minutes of the Board of Trustees. Mr. Blenko, Sr. served on the Board of Trustees during a time of great change for the University. Trustees were faced with student unrest and campus governance in the late 1960s, the merger with Carnegie Institute in 1967, and the separation of the University's Board of Trustees from the Carnegie Institute in 1959. This collection contains little information about Mr. Blenko personally.

Dates

Creation: Majority of material found within 1960-1978
Creation: 1912-1978

Restrictions

This collection is restricted. Access will be considered on a case by case basis by the University Archivist and cannot be guaranteed.

Biographical Sketch of Walter J. Blenko Sr. (c1900-1978)

Walter Blenko joined the Board of Trustees in 1943 as an ex-officio alumnus trustee, having graduated with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering in 1921 and attaining a professional degree in the same subject in 1941. He worked as an attorney in Pittsburgh. In 1959 he was elected as a life trustee. As a Trustee, he served on the Buildings and Grounds, Finance, Nominating, and Student Affairs Committees as well as being Chairman of the Executive Committee for 19 years.

Walter Blenko received three awards from Carnegie Mellon University as an alumnus. In 1947, he was awarded the Alumni Merit Award; he received the Alumni Service Award in 1956; and for his service to the University through active participation in alumni and University affairs, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Award in 1967.

Blenko's son, Walter Blenko, Jr. is also an alumnus, a member of the Board of Trustees, and an active supporter of the University. He graduated in 1950 and worked with his father as an attorney in Pittsburgh specializing in intellectual property law. He established the Walter J. Blenko Senior Professor of Environmental Engineering in 1981 in honor of his father.

Walter Blenko Sr. died on November 6, 1978. A resolution in the Minutes of the Executive Board of Trustees from November 20, 1978 describes Mr. Blenko as "faithful and devoted" to the University.

Extent

3.5 Linear feet (4 boxes)

Language

English

Additional Description

Overview

This collection contains the papers of Walter Blenko, who served on the University's Board of Trustees. The collection includes 3.5 linear feet of papers and correspondence from Blenko's work as a member of the Board of Trustees.

Provenance

Donated by Walter J. Blenko Jr. and Don B. Blenko, sons of Walter J. Blenko Sr., around April 1987.

Related Material

A bound set of Executive Committee Minutes from 1903 to 2000 and the Records of the Board of Trustees (7.5 ft) are available in the University Archives.