Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

William Bolcom (born 1938) is a composer and pianist. Joan Morris (born 1943) is a mezzo-soprano. They were both members of the University of Michigan School of Music faculty. Bolcom and Morris have given numerous performances since 1973. They have also recorded albums of classical and popular songs. Performance files include programs, itineraries, newspaper articles and reviews of each performance, and contracts. There are also files relating to the University of Michigan student production of Mina & Colossus as well as Barnum's Nightingale; original scores to Bolcom's compositions, including McTeague, Casino Paradise, and A View from the Bridge; topical files relating to awards, competitions, and other activities and interests; and physical and digital audiovisual materials.

The papers of William Bolcom and Joan Morris document Bolcom's work as a composer and performer as well as Bolcom's and Morris's collaboration in performing and recording American popular songs and classical music. There is also some material relating to their academic work at the University of Michigan, notably a 1988 production of a student opera, Mina & Colossus. The papers include programs, itineraries, and correspondence relating to performances, manuscript and published scores, topical files, audio and visual material (including sound recordings), and photographs.

The Ecology Center of Ann Arbor and Teach-In on the Environment oral histories is a collection of recordings conducted by the University of Michigan students and faculty. The interviews primarily focus on Environmental Action (ENACT) and the Teach- In on the Environment in 1970, and the history of the first Earth Day that same year. In addition, past and present staff and collaborators of the Ecology Center of Ann Arbor discuss environmental activism in Michigan, with topics ranging from toxics disposal, recycling, waste disposal, and affordable energy. The oral history interviews were featured in-part and in-whole in digital exhibits hosted by the University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. Faculty member Matthew Lassiter was the advisor for these projects and was responsible for collecting all the related oral histories into a single collection for archival preservation.

This collection is comprised of interviews with members of Environmental Action for Survival (ENACT), the Ecology Center of Ann Arbor, and other environmental justice activists. Broadly, the interviews cover environmental justice in Michigan. In 2017, student interviewers spoke to members of ENACT who organized the 1970 Teach-In on the Environment, as well as activists who organized the first Earth Day. In the 2019-2021 partnership with the Ecology Center that followed, the Environmental Justice HistoryLab conducted interviews with current and former members and collaborators of the Ecology Center on all aspects of local environmental activism, including waste management, toxics disposal, energy programs, and environmental policy in the state.

The collection is organized into three series: Environmental Activism in Michigan, the Ecology Center, and Digital Exhibitions. These series are based on the project that the recorded interviews and clips were associated with, as well as which groups sponsored the interviews. Digital Exhibitions contains links to the final digital exhibits associated with each project, where available. While the interviews do not currently have transcripts, most of the recordings have an associated timestamped index.

Group of University of Michigan students, faculty, and staff studying how Islamophobia affects campus climate and working to create a safe and inclusive community for all community members impacted by Islamophobia. Reports, email correspondence, meeting agendas and minutes, student resources, photographs, project files, and an archived website.

The Islamophobia Working Group records (266.4 MB and 1 archived websites) contains progress reports, email correspondence, meeting agendas and minutes, photographs, student outreach resources, project files, and an archived website. The materials are organized into two series, the Islamophobia Working Group records series and the Islamophobia Working Group website series.

Center was established as the Historical Center for the Health Sciences. Records include interviews of emeritus University of Michigan Medical School faculty members conducted by the Center for the History of Medicine. Transcripts and audio recordings of interviews discussing their backgrounds, education, careers, and tenure at the University of Michigan.

An oral history project undertaken by the University of Michigan Center for the History of Medicine, the project focused on interviewing retired or emeritus faculty members in order to preserve their institutional knowledge of the Medical Center and the university.

Between the years 2002 and 2004, the center's assistant director for programs, Christine Bass, conducted four interviews. From 2004 to 2007, Enid Galler, proprietor of Voice Treasures, took over the interviewing process and conducted fourteen additional oral histories. All interviews include discussions of the faculty member's early life, education, and career accomplishments.

The interviews are available as digital materials online and were recorded on audio cassettes. In addition to these audio formats, there are one or more folders corresponding to each interview, which contain a typed transcript of the interview, a copy of the faculty member's curriculum vitae and in some cases, additional biographical information. The interviews conducted by Enid Galler include an index (with people, organizations, and subjects) and a detailed subject list. Mary Beth Reilly conducted later interviews.

Transcripts are arranged alphabetically by last name, with all audio cassettes in Box 2.

Oral histories of University of Michigan Business School faculty members, conducted by Enid Galler 1976, 1990-1992, 1999, and 2005 discussing their background, education, careers, and the business school and university.

The Ross School of Business (University of Michigan) oral history interviews are comprised of typed transcripts and sound recordings, primarily audiocassette tapes of seventeen interviews with retired faculty members recorded during an oral history project undertaken by the School's Alumni and Development Office. The interviews were conducted by Enid H. Galler between 1990 and 1992, 1999, 2005, and one earlier interview identified as being from 1976. The typed transcripts include subject indexes. There are discrepancies between the dates on the transcripts and the dates on the tapes - different dates also appear on the cover sheets of the transcripts and the transcripts themselves. The transcripts and sound recordings are arranged alphabetically by the subject's last name. For consistency, the transcript dates are taken from the cover sheets, and the sound recording dates are taken from the dates on the audio item, except in one case where an item is undated. The date for this interview is taken from the date on the transcript.

Interviews typically include information on the subject's background, education, and family, and commentary on his or her career and overall involvement with the university. The interviews also contain a great deal of information on the administration of, and issues within the School, as well as on the operation of the university as a whole.

Papers documenting the professional life and advocacy of Hanes Walton, an eminent professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Michigan. Collection includes correspondence, book reviews, dissertations produced under his guidance, materials demonstrating Walton's participation in university minority advocacy committees and publications, course syllabi and exams, oral histories and statistics gathered in the course of Walton's research, and files pertaining to his role as a supporter of historically black colleges and universities in the United States. Select files in this collection are in digital formats.

Materials in the Hanes Walton papers will be of particular interest to those seeking to understand one of the nation's preeminent African American political scientists as academician, teacher, and advocate; the collection's contents also illuminate broader questions of minority education, political participation by African Americans, and the process of scholarly publication in the United States. Although Walton enjoyed a career of more than forty years at four collegiate institutions, the coverage provided by his collection begins in the late 1980s and addresses his time at Savannah State College and the University of Michigan. Materials include drafts of works and reviews, research material, and correspondence. Also, video recordings of tributes to Walton by his University of Michigan colleagues, as well as of the 2015 memorial lecture in his name.

Enid H. Galler, owner and founder of Voice Treasures, conducted and recorded oral histories of local Ann Arbor persons, primarily faculty members of the University of Michigan. This collection contains audiocassettes and digital materials of recordings, including interviews and talks, done by Galler as well as supplemental materials including transcripts.

The Galler papers date from 1987 through 2007. They are arranged by project and/ or school. Within each series, materials are arranged alphabetically by name of the interviewee. Materials for interviewees may include Interviews, Transcripts, and/or Supplemental materials. Interviews are the audio recordings of the interviews themselves, and may consist of several audiocassettes or digital materials. Transcript folders include typed transcripts of interviews and may also include an index of subjects discussed during the interview. Supplemental materials folders may contain correspondence, notes, interview questions, newspaper clippings, pictures, and other miscellaneous materials related to the interview.

The University of Michigan News and Information Services (NIS) acts as the University's media relations office, disseminating information about university programs, research, events, and faculty activities. This collection includes audiovisual recordings of press releases, news briefs distributed to television and radio stations, web-based podcasts and digital videos, and externally produced materials about the University and its activities. Additionally, researchers will find copies of University-produced media from the 1970s to the early 2000s in both audio and video formats.

The University of Michigan News and Information Services Audiovisual Materials contains sound and visual materials produced by the University of Michigan to share with the media as well as materials relevant to the promotion and image of the University. News and Information Services also publishes materials featuring achievements by scholars, recordings of speeches by invited speakers, and media appearances by or about University officials, programs, and scholars.

Robert E. Lewis served as editor-in-chief of the Middle English Dictionary at the University of Michigan from 1982 to 2001. Before coming to Michigan Lewis was a professor of English at Indiana University where he co-authored A Guide to the Manuscripts of the Prick of Conscience. The Robert E. Lewis papers relate primarily to research into Prick of Conscience, the most popular English poem of the Middle Ages. The papers include correspondence, articles, notes and reproductions (photocopies and microfilm) of medieval manuscripts and texts of the poem and related material

History of Prick of Conscience Studies

The Prick of Conscience, to judge from the number of known manuscripts (120), was the most popular English poem of the Middle Ages, surpassing such popular poems as Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (its nearest competitor with 64 manuscripts), Piers Plowman (with 54), and John Gower's Confessio Amantis (with 51), and was itself surpassed in English only by the two versions of the Wycliffite prose translation of the Bible and the prose Brut. The poem exists in three versions: (1) an original or main version (in 99 manuscripts), which originated in the north of England, probably Yorkshire, with a preponderance of manuscripts from that area and the north midlands, but also extending into the west midlands and East Anglia and even into the southeast and the southwest; (2) a shorter, thoroughly revised recension (in nineteen manuscripts) originating somewhere in the south, with a more restricted distribution; and (3) a heavily revised and abbreviated version of the main version entitled Speculum Huius Vite (in two manuscripts).

The popularity of the poem is supported by other signs: eighty per cent of the counties of England can claim at least one copy of the poem, some have two or more, and three of the copies are written in the Anglo-Irish dialect; extracts circulated separately (twelve in eight manuscripts); the poem was quoted in a number of other Middle English poems ("Stimulus Consciencie Minor," "Desert of Religion," "Of the Flood of the World," "Wheel of Fortune," for example) as well as in a stained glass window at All Saints Church in York); there was a translation into Latin prose made in the 14th century (six manuscripts exist); and the poem appears in wills and book lists.

The Prick of Conscience is a long verse compilation (over 9,600 lines in rhyming couplets), divided into a prologue; seven books, which treat, in turn, the wretchedness of man's nature throughout his life, the world and the various conditions thereof, death and the fear of death, purgatory and its characteristics, the day of judgment, the pains of hell, and the joys of heaven; and a brief conclusion or epilogue. The poem has a great many sources: ultimately over twenty separate works, primarily Latin, including both well known ones like St. Augustine's De Civitate Dei, Honorius of Autun's Elucidarium, Pope Innocent III"s De Miseria Humane Conditionis, and Bartholomeus Anglicus's De Proprietatibus Rerum and not so well known ones like Robert Grosseteste's De Penis Purgatorii (in its French version) and Hugh Ripelin of Strasbourg's Compendium Theologice Veritatis.

For a long time the poem was thought to have been written by the well known hermit and mystical writer Richard Rolle (died 1349), to whom it is attributed in five manuscripts, but his authorship is now considered extremely doubtful. Three manuscripts attribute the poem to Robert Grosseteste (circa 1170-1253), Bishop of Lincoln, but he lived too early to be the author. A more recent suggestion is William of Nassyngton (died 1359), chancellor of the Diocese of York and the author of the Speculum Vite, but there is as yet no proof for this. In genre the Prick of Conscience is unlike any other Middle English work in verse or prose, though it has some similarities and has been compared to the Speculum Vite. Its primary function was probably as a compendium of knowledge from which a parish priest could instruct his flock or draw material for his sermons, and its wide circulation in the 14th and 15th centuries indicates that it must have fulfilled its purpose.

The poem is worth studying for a number of reasons and from a variety of points of view, and when Lewis came to Ann Arbor in 1982 he had just completed, with Angus McIntosh A Guide to the Manuscripts of the Prick of Conscience (Oxford: Society for the Study of Medieval Languages and Literature), which they hoped, as they said in their Preface, would "stimulate and facilitate research into some of the important . . . questions connected with [the poem], such as its genre, the reasons for its popularity, its audience, and its influence in Britain in the later Middle Ages"; and Lewis himself was planning to spend whatever free time he had on various aspects of the poem. He had made good progress on two projects: the sources (and the manuscript tradition of the sources) of Book I and an edition of one of the short poems indebted to the Prick of Conscience, the "Stimulus Consciencie Minor." But the work of the Middle English Dictionary took precedence during his official working years, and because of other commitments he was unable to complete these projects during retirement. He deposited his Prick of Conscience materials in the Bentley Library in the hope that other researchers would consult them as a starting point either to complete the two projects he began or to study other aspects of the poem.

Scope and Content Note

The Robert E. Lewis papers relate primarily to research and study of the Prick of Conscience the most popular English poem of the Middle Ages. Prick of Conscience material includes reproductions (photocopies and microfilm) of medieval manuscripts and related Middle English texts as well as Lewis's correspondence, notes, and research files on the Prick of Conscience. Material relating to the Middle English Dictionary and his professional career is also present.

The Lewis papers are arranged in five series. The first four series relate to the poem Prick of Conscience: Prick of Conscience, Related Materials, Notes on Cards and Slips, and Microfilms of Manuscripts. The content of the first two boxes are all in standard archival folders and are arranged by subject. In box three the materials represent a variety of formats (4" x 6" cards, 5" x 8" cards and slips, and a paperback book), also arranged by subject, with a few microfilms in various kinds of containers. The final box consists of microfilms only.

Organization of women faculty members established to exchange information about their status as faculty women and to investigate and resolve issues of special concern. records include history, awards files, correspondence, minutes, topical files, photographs, and video and sound recordings.

The records of the Academic Women's Caucus (AWC) provide an almost complete history of the AWC from its origins to the present, although the materials documenting the years 1972-1974 are not particularly strong. Many of the early records are from the co-chair Aline Soules. The records do provide valuable documentation of the general concerns of women faculty members at a major research university.

Edward M. Gramlich was a professor of economics and a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Board. His academic career was primarily associated with the University of Michigan where he taught economics and public policy. He also served as Dean of the School of Public Policy and as Interim Provost. He was a Governor on the Federal Reserve Board from 1997 to 2005. This fragmentary collection mainly represents papers and presentations done by Gramlich, including speeches and interviews recorded on videotape (VHS) and digitally. Some photographs are also included.

The contents of this collection represent a small fraction of the career of Edward Gramlich. The majority of the collection consists of some of his presentations and speeches. There is also a tiny portion representing other aspects of his professional life: book reviews, reports, a book proposal and news media articles and citations. Where possible, the collection has been organized in chronological order. The papers have been arranged into three series: Papers and Presentations, Topical Files, and Audio-Visual.

Professor of linguistics at the University of Michigan from 1964 to 1986; includes eight lectures given by Catford on the occasion of his retirement, handouts from the lectures, a letter supporting Catford's nomination for the Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award, an article about Catford in Michigan Today.

The J. C. Catford papers are significant for insight into the life and career of their creator and also for their information on linguistics, phonetics, and the instruction and acquisition of second languages. In addition to research articles co-authored by Catford, there are video-recordings from a series of lectures he delivered before his retirement from the University of Michigan. The collection consists of two series: Lectures and Written Materials.

University of Michigan professor of anthropology; professor of botany; curator of ethnology; and former director of the University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology. Well-known for his innovative research in archaeology, ethnobotany, and paleoethnobotany, as well as a long and distinguished teaching career and dedication to public and professional service.

The Richard I. Ford Papers document the professional and personal life of one of the country's most prominent paleoethnobotanists, curator and former director of the University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology, and longtime University of Michigan professor of Anthropology and Botany. The records in this collection measure 27 linear feet, and date from 1968 to 2005, with the majority of the records from the period 1970 to 1990. The Ford papers are primarily comprised of correspondence, legal filings and consulting materials, lectures and conference presentations, publications, committee and service records, administrative materials, teaching files, and mixed media. The records are arranged into seven series: Correspondence, Legal Consultations, Professional Service and Activities, Teaching, University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology, Audio-Visual Materials, and Research, Publications, and Projects.

The Department of American Culture was founded as Program in American Culture in 1952 through the efforts of Professor Joe Lee Davis to study American life. The program initially served as a hub for interdisciplinary courses. In the 1970s the program and coursework expanded to include the study of women and minority groups with an emphasis on Latino Studies as well as art and media studies. The Program became a Department in 2012. Records include administrative files, directors' correspondence, committee minutes, curriculum material, topical files, and material on faculty members and their activities.

The Department of American Culture (University of Michigan) records (5 linear feet, 12.36 GB and 1 archived website) contain administrative files, curriculum information, and faculty files. It also features materials documenting the interdisciplinary connections between the department and other schools, programs, and departments at the University of Michigan. The collection includes records from two of the Department of American Culture's ethnic studies programs, the Latino/a Studies Program and the Arab and Muslim American Studies Program.

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.

Records of the University Human Resources and its predecessors. University Human Resources plans, administers, and monitors the university policies regarding personnel and employee relations and nondiscrimination. This office coordinates with various executive officers and deans of the schools and colleges.

University Human Resources records (27.4 linear feet) are divided into three subgroups: Affirmative Action, Personnel, and Human Resources and Affirmative Action.

Gerard Faeth (1936-2005) professor of aerospace engineering and mechanical engineering was a world-renowned scholar, researcher, and NASA advisor on theoretical and experimental research on combustion, heat transfer, fluid dynamics, and instrumentation. The collection includes correspondence, teaching materials, research proposals, presentations and publications, photographs and other visual materials reflecting his academic, research, and consulting career. The collection covers the years 1964-2005, but primarily documents 1985-2005.

The Gerard Faeth papers include correspondence, teaching materials, research proposals, presentations and publications, photographs, and other visual materials documenting his career. The Faeth papers (approx. 12 linear feet) date from 1964-2005, but primarily document the period 1985-2005. The papers are organized into six series: Biographical; Teaching and Academic Activities; Professional Activities; Research; Presentations, Publications, and Reviews; and Visual Materials.

Bright Sheng, a composer born in China, is also renown as a conductor, pianist, and researcher. The Bright Sheng Collection contains the papers of University of Michigan composition professor Bright Sheng. In addition to Sheng's own files and correspondence, it includes manuscript, printed, and published versions of his scores (printed scores are for musicians' use, while published scores are for a wider audience), published and unpublished recordings of his works, interviews, programs and reviews featuring his works, and work from Sheng's students. Also included are field recordings and an audio diary from the 2000 Silk Road project in China.

The Bright Sheng Collection contains the papers of University of Michigan composition professor Bright Sheng. It is comprised of 17 series: Biographical, 1982-c2000; Correspondence, 1962-2004; Professional, 1997-1998; Career, 1988-1995; Program Notes [undated]; Awards and Citations, 1984-2003; Photographs, 1985-2004; Reviews, 1986-2004; Programs, 1973-2003; Libretti, 1999-2003; Published Scores, 1988-1999; Printed Scores, 1982-2002; Manuscripts and Revised Scores, 1985-2004; Audio Recordings [undated]; Student Works, 1996-2004; Silk Road Trip, 2000; and Moving Images, 1985-2003. Together, these series document Sheng's career from his early days as a student to his current status as world-renowned composer and professor.

The first six series in the Bright Sheng Collection are extremely short, with a combined physical extent of approximately .5 linear foot. The Biographical, 1982-c2000 series is comprised of a single folder containing biographical material about Sheng. The Correspondence, 1962-2004 series contains topical files of Sheng's correspondence with colleagues in China, with his professors, and with his family, as well as a partial chronological file of correspondence falling outside of those three categories. The Professional, 1997-1998 series includes an article written by Sheng, as well as articles in Chinese about Sheng's music. The Career, 1988-1995 series contains materials related to Sheng's various appointments and positions over the years. The Program Notes series contains an article about the Sung Dynasty and the work Two Poems from the Sung Dynasty. The Awards and Citations, 1984-2003 series includes materials related to various honors Sheng has received in the course of his career, including a MacArthur 'Genius' grant and the University of Michigan's Leonard Bernstein Distinguished University Professorship.

The University of Michigan's Office of Academic Human Resources (AHR) provides human resource services for various university faculty and graduate student employees. Its staff are responsible for union contract issues and processes for academic employees as well as managing the tenure and promotion process for the Provost's office. The collection consists of hard copy and digital promotion casebooks for University of Michigan faculty and research staff at the Ann Arbor, Dearborn, and Flint campuses. Also included are promotion guidelines and checklists.

The Office of Academic Human Resources Promotion Casebooks record group primarily consists of files on various tenure-track faculty members recommended by the leaders of colleges, schools, divisions, and institutes to the Board of Regents for promotion and/or tenure. Each individual's file typically includes the notification of the Regents' decision in the case, the promotion recommendation from the dean (or appropriate unit leader), a curriculum vitae, letters of recommendation, and related documentation. The records are arranged chronologically by academic year and then alphabetically by academic unit. Larger schools and colleges associated with the University of Michigan Ann Arbor's campus, such as the College of Engineering; College of Literature, Science and the Arts; and the Medical School, are often further subdivided by department or division. Files for the UM-Dearborn and UM-Flint campuses are usually located at the end of each year and are also subdivided as appropriate. Particularly for the later years, as the files become more voluminous, additional documentation may be present, such as examples of research or teaching evaluations. In some cases, there is some blurring of the academic year or a promotion file was held back. For those reasons, those seeking a particular file may be compelled to look in one or more years—and particularly consult the appropriate out of season casebooks—to locate the sought-after file. In addition to these casebooks, the record group also includes promotion and tenure guidelines and checklists for particular academic years.

Peter Sparling is Professor of Dance at the University of Michigan School of Music. Well known as both performer and choreographer, he has danced with Martha Graham and Jose Limon. Papers consist of materials relating to Sparling's dance training, performance, and teaching including background materials; choreography notes and sketches; correspondence; clippings and publicity from dance companies with whom he was associated; programs and reviews; photographs, video and film of performances; and posters.

The Peter Sparling Papers include materials relating to Sparling's dance training, performance, and teaching. The papers are divided into eight series: Background Materials, Choreography, Correspondence, Dance Companies, Programs, Reviews, Photographs, Performance, Audition, and Rehearsal Videos, and Posters.