Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

The Institute for Social Research (ISR), an interdisciplinary center for social science research, was created in 1949 when the Research Center for Group Dynamics (founded at Massachusetts Institute of Technology) joined the university's Survey Research Center. ISR houses the Center for Political Studies (CPS), Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), Population Studies Center (PSC), Research Center for Group Dynamics (RCGD), and the Survey Research Center (SRC). Records document the founding and development of ISR and its related centers and programs and include audiovisual materials, minutes, correspondence, topical files, reports, and proposals. Administrative records include governance committees and director's files. Records of the Program for Research on Black Americans (PRBA) consist of grant proposals, survey instruments, focus group transcriptions, correspondence, bulletins, and internal governance records created under the auspices of PRBA and its various projects. Records of the Research Center for Group Dynamics are primarily the papers of director Kurt Lewin, including manuscripts and talks. Survey Research Center records consist largely of proposal and project files, although they also include faculty oral histories. The records of the Population Studies Center consist of lectures from its founder, Dr. Ronald Freedman, while the Center for Political Studies contains one binder of material from the American National Election Survey conducted in 1980.

The Institute for Social Research (ISR) records are dated from 1936-2017 (scattered) and consist of 143.8 linear feet (in 146 boxes) and digital files (online). Materials in this record group include audiovisual material, committee files (which include minutes and agendas), correspondence, directors' files, oral histories, publications, reports, and topical files. These records document the founding and subsequent development of ISR as well as its centers and programs, particularly the Program for Research on Black Americans (PRBA) and the Survey Research Center (SRC). The records also provide an overview of ISR's administration and the evolution of social science survey research methodology.

There are gaps in the records, which can be addressed in part through the papers of Rensis Likert, Angus Campbell, Dorwin P. Cartwright, and Philip E. Converse—all of which are held at the Bentley Historical Library (BHL). When viewed in conjunction with other ISR-related personal papers in the Bentley Historical Library, a rich and detailed picture of the growth of ISR as a center and the social science research discipline emerges.

Interdisciplinary institute at the University of Michigan and Wayne State University for the study of aging. Records include administrative files relating to the activities, research, publications and conferences of the Institute's University of Michigan program; audio-visual material, and photographs.

The records of the Institute of Gerontology cover the period 1948 to 1987. They are composed of the office files of several staff members at the University of Michigan. (Not included are the records of that part of the IoG housed at Wayne State University.) Included are the scattered files of four of the institute's co-directors, the chairman of the Executive Board, the editor of the Occasional Papers series, the annual conference coordinators, and the directors of certain projects. Also included are correspondence and memos, financial information, grant proposals and reports, minutes, and printed matter. The programs for the Annual Conferences on Aging provide a "who's who" for many of the individuals represented in the collection.

The records provide an overview of the activities, policies, and personnel of the IoG from its inception. Some substantive and seminal memos and reports exist which throw light on the development of programs and on the value of certain projects. Most of the documents are routine, however, and serve primarily to introduce the researcher to the various units and activities of the institute. For details and insights into particular aspects of the IoG, the researcher should consult the separate collections of the various co-directors, directors of research, and project directors, as well as the institute's publications.

Republican state senator, 1948-1950, from Kent County, Michigan, state auditor general, 1950-1954, unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. Senate nomination in 1952, and member of the Republican National Committee. Correspondence, newspaper clippings, speeches and printed material relating to his political career, particularly his activities on the Michigan Commission on Aging, the Michigan Constitutional Convention of 1961-1962, and the Michigan Senate campaign of 1952.

The John B. Martin papers consists of correspondence, memoranda, clippings, and subject files relating to his political and organizational activities. The series in the collection are: Correspondence; Newspaper clippings; Political and Campaign Materials; Auditor General, 1950-1954; Aging organizations; Michigan Constitutional Convention, 1961-1962; Michigan Crime and Delinquency Council; Scrapbooks; Sound Recordings; Visual Materials; and Miscellaneous.