Collections

The Alumni Association of the University of Michigan was established in 1897 following a consolidation of the Society of Alumni with the alumni societies of the professional schools. The Michigan Alumnus became the association's official organ. As the organization grew, local chapters were established and provided greater structure. The records include files pertaining to the Alumni Association's administrative office and various chapters and interests groups. This includes national and international U-M alumni and alumnae clubs, the Alumnae Council, the Society of Alumni, the University of Michigan Black Alumni (UMBA-formerly the African American Alumni Council (AAC)), and the Reunion of Black Graduates (RBG). The records include but are not limited to correspondence, minutes, reports, and survey responses, audiovisual materials, digital files, photographs, and publications.

The collection spans 1845-2001. The textual records of the Alumni Association (boxes 1-133) are largely unprocessed, and are described in only general terms in this finding aid. Exceptions include files maintained by Marjorie Williams who served as the vice chair and chair of the Alumnae Council from 1960 to 1962, Class Reunion files, and Topical Files.

Additions to the collection (boxes 168-171) incorporate records, audiovisual materials, photographs, and publications pertaining to the University of Michigan Black Alumni (UMBA). To note are materials specifically related to the African American Alumni Council (AAAC)-formerly the UMBA, and the Reunion of Black Graduates (RBG). This includes information about the Dr. Leonard F. Sain Award, the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. scholarship and symposium, the Camp Michigania retreat, and annual reunion for black graduates photographs, planning materials, and souvenir books.

The University of Michigan's highest governing body is the Board of Regents. The Regents deal with virtually every aspect of university policy and campus life. The records of the Regents reflect this broad range of interests and authority. This record group contains exhibits from meetings beginning in 1899. These exhibits are the most complete record of the actions of the Regents, supplementing and detailing the published minutes Proceedings of the Board of Regents. Additional documentation in this record group includes manuscript minutes, 1837-1870, correspondence, material by and about the Regents, photographs, audio recordings of meetings, 1977-2011, and material on recent presidential searches.

As the official governing body of the university, the Regents deal with virtually every aspect of university policy and life. The records of the Regents--which includes exhibits of Regents' meetings, topical files, correspondence files, audio and visual material, and archived web content--reflect this broad range of interests and authority. But while the documentation is wide-ranging, it is not continuous. Certain types of records are continually before the Regents, particularly information regarding salaries, leaves of absence, appointments to faculty positions, and formal approval of degrees conferred upon students. More often, however, the Regents are presented with a specific problem and asked to resolve it through the creation of policy. After the creation and successful implementation of a policy, the situation which caused the issue to arise is usually no longer a matter of Regental concern. The Regents' records reflect this pattern of action. Issues arise, are resolved, and then are supplanted by new concerns.

Papers of David M. Dennison, professor of physics at the University of Michigan; contain lecture notes and exam materials, correspondence, speeches, files relating to research in theoretical physics, University of Michigan and travel files.

The David M. Dennison Papers contain both the personal correspondence of the Dennison family and items relating to David M. Dennison's research and teaching while at the University of Michigan.

The first part of the collection is correspondence from 1894-1896 from James Lutheran Dennison and his wife to their son Walter Dennison, the father of David M. Dennison. One folder contains correspondence from George Dennison and his wife Nina to his brother Walter Dennison also from the 1890s.

Biographical and personal materials for David M Dennison are comprised of letters from David M. Dennison and his wife, Helen Lenette Johnson, memorial materials from David's death, home finances, and travel information. Family documents in this collection are comprised mostly of his son Edwin's Ph.D. research at the University of Michigan. Dennison's papers include various speeches, articles, and other writings about the physics he was studying, primarily focused on the later part of Dennison's time at the University. Materials from the University of Michigan include lecture notes and exams from the many physics classes Dennison taught. Documents relating to administration of the physics department and David's colleagues are also a part of this collection. Of note is David and Helen's correspondence and connection to the Niels Bohr Institute.

Audio-visual materials in the collection include photographs of David and Helen from the early 1900s through the 1970s. There are also two cassette tapes with recording of talks given by David, as well as photograph negatives and spectroscopic plates, lantern slides depicting astronomical images pertaining to his astro-physics research.

Correspondence, topical files, photographs, and printed material relating to the operation and activities of the department, primarily after 1960 during the administrations of Warner Rice, Russell A. Fraser, John L. Styan, Jay L. Robinson, John R. Knott, Robert Weisbuch, and Martha Vicinus; also include scattered files before 1960 and after 1979.

The bulk of the records of the Department of English Language and Literature are from the years 1960 to 1979 and generally coincide with the chairmanships of Warner Rice, Russell Fraser, John Styan, and Jay Robinson. The records primarily document the internal workings of the department and its relationship with other units in the university. The majority of the records were created by the department itself and consist of minutes of committee and faculty meetings, correspondence, department reviews, course outlines, position requests, and newsletters and publications.

The records of the Department of English Language and Literature are divided into seven series: Correspondence, Topical Files, Photographs, Executive Committee, Chair's Files, Presentations, and Faculty Files.

Professor of astronomy at the University of Michigan, friend and booster of U-M athletics and athletes; correspondence, speeches, class materials, and photographs.

The collection is comprised of three series: Correspondence, course materials, and other papers; Photographs; and Sound Recording. The photographs are of Losh family members, photos relating to University of Michigan athletics and other interests. There are also photos of Hazel Losh teaching in the classroom. The Sound Recording is of Professor Thomas Slavens interviewing Professor Losh about her life and career. A transcript has been made of this recording.

Professor of economics at University of Michigan, referee with National Railroad Adjustment Board, member and chairman of various emergency and arbitration boards under Railroad Labor Act. Professional papers largely concerning his work toward the settlement of labor disputes, the publication of his books, his work on establishing a Zionist movement in Michigan, 1914-1918, especially in correspondence with Louis D. Brandeis and Horace M. Kallen; and photographs.

The Sharfman papers have been arranged into the following series: Correspondence; Professional activities; Writings; Addresses and Lectures; Other activities and interests; and University of Michigan.

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.

Physicist, University of Michigan professor, dean of the graduate school; correspondence, writings, speeches, organizational files, audio-visual materials.

Although the Ralph A. Sawyer collection includes materials relating to all phases of his career, beginning with his studies at the University of Chicago in 1918-1919, the strength of the files are for those activities outside of the University of Michigan, notably his work with the U.S. Navy laboratories, Joint Task Force One, the American Institute of Physics, and the Optical Society of America. Files dealing with his University of Michigan activities are less complete as these materials will be found with the records of those units which Sawyer headed.

Professor of homoeopathic medicine at University of Michigan, mayor of Ann Arbor, Michigan, dean of the New York Homeopathic Medical College and director of Flower Hospital, New York City Commissioner of Public Health, and Democratic U. S. Senator from New York, 1923-1938. Personal and medical correspondence, speeches, scrapbooks containing food and health articles, photographs, and other papers concerning his medical and political interests. Correspondents include: Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Eleanor Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Alfred E. Smith.

The Royal Copeland collection, consisting primarily of correspondence, speeches and writings, scrapbooks, and articles, relates primarily to Copeland's medical career as professor of homeopathic medicine at the University of Michigan, dean of the New York Homeopathic Medical College and Flower Hospital, and New York City Commissioner of Public Health, and as United States Senator.

Established as Department of Library Science; name later changed to School of Library Science, then School of Information and Library Studies. Materials relating to the teaching of library science at the university, including summer session and departmental files; administrative files of T. W. Koch, William W. Bishop, Rudolph H. Gjelsness, Wallace Bonk, Russell Bidlack, and Robert M. Warner; course materials and topical files; accreditation records, faculty minutes and photographs.

The records of the School of Information (formerly the School of Library Science and most recently the School of Information and Library Studies) include 51 linear feet of material dated between 1904 to 2014. The records document the development library education at Michigan from its beginnings as summer course to a full-fledged professional program that has, in recent years moved beyond traditional library science to incorporate a multi-disciplinary approach to information studies with a strong emphasis on the role of technology in the creation, dissemination and preservation of information.The records also document the decision to change the name of the school from the School of Library and Information Science to the School of Information Science, further emphasizing a focus on information and technology.

The records, including correspondence, reports, committee minutes, administrative files and course descriptions, came to the library in nine accessions. There is some overlap and continuation of series among the accessions.

The records are organized into ten series: Histories, Office Files, Dean's Files, Audiotapes, Photographs, Faculty Meetings, Course Material, Archived School of Information Website, Faculty Files, and Collaboratory for Research on Electronic Work Project.