Search

The Detroit Observatory, an astronomical observatory on the campus of the University of Michigan, was the vision of University of Michigan President Henry Philip Tappan. He recognized the need for institutions of higher education to pursue scientific endeavors. Built in 1854, the Detroit Observatory was named after the Detroit residents who helped finance the building project. Extensive restoration work of the Observatory was completed in 1999.

The Detroit Observatory record group includes administrative materials of the Observatory's later years (post-1994), including documentation on the Observatory's restoration project and materials encompassing the Observatory's publicity and outreach efforts. The collection also contains various historical documents and artifacts such as logbooks and records, photographs and other visual materials, motion pictures, architectural drawings, and publications. The collection includes all of the documents, artifacts, and records transferred to the Bentley Historical Library in 2005. Materials not physically transferred to the Bentley that remain in the Observatory (such as telescopes, clocks, and associated astronomical devices) have not been identified here, but documentation can be found listed in the various inventories and databases found in the administrative series.

This collection contains the following series: Administrative, Publicity and Outreach, Research, Historical, and Publications.

Office overseeing administration of research activity at the University of Michigan. Includes miscellaneous annual reports, brochures, budgets, directories, flyers, histories, invitations, manuals, newsletters, programs, policy statements, and reports. Also includes publications from the Center for Human Growth and Development, Center for the Study of Complex Systems, the Detroit Observatory, Institute for Research on Women and Gender, Jerome B. Wiesner Symposium, Planning Committee on the Merger, and the Substance Abuse Center.

The Office of Research Publications (3.4 linear feet and 145.7 MB ) include annual reports, brochures, budgets, bulletins, ephemera, manuals, newsletters, policy statements, and reports. These publications are divided into two series: Unit Publications and Sub-Unit Publications. The bulk of the publications document the Office of the Vice President for Research, the Center for Human Growth and Development, the Detroit Observatory, and the University of Michigan Substance Abuse Center (UMSAC) which became the University of Michigan Substance Abuse Research Center (UMSARC). Other sub-units under the jurisdiction of the Office of Vice President for Research include the Michigan Memorial Phoenix Project, University of Michigan Division of Research Development and Administration, University of Michigan Institute of Gerontology, and University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. For publications from these units the researcher should consult their publications finding aids.