Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

As the provost's chief of staff, Karen Gibbons served as an advisor to the provost; acted as a liaison to the deans, executive officers, and Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs (SACUA); and managed the provost's staff. She also administered executive searches in the provost's office, and coordinated development-related matters. Gibbons also provided staff support for the Academic Program Group and served as the contact person on publicity matters under the purview of the provost. Gibbons holds her B.A. in human resource administration and began her employment at the University of Michigan in 1970 and in the provost's office in 1990, where she remained until her retirement in 2012.

Gibbons's records comprise 31 linear feet and are divided into seven subseries. Her Committees, 1990-1998 and 1992-2011 subseries contains records she maintained for several important university committees. The provost's key staff regularly met in a group variously called 4+1, 5+1, 6+1, 7+1 and 8+1. The numbers refer to the quantity of the provost's staff in attendance, plus the provost, who is the "one." Generally the associate provosts attended, augmented by the chief of staff and assistant provosts. The records include agendas, supporting materials, and some notes, but no regular minutes.

The Academic Program Group (APG) is a regular meeting of the Provost's staff with the deans and directors of the various schools. For these meetings there are regular minutes, as well as agendas and supporting reports and memoranda. Within the APG records are the records of a retreat on the Future of the Faculty, hosted by Nancy Cantor in October of 1998. Faculty members gathered to discuss issues of faculty governance, non-tenured faculty, and balancing work and family.

The Foundations Fund Raising Committee was made up of selected deans, university officers, and provost staff. It was created to coordinate the university's communications with large foundations, such as the Ford Foundation and the WK Kellogg Foundation. The records are filed by meeting date, and include agendas, reports, and sometimes meeting summaries.

Gibbons' records also include materials on emergency planning at the University, which document plans for dealing with pandemic and flu outbreaks, active shooters, and other emergency situations. Other committees represented in Gibbons' files include several student-administrator committees, miscellaneous Office of Academic Affairs staff meetings, Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs (SACUA) and the Senate Assembly, and other project and task force committees.

Other series in Gibbons' papers contain her Correspondence Chronological Files, 1992-1996 and Correspondence Targeted Emails, 2004-2013. The targeted emails are correspondence sent out to the entire University population, including students, faculty, and administrators. Her papers also include Budget/Long-Range Planning Files, 1996-1997 , Personnel Files, 1988-2010, including staff searches for the Provost's Office; Reports, 1989-2006, and Topical, 1986-2013.