Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Student papers, 1930-1987 prepared for classes in history at the University of Michigan (primarily Michigan history class taught by Lewis G. VanderVelde, but also including research papers for classes taught by Sidney Fine and others); topics concern Michigan social and political history; Michigan biography and bibliography; and local community history.

The student papers are organized alphabetically by author in two series, which are similar in date range and topics covered. Topics of papers concern Michigan social and political history; Michigan biography and bibliography; local community history and University of Michigan history. A topical index to the papers is available in the first box of the collection.

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.

Records of the University of Michigan College of Engineering include histories, correspondence and topical files of deans; minutes of the executive and other committees; faculty records, including minutes of meetings and faculty biographies; miscellaneous student and alumni records; photographs, microfilm, digital files, and archived website.

The College of Engineering records date from 1860 to 2014 and measure 118.5 linear feet, 3 oversize folders, and 1,196 GB. The records document the internal activities of the College of Engineering, both administrative and academic, the role of the college as a unit of the University of Michigan, and research developments and trends over the years. Correspondence, meeting minutes, reports, financial records, and other material reflect changing research interests within the field of engineering as well as the curriculum development that has accompanied technological advances. Of particular interest are the files relating to outside work by faculty members, a question of enduring concern within the college. The records reflect the relations of the College of Engineering with private industry, especially through the documentation of funding from outside sources and the involvement of professors in outside research.

Minutes, correspondence, audiovisual materials, and other records documenting the founding, public programs, research projects, day-to-day administrative activities, and individual staff members of the University of Michigan's Center for the Education of Women.

The Center for Education of Women collection consist of minutes, correspondence, audiovisual materials, and other records documenting the founding, public programs, research projects, day-to-day administrative activities, and individual staff members of the University of Michigan's Center for the Education of Women. It is divided into four broad subgroups: Central Office Files, 1961-2009; Individual Staff Files, 1919-1999; Audiovisual Materials, 1963-1997; and Website. The current CEW collection is the result of a major reprocessing project that combined several new accessions with the pre-existing record group--itself the accumulation of several accessions--and which has resulted in a re-figured collection nearly double the size of the original. The first three subgroups and their major series have been retained, but some of the lower-level organization has been updated to reflect the fuller picture of the Center that the combined set of materials affords.

Documents within folders may be arranged either chronologically or reverse chronologically, based on the existing arrangement of the majority of materials (in both the pre-existing collection and in the new accessions), and in some cases may adhere to the original filing order. Also, some files (e.g. most correspondence) were filed by calendar year (Jan-Dec.), while others (notably budgets, staff meetings, and program files) were filed by fiscal year. Unless otherwise noted, files arranged by academic year (indicated in the box list by dates such as '1990/91') run from July of the first year through June of the second year.

Researchers examining the CEW collection may also be interested in related files in the following other Bentley University of Michigan record groups: Institute on Gerontology, Michigan Initiative on Women's Health, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs.

Additionally, researchers should note the following overlaps between the 'Topical' series in the 'Central Office Files' subgroup and the files of CEW staff members in the 'Individual Staff Files' subgroup:

1. Counseling: Myra Fabian, Dorothy McGuigan, Vivian Rogers, and Patricia Wulp
2. Evening Program (especially 1982 and later): Patricia Wulp
3. Group Counseling and Workshops (e.g., Career Decision Making, Assertiveness, the Step Before the Job Search, etc.): Myra Fabian, Barbara Anton, and Patricia Wulp
4. Programs by Academic Year: Patricia Wulp
5. Publicity: Louise Cain, Patricia Wulp and Dorothy McGuigan
6. Research (including: non-traditional student surveys, Women in Science (and Engineering) studies, participant data, and especially Ford Grants): Jean Campbell, Carol Hollenshead, Jean Manis, Hazel Markus, and Dorothy McGuigan
7. Sexual Harassment Implementation Team and other Sexual Harassment materials: Sue Kaufmann
8. Women's Initiative Group (WING): Myra Fabian, Sue Kaufmann, Vivian Rogers, and Patricia Wulp

Due to the decentralized nature of the CEW records, researchers are encouraged to check for headings in each of the subgroups and series, even for subjects not listed above.

Acronyms used frequently in the records and in this finding aid include:

1. CFW / COW -- UM Commission for Women (prior to 1972, the name was the Commission on Women)
2. CURIES -- Cross-University Research in Engineering and Science
3. GEO -- UM Graduate Employees' Organization
4. IOG -- Institute of Gerontology (Joint UM/Wayne State program)
5. LSA / LS&A -- UM College of Literature, Science, and the Arts
6. MAWDAC -- Michigan Association of Women Deans, Administrators and Counselors
7. MSA -- Michigan Student Assembly (UM student government)
8. NAWDAC -- National Association of Women Deans, Administrators and Counselors
9. NACME -- National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering
10. NSF -- National Science Foundation
11. OVPR -- UM Office of the Vice President for Research
12. UM -- University of Michigan (Ann Arbor campus unless otherwise noted)
13. WING -- UM Women's Initiative Group
14. WIS / WISE -- Women in Science / Women in Science and Engineering, originally a CEW project that later spun off into its own unit)

The University of Michigan's highest governing body is the Board of Regents. The Regents deal with virtually every aspect of university policy and campus life. The records of the Regents reflect this broad range of interests and authority. This record group contains exhibits from meetings beginning in 1899. These exhibits are the most complete record of the actions of the Regents, supplementing and detailing the published minutes Proceedings of the Board of Regents. Additional documentation in this record group includes manuscript minutes, 1837-1870, correspondence, material by and about the Regents, photographs, audio recordings of meetings, 1977-2011, and material on recent presidential searches.

As the official governing body of the university, the Regents deal with virtually every aspect of university policy and life. The records of the Regents--which includes exhibits of Regents' meetings, topical files, correspondence files, audio and visual material, and archived web content--reflect this broad range of interests and authority. But while the documentation is wide-ranging, it is not continuous. Certain types of records are continually before the Regents, particularly information regarding salaries, leaves of absence, appointments to faculty positions, and formal approval of degrees conferred upon students. More often, however, the Regents are presented with a specific problem and asked to resolve it through the creation of policy. After the creation and successful implementation of a policy, the situation which caused the issue to arise is usually no longer a matter of Regental concern. The Regents' records reflect this pattern of action. Issues arise, are resolved, and then are supplanted by new concerns.

Records, 1914-1983, of the Barbour Scholarship for Oriental Women Committee, founded by University of Michigan alumnus and regent Levi L. Barbour. Include minutes (1918-1946), complete lists of recipients (1914-1983), newsletters (1927-1946), photographs, and correspondence (1918-1983).

The records of the Barbour Scholarship Committee comprise minutes (1918-1946), complete lists of recipients (1914-1983), newsletters (1927-1946), and photos and correspondence (1918-1983). The collection measures less than one linear foot. Photos include yearly group photographs of recipients, photographs of informal parties, and portraits of Levi L. Barbour and others.

Graduate of the College of Engineering of the University of Michigan in the class of 1911, later Detroit businessman. Papers and photographs relating to student life and activities.

The collection consists of programs and newspaper clippings largely concerning student life at the University of Michigan. The photographs are portraits and snapshots of Taylor, family members and friends; photographs of the construction of Barton Dam in Ann Arbor, Michigan; photographs of University of Michigan student surveying projects; and photographs of University of Michigan students, groups, and activities. In addition, there is an arithmetic notebook, 1833, of H. Green, student at the Detroit Academy. This item was probably collected by Taylor or perhaps in the possession of a family member.

Secretary of University of Michigan Alumni Association; correspondence, scrapbooks, and photographs.

The T. Hawley Tapping collection includes material documenting his student days at the University of Michigan and University of Iowa, the Acacia fraternity and his work as consultant to f University in the Philippine Islands and service to the University of Michigan Alumni Association. The papers are arranged into three series: Correspondence; Scrapbooks; and Photographs.

University of Michigan staff photographer, 1913-1947 and commercial photographer in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Collection includes some manuscript material but is primarily photographic prints and negatives made by Swain. Photo subjects include university buildings, faculty, and student activities, archeological expeditions to the Near East and, Ann Arbor scenes and landscapes form his travels in the western United States and Canada.

The papers and photographs of George R. Swain mainly document Swain's accomplishments as university photographer at the University of Michigan from 1913 to 1947. Researchers should note, however, that this is only a sampling of the photographer's work during these years. The Kelsey Museum of Archaeology at the University of Michigan has an extensive collection of Swain's archaeological negatives and prints, and researchers interested in his full career will want to also look at the Kelsey collection. The Bentley Library material, while including several folders of fine photographs Swain made on his travels with Professor Frances Kelsey, for the most part documents Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan.

The collection at the Bentley Library consists of three series: Miscellaneous Papers; Photographers Log; and Photographs (prints; negatives; and lantern slides. Since the bulk of the collection is comprised of early twentieth century images of Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan, the materials will be of most interest to researchers searching for visual documentation of this part of the state in that time period. There are very few materials beyond the visual, although the lengthy captions attached to many overseas images and the essays, diaries, and letters, are extremely interesting and offer insight into how Swain approached his craft, both as a professional photographer and in his personal work.

Resident in China from Farwell, Michigan; papers concern her family life in Farwell, and missionary activities; include letters, diaries, and accounts of father, Josiah L. Littlefield, Farwell lumber dealer and visitor to China, 1916-1917; letters, 1918-1928, of husband, Dr. Dennis V. Smith, medical missionary to China, describing in part Chinese politics and civil war, 1918-1920; letters and other papers of Hazel Littlefield Smith, including materials concerning various European travels, and manuscripts of writings about Irish author Lord Dunsany, her father, and Farwell, Michigan; and photographs. Other correspondents of Hazel Smith include world-renowed scientists (Edwin Hubble and William Beebe), from Chinese Princess Der Ling, and from distinguished European writers and actors (Pierre LaMure, Selma Lagerlof, Brian Aherne, and Ronald Colman).

This collection was accumulated by Hazel Littlefield Smith and consists of materials concerning her career and interests and those of her family, specifically her husband, Dr. Dennis Smith, and her father, Josiah Littlefield (1845-1935), a pioneer lumberman and businessman in Farwell, Michigan.

The collection is particularly valuable for three topics: early days (late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries) in Farwell, Michigan; missionary life in China in the period ca. 1915-1928; and the travels and writings of Hazel Littlefield Smith. The materials include correspondence, compositions and business-related materials of Josiah Littlefield; correspondence and other materials of Dr. Dennis Smith, Hazel Littlefield Smith (and Josiah Littlefield) concerning conditions in early republican China; and correspondence and other materials of Hazel Littlefield Smith concerning her travels in Europe (1920s-1950s), her management of the family farm near Farwell, Michigan (1940s), and her essays, poetry and other publications, including Lord Dunsany: King of Dreams.

The three principal figures in the collection--Hazel Littlefield Smith, Dennis Smith and Josiah Littlefield--were highly perceptive observers of persons and events. Their letters are rich in detail, whether describing travel experiences or everyday life in rural northern Michigan.

The collection is arranged into six series: Littlefield Family, China-related materials, Hazel Littlefield Smith, Miscellanea, Dr. Dennis V. Smith, and Visual Materials.