SUMMARY DESCRIPTION

Files concerning the planning of Office of Public Liaison meetings with groups and individuals in the private sector, various other transmissions of information from the public to the government, President Ford's consumer initiatives, and presidential personnel appointments.

QUANTITY
6.6 linear feet (ca. 13,200 pages)

DONOR
Gerald R. Ford (accession number 77-73)

ACCESS
Open. Some items are temporarily restricted under terms of the donor's deed of gift, a copy of which is available on request, or under National Archives and Records Administration general restrictions (36 CFR 1256).

COPYRIGHT
Gerald R. Ford donated to the United States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to remain with them. Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public domain.

Prepared by Nancy Evaldson, December 1988
[s:\bin\findaid\valis, wayne - files.doc]

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Wayne H. Valis

June 14, 1944 - Born, Somerville, New Jersey

1966 - B.A., Rutgers University; Married Noel M. Ritter

1966-69 - Eastern Director, Intercollegiate Studies Institute

1969-72 - Editor, The Intercollegiate Review

1972-1973 - Assistant to the Director for Legislative Analysis, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research

1973-77 - Staff Assistant to the President

1975-77 - Director of Research and Planning, Office of Public Liaison

Sept.-Oct. 1976 - Leave of absence from the White House staff to work for the President's campaign committee

1977-80 - Special assistant to the president, American Enterprise Institute

1980 - Author/editor of two books: The Candidates 1980 -Where They Stand, The Future under President Reagan

1981-83 -Special Assistant to the President for Public Liaison

1983- - President, Valis Associates

INTRODUCTION

Wayne Valis joined the White House staff during President Nixon's second term and performed duties in areas of public liaison, recruitment, legislative tracking and speechwriting under the direction of Melvin Laird and William J. Baroody. He continued to perform many of the same duties during the Ford administration and was given the title of Director of Planning and Research for the Office of Public Liaison (OPL) in January 1975. This job title is somewhat misleading, however, as there is little evidence in the collection that he conducted formal planning or research on major programs or used the title in signing documents. Rather, his role was largely as a collector and transmitter of information within OPL and from the private sector to the White House Personnel Office, or appropriate departments and agencies, with occasional advisory and representation functions.

Valis' files contain material related to liaison with individuals in the private sector, planning of OPL functions, speechwriting, legislative tracking, consumerism, and presidential personnel appointments. Included is material from Valis' work with Laird and Baroody in the Nixon administration.

Scattered through the subject file are materials on regional conferences and local briefings for special interest groups by White House staff members or even President Ford. Most of the documents on these meetings are copies collected by Valis rather than materials he created. An exception is the meeting with the Alliance of Metalworking Industries in which he served as an administration representative and took notes.

While much of the material is routine, there are several significant files on topics of finance, business and industry. For example, one whole series concerns the promotion of President Ford's consumer representation plans. The Office of Public Liaison sponsored nine White House field conferences and additional briefings to introduce the plans to the public and stimulate discussion of consumer issues. Valis represented the White House in one such briefing and collected materials on the others. For the most part, his role appears to have been advisory and editorial in nature. Baroody frequently transmitted memoranda and drafts to Valis for comment.

Much of Valis' liaison activity concerns presidential appointments and consists of routine application materials submitted to him by candidates which he often transmitted to the Presidential Personnel Office, sometimes with comments. In addition to the Personnel File, such materials can be found in scattered folders in the Subject File.

Related Materials (December 1988)
Related materials can be found in the Office of Public Liaison files of Jeffrey Eves, John Vickerman, William J. Baroody, and the unprocessed files of Virginia Knauer.

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

Subject File, 1973-77.  (Boxes 1‑10, 4.2 linear feet)
Correspondence, memoranda, speeches, scheduling proposals and logs, guest and invitation lists, programs, question and answer sheets, press releases, printed material, proposals and studies, resumes and recommendations. Topics include Office of Public Liaison functions and meetings with private sector individuals and organizations, legislation, presidential personnel appointments, and private sector research.

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

View container list for this series

Consumer Representation Plan File, 1974-76. (Boxes 11‑13, 1.2 linear feet)
Correspondence and memoranda, statements, reports, draft presidential messages, newsclips, press releases, lists and schedules, official and published consumer representation plans, House subcommittee hearing and White House Conference transcripts, and research studies. The materials concern consumer affairs, especially the debate over the proposed Consumer Protection Agency and the administration's Consumer Representation Plans.

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

View container list for this series

Personnel File, 1973-76. (Boxes 14‑17, 1.2 linear feet)
Memoranda, resumes, applications, recommendations and publications from candidates for presidential appointments and senior staff positions, Office of Public Liaison staff positions, White House Fellows and campaign positions. Much additional material on presidential appointments appears in the Subject File.

Arranged alphabetically.

View container list for this series

CONTAINER LIST

Box 1 - Subject File

• ACTION ‑ Texas Southern Peace Corps Intern Program
• Aging
• American Council of Young Political Leaders
• American Enterprise Institute Event, 5/19/76
• Appointments ‑ Assistant Secretary for Tourism
• Appointments ‑ Commission on Commodity Futures Trading
• Appointments ‑ Commission on Electronic Fund Transfers
• Appointments ‑ Commission on Federal Paperwork
• Appointments ‑ Commissions and Boards
• Appointments ‑ Energy Research and Development Administration
• Appointments ‑ Equal Opportunity Employment Commission
• Appointments ‑ National Advisory Committee for Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
• Appointments ‑ National Center for Productivity
• Appointments ‑ National Labor Relations Board
• Appointments ‑ National Voluntary Service Advisory Council
• Appointments ‑ Office of Child Development
• Appointments ‑ Office of Rail Public Counsel
• Appointments ‑ Personnel (1)

Box 2 - Subject File

• Appointments ‑ Personnel (2)
• Appointments ‑ Postal Service Board of Governors
• Appointments ‑ Privacy Protection Study Commission
• Appointments ‑ Small Business Administration
• Appointments ‑ Special Assistant to the President for Ethnic Affairs
• Appointments ‑ Special Assistant to the President for Hispanic Affairs
• Appointments ‑ Special Assistant to the President for Minority Affairs
• Appointments ‑ Special Assistant to the President for Women's Affairs
• Auto Theft Commission
• Automobile Industry and Gasoline Supply
• Barchoff, Herbert
• Baroody ‑ Miscellaneous Correspondence (1)‑(2)

Box 3 - Subject File

• Baroody Role
• Baroody Speech on Economy
• Baroody Speeches (1)‑(3)
• Bicentennial ‑ Chautauqua Event
• Bicentennial ‑ Ford Speeches
• Bicentennial ‑ Fourth of July

Box 4 - Subject File

• Bicentennial ‑ Youth Conference
• Boarman, Patrick
• Briefings ‑ Invitees
• Business Council
• Byington Nomination
• Capital Formation ‑ Investment Tax Credit
• Citizen's Action Committee to Fight Inflation ‑ WIN
• Civilian Military Institute Proposal
• Close‑Up
• Commodity Club of Washington Briefing
• Common Cause

Box 5 - Subject File

• Common Situs Picketing
• Computer Installation
• Congressional Ratings
• Defense Department Briefings
• Dreyfus Proposal ‑ Import Trade and Education
• Education
• Federal Trade Commission
• Federal Union, Inc.
• Financial Institutions Act of 1975
• Ford Acceptance Speech
• Ford Presidency ‑ 2 1/2 Year Report
• Four‑H Briefing, 6/25/76
• General Mills Briefing
• Generalized Education and Training Investment Program
• Gordon, Shana ‑ HEW
• Gun Control Meeting, 9/2/76

Box 6 - Subject File

• Hijacking Bills
• Insurance ‑ No‑Fault
• Invitation Lists
• Japan Trip
• Labor
• Laird, Mel
• Laird, Mel ‑ Speech: Garner Shriver Dinner, 10/24/73
• Medal of Freedom
• Meetings ‑ Domestic Council Review Program
• Meetings ‑ Miscellaneous (1)‑(3)
• Metelkin, Alexander ‑ Soviet Embassy

Box 7 - Subject File

• Miscellaneous Correspondence Re Liaison Activities, 1973‑74
• Miscellaneous Correspondence Re Liaison Activities, 1976
• National Association of Independent Insurers
• National Federation of Independent Business
• National Institute of Building Sciences
• National Management Association
• National Self‑Help Resource Center Proposal
• National Simulation Center Proposal
• Office of Public Liaison Presidential Events
• Op‑Ed Campaign
• Pending Legislation ‑ Background Material
• Philosophy ‑ Speeches
• Presidential Debates
• Presidential Initiatives Tracking System

Box 8 - Subject File

• Presidential Magazine Articles
• Presidential Personnel Office ‑ Position Specification Sheets
• Project Friendship Proposal
• Republican National Committee Reports ‑ Issue Related
• Requests ‑ Miscellaneous
• Resumes ‑ 1974‑75
• Resumes ‑ Inactive, 1975‑76 (1)‑(2)

Box 9 - Subject File

• Resumes ‑ Inactive, 1975‑76 (3)‑(4)
• Right to Work
• Schedule Proposals for the President
• Securities and Exchange Commission (1)‑(2)
• Speech Resources (1)‑(4)

Box 10 - Subject File

• Sports Committee, Inc. ‑ People to People
• State of the Union Addresses (1)‑(2)
• Telephone Calls (1)‑(3)
• Valis Speaking Engagements
• Veterans Organizations
• Vetoes by Ford
• Vouchers ‑ Educational
• Watchdog of the Treasury Award ‑ National Associated Businessmen
• White House Field Conferences (1)‑(3)

Box 11 - Consumer Representation Plan File

• White House Summer Intern Program
• Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (1)‑(2)
• Wortley, George ‑ Republican Congressional Candidate, New York
• Yale College Intern Program
• Young Presidents' Organization
• Consumer Representation Plan File
• Correspondence and Memos on Consumer Representation Plans
• Government and the Consumer Study
• Hearings on Consumer Representation Plans

Box 12 - Consumer Representation Plan File

• Office of Consumer Affairs Correspondence and Memos (1)‑(2)
• Office of Consumer Affairs Report
• Opposing Editorials ‑ Nationwide (1)‑(6)

Box 13 - Consumer Representation Plan File

• Opposing Editorials ‑ Nationwide (7)‑(8)
• Presidential Alternatives to a Consumer Protection Agency ‑ Working Papers (1)‑(2)
• Presidential Consumer/Regulatory Reform Message ‑ Draft
• Proposed Consumer Representation Plans
• Seven Agency Consumer Representation Plans (1)

Box 14 - Consumer Representation Plan File

• Seven Agency Consumer Representation Plans (2)‑(3)
• Wall Street Journal Op‑Ed on Consumer Representation Plans ‑ Draft
• White House Conference on Consumer Representation Plans, 1/14/76

Box 14 (Continued) - Personnel File

• A‑D

Box 15 - Personnel File

• E‑M(2)

Box 16 - Personnel File

• M(3)‑S

Box 17 - Personnel File

• T‑Z