Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

The Martha Cook Building (MCB) opened in the fall of 1915 as the second all-women's dormitory on the University of Michigan campus. It was a gift of Mr. William Wilson Cook, a lawyer-philanthropist from New York City who was born and raised in Hillsdale, Michigan. The Martha Cook Building records are dated from circa 1913-2016 and include blueprints; chronological files; clippings; correspondence; financial records; minutes, particularly of both the MCB's Board of Governors and House Board; publications; reports; scrapbooks; subject files; and visual materials, such as negatives, photographs, and photograph albums.

The Martha Cook Building records (circa 1913-2016) document the activities of those involved with the Martha Cook Building and include blueprints; chronological files; clippings; correspondence; financial records; minutes; reports; scrapbooks; subject files; and visual materials, such as negatives, photographs, and photograph albums.

Significant people and groups featured in this collection include William. W. Cook; various House Directors, such as Sarah Rowe, G.J. Diekema, Olive Chernow, Josette Allen, and Rosalie Moore; the building's Board of Governors and House Board; and Martha Cook Building students and alumnae. Other notable topics include the construction, furnishing and remodeling of the Martha Cook Building; various scholarships; and activities, such as various anniversary events and the Messiah Dinner.

Ann Arbor, Michigan, family. Correspondence, other papers and photographs of Arthur Brown, Ann Arbor attorney and mayor, and officer and director of the Washtenaw Abstract Company; also papers of his wife, Cora Pulcipher Brown, largely concerning work with Americanism Committee of the Daughters of the American Revolution during World War II.

The Brown family collection is unfortunately a fragment of materials with very few of the papers created by either Arthur or Cora Brown surviving. What remains relate almost exclusively to the legal career of Arthur Brown, in particular to his service to various persons as a collector of bad debts, and to Cora Brown's work with the Americanism Committee of the Daughters of the American Revolution during World War II.

The Blanchard family papers document the lives and careers of several members of the Blanchard, Cobb, and Proctor families from the mid-nineteenth century through the late twentieth century. Includes visual materials, publications, personal writings, and extensive correspondence files.

The Blanchard Family Papers document the professional achievements and personal lives of several generations of a scientifically minded and artistically gifted family. The papers focus heavily upon the eminent plant pathologist and nematologist Nathan A. Cobb, his wife Alice Vara Cobb, their daughter, biologist Frieda Cobb Blanchard, and her husband, herpetologist Frank Nelson Blanchard (the latter two of whom were professors at the University of Michigan). In addition to the photographs, drawings, correspondence, journals, and writings of these four individuals, the collection is rich in family correspondence, diaries, and personal papers from other members of the Cobb and Blanchard families (and their forebears and branches, including the Bigelow, Proctor, Ross, White, and Randall families). The Blanchard Family Papers will be of value to researchers interested in a variety of topics: scientific endeavors and methodologies (and in particular those related to agronomy, nematology, botany, and herpetology); the visual arts and the development of photography in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; colonial and provincial life in Australia and Hawaii (respectively); and the daily affairs of American (and Michigan) families throughout the twentieth century. The Blanchard Family Papers consist of seven series: Nathan A. Cobb, Alice Vara Cobb, Frieda Cobb Blanchard, Frank Nelson Blanchard, Blanchard and Cobb Family Letters, Other Family Members, and Isaac G. Blanchard.

Commission established in 1971 to investigate discrimination against women. It preceded the university's Affirmative Action Office which was formed in 1972. Membership includes faculty, staff, and students. Records contain material from the 25th anniversary of the Commission for Women, including audio-visual items. Also includes mission and planning documents and retirement subcommittee records.

The records are divided into three series. The Commission for Women Twenty-Fifth Anniversary series contains one folder of sample programs and invitations for the anniversary event which was held in 1996. The contents give a concise history of the organization and highlight the commission's most noteworthy activities.

A VHS video cassette of the anniversary festivities can also be found in the Audio Visual series. Another videotape contains the slide show Turnabout which was also shown at the twenty-fifth anniversary celebration. Turnabout was originally produced and presented in the early 1970s in an effort to raise stereotyping consciousness. One last item in the Audio Visual series is an audio cassette tape of a brown bag luncheon, which featured Carol Hollenshead on the history of the Commission for Women and Laura Calkins who spoke about updating the book A Dangerous Experiment a general history of women attending the University of Michigan.

Margaret Creger was chair of the commission from 1989 to 1991 and co-chair with Kathleen Alonozo from 1991 to 1992. Her records are held in the Margaret Creger Records series and contain correspondence regarding both the commission and the Commission for Women Retirement Subcommittee, meeting notes for this time period, several versions of the commission's strategic plan, and the annual report produced during her tenure. Of special importance are the results of a planning survey which was distributed to Commission for Women members in 1989. The collected information is neatly compiled and offers insight into the concerns of University women in the late 1980s.

Newsletters, brochures, reports and other material published by the University of Michigan office responsible for overseeing campus-wide affirmative action programs and policies.

The Publications of the Affirmative Action Office measures 3 linear feet and covers the period from 1973 to 1994. The subgroup is divided into two series: Unit Publications and Sub-Unit Publications.

Unit Publications include Minority Student Reports, Reports to the Regents and a complete run of the newsletter In the Affirmative.

Sub-Unit Publications consist of materials produced by units within the Affirmative Action Office. These include the Council for Disability Concerns and the Study Committee on the Status of Lesbians and Gay Men.

The collection documents the founding of the Women's Studies Program at the University of Michigan, and the review of the program that took place in 1979. The collection contains administrative files, correspondence, historical information, curriculum information, and meeting minutes. In 2007, the Program became the Department of Women's Studies. In 2020, it was renamed the Department of Women's and Gender Studies.

The collection of the Department of Women's and Gender Studies (formerly Women's Studies Program and Department of Women's Studies) at the University of Michigan contains a range of records, including administrative files, correspondence, curriculum information, event files, and meeting minutes. The collection documents the founding of the program, program reviews, the Critical Perspectives on Women and Gender series, the Women's Studies Library, and other program activities.

The records were received in two accessions. The original accession records consist of ten series, which are arranged in alphabetical order with the exception of the last, Miscellaneous. Records from the 2009 accession are arranged into seven series: Dean's Office, Executive Committee, Critical Perspectives on Women and Gender, Program Documents, Publications, Women's Studies Library, and Visual Materials.

Unit of the University of Michigan Center for Continuing Education of Women established in 1972 to provide a forum for women scientists at the university. History, correspondence, minutes, and subject files.

Although limited in quantity, the MWIS collection is useful for studying the role women scientists play at the University of Michigan, as well as the environment in which these women have to work. The strength of the collection lies in the correspondence and in the topical files, although minutes contain useful information and are a valuable means of exploring the genesis of the organization.

The MWIS records consist of four series: History, Correspondence, Minutes, and Topical Files.

Women's support group founded in 1971 to aid and counsel victims of rape and abuse. Background materials, coordinator's files, publicity files, and visual materials.

The records of the Women's Crisis Center (WCC) document the goals and activities of this organization in Ann Arbor during the 1970s and 1980s. The bulk of the collection consists of press articles about rape in Washtenaw County, training manuals, and other documentation given to the volunteers of the WCC. The records are divided in four series : background materials, coordinator's files, publicity files, and visual materials.

Records of the administrative office responsible for developing and coordinating affirmative action programs for women, minorities and disabled faculty, staff, and students. Documentation includes topical files, minutes, reports, photographs and audio and video tapes. This record group also includes records of the Commission for Minority Affairs and the Commission for Women.

The records of the Affirmative Action Office span 1969 - 1993 and document the activities of the office and its predecessors, and provide information about affirmative action programs at the university and the status of minority, women, the disabled and other groups on campus. The records have come to the library in a number of accessions.

The Affirmative Action Office record group is organized into five subgroups: Affirmative Action Office, 1969 - 1993; Commission for Minority Affairs, 1971 - 1980; Commission for Women, 1970 - 1985; Council for Minority Concerns, 1979 - 1983; and Advisory Committee on Affirmative Action Programs, 1977 - 1986. The Affirmative Action Office subgroup includes records created or acquired by the Office. The other subgroups represent various university units that were merged into or whose function were taken over by the Affirmative Action Office.

Records of the University Human Resources and its predecessors. University Human Resources plans, administers, and monitors the university policies regarding personnel and employee relations and nondiscrimination. This office coordinates with various executive officers and deans of the schools and colleges.

University Human Resources records (27.4 linear feet) are divided into three subgroups: Affirmative Action, Personnel, and Human Resources and Affirmative Action.