Board for Student Publications (University of Michigan) records, 1903-2017 (majority within 1920-2009)

Summary

Creator:

University of Michigan. Board for Student Publications.

Abstract:

The Board for Student Publications was founded in 1903, as the Board in Control of The Michigan Daily, with the authority over all operations ofThe Michigan Daily, including content and editorial issues. Its authority was extended to all student publications in 1908, and its name changed to The Board in Control of Student Publications. In 1969, the Board name was changed to the Board for Student Publications. It retained financial control over student publications, but only serves in an advisory capacity on editorial issues. The records mostly consist of the Board's minutes, and also include correspondence of board chairmen and staff, materials pertaining to various student publications, financial materials, U-M directories, and blueprints and drawings of the Student Publications Building during its various renovations. The collection also contains numerous photographs and audiovisual materials focusing on alumni, staff, and events.

Extent:

12 linear feet
12.52 GB (online)

Language:

English

Call Number:

8719 Bimu F3 2

Authors:

Finding aid created by Laura Graedel, May 1993 Marilyn McNitt Adriane Hanson, 2004 Kyle Conner, 2006 Nichole Manlove, 2018

Background

Scope and Content:

The records include minutes, topical files, photographs, and audiovisual materials. Includes materials related to events, applications for senior staff positions, and files relating to the operation of The Michigan Daily and other student publications. Also included is information on the renovation of the Student Publications Building.

Six linear feet of material was added in May of 2018:

Box 7: Board Documents 1919-2017, contains Board meeting materials including a Board in Control of Student Publications bound book of meeting minutes from 1956 to 1958; policies and procedures; legal documentation (Articles of Incorporation and bylaws); Year-End financial statements; Michigan Daily photographs; miscellneous publications; U-M directories; and Board appointment letters.

Box 8: Board Documents 1992-2002, contains Board meeting materials; Year-End financial statements; Board retreat packages; legal documentation (bylaws); reunion photographs; and Board reappointment letters.

Box 9: Board Documents 1997-2006, contains Board meeting materials; University Audits reports; Board nomination letters, photographs of the board; Board Retreat packages; and Student Publications building infrastructure reports.

Box 10: Board Documents 1945-2006, contains Board meeting materials; University Audits reports; photographs of the Gargoyle 90th Anniversary reunion and other Student Publications staff and alumni. Additional materials include a December 1945 Gargoyle cover and accompanying letter; and building renovation documents.

Box 11: Board Documents 1958-2014, contains Board meeting materials; building renovation documents; Year-End financial statements and outside audit reports from PricewaterhouseCoopers. The box also includes additional publications; Board retreat packages; notes and letters to incoming staff; Student Publications building as well as Michigan Daily alumni and staff photographs.

Box 12 contains one volume of Board meeting minutes, 1981-1992; a Photo album, undated; and the following VHS tapes:

1. Michigan Daily Centennial Celebration (1990).

2. Michigan Daily alumni and staff interviews (2003).

3. The Michigan Difference (2004).

Included in the collection is 12.52 GBs of digital images and interviews of Student Publications noteable alumni, staff (at the time the materials were created), and special events.

Biographical / Historical:

The Board for Student Publications, initially titled the Board in Control of The Michigan Daily, was established on June 2, 1903, by the University of Michigan Senate. The Senate adopted the recommendation proposed by Professor Volney M. Spaulding, who reported on behalf of a special committee on non-athletic student organizations, that a board be established to regulate The Michigan Daily the student newspaper. The Board was to be an agent of the Board of Regents. It was authorized to acquire the stock and property of the paper and was given full control of all questions pertaining to the paper, subject to Senate regulations. The Board consisted of seven members, four from the Senate and three from the student body. The four Senate members of the first board were Fred N. Scott, chair, Allen S. Whitney, Alfred H. Lloyd, and Frank L. Sage.

On November 24, 1908, the University Senate changed the name of the Board to the Board in Control of Student Publications. Its jurisdiction extended to cover all periodical publications edited by members of the University of Michigan student body (with the exception of the Michiganensian for the school year 1908-1909). The Board was incorporated as a non-profit corporation in 1919. In 1922, the Board appointed a committee to consider plans for a new publications building. The plans were approved in 1930. The new building, the Student Publications Building, contained office space for all the student publications but only had facilities to print The Michigan Daily, as it was felt that the printing of the other publications could be done more efficiently through contracts with commercial printers.

A committee on university publications of the Alumni Advisory Council held a meeting in May 1932 at which it was pointed out that The Michigan Daily was regarded by many as an official organ of the university. The committee advocated somewhat stricter control of the material printed in the paper. As a result, two alumni actively engaged in newspaper work were added to the board in 1933: Lee A. White of The Detroit News and Stuart Perry of the Adrian Daily Telegram. At that time, the Board took over the management of the various publications that were owned and operated by students. A policy of allowing the managing editors and business managers a percentage of the net profits of the publication for each year was eventually replaced by a system of salaries. Each year the Board appointed the senior staff of the various student publications for the ensuing academic year. Consideration was given based on the experience of the publication staff, academic standing, and views of the candidates regarding the challenges involved with the position. In recent years, responsibility for choosing senior staff has been placed entirely in the hands of students.

The 1990s and early 2000s brought forth a series of changes and triumphs for the Board. This includes changes with administrative positions, policies and staff, a series of building renovations, issues surrounding certain conflicts of interest, accolades received, and major technological endeavors. In June of 1992, the Board changed its name to the Board for Student Publications and implemented a policy in which it would elect its own chair and co-chair, thus strengthening the integrity of the Board. To re-inforce this integrity, all members of the Board were to be formally appointed by the President of the University. The primary responsibility of the Board would involve the governance of the The Michigan Daily, Michiganensian, and the Gargoyle. The Board would also have the authority to determine the number of publications it manages and retainin overall financial and legal responsibility.

In 2005, the Board implemented a policy in which the president of the University could appoint nine members: five student publications alumni and four members of the University of Michigan community. Each position would be held for a term of no more than three years and members cauld serve up to three consecutive terms. The editors-in-chief and business managers of each publication could also serve as ex-officio board members. Other changes that occurred throughout the years involved the establishment of the Diversity Committee, the Building Renovations Committee, and the Board Nominations Committee. In April of 2016, the Board would also form the Daily Alumni Association.

Over the years, conflicts of interest arose between the student publications staff, the Board, and campus student groups. In 1998 the Board reached a major milestone by obtaining ownership of the names and trademarks of all three of its major publications. There were also funding concerns as the Gargoyle staff proposed that the budget review process for printing be abandoned. The Board voted down the proposal as it was in conflict with the regental by-laws. As a result, the Gargoyle staff left the Student Publications Office in hope of finding a new place to publish the magazine. Independent publication of the magazine was against regulation so publication of the Gargoyle was halted until a new business and editorial staff were formed. In 2002, tensions began to rise surrounding the lack of diversity within the Board and among Student Publications staff. Issues were also arising concerning editorial control of the Daily. On October 28, a number of student organizations began to boycott The Michigan Daily and publish their own monthly newspapers. In 2003, Student Publications staff also began a boycott due to the office's lack of diversity training for staff, hiring and promotion limitations, inadequate student representation on the Board, and lack of opportunities to share ideas and concerns during Board meetings. By 2008, the Board began exploring ways to implement diversity training and attract Board members and staff from a multitude of diverse backgrounds.

The late 1990s and early 2000s also saw a series of changes to the Student Publications building at 420 Maynard Street. In 1996, nearly 66 years after its initial construction, the Board began to consider several internal as well as external renovations that would reconfigure workspaces and bring the building up to code. This included historic preservation, designation of centralized workspaces for Michigan Daily and Michiganensian editorial staff; the inclusion of a separate space for Michigan Daily business staff; Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant access throughout the building; and updated HVAC, plumbing, fire protection, electrical security, and information systems. Additional upgrades included the addition of adequate signage, a way finding-system, effective security systems, new furniture, cleaning and repainting of the buildings masonry shell, roof repairs, as well as the rehabilitation and repairs of the buildings original windows.

The costly repairs of the building prompted the development of a Building Campaign Fund. In September of 2003, President Lee Bollinger (1996-2001) made a one million dollar commitment for the renovations. An additional $700,000 committment was provided by the Board. In 2005 Stanford Lipsey, a prominent Daily alum and publisher of the Buffalo News gifted three million dollars toward the project. To accommodate current staff, a temporary location was designated in 2006 at 413 East Huron Street. On April 20, 2007, after the most significant renovations were completed, the staff returned to 420 Maynard Street. On October 8, 2007, a building dedication celebration was held in honor of Mr. Lipsey's professional and financial contributions. As a result, the structure was renamed the Stanford Lipsey Student Publications Building.

In spite of the multitude of critical changes, the Board has enjoyed several triumphs. In September of 1996 the Daily received 22 Gold Circle Awards, eight of which received first and second place honors. In April of 2008, the Board established a Pulitzer Prize plaque wall to recognize the Pulitzer Prize winning alumni, including playwrite Arthur Miller (1938), publisher Stanford Lipsey (1948), journalists Eugene Robinson (1973), Dan Biddle (1974), Ann Marie Lipinski (1978), newspaper editor Neil Chase (1986), writers Amy Harmon (1990), Lisa Pollak (1990), journalist Stephen Henderson (1992), and newspaper editor Rebecca Blumenstein (2007). In January of 2018, The Michigan Daily received several awards from the Associated Collegiate Press: 2018 Best of the Midwest Best of Show Awards, including first place for best newspaper.

Over the past two and a half decades, a litany of technological implementations has also taken place. In January of 2009, the Board signed an agreement with Google to participate in their newspaper archival project. The Google News Archive currently holds 6,903 digital images of the The Michigan Daily covering June 25, 1947 to April 21, 2009. On March 30, 2017 the Daily teamed with the Bentley Historical Library, U-M Library, and the Kemp Family Foundation for the grand launch of the The Michigan Daily Digital Archives, an online database that contains searchable digital copies of the publication. This database currently provides access to a comprehensive collection of over 200,000 digitized papers and 300 volumes from 1891 to 2014. Future volumes of the newspaper will be added as they become available.

Chairs of the Board

Date	Event
1903-1927	Fred N. Scott
1927-1929	Morris P. Tilley
1929-1932	Robert C. Angell
1932-1937	Louis A. Strauss
1937-1941	William A. McLaughlin
1941-1945	Gail E. Densmore
1945-1951	Paul G. Kauper
1951-1952	Lionel Laing
1952-1959	John W. Reed
1959-1962	Olin L. Browder
1962-1972	Luke K. Cooperrider
1969-1972	L. Hart Wright
1972-1978	Lawrence Berlin
1978-1981	Thomas M. Sawyer
1981-1984	George D. Cameron III
1985-1987	Charles R. Eisendrath
1987-1991	Amnon Rosenthal
1992-1995	Gayl D. Ness
1991-1998	Leon Jaroff
1998-2000	Mark Haas
2000-2003	Jane Myers
2003-2004	Barbara McQuade
2004-2006	Kim Clarke
2013-Present	Neil Chase

Co-Chairs of the Board

Date	Event
1991-1992	Tom Croxton
1993-1998	Joan Lowenstein
1998-1999	Bill Neuser
1999-2001	Andy Gottesman
2001-2006	Alan Lenhof
2007-	Chip Peterson
2007-	Jim Reische
2015-Present	Peter Mooney

The above list representing the Board for Student Publications chairs and co-chairs may be incomplete and will be updated as information is made available.

For a lengthier history of the board through 1958, see The University of Michigan An Encyclopedic Survey, Volume IV, pp. 1904-1906.

Acquisition Information:

The record group came to the library in several accessions. The Board in Control of Student Publications (Donor No. 1509 ) donated four volumes of minutes in 1953, and additional records were donated in 1998, 2002, 2006, and 2018.

Arrangement:

The records are arranged into 4 series: 1. Minutes; 2. Topical Files; 3. Photographs; and 4. Audiovisual materials.

Rules or Conventions:

Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Related

Additional Descriptive Data:

Related Material

Related collections at the Bentley Historical Library include:

1. Harlan Henthorne Hatcher papers
2. Edson Read Sunderland papers
3. Karl Zeisler Papers
4. Gargoyle records
5. Gargoyle visual materials
6. Michigan Daily records
7. Michiganensian photograph collection
8. Michiganensian presents memories in sound

Subjects

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

Subjects:

Gargoyle.
The Michigan Daily.
Michiganensian.
Student publications -- Michigan -- Ann Arbor.

Formats:

Digital file formats.
Glass negatives.
Negatives (photographs)
Video recordings.

Names:

University of Michigan. Board for Student Publications.
University of Michigan. Board in Control of Student Publications.
University of Michigan -- Periodicals.
University of Michigan -- Students -- Periodicals.
Student Publications Building (University of Michigan)

Places:

Photographs.