These Treasurer's Office files contain records from the years 1948-1976. The bulk of this collection falls between 1960-1974, when Ira A. Schur was Treasurer.
The types of records in this collection are varied and numerous and they reveal the activities and priorities of the Treasurer's Office over this time. They include: minutes of Board of Trustee meetings and of various committees; correspondence with administration, faculty, other institutions, businesses, governmental agencies, lawyers, and many others; printed reports concerning various aspects of the Hospital; loan requests; employee agreements; and various budgetary reports.
The documentation reveals a few recurring themes. A large percentage of the records concern personnel management. Among the employee related material are: employee agreements and contracts; retirement agreements; data on retirement funds; tax annuity reports; private practice agreements; and comparative studies of executive benefits, perquisites, and salaries. Two sets of folders in the collection relate directly to employee benefit issues. The first contains the files of the Ad Hoc Committee for Executive Benefits, which existed from 1962-1970 to determine appropriate benefits for executive level personnel. They are found in folders labeled "Executive Insurance and Benefits." The second folder group contains the records of the Compensation Committee, which was formed in 1972 (the records continue to 1973) and had similar objectives to that of the previously mentioned Ad Hoc Committee. This second series is found in folders labeled "Compensation Committee."
There are several other subjects that recur in these files. Many documents relate to funds and fundraising, including records concerning funds for the then new Annenberg Building and School of Medicine. There are many documents relating to the tax status of corporations, house staff, executives, and other employees. Also found here is correspondence regarding the incorporation of The Mount Sinai Medical Center and name changes for Mount Sinai School of Medicine. In addition, as might be expected, there are data on expenses and supply costs.
Throughout the collection is correspondence with many prominent Mount Sinai individuals including Gustave Levy, Chairman of the Boards of Trustees; Martin Steinberg, MD, Director of The Mount Sinai Hospital from 1948 to 1969; Hans Popper, MD, Ph.D., Chairman of the Department of Pathology and President/Dean of Mount Sinai; Jack Herman, Director of Development; and S. David Pomrinse, MD, Director of The Mount Sinai Hospital from 1969 to 1977.
The Treasurer's Office hired outside consulting firms to perform many studies. Included in the collection are a compensation study completed by the Martin E. Segal Company (1973) and a Mount Sinai Medical Center report on tax shelter annuity programs conducted by S. B. Ackerman Associates (1973).
Ira A. Schur conducted the majority of his Treasurer's responsibilities from his office at S. D. Leidesdorf and Co. where he worked from 1916 until his retirement in 1969. However, there are many documents that reveal that he also conducted business at Mount Sinai and occasionally from his homes in Manhattan and Scarsdale, New York.
The files contained in this collection are of value for many reasons, one being the level of the office and its importance to the institution. Another aspect that brings value to these records is their relative completeness and comprehensiveness. An examination of these records provides an understanding of the evolution and workings of the Treasurer's Office.
It is difficult to say what gaps the collection may have since the records were not donated directly from the Treasurer's office and contain files only as recent as 1976. However, it is surprising that there is only minimal mention of issues regarding property and no information on banking or evidence of bank accounts and bill payments, which are all major responsibilities of the office. On the whole, the collection lacks budgetary data. Although it does contain some budgetary reports and financial statements, the majority of the collection is composed of day to day personnel and individually-focused issues.
