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Departmental records includes correspondence with students and faculty, course syllabi and exams, minutes of meetings, publications and photographs.

The records of the Philosophy Department of the University of Michigan measure 2.5 linear feet and 3 oversize folders, and date from 1907 to 1987 with many of the records dating from 1947 to 1961, coinciding with William Frankena's tenure as department chair. The record group has been arranged alphabetically by topic or type of material. Photographs of Department of Philosophy graduate students and faculty dating from 1907 to 1932 are available both within the collection and in an oversized folder.

The Correspondence files include information regarding personnel searches, scheduling, and various departmental business. Also included are letters between William Frankena and various acting department chairs who were serving during his sabbatical years. The Course Materials files consist of a sampling of exams and syllabi for several of the department's courses during the years 1947 to 1961 and 1984. Although this material is by no means inclusive of the department's offerings or representative of how the courses were taught over the years, it does provide some insight as to the department's expectations of the students.

The Student Placement files demonstrate the lengths to which the department as a whole went to secure positions for their graduating doctoral students. Correspondence regarding the special circumstances of several students are foldered separately and further show the support one could expect as a graduate of this department. An additional point of interest is the file of Michael Davis which illustrates the department's attitude towards censorship and the governing bodies of higher educational institutions.

The remaining files contain department minutes, personnel information, financial information, statistics, records related to the University of Michigan Tanner Philosophy Library and various other bits of information that could help the researcher construct a picture of the department as it evolved during the 1950's to early 1980s time period.

The Photographs series consists of group prints (some outsize) of philosophy students and faculty.

Philosopher and ethicist, professor at the University of Michigan 1964-1981, papers include notes, writings, course materials and correspondence.

The collection is primarily comprised of papers which document the breadth and depth of Brandt's investigations into philosophical questions -- including notes, writings, commentary on collected works of others, and teaching materials. Except for a few correspondence files, there is little of a personal nature, and there are no records representing Brandt's tenure as chair of the Philosophy Department at the University of Michigan. Papers include detailed course materials (particularly on moral philosophy); published and unpublished writings on a range of philosophical issues; and extensive commentary on readings. Researchers should note that there is considerable overlap between the various series. Correspondence, for example, is often associated with an article or included in a topical file; research notes and topical files frequently contain similar subject matter; and articles and manuscripts sometimes include research notes. These overlaps are evidence of Brandt's integrated approach to his life's work -- research, teaching, and writing, as well as much of his correspondence, each influencing and informing the other.