Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

The 1942-1997 subseries of the Administrative files series is comprised of curriculum meeting minutes, planning materials, and other administrative records. While the records date from 1942-1997, the bulk of the material is from the late 1980s and early 1990s. The subseries includes a long run of Curriculum Committee material (1948-1994). Reports and surveys prepared by the Planning Committee on the Undergraduate Experience include "A Michigan Education," "The Challenges of Undergraduate Education at the University of Michigan," a department by department survey, and responses to various reports. A file entitled "Memorials" holds profiles for deceased faculty dating from 1942 to 1966. In addition, there are several folders of Edie Goldenberg speeches, presentations, and faculty meeting remarks.

The Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education series (12 linear feet and digital files(online)) was primarily generated during the tenure of four associate deans: Jack W. Meiland, Michael M. Martin, Robert M. Owen, and Lincoln B. Faller. Although some of the records date back to 1951, the bulk of the records are from 1989-2001. The Office of the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education was not established until 1990/91, but many of the functions of the office were carried out through other offices in LSA until that time. Several of the functions were handled through the office of the Associate Dean for Long Range Planning, which was held by Jack Meiland until he was appointed Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education. As such, these files also contain evidence of long-range planning.

The series is composed of six sub-series: Curriculum Committee Minutes; Curriculum Files; General Files; Martin, Michael; Joint Faculty-Student Policy Committee; and Course and Project Resources. Files for the 2009 addition to this series are arranged within the first four sub-series. One of the functions of the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education was to act as chair for the Curriculum Committee. The Curriculum Files are made up of alphabetically arranged files containing background information and other materials related to the Curriculum Committee Minutes, as well as a run of Deleted Course Approval Request Forms (CARF's) that are arranged alphabetically by department/program.

The General Files are made up of files documenting the other functions of the Associate Dean's office. These files include center, department, and program files similar to the files found in the Dean's Files series, as well as a run of alphabetically arranged topical files. Note that the sub-files within the General Files series overlap because each sub-file represents a specific accession to the sub-series. For example, the 1991-1997 sub-file consists of topical files acquired in 2015.

The Martin, Michael sub-series contains documentation related to Michael Martin's tenure as Associate Dean, with some materials from Jack Meiland's tenure, presumably because their terms overlap (Meiland served as associate dean from 1990-1992; Martin served from 1991-1995). The Course and Project Resources subseries contains digital materials about topics such as the Undergraduate Education Director, theme semesters, and the Race and Ethnicity degree requirement. Materials related to LSA's Bicentennial theme semesters can be found in the Bicentennial Year Programs and Related Theme Semesters series.

Strong topics in these files include diversity in the undergraduate community. Files on the Alliance for Minority Participation, and on University Course 299—a seminar originally held in Fall 1990, entitled "Racism in the United States: Causes, Consequences, and Change," and which focused on issues revolving around race and ethnicity—are particularly good sources on how the College of LS&A was promoting diversity on campus. Another interesting set of files, related to the issue of diversity, document the course English 317: How to Be Gay. The course incited a large amount of controversy as a result of the course title and description, and the file contains a wealth of correspondence from Michigan citizens commenting on the university's decision to offer the course. Also well documented is the continued emphasis on improving undergraduate education, as began during Edie Goldenberg's tenure as Dean. The files on First Year Seminars and Living-Learning Communities contain a large amount of material on efforts to improve the educational experience for undergraduates, especially those in their first and second year. Other well-documented topics include Advising, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and the Undergraduate Admissions Advisory Committee.