Collections

Ann Arbor Congregation founded in 1916. In anticipation of its 100th anniversary in 2016, Beth Israel initiated an oral history project to help tell the story of Jewish life in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Recordings were conducted in April 2013 by StoryCorps, a national non-profit organization dedicated to recording and collecting stories of everyday people. Includes digital recordings of interviews, transcripts, and digital photographs of participants.

The Beth Israel oral history project records consist of 18 interviews of congregation members that were facilitated and recorded by StoryCorps, a national non-profit organization dedicated to recording and collecting stories of everyday people. The interview participants were of a range of ages and experiences with subject matter centered on their experience of Jewish life in Ann Arbor. Common themes ranged from their life stories, their participation in Ann Arbor Jewish life, how they became involved in Jewish communal life, discussions of their Jewish identity, and any anti-Semitism they encountered.

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.

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.

The Institute for Social Research (ISR), an interdisciplinary center for social science research, was created in 1949 when the Research Center for Group Dynamics (founded at Massachusetts Institute of Technology) joined the university's Survey Research Center. ISR houses the Center for Political Studies (CPS), Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), Population Studies Center (PSC), Research Center for Group Dynamics (RCGD), and the Survey Research Center (SRC). Records document the founding and development of ISR and its related centers and programs and include audiovisual materials, minutes, correspondence, topical files, reports, and proposals. Administrative records include governance committees and director's files. Records of the Program for Research on Black Americans (PRBA) consist of grant proposals, survey instruments, focus group transcriptions, correspondence, bulletins, and internal governance records created under the auspices of PRBA and its various projects. Records of the Research Center for Group Dynamics are primarily the papers of director Kurt Lewin, including manuscripts and talks. Survey Research Center records consist largely of proposal and project files, although they also include faculty oral histories. The records of the Population Studies Center consist of lectures from its founder, Dr. Ronald Freedman, while the Center for Political Studies contains one binder of material from the American National Election Survey conducted in 1980.

The Institute for Social Research (ISR) records are dated from 1936-2017 (scattered) and consist of 143.8 linear feet (in 146 boxes) and digital files (online). Materials in this record group include audiovisual material, committee files (which include minutes and agendas), correspondence, directors' files, oral histories, publications, reports, and topical files. These records document the founding and subsequent development of ISR as well as its centers and programs, particularly the Program for Research on Black Americans (PRBA) and the Survey Research Center (SRC). The records also provide an overview of ISR's administration and the evolution of social science survey research methodology.

There are gaps in the records, which can be addressed in part through the papers of Rensis Likert, Angus Campbell, Dorwin P. Cartwright, and Philip E. Converse—all of which are held at the Bentley Historical Library (BHL). When viewed in conjunction with other ISR-related personal papers in the Bentley Historical Library, a rich and detailed picture of the growth of ISR as a center and the social science research discipline emerges.

University of Michigan office operating since 1971 that deals with human sexuality and gender identity support and advocacy for students, faculty, and staff. Records consist of administrative and topical files of the Spectrum Center and its predecessor offices and relate to the operation of the office; outreach programs; advocacy efforts; background on university housing issues; same sex benefits; as well as local, state, and national issues pertaining to LGBTQ rights. Documentation also includes posters; photos of rights marches, gay pride events, and celebration events; audio-visual material; and oral histories.

The records of the Spectrum Center document the activities of the center from 1976 to 2012, 2019-2021 (bulk 1987-2012). Materials in this record group consist of correspondence (including electronic mail printouts and memoranda), clippings, educational training manuals, minutes, reports, topical files, photographic materials, audio and visual materials, and oral histories.

For earlier records of the office, see the Lesbian-Gay Male-Bisexual Programs Office series within the James W. Toy papers, which is also held at the Bentley Library. Note that there is some overlap between the records in the James W. Toy papers and this record group.

Warren Petoskey is an Odawa and Lakotah elder. He is a writer, musician, dancer, and lecturer on the history of American Indian residential schools. The collection includes materials related to his professional and personal activities and interests, biographical and historical information, copies of genealogical records, as well as personal photographs and audio recordings.

The Warren Petoskey papers is arranged into two series: Personal and Professional Files, and Oral Histories and Interviews.

Personal and Professional Fills contains correspondence regarding presentations that Petoskey has held and his professional performance, copies of genealogy and family records, writings -- including his poetry, essays, and his published memoir, Dancing My Dream, --photographs of himself and family members, certificates for language learning and earned in the course of his work as an addictions counselor, and other materials that document Warren's life as an Odawa and Lakotah elder.

The Oral Histories and Interviews series contains digital oral history interviews between Mike Smith and Warren Petoskey. It also includes recorded sermons delivered by and interviews with Petoskey.

Researchers should note that the materials that date from 1787 to 1884 are photocopy reproductions of original materials.

Established in 1980 as part of the Center for Continuing Education of Women (now CEW+), the Women in Science and Engineering Program (WISE) has sought to increase the number of women who major in and seek advanced degrees in mathematics, science and technical fields. WISE has offered internships, resource guides, programming, and the Warner-Lambert lecture series towards this goal. In addition to supporting women at the collegiate level, WISE offers a variety of K-12 programs for students of any gender identity, although they are primarily aimed at women and girls. Records include correspondence and reports; physical and digital materials related to programming efforts, including the Warner-Lambert lecture series and Girls in Science and Engineering summer camp; funding proposals; research papers and talks by WISE staff members; and clippings and documents related to the establishment of WISE. Planning files for the Girls and Science and Technology (GASAT) IV Conference 1987, digital transcripts and recordings from an oral history project that sought to preserve the history of University of Michigan alumnae in the sciences and engineering, and material related to Smartgirl.com as well as the Women in Engineering Office are also included.

The WISE records (11.3 linear feet and digital files (online)) reflect the changing approaches that WISE took to encourage and support women in the sciences and engineering, as well as the changing organizational structure of the program. Specific formats include correspondence, digital photographs and videos, grant applications and program proposals, oral histories, research studies and talks, publications, reports, web archives, and background material on women and sciences at the University of Michigan. Prominently represented in the collection are WISE's various programming efforts, the Women's History in Michigan Science and Engineering Oral History Project, and the Women in Engineering Office (WIE).