Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Blanchard was Democratic governor of Michigan from 1983 to 1991. The collection is arranged mainly by unit or functional responsibility within the governor's office. These series are chief of staff/executive assistants, correspondence office, government relations, issues development, legal department, operators, personnel, press office, Upper Peninsula office, Washington office, Lansing residence, and political and campaign files. The files document the Blanchard administration's efforts in areas of education, job creation, the state's economy, environmental protection, and the rebuilding of Michigan's infrastructure.

James J. Blanchard, as Governor of Michigan, was the chief executive of the state. He was vested with the power to execute the laws of the state and to issue executive orders. He supervised the nineteen departments of the executive branch, ran the executive office of the governor, and appointed members to state boards and commissions. The governor submitted messages to the state legislature and recommended measures considered necessary or desirable; in short, Blanchard set a legislative agenda. A key element of this agenda were the annual state budgets submitted to the legislature, recommending revenues to meet proposed expenditures. Although Blanchard had the power to grant reprieves, commutations, and pardons, he exercised this power with care. Blanchard also was empowered to seek extraditions and issue warrants on fugitives from justice. Finally, as governor, Blanchard was the commander-in-chief of the state's armed forces. In addition to these roles defined by law, custom, and practice, Blanchard used the governorship as a platform from which to champion Michigan.

In the course of completing the many tasks inhering in the office of governor, Blanchard and his executive office created and reviewed a welter of written documents. These records and papers provide an important source documenting the executive actions for the years of Blanchard's tenure, 1983-1990. Many are in the departmental files at the State Archives. This collection of papers at the Bentley Library constitutes that portion of executive documentation which Blanchard, upon leaving office, decreed personal in accordance with the traditional practice of recent governors of Michigan.

The materials came from geographically distinct offices (Lansing, Detroit, Upper Peninsula, and Washington), reflected the efforts of staff ranging from policy analysts to Blanchard himself, and were preserved in varying degrees of completeness. Among these records and papers retained are: correspondence, budgets, memoranda, reports, briefing books, minutes and agenda, press releases and public statements, legal briefs and decisions, legislative bills and analyses, clippings, photographs, audiotapes, and videotapes. These materials were especially strong in documenting the Blanchard administration's investment in human capital and education, efforts to promote economic development and create jobs, interest in rebuilding Michigan's infrastructure while preserving and restoring its environmental beauty, and generally reflecting its commitment to act to promote the commonweal. The collection sheds some light on affirmative action, citizens' protection, criminal justice, the Michigan Youth Corps, and attitudes of Michigan residents as reflected in letters to the governor. The collection is weak in its coverage of Blanchard's private life and his activities related to the Democratic party.

Researchers should note that Blanchard's executive office was not a rule-bound operation, restricted by strict adherence to hierarchical functions. There was considerable sharing of responsibilities, especially at the higher levels of the administration. One finds that roles filled by a chief of staff sometimes devolved to an executive assistant or to a staff member in the Legal or Government Relations Office. Work on large recurring projects, like the budget or the state of the state address, involved participation at many levels cutting across offices. Day to day functions, like responding to issue-oriented constituent correspondence, often entailed action by the chief of staff, counsel, or a policy analyst from the Washington Office, in addition to the expected responses from the Issues and Correspondence Offices. These sorts of overlap are noted when appropriate in the finding aid.

The Chief of Staff had the primary responsibility for seeing to the efficient functioning of the executive office of the Governor. In fulfilling this responsibility, the Chief of Staff interacted with nearly every department in the executive branch of state government and with each unit within the executive office. The Chief of Staff served as a sort of gatekeeper for the Governor, apprising him of significant issues, informing him of how best to respond, and judging how effectively the response meets the issue. During Blanchard's two terms in office, he was served by four Chiefs of Staff: F. Thomas Lewand, Phillip Jourdan, Rick Cole, and Steve Weiss. Records are extant from each chief except Rick Cole; these range from the thin but rich records of Lewand to the more fulsome materials of Jourdan and Weiss.

The efforts of the Chief of Staff to facilitate frictionless functioning of state governance were augmented by able deputies, competent staff, and a cadre of Executive Assistants. Chief among these assistants were Nancy Austin-Schwartz, Bill Liebold, Carolyn Sparks, and Ron Thayer. Given that the Blanchard administration was democratic and decidedly non-hierarchical, these Executive Assistants often filled roles similar to the Chiefs of Staff. At these highest levels of administration, decisions were made and actions taken without much regard to hierarchy or job description strictures. In this free market of ideas and ability, whoever had the best idea or was best able to handle a situation attended to it. Sometimes this was the chief, sometimes one of the assistants, but just as often things were handled by other members of the executive office staff or by someone from an executive department.

The Correspondence Office was that division within the Executive Office which received, routed, and responded to constituent correspondence. In handling this task, staff in the Correspondence Office worked closely with the Issues Development Office, with head of executive branch departments, and with the Office Operations Division. Mail received by the unit was directed to specialists in Issues Development, to the appropriate state department, to the Governor's personal attention, or handled with a standard response. Given the volume of mail directed to the Governor's attention (at times reaching thousands of pieces per week) and its issues-oriented nature, one should not be surprised to find that most mail sparked a standard response. The bulk of the materials saved reflects the office's efforts to individually address constituent concerns in a timely fashion. This work originally was the domain of an autonomous Communications Unit, fell to the correspondence unit within the Operations Division for a time, until finally it was established as a separate office. Donna Kaufman oversaw this unit from 1983 until 1988 when Patrick Casey took charge.

The Government Relations Office was the unit which tracked the Governor's legislative agenda and the executive branch's reaction to bills coming out of the legislature. The Government Relations Office served as the Governor's interface with the Michigan House and Senate. In fulfilling this mission, the office had to rely upon the advice and consent of many within the executive office, specifically the Legal Division and the Issues Office (especially the intergovernmental relations unit). This reliance on diverse input was evident in Blanchard's first term as the Legal/ Legislative/Government Relations functions were all met by a single office, headed by Conrad Mallet, Jr. There exists little to document Mallet's tenure as head of this office, aside from transition files and enrolled house and senate bills. During Blanchard's second term the legislative functions fell to separate government relations, legal, and issues offices which then maintained a close working relationship. Stan Fedewa, and later, William Kandler, directed the work of the Government Relations Office at this time. The efforts of both of these men are well reflected in the extant materials.

The Issues Development Office was charged with delineating, articulating and disseminating the official Blanchard position on the topics of the day. These functions, central to the administration, insured that the issues office would be integral to the executive office. This is manifest in the myriad array of units heavily reliant on the Issues Development Office for their own operations; the Chief of Staff, Executive Assistants, Correspondence, Government Relations, Legal, and Press Offices all were in daily contact with Issues. Within the Issues Development Office, responsibilities were divided among analysts according to issue: agriculture, education, environment, human services, local government, and urban affairs. These analysts reported to the office manager, who in turn reported to the Deputy Chief of Staff, who checked that positions were consistent with the policy goals of the administration.

The Issues Development Office eventually came to house the papers of the Local Government Advisor. Connie Shorter was the senior staff member responsible for local government affairs and she moved with the unit from its original home in the Policy Department, through the Government Relations Office, back to Issues. The office also served as aegis for special projects ranging from the Cabinet Council on Human Investment, to Citizens' Protection, to the Public Investment Task Force. The issues office itself underwent numerous name changes over the years, beginning as the Policy Office, then to Planning and Program Development, before settling on Issues Development in 1987. In whatever guise, under whatever name, this office remained poised to build Blanchard's stance on any issue.

The Legal Division dealt with the many legal problems arising out of running a state government. These include, but are not limited to, issues related to administrative rules, bonds, local charters, corrections, crime, pardons, extraditions, legislation, and protection of civil rights. This rather broad array of issues eventually proved too disparate to be capably handled by the relatively small legal staff, so some duties were shunted to the Government Relations and Issues Offices. As with the government relations materials above, there are no materials from Conrad Mallet, Jr.'s tenure. Materials relating to administrative and emergency rules, bonds, local charters, pardons, and extraditions have not been retained with this collection; they are retained by the State Archives. What has been retained from the Legal Division are the papers of Mike Hodge, Legal Advisor and Special Counsel to the Governor from 1987 to 1990. Hodge's papers superbly document the legal concerns facing Blanchard during his second term.

The Operations Division's primary function within the Blanchard administration was scheduling the Governor's out-of-office events. This entailed handling the thousands of invitations for the Governor to appear, deciding which of these events merited Blanchard's presence, making local arrangements with the advance team, briefing Blanchard on the hot-button issues, and serving as liaison between local contacts and the executive office. Jill Pennington capably directed the scheduling unit for both of Blanchard's terms as governor. During one of the periodic reorganizations of the executive office, the Operations Division oversaw the correspondence unit and a speakers bureau. Both of these proved to be outside the scope of the scheduling mission and were dealt out of operations' hand in the next office restructuring. The division remained committed to placing a prepared Blanchard before congenial forums.

The Personnel Division was charged with filling all appointive positions in the executive and judicial branches of state government. These positions include all executive posts on boards, commissions, task forces and the executive office, as well as all court posts ranging from courts of appeals, to district courts, to the State Supreme Court. The Personnel Division was initially headed up by Ron Thayer. Shelby Solomon next ran the office. The papers related to personnel division during the tenure of both of these men was not forwarded with the Blanchard collection. All that remains are the papers of Gregory Morris, director of the division from 1987 to 1990. The materials Morris retained dealt exclusively with Blanchard's judicial appointments from 1983 to 1990. This narrow, but very important, stratum of information remains the only evidence on how and who Blanchard chose to extend his program.

The Press Office presented the public face for the Blanchard administration. This office coordinated press conferences, released policy statements and copies of Blanchard's speeches, arranged photo opportunities, mediated with local and state media, and generally put the best possible spin on the administration. The Press Office was the single point of fixity in the field of flux that was the Blanchard executive office. This office fell under the eye of only two directors, Rick Cole and Tom Scott, during the two gubernatorial terms. Scott was with the office almost from the outset and is largely responsible for the retention of much of the materials. He treated the Press Office as the archives of the executive office, saving newspaper clippings, press releases, speeches, audiotapes, videotapes, and photographs which document the public life of Blanchard. These materials provide the most comprehensive picture of Blanchard as politician, statesman, governor.

The Upper Peninsula Office was one of the regional offices established by the executive office to better serve a specific clientele, in this case the residents of the upper peninsula. This office brought the services of state government to the more immediate attention of upper peninsula citizens. It answered constituent correspondence, served as liaison between county officials and the state, and briefed the Governor for his trips to the upper peninsula. In short the Upper Peninsula Office provided a scaled-down version of the outreach functions offered by the executive office. Tom Baldini, director of the office, filled his post so competently that he was viewed by the executive office and citizens as the "governor" of the upper peninsula.

The Washington Office served as a clearinghouse for information on federal proposals, congressional legislation, and national policy developments. It also lobbied for the interests of the state. In pursuing these ambitious, if amorphous, interests, the Washington Office employed a staff of five to ten people over the years of Blanchard's tenure. The staff of the office worked with Blanchard, the executive office, and Michigan agency directors to develop responses to federal activity, to initiate timely communication between federal and state officials, and to arrange and conduct meetings and conferences when appropriate. Aside from the director of the Washington Office, E. Douglas Frost, who focused on budgets, taxes, and overall policy planning, each of the staff members in the office was responsible for broadly defined issues. Rosemary Freeman, who preceded Frost as office director, served as deputy director and handled issues related to training, labor, and education. James Callow was the legislative analyst charged with keeping abreast of economic and trade issues. Maura Cullen was responsible for social services, health and human services, and child welfare. Peter Kyriacopolous was the last of three analysts (Charlie Moses and Jo Ellen D'Arcy preceded him) who handled concerns related to the environment and transportation.

Author and social and religious commentator. Papers include correspondence, newspaper clippings, photographs, scrapbooks and drafts of articles and books, and other papers, including material concerning his student years at the University of Michigan, as Congregational minister, educational director of the Amalgamated Textile Workers of America, assistant editor of The Nation, chief of the New York City Department of Investigations and Accounts under Fiorello La Guardia in the 1930's, economic analyst for the Caribbean Committee of the U.S. State Department during World War II, and free lance writer noted for his observations on the Catholic Church in America and abroad.

The Paul Blanshard papers include correspondence, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, drafts of articles and books, and speeches. The papers covering the period of 1912 to 1974 document the variety of Blanshard's life: his student years at the University of Michigan (1910-1914), his career as Congregational minister in East Boston, Massachusetts and Tampa, Florida (1917-1918), his work as educational director of the Amalgamated Textile and Clothing Workers of America in Rochester and Utica, New York (1900-1924), as secretary and lecturer of the League for Industrial Democracy (1924-1933), as correspondent and associate editor of The Nation (1928-1929), as director of the City Affairs Committee of New York (1930-1933) and head of the New York Department of Investigations and Accounts under Mayor Fiorello La Guardia (1934-1938), as director of the Society for the Prevention of Crime (1941-1942), as senior economic analyst and consultant to the director of the Caribbean Commission of the U.S. Department of State; and as freelance writer and critic of the Roman Catholic Church in America and abroad. The Blanshard collection also includes papers of his first wife Julia Blanshard and his second wife Mary Hillyer Blanshard.

The collection has been arranged into seven series: Correspondence; Writings and Related Materials; Biographical Information; Sound Recordings; Photographs; Julia Anderson Blanshard papers; and Mary Hillyer Blanshard papers.

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.

Ann Arbor, Michigan, historian and writer. Manuscripts of writings and papers presented at professional organizations; topics of research include Emma Hall, Michigan prison reformer, the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, Frances Willard, Alice Freeman Palmer, women's history, and Washtenaw County, Michigan; also photographs and sound recordings.

The Ruth Bordin Papers have been divided into five series: Biographical/personal, Writings, Topical Files, Photographs, and Sound Recordings.

The Writings series consists of copies of unpublished conference papers and published books reviews and articles. The bulk of the collection has been arranged into a Topical File and consists of correspondence and other materials arranged alphabetically, either by subject or by name of correspondent. The other three series are small and are described as part of the container listing.

Michigan-based ski and golf corporation, operating twelve major resorts in North America; records consists of photographs, slides, video cassettes, films, sound recordings, promotional materials, biographical information on the corporation's founder Everett F. Kircher, and miscellaneous office and topical files.

The Boyne USA Resorts record group documents, through visual materials, scrapbooks and clippings, publications, and a scattering of administrative material, the development of northwestern Michigan as an important recreational center. The bulk of the collection consists of various visual media, photographs, photographic slides, albums, videotapes, motion pictures, promotional posters, display photographs, and design images of Boyne facilities.

The records have been arranged into the following series: Everett F. Kircher materials; Boyne USA publications and promotional materials; Topical files; Photographs; Negatives, Photographic Slides; Videotapes; Motion pictures; Art work; Architectural concept and promotional boards; Miscellaneous office records; Scrapbooks and Clippings, and Miscellaneous. The strength of the collection is in the various visual materials that document the development of Boyne USA Resorts from the founding of Boyne Mountain in 1947 to the early 21st century.

Secretary of the Ann Arbor (Mich.) Transportation Authority (AATA). Minutes, 1969-1973, financial statements, reports, and photographs of the AATA largely concerning the problems of mass transportation and the development of the "Dial-a-Ride" system; also papers concerning the development of streets and automobile parking facilities in the city.

The Marjorie C. Brazer Papers covers the period of 1955 to 1983 and has been arranged mainly by the name of organization in which Brazer participated. The largest portion of the collection - Ann Arbor Transportation Authority - consists of minutes, policy and long-range planning documents, and subject files detailing the process by which the bus service for Ann Arbor was established, and the beginning of the Dial-a-Ride program. Other smaller organization files in the collection pertain to the Citizen's Association for Area Planning, the Detroit Committee for Neighborhood Conservation and Improved Housing, the Huron High Bi-Racial Committee, the League of Women Voters (Detroit), the League of Women Voters (Ann Arbor), and the Washtenaw County Citizens Committee for Economic Opportunity. One file - Washtenaw County Political Campaigns - concerns Lloyd Ives' 1959 Ann Arbor mayoral campaign and Brazer's own 1968 campaign for county supervisor.

Of interest is the documentation of an oral history project undertaken by Brazer in 1983 and pertaining to the establishment and operation of the Rackham endowment to the University of Michigan. This materials is arranged into the Rackham Endowment Oral History Project series. The series includes oral history audiocassettes and administrative files for the project. Brazer's work on this project resulted in her Biography of an Endowment, published in 1985 by the Bentley Historical Library.

The collection also contains family school yearbooks.

David J. Brophy was a University of Michigan professor of finance in the Stephen M. Ross School of Business. He was also director of the university's Center for Venture Capital and Private Equity Finance as well as founder and director of the Growth Capital Symposium, later known as the Michigan Growth Capital Symposium and the Midwest Growth Capital Symposium (both MGCS). This collection documents the various Growth Capital symposia and primarily consists of brochures, conference information books, correspondence, notes, pamphlets, and promotional materials. Also included are audiovisual materials that document the Growth Capital symposia, lectures, National Association of Small Business Investment Companies (NASBIC) events, and the University of Texas at Austin's Moot Corp Competition.

The David Brophy papers primarily document the various Growth Capital symposia (GCS) and consist largely of information books distributed to conference attendees, brochures, correspondence, notes, pamphlets, and promotional materials. The material is dated from 1984-2019, although materials related to the 1996, 2000, and 2001 conferences are absent.

Information books make up the bulk of this collection. Each book typically contains an agenda, a welcome letter, sponsor information and advertisements, speaker biographies, and profiles of companies—including university spinouts—seeking financial sponsorship from investors. The kind of information presented in each profile is varied, but often includes a description of the speaker and company, a brief description of key personnel, products or services, relevant market as well as competition information, financial highlights, and capital needs. Companies that are seeking investment include those relating to automotive technology; clean technology; information technology (IT), including healthcare IT; medical devices; and software. The collection also includes a small amount of material—primarily information books—related to the Florida Growth Capital Symposium, Iowa Growth Capital Symposium, and European Growth Capital Symposium. Unless otherwise explicitly noted in the finding aid, however, the bulk of the materials in this collection relate to the Growth Capital Symposium (GCS)—later known as the Michigan Growth Capital Symposium and the Midwest Growth Capital Symposium (both MGCS)—that was held in Michigan.

The collection also includes audiovisual materials that document the Growth Capital symposia, lectures delivered by speakers such as Dr. Brophy and former Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, National Association of Small Business Investment Companies (NASBIC) events, and the University of Texas at Austin's Moot Corp Competition (now known as the Venture Labs Investment Competition).

Michigan congressman and senator, head of the U.S. Office of Price Administration; papers include correspondence, legislative files, speeches, political files, business and legal records, diaries and scrapbooks, visual materials, and sound recordings.

The Prentiss M. Brown Collection is rich and full and offers researchers materials on a variety of local and national topics reflecting the diversity of the man's private and public life. The earliest item in the collection is a letter book dated 1902-04 of James J. Brown, like his son a prominent St. Ignace attorney. The collection then picks up Prentiss M. Brown's entrance to the legal profession in 1917, traces his rise to public office, his work in Congress and with the O.P.A., and then concludes with his later business interests and his crusade upon behalf of the Mackinac Bridge.

The Brown Collection comprises approximately twenty-eight feet of correspondence, letterbooks, scrapbooks, diaries, speeches, topical and legislative files, photographs and phonograph records, and legal case files and business records. Covering the period 1917 to 1973, the papers concentrate most heavily in the years 1932-1942 when Brown was in the U.S. Congress. The greatest gap in the collection is in the period of the 1920s when Brown was making his first bids for political office. Also missing are any extensive files for the time of Brown's O.P.A. directorship. What the collection has on the O.P.A. are largely speeches, scrapbooks, and congratulatory letters.

Lawyer and Democratic candidate for Michigan Lieutenant Governor in 1966; campaign files.

The collection consists of a Campaign files series documenting his election to become state lieutenant governor in 1966. Included in the papers are correspondence, speeches, and campaign schedules. There are also various papers concerning political personages of the day: Zolton Ferency, George Romney, G. Mennen Williams and Robert Griffin.

Detroit portrait painter and feminist activist. Correspondence, printed material, newspaper clippings, photographs, reports, speeches, articles and other papers documenting her career as an artist, and with the Michigan Women's Commission, the National Association of Commissions for Women, the National Organization for Women (NOW) and other civic, Republican, and feminist organizations.

While most of the material relates directly to Patricia Hill Burnett, the papers also relate to the more general women's movement during the 1970s and early 1980s.