Alumnae Council Files (Boxes 114-117, 131-133) include general material on the council which was formed to keep up to date with the needs and life of women at the University of Michigan and to report those activities to alumnae. Records reflect the early distinction made between alumni and alumnae and detail the operation of the council and efforts to aid women students with financial needs as well as the operation of the Michigan League. (See also the Michigan League Building Fund Campaign Files in boxes 105-108, the 1924 Alumnae Council Survey Questionnaire in boxes 109-110, and the Alumnae Club File in boxes 111-113). Information on Henderson House, a women's cooperative dormitory sponsored by the Alumnae Council is also present. Later records reflect efforts to integrate the separate alumnae activities into the larger operation of the Alumni Association. Of particular note are several files relating to women students and alumnae involved in World War II military service and war work (located in boxes 114-115). These files include accounts of military service, articles about work in locations such as the Willow Run Bomber Plant, and photographs of alumnae in service (WACS, WAVES, Red Cross). An index card file compiles information on alumnae involved in military service.
Related to the Alumnae Council files are the Marjorie Williams Papers (.5 linear feet; 1958-1962) which consist of administrative records pertaining to the work of the Alumnae Council during the latter part of the 1950s and the early 1960s. The folders are arranged alphabetically by topic with the items in each folder arranged chronologically. The majority of the records are minutes and reports of workshops, functions and special committees of the council. The largest folder, "Correspondence", contains letters to and from the Alumni Association and the Alumnae Secretary, Allison Myers, as well as other groups and organizations. The letters give information about the day-to-day workings of the organization not seen in the minutes and reports. Of interest is the folder containing information on the Alice Freeman Palmer Professor Committee. Dr. George H. Palmer gave an endowment to the Alumnae Council to establish a chair in the history department in the name of his wife. The full time position was approved in 1958, with Dr. Sylvia L. Thrupp as the first appointee. The folder contains a newsletter about Dr. Thrupp and the endowment.
Connected with the work of the Alumnae Council is the 1924 Alumnae Council Survey Questionnaire. As part of the effort to establish the Michigan League surveys were sent to every woman that had attended the university up to 1924. The survey questionnaires asked for biographical information as well as occupations, leadership positions, and queried alumnae to consider who were the ten most influential alumnae. Returned questionnaires are located in boxes 109-110. An index, including cross references to maiden names is contained in a separate volume. Additional biographical and genealogical information on alumnae is available in the separate University of Michigan. Alumni Records. Necrology File record group. This record groups includes an extensive name index of former students and graduates.
A similar alumni survey was contemplated in 1927. The 1927 Alumni Survey (located in Box 130) contains the partial results of this effort to contact every graduate and former student that had attended the university. To test the feasibility of such a vast undertaking surveys were sent to all alumni with surnames beginning with the letters "A" and "B." Approximately 60% of the surveys were completed and returned. Realizing how costly it would be to complete the rest of the survey, the undertaking was abandoned. Among the biographical information asked in the survey was occupation, activities, community work, and sources of income. An index to the extant surveys is contained in a separate volume along with the 1924 alumnae survey index. Additional biographical and genealogical information on alumni is available in the separate University of Michigan. Alumni Records. Necrology File record group. This record groups includes an extensive name index of former students and graduates.
