Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

The University of Michigan's highest governing body is the Board of Regents. The Regents deal with virtually every aspect of university policy and campus life. The records of the Regents reflect this broad range of interests and authority. This record group contains exhibits from meetings beginning in 1899. These exhibits are the most complete record of the actions of the Regents, supplementing and detailing the published minutes Proceedings of the Board of Regents. Additional documentation in this record group includes manuscript minutes, 1837-1870, correspondence, material by and about the Regents, photographs, audio recordings of meetings, 1977-2011, and material on recent presidential searches.

As the official governing body of the university, the Regents deal with virtually every aspect of university policy and life. The records of the Regents--which includes exhibits of Regents' meetings, topical files, correspondence files, audio and visual material, and archived web content--reflect this broad range of interests and authority. But while the documentation is wide-ranging, it is not continuous. Certain types of records are continually before the Regents, particularly information regarding salaries, leaves of absence, appointments to faculty positions, and formal approval of degrees conferred upon students. More often, however, the Regents are presented with a specific problem and asked to resolve it through the creation of policy. After the creation and successful implementation of a policy, the situation which caused the issue to arise is usually no longer a matter of Regental concern. The Regents' records reflect this pattern of action. Issues arise, are resolved, and then are supplanted by new concerns.

Also included in this collection are a number of documents from predecessor institutions. Of particular note is the Land Grant from the United States to the University of Michigan, 1824, which details the sections of land given to the Trustees of the University of Michigan by the power vested in Lewis Cass (as Superintendent of Indian Affairs in the Territory of Michigan) by section 16 of the Treaty at the Foot of the Rapids (Treaty of Fort Meigs), 1817, and section 6 of the Treaty of Detroit, 1807. By treaty, the chiefs, sachems, and warriors of four Indeginous nations, the Ottawa (Odawa), Ojibwe (Ojibwa, Chippewa), Wyandotte (Wyandot), and Potawatomi (Bodéwadmi, Potawatomie, Patawatima) ceeded the land northwest of the Ohio river to the United States of America. In the Treaty at the Foot of the Rapids, the chiefs, sachems, and warriors of the Wyandotte, Seneca (Onödowáʼga), Delaware (Lenape), Shawnee (sawanooki), Potawatomi, Ottawa and Ojibwe ceeded the rest of their lands within the Ohio territory to the United States. In return, among other promises, the Ottawa, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi tribes were promised six sections of land to be reserved for the rector of St. Ann Catholic church, for religious practice; and the college of Detroit, for the future education of their children.

Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor, Michigan, area family; correspondence, diaries, and other family materials.

The Campbell family collection includes correspondence and other family materials. Items of interest include Civil War correspondence of Gabriel Campbell and John S. Farnill; correspondence, diaries, and teaching materials of William Campbell; personal correspondence of Mary and Sarah (Sadie) Campbell concerning farming, local Republican politics, and school affairs; and printed materials concerning the Free Silver question and the election of 1896. The papers of Robert C. Campbell include diaries and University of Michigan student notebooks. Of interest are the notes he took from the lectures of John Dewey in philosophy, Henry Carter Adams in political economy, Burke A. Hinsdale in pedagogy, Joseph B. Steere in zoology, and A.A. Stanley in music, among other professors. The collection also includes high school notebooks of Carrie Read and E. Mabel Read.

Professor of law at University of Michigan. Papers include a report of his faculty activities for the period 1876-1877, and correspondence relating to his study of Michigan jurist, Thomas M. Cooley, including letters from James B. Angell, Henry Carter Adams, Charles Horton Cooley, Norman Geddes and Benjamin L. Baxter.

The Charles A. Kent papers consist of a report of his faculty activities for the period 1876-1877, and correspondence relating to his study of Michigan jurist, Thomas M. Cooley, including letters from James B. Angell, Henry Carter Adams, Charles Horton Cooley, Norman Geddes and Benjamin L. Baxter.

Governor of Michigan, writer, businessman; papers include correspondence, business records, speeches, writings, visual materials, diaries.

The Osborn collection consists of correspondence, diaries, business papers, scrapbooks, photographs, and other materials accumulated during his life. Materials prior to 1889 are scarce possibly because of a fire which destroyed Osborn's home; thereafter and up to the time of his death in 1949, the Osborn papers are voluminous, documenting each of this man's varied activities. Although his career as elected public official was limited to one term as governor, the collection reflects the importance of his life in areas beyond politics alone. His voice was heard, in letters and speeches and monographs, speaking out on the issues of the day - prohibition, conservation, the New Deal, and of course his life-long interest in the development of Michigan's Upper Peninsula economy and natural resources.

Research papers on topics relating to Michigan history and the history of the University of Michigan written by students in the History Department Undergraduate Honors Program.

Student papers, 1930-1987 prepared for classes in history at the University of Michigan (primarily Michigan history class taught by Lewis G. VanderVelde, but also including research papers for classes taught by Sidney Fine and others); topics concern Michigan social and political history; Michigan biography and bibliography; and local community history.

The student papers are organized alphabetically by author in two series, which are similar in date range and topics covered. Topics of papers concern Michigan social and political history; Michigan biography and bibliography; local community history and University of Michigan history. A topical index to the papers is available in the first box of the collection.

Lecturer, educator, author and advocate of women's rights during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, received Ph.D. in Philosophy from University of Michigan in 1892 under supervision of John Dewey. Papers include correspondence, some with Dewey and other leading philosophers, her student notebooks, articles, lectures and sermons.

The Eliza Jane Read Sunderland papers document through correspondence, articles, sermons, and other materials the active life of an advocate of woman's rights during the last decades of the nineteenth century and the first decade of the twentieth.

Professor at Albion College, later professor of political economy at University of Michigan. Correspondence, manuscript articles and lecture notes largely relating to his interest in economics and political science.

The Taylor collection has been arranged into four series: Biographical; Correspondence; Essays and Other Writings; and Miscellaneous. Of most note is the Correspondence series which dates from 1878 to 1932 with a few letters dating to 1949 collected by his colleague Z.C. Dickinson who was engaged in a biographical study of Taylor. The correspondence illustrates the range of Taylor's acquaintances and includes important figures in the study of political economy and economics. Corespondents include Henry Carter Adams, Joseph A. Schumpeter, F.W. Taussig, and Friedrich A. Hayek. A selected list of Taylor's correspondents is appended to this finding aid.

Progressive educator, student of Thomas Dewey at the University of Chicago, served as head of the state Normal School at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, superintendent of the Felix Adler School of Ethical Culture in New York City and as head of teacher education in the city of Baltimore. The papers include extensive personal correspondence, scrapbooks, journals, writings and other materials concerning his professional interests. Correspondence includes letters from distinguished authors and educators.

The papers consist of extensive personal correspondence, scrapbooks, journals, writings and other materials concerning his professional interests. Included are, letters from distinguished authors and educators. Much of the collection relates to the progressive education movement and to Manny's career as an educator in Grand Rapids, Chicago, and Boxford, Massachusetts.

Professor of law and president of the University of Michigan. Papers include correspondence, reports, and speeches relating to all aspects of his University activities; and visual materials.

The Harry B. Hutchins papers cover the years 1879 through 1929, and include records generated during his years as professor and dean of the law department, President of the University of Michigan, and in retirement. Boxes 1-18 are primarily comprised of correspondence. Reports of the departments, schools, and other units of the university are contained in box 19, folders 30-32, and box 20, folders 1-13. As president, Hutchins did not regularly submit annual reports to the Board of Regents. Additional materials include speeches, photographs, and biographical material.