Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

This record group pertains to the University of Michigan Department of Afroamerican and African Studies and to campus, regional, and national organizations devoted to political and civil rights causes from the 1960s to the 1990s. The collection includes print documents, photographs, and audio-visual material that document racial harassment incidents, political protests, scholarly conferences and symposia, MLK Day celebrations and black student life on the U-M campus. There are also materials about the civil rights movement of the 1960s and the anti-apartheid and divestment movements of the 1980s. Originally a Center, the unit was formally recognized as a department of the College of Literature, Science and the Arts in 2011.

The records of the Department of Afroamerican and African Studies (DAAS; formerly known as the Center for Afroamerican and African Studies, or CAAS) include correspondence, syllabi, clippings, publicity materials, photographs and audio and video recordings of campus speakers. The record group includes archival material that was originally collected and made available in DAAS's library relating to black activism and to organizations of interest to black students, faculty and staff, as well as DAAS's own organizational archives. Because these materials have been consulted and cited by researchers prior to their transfer to the Bentley in 2011, their original arrangement has been preserved so far as possible.

Paper and photographic records consist of three major series: Black student activism, 1969-2001 (5.5 linear feet), Blacks at U-M, 1969-2007 (4.5 linear feet) and Organizational archives of CAAS, 1962-2010 (17 linear feet) (formerly designated simply "Archives.") There is some overlap of subject matter. These categories reflect the organization of the materials imposed by CAAS librarians and archivists prior to transfer to the Bentley in 2011.

The following list identifies the greatest concentration of material relevant to some of the notable subjects in the collection:

1. The Black Action Movements (Boxes 1-2 and 55)
2. Incidents of on-campus harassment and responses (Boxes 1, 2, 4)
3. South Africa, apartheid, and divestment -- (Boxes 2, 3, 5)
4. Free South Africa Coordinating Committee (Box 3)
5. Washtenaw County Coalition Against Apartheid (Box 5)
6. United Coalition Against Racism and the Baker-Mandela Center (Boxes 1, 4, 5)
7. The Michigamua controversy (Box 3)
8. The Nelson Mandela Honorary Degree Petition (Boxes 3, 11)
9. Gulf War activism (Boxes 3, 4)

This record group also includes a large number of audio and video recordings of presentations, interviews, documentaries, and cultural performances from the 1970s to the 1990s. The recordings include several notable faculty members, visiting scholars, and activists, including Harold Cruse, Cornell West, Rita Dove, Jesse Jackson, Angela Davis, Marian Wright Edelman and Rosa Parks.

The audio-visual material in the collection is organized is organized in to six series by format: Audio recordings on cassettes, 1975-2001 (486 cassettes, 9 linear feet), U-Matic videotapes, 1971-1989 (91 videotapes, 9.1 linear ft.) VHS videotapes, 1971-2004 (131 videotapes, 7 linear feet), Open reel videotapes, 1971-1980 (12 videotapes, 1 linear feet), Reel-to-reel audiotape, 1971, 1980 and undated (4 audiotapes, 0.3 linear feet) and Mini DVDs, 1999-2000 and undated (24 Mini-DVDs, 0.2 linear feet).

Records, 1915-1980,of the department of economics of the University of Michigan; contain files of chairmen, Isaiah Sharfman, Gardner Ackley, and Warren Smith, including minutes of staff meetings, research materials, and administrative records; also papers collected and interviews conducted by Marjorie Brazer with present and past faculty of the department in connection with its centennial.

The bulk of the Department of Economics records, covering the period 1950-1980, contain files of the chairmen, Isaiah Sharfman, Gardner Ackley, and Warren Smith. Included are executive committee and staff meeting minutes, budgets, faculty appointments, schedules, salaries, and reports on building needs. Additional materials cover the work of various centers and professional organizations.

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.

The Helen Zell Writers' Program was established in the Department of English Language and Literature at the University of Michigan in 1982 as the Zell Visiting Writers' Series within the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) Program. The program hosts poets and fiction writers to the University of Michigan campus every year. The program changed its name from the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) Program to Helen Zell Writers' Program in 2013. The records contain audiocassettes and videotapes (VHS) for the Zell Visiting Writers' Series from Fall 1999 to Winter 2003, and digital videos (MiniDV) for Master of Fine Arts Program Alumni readings from 2002. Additional files containing correspondence, photographs, and publicity materials for the Zell Visiting Writers' Series are also included.

Audio and video recordings of the Zell Visiting Writers' Series from Fall 1999 to Winter 2003, and digital videos (MiniDV) for Master of Fine Arts Program Alumni readings from 2002. Also correspondence, photographs, and publicity materials for the Zell Visiting Writers' Series.

The Department of Political Science was established in 1910 under the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts; offers coursework in American politics, comparative politics, world politics and international relations, political theory, law and courts, and methodology. The collection spans from 1910-2009 with a bulk of the material from 1970-2000. These records document the administrative functioning of the department and contain committee meeting minutes, information on courses and degrees, departmental meeting minutes, information on faculty, various topical files, and audio-visual material.

The records of the Department of Political Science document its administrative functions from 1910 to 2009 and the bulk of the records date from 1970 to 2009. The record group is divided into seven series: Committees, Correspondence, Course and Degree Information, Departmental Meetings, Faculty, Topical Files, and Audio-Visual.

Records of the University of Michigan Department of Romance Languages and Literatures. The collection contains administrative and topical files of the Department, records of associated student organizations, photographs, and audio material. Of particular note is the extensive run of photographs (1908-1955) of photographs of the Cercle Français' annual French-language play.

The records of the Department of 77Romance Language provide some documentation of the administration of the department and several student organizations including Sigma Delta Pi, the Sociedad Hispanica and the Cercle Français. This record group is divided into five series: Department Administration, Faculty Information, Student Organizations, Topical, and Audio-Visual.

The Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy (formerly the School of Public Policy) developed out of various institutes at the University of Michigan including the Institute of Social and Public Administration the Institute of Public Administration, and the Institute of Public Policy Studies. The School provides courses and conducts research in areas of public administration and public policy issues. Records include administrative files, correspondence, topical files and some material on research projects.

The University of Michigan Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy record group documents the history and development of public policy studies at the University of Michigan. The records contain some information on the beginning of instruction in public administration in 1915 and the formation of the Institute of Social and Public Administration in 1936. The bulk of the material documents the administration and subsequent reorganizations of the academic unit currently known as the School of Public Policy. Records include correspondence, minutes, historical materials and topical files concerning the Institute, its Lansing Office, its programs in the Republic of China and documented the Philippine Islands, and the Michigan Constitutional Convention of 1961- 1962. the records have been received in three major accessions, 1972 (boxed 1-9), 1997 (boxes 10-14) and 2006 (boxes 15-18).

Most of the materials comprising the 1972 accession cover the period from the 1950s to the mid-1980s. Unfortunately, few documents about the establishment and development of the public policy studies curriculum between 1915 and 1945 exist. Particular strengths of the record group are the materials on the Philippine Institute of Public Administration and the Taiwan Center for Public and Business Administration Education. The German Training Program files also offer insight into international interests of the public administration faculty at the University of Michigan. The German Training Program was a program established to provide Germans with a knowledge of American political and social institutions, democratic skills, and development of individual competence in fields of knowledge such as journalism, pedagogy, and public administration. Other series in the School of Public Policy records allow for a general overview of the structure of the School of Public Policy. They also demonstrate the composition and research interests of the faculty and students in the department.

The records comprising the 1997 accession from the School of Public Policy were primarily arranged chronologically. This arrangement has been retained and the record group has been broken down into a Chronological Files series, several Topical Files series, a Sound Recordings Series, and a Photographs series. It should be noted that some of the files in the Topical Files series include documents created after the dates noted in the series heading.

The 2006 accession consisted of additional administrative files and material relating to the dedication of the Joan and Sanford Weil Hall groundbreaking and dedication.

University of Michigan group established in 1946 devoted to production of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. Records include production files with programs, photographs, reviews and newspaper clippings, and scattered production notes and memoranda; topical files relating to the Society, its friends organization, and its publication; slides of productions; Society newsletter, "Gasbag"; posters; phonorecords, tapes, and videos of productions.

The records of UMGASS have been divided into ten series: Slides, Topical Files, Production Files, Posters, Memorabilia Volumes, Magnetic Tape Recordings, Sound Recordings, Audiotapes, Videotapes, and Scrapbooks. Because materials on one production can include photographs, scrapbooks, recordings, or slides- all of which live within different boxes of the collection -- a directory has been compiled in the Production Files series. The directory lists the year and title of the UMGASS production for which the library has materials and a lettered key exists that denotes the physical existence and location of materials within the collection.

University of Michigan committee which selects the annual Henry Russell Lecturer, the highest faculty award and the nominee for the Henry Russell Award recognizing a junior faculty member for superior scholarship and teaching ability.

The Henry Russel Lectureship Committee record group provides for unique research possibilities. An overview of the history of teaching at the University of Michigan can be examined throughout these files, primarily documenting the period from 1969 to 1989. The collection is arranged into four record series: General Files, Nomination Files, Photographs, and Audio Cassettes.

The University of Michigan committee appointed by president James Duderstadt to facilitate the preservation, promotion, and appreciation of the history and traditions. Material includes oral history interviews with university presidents and their wives, administrative and academic officers, regents and faculty members, as well as administrative records.

The bulk of the History and Traditions Committee records consists of interviews (recordings and transcripts) with University of Michigan presidents, wives of presidents, regents, and administrators. Also included materials pertaining to the University of Michigan history, and administrative records.