Norman Swartz joined the Department of Philosophy at SFU in 1967 and retired as Professor Emeritus in 1998.

During Swartz's early years at SFU, the Political Science, Sociology and Anthropology Department was in academic and administrative turmoil, which culminated in the Department being placed under trusteeship by the University administration and eight faculty members going on strike.

Various faculty members, administrators and students produced documents to support their points of view during the PSA crisis. As he explained in his autobiographical notes, Swartz collected all of the PSA material that circulated around the University and that reached his desk from 1969 to 1970. Collection includes correspondence, memoranda, newspaper clippings and other documents related to the ongoing events in the PSA Department at this time.

Sub-sub-series consists primarily of photocopied material from the Sun, the Province, the Peak, the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) Bulletin, and other publications relating to the development of SFU. Subjects, events and activities documented include post-secondary education in the 1960s; student activism; the development and administration of SFU; post-secondary educational systems; faculty-administration relations; the Board of Governors; the CAUT Censure; the PSA affair; the Shell service station dispute; and the presidencies of Patrick McTaggart-Cowan and Kenneth Strand. Records include journal and magazine articles; newspaper clippings; reports and book excerpts.

Sub-series consists of records relating to the Vice-President, Academic's interactions with the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT). Activities and topics documented include CAUT's 1971 censure of SFU relating to the dispute in the university's Political Science, Sociology and Anthropology (PSA) Department, university governance, faculty benefits, and development of research ethics policies. Records include correspondence, reports, news releases and other CAUT printed material.

Sub-series consists primarily of photocopied material related to the trusteeship over the PSA department, the PSA Strike, and the subsequent dismissal of eight faculty members of the PSA department. Subjects, events and activities documented include the PSA Tenure Committee; the SFU Faculty Association; the Academic Freedom and Tenure Committee and statements; the CAUT Committee of Inquiry and motion of censure; the American Anthropological Association (AAA) ad hoc committee to investigate the SFU dispute; the Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Association (CSAA)'s boycott of SFU; the American Sociological Association ad hoc committee on the SFU dispute; the Canadian Political Science Association (CPSA)'s position; the Association of University and Colleges of Canada (AUCC)'s Committee on Academic Freedom; the Palmer Committee decision; the Rosenbluth Committee Report; the Supreme Court of BC in Wheeldon vs. SFU; and the university administration's actions under Presidents Kenneth Strand and Pauline Jewett. Sub-series consists of reports, issues of the Peak, minutes, memoranda, abstracts, press releases, correspondence, research notes, telegrams, newsletters, newspaper articles, strike bulletins, CAUT bulletins, book excerpts, journal articles, and printed online material.

As Director of the University News Service, Dennis Roberts purchased a cassette recorder, which he took with him to meetings, interviews, and newsworthy events. Over the years, he captured the voices of students, staff, faculty and administrators. Although there are no transcripts for the recordings, many of them served as the basis for articles in Comment magazine, which contain additional information on the topic or individual interviewed. Topics include student protests; the dispute over the Political Science, Sociology and Anthopology (PSA) Department; interviews, speeches and news conferences with university Presidents, adminstrative officers, faculty members, staff and students.

This series consists of records relating to the activities and deliberations of the APC. The files were originally created by the Vice-President, Academic as a member of the committee. At some point in the early 1990s, the records were transferred to and integrated into the record-keeping system of Academic Planning Services. Activities and topics documented in the files include planning retreats at Harrison Hots Springs (May 31 - June 2 1972) and Westminster Abbey, Mission (December 11 - 13 1972); consideration of program proposals in the Fine Arts and in Communication; and the activities of an APC sub-committee relating to disputes in the Political Science, Sociology and Anthropology (PSA) department. Records include meeting agendas and minutes, correspondence, reports, and program proposals.

Sub-sub-series consists of photocopied material relating to the development and administration of academic departments; and the appointment, promotion, and tenure of faculty. Hugh Johnston numbered most of the pages and created an index to this material. Subjects, activities, and events documented include the Academic Freedom and Tenure Committee; the Appointment Committee; the Joint Committee on Salaries, Promotions and Tenure; the SFU Faculty Association; faculty appointments; the CAUT Censure; sabbatical leave; PSA dismissals; foreign scholars; departmental reviews; the University Development Committee; the development of academic research centres and institutes; faculty members; culturally significant individuals, groups and movements of the 1960s; student activism and Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). Sub-sub-series includes appointment notices; selected chapters of an unpublished anthology of essays; correspondence; draft policy statements; printed emails; faculty handbooks; interview transcriptions; discussion papers; list serve postings; memoranda; minutes; printed material from online newsletters, newspapers, magazines, and encyclopedias; newspaper and journal articles; reports; and working papers.