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Nick Piediscalzi Papers

 Collection
Identifier: UA-9

Scope and Contents

The materials provide an insight into the career of Nicholas Piediscalzi. The collection covers the beginning of his career at Wright State University to his retirement years in California. The majority of the collection are books in which he contributed to or edited.

Series I: Published Works contains books and papers written by Nick. These include papers prepared for conference and lecture, newspaper article and book reviews. Of note is Adam Smith and the Wealth of Nations: 1776-1976 A Bicentennial Conference publication. Series II: Religious and Education Studies contains materials for teaching religion in public schools. The series contains guidance for educators to teach about religion along with studies completed on the subject. Of interest are the NCPRE Curriculum Resource Guides.

Series III: Public Education Religious Studies Center (PERSC) houses documents on the center. Included in the series are newsletters, workshops and publications. Of interest is the “Religion Studies in the Public Schools” slide presentation.

Series IV: WSU Religion Department contains materials about the department. Included in this series is the history of the unit, newspaper clippings and course syllabi. Of interest is the C.A.R.E.E.S. Newsletters Christian-Marxist Encounter Task Group.

Series V: Unpublished Materials contains materials on Nick Piediscalzi and Janes Panoch. There are newspaper clippings, undergraduate and graduate notebooks for Nick. Of interest is his dissertation on “Paul Tillich and Erik H. Erikson on The Origin and Nature of Morality and Ethics”.

Dates

  • Creation: 1951 - 2013

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

There are no restrictions on accessing material in this collection.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright restrictions may apply. Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.

Biographical / Historical

Born and raised on the west side of Chicago, Nick Piediscalzi pursued his undergraduate work at Grinnell College in Iowa, before attending Yale University where he received a Bachelor of Divinity degree in 1956. After graduation he spent four years as a campus minister at the University of California at Berkeley. He then returned to graduate school in 1960 at Boston University where he received his teaching degree, and continuing his studies there in pursuit of a doctoral degree in contemporary religious thought and ethics. During this time Nick also spent a year teaching at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Co. He completed his dissertation on “Paul Tillich and Erik H. Erikson on The Origin and Nature of Morality and Ethics”, and received his doctoral in 1965. Nick had two job opportunities after graduation, one from the Miami University/Ohio State University branch campus in Dayton, Ohio, and the other from the University of Hawaii. He made the decision to accept the offer from the Miami/Ohio State branch campus in Dayton, with the agreement that he would build the Department of Religion when the satellite campus became its own state university, which happened in the fall of 1967. Over the next twenty-three years he grew the Department of Religion, adding faculty, courses and creating the Public Education Religious Studies Center (PERSC).

Extent

4 linear feet

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

The collected research and written works of Nick Piediscalzi regarding the topic of religion and teaching as it relates to public education. Collection also includes materials related to the founding of the WSU Dept. of Religion and the Public Education Religious Studies Center (PERSC).

Arrangement

This collection is comprised of five series:

  1. Series I: Published Works (1966-1993)
  2. Series II: Religious and Education Studies (1977-2013)
  3. Series III: PERSC (1972-1986)
  4. Series IV: WSU Religion Department (1965-1987)
  5. Series V: Unpublished Materials (1951-2014)
  6. Sub-Series Va: Nick Piediscalzi
  7. Sub-Series Vb: James Panoch

Other Finding Aids

The finding aid is available on the Special Collections and Archives web site at https://wright.libraryhost.com/repositories/2/resources/976.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The Nick Piediscalzi Papers were donated to Special Collections & Archives by Nick Piediscalzi in May and November of 2015.

Accruals

There is the potential for additional accruals

Related Materials

WSU Department of Religion/PERSC Collection, WSU Retirees Association Oral History Project http://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/archives_retirees/21/

Processing Information

This finding aid was written according to DACS standards by Nina Herzog, June 2016.

Title
Guide to the Nick Piediscalzi Papers (UA-9)
Status
Completed
Author
Nina Herzog
Date
2016 June
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Part of the University Archives Repository

Contact:
Wright State University Libraries
Special Collections and Archives
3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy
Dayton OH 45435-0001 USA
937-775-2092