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The Minutes of Meetings series, 1948-2001 (3 linear ft.), includes records from the earliest planning periods through the late 1980s. It is important to note that more than a year of organization and preparation preceded the launching of the original fund-raising campaign, a campaign President Ruthven called the most important project ever undertaken by the university. This planning period is well documented in meeting and committee files. In earlier years, an executive committee advised and participated in both fund-raising and research development. By 1956, these functions were divided when a continuation committee was charged with studying how to continue the project via a second fund-raising campaign. Among its recommendations was the appointment of a strong administrative board of governors and a second body to oversee the research side of the project. Records generated by the resulting Board of Governors are the best resource for gathering information on the second campaign, while Faculty Executive Committee files illuminate the development of research and academic programs during the period. (The Board of Governors was discharged in 1962, and the Faculty Executive Committee took on a more comprehensive advisory role.) The Executive Committee files include minutes from meetings, rosters of Committee members, evaluations and determinations of grant proposals, information on the status of the Ford Reactor, financial reports related to grant funding, as well as the overall operation of the Phoenix Project.

Collectively, the Research series, 1948-2003 (20.5 linear ft.), offers a precise and detailed view of Phoenix supported research. Records exist for all but one (# 802) of 816 funded projects, which are arranged chronologically by grant number. Included for most are the initial grant request, progress reports, and a final summary of the project's accomplishments. Frequently there are substantial final reports in the file, publications resulting from the project, and bibliographies. The series also includes a run of applications for funds arranged by year, 1948-1961; a run of applications arranged by year with accompanying evaluations and comments, 1968-1994; and a set of index cards. The index cards are arranged alphabetically by project director and include the name of the project, the amount funded, and opening and closing dates. Researchers are reminded that there is also a series comprised of early research material in the first accession. The Research series also includes a compendium of research grants funded by the Phoenix Project since the inception of the grant award process in 1948. Additional information regarding the grant-decision making process and project evaluations can be found in the Faculty Executive Committee files in the Minutes of Meetings series.