This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
Size | 11.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 4,500 items) |
Abstract | Daniel Okun (1917-2007) worked in 89 countries over the course of his career. He began his career in the Army as a Sanitary Engineering Officer, and later switched to the private sector, working for Malcolm Pirnie. In 1957, he moved into academia at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (though he continued to consult), where he remained until his retirement. The collection contains correspondence, writings by and about Okun, documentation of his education, career, government testimony and other legal documents, and records of significant water projects including the Connecticut Watershed Protection; the Asheville, NC/French Broad River Basin and Woodfin; and Cane Creek, NC. Also included in the collection are about 1300 slides and small collection of photographs. Miscellaneous papers include Okun's notebooks, a collection of postcards, and papers on Allen Hazen, Ruth Hazen and Gordon Fair. The collection serves to outline Okun's Army and academic career, and details his extensive publication, travel, and work history over the course of 74 years. |
Creator | Okun, Daniel Alexander. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Rare Book Collection. |
Language | English |
Processed by: Health Sciences Library Staff.
Encoded by: Megan Thompson, October 2010; Dawne Howard Lucas, July 2019.
Back to TopThroughout his career, Daniel Okun worked in 89 countries and consulted with municipal and legislative planning committees throughout the United States. His many contributions included designing a water treatment plant in Bangkok, Thailand; establishing a graduate program in sanitary engineering in Lima, Peru; and studying water supply and pollution control in China.
Okun was born in New York City in 1917. From 1933-1937, he attended Cooper Union Institute in New York City, earning a BS in Civil Engineering. He then went on to earn a master's degree in civil engineering in 1938 from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. After working for two years as a Sanitary Engineering Officer for the U.S. Public Health Service, Okun joined the Army's Sanitary Corps in 1942, working in Newfoundland, SW Pacific, Latin America, and the Philippines. He was discharged in 1946 at the rank of Major. After the Army, Okun attended Harvard University, earning his Doctorate in Sanitary Engineering. His work there, inspired by Malcolm Pirnie (who he would later work for from 1948-1952) led to the use of pure oxygen in wastewater treatment.
1952 marked the start of Okun's affiliation with UNC. He remained at UNC until he retired in 1982, serving as the chair of the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering from 1955-1973, and as the Keenan Professor of Environmental Sciences and Engineering starting in 1973. While holding the title of chair, Okun's department grew from three to 25 faculty members. During his tenure at UNC, his research interests included the development of dual water systems for the purpose of conserving scarce resources of high quality water by reclaiming wastewaters and other poor quality waters for myriad non-potable purposes such as irrigation, toilet flushing, cooling towers, and industry.
After his retirement, Okun remained actively involved in the profession through writing, lecturing and consulting. His post-retirement work included the campaign to build Cane Creek Dam and Reservoir in Chapel Hill to ensure the most pristine water source possible for Chapel Hill and the UNC campus. He died on December 7, 2007 at the age of 90. He had over 39 awards to his name, including a Fulbright, and was a member of both the National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine.
Back to TopEducation and Career, 1933-1995, contains diplomas and correspondence, as well as records pertaining to Okun's public health service, U.S. Army career, time at Harvard and at UNC, tenure as UNC Faculty Chair, and the UNC School of Public Health Art Exhibit. Government Testimony and Legal Documents, 1957-2003, contains transcripts of testimonies, meeting agendas, correspondence, newspaper clippings, court documents, and miscellaneous documents, with an emphasis from the late 1980's to 2003. Water Projects documents six major projects: Cane Creek Reservoir, North Carolina (1966-2003), Connecticut Watershed Protection (1977), Asheville, NC/French Broad River Basin and Woodfin (1978-2004), Australia Reuse: Rouse Hill Development (1989-2004), New Zealand (1997-2000), and San Diego (1988-2007). Correspondence, 1967-2007, includes professional correspondence as well as Okun's prolific letters to editors of various publications. Writings by Okun, 1941-2007, covers reports, memos, presentations and lectures, announcements and programs, television and radio transcripts, published works, and writings presumed to be unpublished such as course syllabi, abstracts, and drafts. Writings about Okun, 1942-2007, contains brochures and publications, printouts of articles on the internet, awards and accolades, book reviews, newspaper articles, and other formal and informal media. The Miscellaneous series contains zip disks and floppy disks, awards, a collection of water carrier postcards, Okun's personal notebooks, business cards, and miscellaneous personal materials. There is also a collection of personal and professional slides and photographs.
Back to TopBeginning with 1933 High School Diploma this series includes materials Dr. Daniel A. Okun saved and donated related to higher education, his work with the U.S. Public Health Service and in the U.S. Army as well as his professional transition from Harvard University to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Contained in one folder is a collection of items related to Dr. Okun's position as Chairman of the Faculty includes the text of his address on Polk Place on 6 May1970, correspondence to the editor of the Daily Tar Heel, faculty responses, 15 September 1972 statement to the Faculty Council and tearsheets from the University Administration page from two UNC Football programs (1971 and 1972). The series also includes a folder of items on the UNC School of Public Health Art Exhibition which Dr. Okun initiated.
Folder 1 |
Certificates, Newspaper Clippings, Diplomas, 1933-38 (12 items) |
Folder 2 |
Letters of Recommendation to Harvard Graduate School, 1940 (4 items) |
Folder 3 |
Correspondence, 1940 (14 items) |
Folder 4 |
Ohio River Pollution Survey, 1941 (1 item) |
Folder 5 |
Correspondence and Reports (25 items) |
Folder 6 |
Miscellaneous. 1941 (4 items) |
Folder 7 |
Correspondence, 1942 (38 items) |
Folder 12 |
Report Cards and Correspondence, 1946-1955 (33 items) |
Folder 13 |
Professional Engineering License, 1949 (1 item) |
This subseries begins with text of remarks made to UNC Students on Polk Place, May 6, 1970, with regards to the student strike about the Vietnam War and in response to tragedies at Santa Barbara and Kent State. Includes letter to Daily Tar Heel (student newspaper) editor, memo to all faculty, and faculty responses. (last in year dated May 19). Also included are a note of appreciation from Chancellor Sitterson (9 July 1971); Okun’s statement to the general faculty and faculty council on 15 September 1972; and tear sheets of the UNC Administration page from the UNC Football publications in 1971 and 1972. Statement from 1993 is text Okun delivered reflecting on his term 1970-1973.
Folder 14 |
UNC Faculty Chair, 1970-1972, 1993 (21 items) |
Dr. Okun had a long history of advocacy in several areas: public health, water related projects, and local politics. These papers contain transcripts of testimonies, meeting agendas, correspondence, newspaper clippings, court documents, and miscellaneous documents. The papers span from 1957-2003, with an emphasis from the late 1980's to 2003. The cases are disparate in scope; some are corporate cases, a number are related to municipal meetings, others are testimonies for notable US authorities, and some are personal in nature. Two notable pieces included in the series are, "Testimony Before the Environmental Subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee on Amendment 410 to s.1478" regarding safe drinking water on 20 March 1972, and materials from Okun's successful campaign to stop the expansion of Weaver Dairy Road in Chapel Hill, NC from a two lane road into a four lane thoroughfare.
Water projects are the core of Okun's work. This series contains records of six projects: Cane Creek Reservoir, North Carolina (1966-2003), Connecticut Watershed Protection (1977), Asheville, NC/French Broad River Basin and Woodfin (1978-2004), Australia Reuse: Rouse Hill Development (1989-2004), New Zealand (1997-2000), and San Diego (1988-2007). Documents in these files include correspondence related to the projects, articles, newspaper clippings, speeches and presentations, and case studies.
Folder 51 |
San Diego, Calif., 1988-1996 (17 items) |
Folder 52 |
San Diego, Calif., 1997 (21 items) |
Folder 53 |
San Diego, Calif., 1998 (19 items) |
Folder 54 |
San Diego, Calif., 1999 (26 items) |
Folder 55 |
San Diego, Calif. 2000-2007 (18 items) |
This series contains a variety of correspondence to and from Daniel Okun spanning from 1967-2007. Professional correspondences such as scheduling for media interviews, congratulatory notes, thank you notes, general correspondence with universities and students, and solicitations for support are all represented. Also included are letters to the editors and authors of various magazines and articles, containing responses and opinions. Notable publications include The New York Times and the Raleigh News and Observer. One noteworthy and inflammatory correspondence in the collection is the exchange between Okun and Albert F. Appleton, Commissioner of the New York Department of Environmental Protection, in late 1993. In it, Appleton accused Okun of "irresponsible fear mongering" regarding water issues in New York State.
Dr. Okun's assorted writings span from 1941-2007, and cover a diverse range of media. Covered in this collection are his reports, memos, presentations and lectures, television and radio transcripts, published works, and other writings. Reports address water and sanitation in countries around the globe, and were prepared while Okun was employed at Malcolm Pirnie Engineers, as well as when he consulted for various firms. Memos span from 1967 to 2007, with a focus on 1970 to 1990. Presentations range in subject matter from waste control and water pollution to public health concerns in developing nations due to local water issues. Also included with his writings are three transcripts from radio and television; particularly interesting is the transcript for "Troubled Water," a special that ran on Dateline NBC in 1994. Okun's published works range from 1941-2007, and encompass published proceedings, book chapters, book reviews, editorials, journal articles, and lectures. Notable publication venues include the New York Times, Environmental Engineer, and The Diplomate-The Magazine of the American Academy of Environmental Engineers. Finally, miscellaneous writings are items presumed to be unpublished such as course syllabi, abstracts, and drafts.
Folder 211 |
Memos, 1967 (6 items) |
Folder 212 |
Memos, 1970 (1 item) |
Folder 213 |
Memos, 1974 (9 items) |
Folder 214 |
Memos, 1975 (4 items) |
Folder 215 |
Memos, 1976 (1 item) |
Folder 216 |
Memos, 1977 (2 items) |
Folder 217 |
1978 (1 item) |
Folder 218 |
1979 (1 item) |
Folder 219 |
Memos, 1981 (1 item) |
Folder 220 |
Memos, 1982 (2 items) |
Folder 221 |
Memos, 1985 (1 item) |
Folder 222 |
Memos, 1986 (1 item) |
Folder 223 |
Memos, 1987 (5 items) |
Folder 224 |
Memos, 1988 (1 item) |
Folder 225 |
Memos, 1989 (4 items) |
Folder 226 |
Memos, 1990 (1 item) |
Folder 227 |
Memos, 1993 (1 item) |
Folder 228 |
Memos, 1995 (1 item) |
Folder 229 |
Memos, 1996 (2 items) |
Folder 230 |
Memos, 1997 (2 items) |
Folder 231 |
Memos, 1998 (2 items) |
Folder 232 |
Memos, 1999 (1 item) |
Folder 233 |
Memos, 2000 (1 item) |
Folder 234 |
Memos, 2003 (1 item) |
Folder 235 |
Memos, 2007 (1 item) |
Announcements and corresponding lecture are housed in presentations. If no corresponding lecture or presentation text is present, they are housed here.
Folder 413 |
Announcements and Programs, 1948-1959 (6 items) |
Folder 414 |
Announcements and Programs, 1971-1988 (7 items) |
Folder 415 |
Announcements and Programs, 1991-1994 (11 items) |
Folder 416 |
Announcements and Programs, 1995 (11 items) |
Folder 417 |
Announcements and Programs, 1999-2003 (3 items) |
Folder 418 |
Announcements and Programs, Undated (3 items) |
Folder 419 |
TV and Radio Transcripts, 1969, 1994, 2000 (3 items)The Troubles with Water (American Chemical Society News Service), October 13, 1969; Dateline NBC: Troubled Water?, September 20, 1994; "Toilet to Tap" aired on Living on Earth (National Public Radio show), July 14, 2000 |
Initial arrangement was as a series of published articles that Dan Okun had saved within his collection when everything was sorted by year. The series now also includes published proceedings, book chapters, book reviews and journal articles.
Series includes items authored by Daniel A. Okun but presumed to be unpublished. Included are abstracts, drafts, outlines of undetermined types and course syllabi. Dr. Okun provided materials separated only by year and this classification did not exist when he consulted with the archivist between June and November 2007.
Spanning from 1942 to 2007, these writings are formal brochures and publications, printouts of articles on the internet, awards and accolades, book reviews, newspaper articles, and other formal and informal media. There is an abundance of materials for the years 1978 and 1999 due to significant occurrences during those years. In 1978, Okun's book, Regionalization of Water Management: A Revolution in England and Wales, was published; in 1999, Okun donated $100,000 to the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill to help build the Sonja H. Stone Black Cultural Center and he was named one of Engineering News-Record's top 125 people in the past 125 years. Also of interest is an ad from Time Magazine that features research In North Carolina.
This series includes business cards from Okun's associates around the world, his personal notebooks, a collection of water carrier postcards, zip disks, floppy disks, and Okun's awards. Also included are papers concerning Gordon Fair, newsletters, advertisements, booklets, reports, and personal materials such as family honors and biographical materials.
Folder 564 |
Business Cards (45 items) |
Folder 565 |
Business Cards (41 items) |
Folder 566 |
Business Cards (30 items) |
The slides and photos in this series document many of the 89 countries Okun visited over the course of his life. They include images from at least five continents and cover a range of subject matter, including dams, intakes, water towers, stab basins, aerial shots, maps, and images of everyday life in these countries. Also included are a range of photographs documenting Okun's life, including photographs of his apartment, his army years, and awards ceremonies.