Correspondence: James R. Elliott, NIU Department of Economics, 1961-1965

INTRODUCTION The Jack W. Skeels papers were donated to the University Archives on June 3, 1997 upon the retirement of Dr. Skeels. Literary rights on all materials not under copyright are dedicated to the public. There are no restrictions on access to the collection. SCOPE AND CONTENT The materials in this collection document the career and interests of Jack W. Skeels from 1956 until 1990. The collection is organized into four series: Research and Publications (1959-1976); Departmental and Administrative Business (both at Wayne State University and NIU, 1956-1990); Faculty Unions and Representation (1968-1990); and DeKalb Development and Politics (1963-1977). The first few folders in the collection contain vita information for Dr. Skeels, as well as information relating to his wife and son. Of special interest is the information relating to the various union activities at NIU, and in particular the A.A.U.P. This material compliments information found in UA 19 Faculty Records relating to various professional associations on campus. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH Jack William Skeels was born November 3, 1929 in Wausau, Wisconsin. He served in the U.S. Navy on active duty from January 1951 to December 1952, plus six years in the reserves. Skeels received both his B.A. (1951) and his Ph.D. (1957) in Economics from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. His specialization is Labor Economics. Dr. Skeels joined the Northern Illinois University faculty in September 1963. He had taught previously at Wayne State University in Detroit (1959-1963), the University of Michigan (June-August 1959), Michigan State University (Sept. 1957- June 1959), and the University of Wisconsin (various summers 1960-1974). Skeels served as the Acting Head of the Economics Department from September 1964 to August 1965, while Dr. James R. Elliott was on sabbatical. After Dr. Elliott’s tragic death in an automobile accident in December of 1965, Skeels again assumed the duties of Acting Head of the Department, becoming permanent Head in January 1968. On February 2, 1969 the Board of Regents appointed Skeels the Associate Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. As Associate Dean he was in charge of program development and curricula matters. He held this position thru 1970. From 1975 to 1976 Skeels served as Acting Associate Provost, and from 1977 thru 1982 he again served as Chairman of the Department of Economics. While at Northern Skeels served on a number of committees including the University Council and Faculty Senate. An outstanding scholar, Skeels is a specialist in labor relations, comparative economics and economics methodology. He has had a number of works published on topics including private employment agencies, strikes, employment and unemployment measurement, “featherbedding” in railroads, and automobile unions. He was the editor and interviewer for 150 volumes of oral history interviews relating to the development of unionism in the automobile industry (on deposit at the University of Michigan archives). Skeels was the Editor of the Association for Comparative Economics Ace Newsletter, from 1964 to 1971. In 1959 Skeels served as chairman of the Unemployment Compensation Panel for the Michigan Governor’s Task Force on Labor. He testified before Congress concerning public employment services. He has also served as economic consultant to the State of Illinois and the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare 1963-1965, as well as being a member of the Illinois Governor’s University-State Agency Committee, 1965-1968. From 1971 to 1990 he was a member of the Governor’s Grievance Panel. Skeels has been a member of many organizations including: Phi Beta Kappa, where he served as Northern Illinois Association President 1970-1971; the American Association of University Professors, where he served several terms as NIU Chapter President; the American Economic Association, the Midwest Economics Association, and the Industrial Relations Research Association. From 1964 to 1971 he was the National Secretary-Treasurer of the Association for Comparative Economics. He served as the National Executive Secretary of the Association for Comparative Economic Studies from 1971-1973. Dr. Skeels taught at NIU for a total of 34 years before retiring in May of 1997. Skeels and his former wife, Dr. Joyce VivianSkeels, an Assistant Professor in the Economics Department at Northern from Fall 1964 to 1966, were the parents of two children, Jack Allen and Jenny.