Extension Service (University of Michigan) records, 1911-1999

Summary

Creator:

University of Michigan. Extension Service.

Abstract:

University of Michigan unit established in 1911 to advance culture in the state, assist local communities with technical knowledge, and acquaint faculty with local conditions through course offerings and lectures by university faculty and staff at sites around the state. Records include annual reports of extension activity from 1911 to 1980, director's files, committee minutes, special reports and surveys, and records of lectures and courses given.

Extent:

60.0 linear feet
1 oversize folder

Language:

English.

Call Number:

87169 Bimu C470 2 UBImum C470

Authors:

Finding aid prepared by: Bentley Historical Library staff, 1982-2000

Background

Scope and Content:

The records of the Extension Service document the university's efforts to extend its educational efforts beyond the campus. The records include annual reports of extension activity from 1911 to 1980, committee minutes, special reports and surveys, and records of lectures and courses given throughout the state. Topics include adult education, continuing education, work in several Michigan communities, and files relating to civil defense and disaster training, firemanship training, World War II management and science training programs, and gerontology. Documentation includes files of directors William Henderson, Charles A. Fisher, Everett J. Soop, and Alfred W. Storey. Of note are records of Charles Follo relating to extension work in the Upper Peninsula.

Biographical / Historical:

The Extension Division of the University of Michigan was formally organized by the Board of Regents in 1911. The major purposes of the Extension Division were to serve the general cause of education and advancement of culture in the state, to provide local communities with the technical and experimental knowledge of the university faculty, and to acquaint members of the various faculties with local conditions throughout the state. The bylaws of the Extension Division also stated that only those areas of university activity which have their roots in campus programs may be carried throughout the state.

The first responsibility of the Extension Division was the management of the Educational Lecture Bureau. President H. B. Hutchins named William D. Henderson of the Physics Department as part-time director of this program. With the support of President Hutchins and the Board of Regents, the scope of the Extension Division's operations grew from the administration of lectures, to a small number of credit classes which began in Detroit in 1913, and then to a program that served nearly a dozen Michigan communities with lectures and credit courses by the mid-twenties.

In the period between 1935 and 1950 the Extension Service experienced tremendous growth. Enrollment increased from 3,500 to 21,000. The main reason for this increase was the opening of six regional offices throughout the state. The first of the offices was established in Detroit in 1935 at the university's Horace H. Rackham Educational Memorial Building. Later offices were set up in Grand Rapids, Flint, Saginaw, Ann Arbor, and Escanaba. The development of regional area offices made it possible to present and develop long-range programs in various fields.

In the post World War II era the Extension Service actively developed new programs and regional offices. Some of these programs flourished, e.g. music, art, gerontology, real estate, and firemanship training; others, the Worker's Educational Program for example, were abandoned. The credit courses offered through the Extension Service gradually became more oriented towards the graduate student. By 1980, nearly 95% of the credit courses offered through the Extension Service were for graduate credit.

The Extension Service was reduced by 90% in 1981. The report of the budget review subcommittee investigating the Extension Service unanimously recommended that the University of Michigan Extension Service should be discontinued as an administrative unit. This included the transfer of all off-campus instruction activities to the appropriate academic unit and the discontinuance or transfer of all credit-free activities.

The Extension Service has had five directors. The first, William D. Henderson, served as part-time director from 1912 to 1919. In 1919 he was appointed director and held that position until his retirement in 1937. Henderson was succeeded by Charles A. Fisher. Fisher had been the assistant director under Henderson and was the director of the Extension Service from 1937 until his death in 1948. Everett J. Soop became director in 1948 and served until his retirement in 1970. Alfred Storey, who had been assistant director, succeeded Soop. He retired from this position in 1989. Glenda Radine, director of the Department of Conferences and Institutes, was appointed as interim director. She served in this capacity until the Extension Service was reconfigured in 1995 and its activities incorporated into the Academic Outreach unit. Academic Outreach, created to manage non-traditional instruction programs and distance education, was dissolved in 1999.

The Firemanship Training Program

The Firemanship Training Program grew out of the Michigan Fire College that was begun in 1928 to train fire personnel in techniques of fire fighting. The Fire College found a permanent home at the University of Michigan in 1941. The following year, the Department of Extension Services in conjunction with the School of Education set up classes to train fire department instructors. Chief Wallace Gannon of the Muskegon Fire Department came to the school in 1942 to be the instructor for the year. He returned in 1946 and was full-time instructor until 1953. In 1943, the program was expanded to include off-campus courses in fire fighting techniques. The programs became very popular and from 1946 to 1960 over 15,000 fire fighters participated in these programs.

With demand rising for these programs, it was soon apparent that a permanent facility was needed where residential training could take place. A new facility was proposed in 1955 and the Civil Defense and Disaster Training Center was completed in 1959. Francis Hartman, who had been involved with the program from the beginning, became the first director of the new center and program. He was succeeded by Arthur Appel who retired in 1978, and was succeeded by Robert Schultz, former assistant director, in 1978.

The first residential fire school at the new facility was held August 17-28, 1959. This new building provided for even further expansion of the program. The courses offered were expanded to include three residential schools in fire training-- basic, intermediary, advanced--, a longer 240-hour academy, and numerous yearly conferences in the areas of arson control, fire chief training, industrial fire control, fire instruction, state property fire control, and civil defense training.

The 90% reduction in Extension Services in 1981 had its effect on the Firemanship Training Program. Money was no longer available to support the program as before and offerings and enrollments were declining. In 1991, the program was transferred to the Housing Division, Department of Conferences and Seminars. The last residential fire school was held in July 1992. The department continued to offer the various conferences and seminars until 1994 when they canceled all offerings except for a conference on fire control. The Civil Defense and Disaster Center is currently used by the Ann Arbor Fire Department as a substation.

Academic Outreach

In 1995, the Extension Service, as an independently functioning University department, was abolished and its services incorporated into Academic Outreach. This office was created to coordinate the University's increasingly varied efforts to extend its educational mission of teaching, research, and service beyond the University's residential campus. One of its major responsibilities is to find constructive ways to expand the University's learning environment through technology. The University of Michigan Virtual Campus and the Michigan Virtual Auto College are examples of several resultant programs. Academic Outreach was disbanded in 1999. Several of the unit's responsibilities were transferred to the Media Union as well as to other units on campus. (See University Record, February 22, 1999 "Media Union to Provide Learning Technology Support" for information on the dissolution of Academic Outreach.)

Acquisition Information:

The record group (Donor No. 1660 ) came to the library in various acquisitions beginning in the 1950s. Periodic accessions are received.

Arrangement:

The records of the Extension Service are organized into six series: Director's Files, Central Files, Histories, Firemanship Training Program, Audio-Visual Material and Academic Outreach Files.

Physical Location:

Boxes 1-56 are stored off-site, prior notice required for retrieval. Box 57 (audio-visual material) and boxes 58-60 are stored in the library.

Subjects

Click on terms below to find any related finding aids on this site.

Subjects:

Adult education -- Michigan.
Education -- Michigan.
Fire prevention -- Study and teaching.
University extension -- Michigan.
Civil defense -- Michigan.
Aging -- Study and teaching.
Geriatrics -- Michigan -- Study and teaching.
World War, 1939-1945 -- Education and the war.
Upper Peninsula (Mich.)
Adult education -- Michigan.
Broadcasting -- Michigan.
Classrooms -- Michigan -- Ann Arbor.
Civil defense -- Michigan.
Fire prevention -- Study and teaching.

Formats:

College publications.
Photographs.

Names:

University of Michigan. Extension Service.
Civilian Conservation Corps (U.S.) -- Michigan.
Horace H. Rackham Educational Memorial (Detroit, Mich.)
Henderson, William D., 1866-
Maddy, Joseph E. (Joseph Edgar), 1891-1966.
Soop, Everett J., 1901-
Fisher, Charles Asbury, 1885-1948.
Storey, Alfred W.
Follo, Charles (Charles L.), 1905-1979.