Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

University of Michigan chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity for Black college students. The Epsilon chapter was founded in April 1909. History, administrative records, topical files, reports, and photographs largely relating to the chapter and activities of African American students at the University of Michigan. Also included is some material related to the chapter's 2009 centennial celebration.

The records of the Epsilon Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha include correspondence, minutes, photographic material, publications, reports, and topical files.

The records—which document the activities and experiences of African Americans at the University of Michigan—also provides a rich source of information about the history, activities, and administration of the Epsilon Chapter, particularly during the 1920's, 1980's, and 1990's. Also documented is the chapter's centennial celebration in 2009.

Correspondence of the Blaustein family of New York. Karl Blaustein and his son Albert (who received his BA from the University of Michigan) were lawyers. Karl and his wife Rose also had a daughter, Marjorie, who was a writer and a journalist. This collection includes correspondence between Karl and Rose, and their children Albert and Marjorie Blaustein. Many of the letters are written to Albert during his time as a student at the University of Michigan and during his career as a journalist and service member.

This collection contains the Blaustein family correspondence. Materials include correspondence between Karl, Rose, Albert, and Marjorie, as well as newspaper clippings and other ephemera. The first binder began in the summer of 1937, before Albert left for the University of Michigan. Rose, Marjorie and Albert were on vacation, and Karl wrote to them in their absence. The next six binders include letters from Albert's time at university. The first of the six binders contains a collection of Rose and Marjorie's letters to Albert. The next five binders are organized by date rather than sender. The remaining binders contain letters from Albert's time in Chicago and in the military. In these letters, the family discussed daily life and politics, especially related to Nazism and World War II. Most of the letters were written by Karl to Albert.

The remaining correspondences are organized into folders by recipient. These folders are arranged chronologically and contain correspondence and ephemera. Three of the folders contain letters from Marjorie and her parents during her time at the University of Chicago. She wrote about her efforts as a writer as well as daily life and the war. Another set of folders contains letters from Karl and Rose during the summer of 1943. Rose was traveling, and she wrote about her trips to Marjorie in Chicago, Wisconsin, and various Jewish summer resorts.

The remaining folders contain greeting cards, telegrams, and various letters dating from 1920 to 1965. One of these folders contains ephemera from Harvard and Karl's school papers.

A digital resource is also included. Carmen D. Valentino, the seller of the collection, provided the resource, and it contains research on each member of the Blaustein family. The document also details the contents of the collection. Included is an inventory of letters and their authors, as well as some transcribed letters. Information in this resource has not been verified by Bentley staff.

Records of the University of Michigan College of Engineering include histories, correspondence and topical files of deans; minutes of the executive and other committees; faculty records, including minutes of meetings and faculty biographies; miscellaneous student and alumni records; photographs, microfilm, digital files, and archived website.

The College of Engineering records date from 1860 to 2014 and measure 118.5 linear feet, 3 oversize folders, and 1,196 GB. The records document the internal activities of the College of Engineering, both administrative and academic, the role of the college as a unit of the University of Michigan, and research developments and trends over the years. Correspondence, meeting minutes, reports, financial records, and other material reflect changing research interests within the field of engineering as well as the curriculum development that has accompanied technological advances. Of particular interest are the files relating to outside work by faculty members, a question of enduring concern within the college. The records reflect the relations of the College of Engineering with private industry, especially through the documentation of funding from outside sources and the involvement of professors in outside research.

David D. Dexter was a cornet player in the University of Michigan Symphony Band. In 1961, the Band toured and performed across the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. The collection includes digitized slides, correspondence, diaries, and audio recordings documenting the Band's experiences and performances. Also, a sound recording of an interview that was given by Dexter to a TV station in Ohio.

Digital images of slides, writings, and digitized sound recordings constitute the majority of items in the collection. Also included Dexter's packing lists, newsletter issues, and ephemera. All material relates to the University of Michigan Symphony Band's 1961 tour of the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East.

Professor Emerita of the University of Michigan's School of Information and Library Studies. Files of materials received from various University of Michigan committees and commissions on which she served, notably the Commission for Women; the Advisory Committee on Recreation, Intramurals and Club Sports; the Alumnae Athena Award Committee; and the University Club of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Also includes audiovisual material, biographical material (including an oral history transcript), correspondence, photographs, press releases, and publications.

The Gwendolyn S. Cruzat papers reflect Dr. Cruzat's involvement with several committees dedicated to regulating university athletics and maintaining equality for both men's and women's athletics, notably the Commission for Women; the Advisory Committee on Recreation, Intramurals and Club Sports; the Alumnae Athena Award Committee; and the University Club of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Also included are audiovisual material, biographical material, correspondence, photographs, press releases, and publications that document Dr. Cruzat's professional work, her retirement, and University of Michigan sports.

Graduate School of the University of Michigan. Records include dean's topical files, 1892-1996; files of associate deans; minutes of the executive board; project and grant files detailing faculty and student research; lists of degrees granted; records of fellowships and awards granted by the graduate school and university; and files relating to academic departments and programs, including reviews of degree programs.

The records of the Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies document the administration of the school, its academic programs and research projects and fellowships funded by the school and outside sources. The records include Dean's Files, minutes of the Executive Board and Administrative Council, Academic Unit and Program Evaluation files, and grants administration records.

Records of the Graduate School have been received by the library in numerous accessions, some large others quite small. Some accessions represent continuations or complements to previously received materials. This finding attempts to intellectually integrate continuing or similar record series received in multiple accessions.

The records are organized into a number of series. Among the more significant are:

1. Deans' Topical File
2. Research Records
3. University Units
4. Program Evaluations
5. Faculty Research Grants
6. Degree Lists
7. Faculty Fellowships, Grants and Awards
8. Graduate School Executive Board and Administrative Council

In 2008, the Rackham School of Graduate Studies announced that it would become a 'paperless' office and that future accessions to the Bentley Library would be electronic. The materials from 1990 to 2003 were thus digitized by Rackham staff (from the original paper records) and saved as PDF (Portable Document Format) files. As of 2012, these digital accessions comprise two subseries within the Graduate School Executive Board and Administrative Council series and Program Evaluation series.

The records of the University of Michigan International Center contain administrative records from the various Directors of the center. These materials include documentation on the establishment of the University of Michigan's foreign student exchange scholarships, records relating to the development of important programs and national associations for international students, housing surveys between 1965-1971, printed materials such as annual reports, newsletters, and manuals, scrapbooks, photographs, and newspaper clippings.

The collection is divided into six series. The first series, Historical Files, contains early filing methods of the Directors and a small amount of background on the Center. It also contains early papers from 1927-1930 on the Cosmopolitan Club and spring trips for foreign students. The second series, Director's Files, has been organized according to the filing systems employed by each of the Center's first four directors: J. Raleigh Nelson (1933-1943); Esson M. Gale (1943-1954); James M. Davis (1954-1964); and Robert B. Klinger (1964-1971). Files of each director comprise separate sub-series. Each of these four sub-series includes administrative records such as papers of the Board of Governors, minutes of committees connected to the International Center, and annual reports. Within each sub-series there are files of particular importance and interest. Photographs compose the third series, including one scrapbook of directors, students, and visitors to the International Center. Printed materials comprise the fourth series. The fifth series is made up of newspaper clippings. The sixth series consists of National Association of Foreign Student Advisers (Publications).

The Julio Perazza collection includes three series: Visual, Printed, and Audiovisual. The collection offers significant visual documentation to researchers interested in artistic photography, the Detroit Latino community, Detroit Police Department, and the city of Detroit in general. Highlights of the collection include photographs of Latino community cultural events, daily police activities, and Perazza's "Demolished by Neglect" series, a photographic critique of Detroit's urban policies.

Records of the Law School document the evolution of legal education at the University of Michigan as well as tenures of various deans and faculty. Documentation includes historical and class files; student organizations and activities; planning and construction of Law School buildings; information on William W. Cook and his bequest; topical files; deans' correspondence; reports and minutes. Also included are materials related to the Thomas M Cooley and William W. Cook lecture series and portraits of faculty and students, photographs of activities of the Judge Advocate General's School held at the Law School during World War II, the construction of the Law Quadrangle and Law Library addition, and student activities.

The Law School Records begin in 1852 and span the years through the end of the twentieth century. The records document the history of legal education at the University of Michigan, the administration of the Law School, and the lives of some of the scholars who have studied and taught there.

The physical arrangement of the records reflects the various accessions of material that have been received from the Law School over the years. This finding aid is structured to reflect the intellectual organization of the records - continuing series and like materials have been brought together regardless of when the records were transferred to the library. The Summary Contents List provides and overview of the organization of the records.

There are eight major series in the record group: Historical and Class Files (1865-1974); Deans of the Law School (1852-1999); Faculty Files (1859-1994); Student Files (1894-1996); Law Quadrangle and William W. Cook, (1919-1938); Law School Lecture Series; Committee of Visitors and Audio/Visual Materials.

Marjorie Bradfield was the first African American librarian in Detroit, working for the Detroit Public Library and as head librarian for Detroit Public Schools. Horace Bradfield was an African American Physician at Providence and Hutzel hospitals, and out of offices on East Grand Boulevard in Detroit. The collection contains Marjorie Bradfield's autobiography, audio recordings of interviews with Horace Bradfield, and photographs of the Bradfields.

The Marjorie and Horace Bradfield papers consists of autobiographical material and photographs.

In her autobiography, Marjorie Bradfield describes her first library jobs, and the events that led her to the Detroit Public Library. It highlights Bradfield's professional accomplishments, as well as challenges she faced as an African American woman in the library field. The autobiography includes an appendix with citations of essays and articles written by Bradfield.

Also contained within the collection are recordings of a 1978 interview with Horace Bradfield, facilitated by his daughter, Trudy Bradfield Taliaferro. The first part of the interview, Bradfield discusses his time as a student at the University of Michigan between 1931 and 1935. Throughout the interview, Bradfield describes his experience as an African American student at the University of Michigan during the 1930s. The second part of the interview covers his struggles finding a job as an African American physician in Detroit following his graduation in 1935.

The collection includes a small number of photographs in the collection, primarily portraits of the Bradfields, and a photograph from their wedding day in 1938. One of these photographs is available online as a digital file.