Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

The Faculty and Staff files contain biographical and background information created and collected by the University of Michigan News and Information Services. News and Information Services is the media relations office of the university. The files represent more than 6,000 individual faculty and staff members. Some files contain photographs.

The Faculty and Staff Files (145 linear feet; 1944-2005) are arranged alphabetically by surname and contain academic and biographical information on nearly 6000 faculty and staff, including many who are inactive, retired or deceased. The files were maintained by the University of Michigan News and Information Service. Early on the files were working files holding ready reference biographical information and copies of press releases. Eventually the files came to include collected information such as copies of local and national newspaper articles where faculty or staff members were mentioned.

The amount of information per individual varies considerably, ranging from a single item to multiple folders. Files dating from around 1960-1995 tend to have more documentation than dates outside of this range, though there are some exceptions. Specific types of information include copies of news releases where the individual is mentioned, pages from Regents' meetings detailing appointments (resignations, faculty appointments, promotions, reassignments, sabbaticals, adoption of memoirs for retirements and deaths, etc.), newspaper clippings, magazine articles, preprints or reprints of publications, curricula vitae or other biographical summaries, and obituaries. In addition, some of the files contain photographs and negatives. (Photograph Series D of the News and Information Services records contains more than 4,000 faculty and staff portraits. A separate finding aid is available for that series.)

Files of University of Michigan presidents such as Alexander Ruthven and Harlan Hatcher are within the collection, as are files of various members of the Board of Regents. Distinguished alumni of the University of Michigan, including Nobel Prize winners Stanley Cohen and Raoul Wallenberg, also have files. The collection is of interest to researchers who desire a greater understanding of the professional interests and activities of faculty members in particular.

Serves as media relations office and disseminates information about university programs, research, events, and faculty activities. Includes correspondence, press releases, newspaper clippings, and other papers concerning the activities and work of the University, notable campus events, research, and teaching.

The News and Information holdings document how the university is portrayed in the media and the efforts of the university to promote itself. Although there is some correspondence from 1900-1903 and the 1930s, the bulk of the records date from 1946 to the present. The value of the files is as a source of ready information (on a yearly basis) about the activities and research accomplishments of university faculty and staff, departments, colleges and schools, libraries, centers, and other units. The records also chronicle notable events and visits by famous scholars and celebrities through yearly topical files, press releases, and correspondence. News and Information Service holdings also contain extensive photographic material (prints, negatives, slides, and transparencies) generated by the photography unit in addition to non-photographic records. The substantial photographic holdings are described in a separate finding aid.

The non-photographic News and Information Services records include some correspondence of the unit's administrators, although the bulk consists of news clippings, published materials, press releases, and other background information collected by NIS and arranged topically by year. The records are organized into eight series: CORRESPONDENCE, PRESS RELEASES, MISCELLANEOUS, TOPICAL FILES, GERALD R. FORD, UNIVERSITY PRESIDENTS, and ARCHIVED WEBSITES.