Collections

The Information Technology Division, formed in 1985, consolidated academic and administrative computing at the University of Michigan. Douglas Van Houweling was named head of the unit and at the same time appointed to the new position of Vice Provost for Information Technology. During the 1980s, the unit oversaw a shift away from Michigan Terminal System (MTS) mainframe computing to a distributed, networked environment. The Information Technology Division record group documents the development of networked computing at the University of Michigan as it evolved from 1979 to 1995, mainly during the tenure of Douglas Van Houweling. The records include historical data, internal and external committee material, correspondence, and topical files and visual material.

The records of the Information Technology Division measure 23.5 linear feet and date from 1976 to 1998; the bulk of the material represents the years 1985 to 1997. The records consist of correspondence, meeting minutes, electronic mail, newspaper clippings, and reports. They document the administration of ITD, the development of computing on campus, UM's role in the development and management of local, regional, and national computer networks, and ITD's participation, largely in the person of Douglas Van Houweling, in a number of computing organizations, most notably EDUCOM and CIESIN (Consortium for International Earth Science Information Network).

The ITD record group is divided into fourteen series including Central Files, Divisions, Networks, University Files, Vendors, Organizations, Deputy Vice-Provost for Information Technology, Vice-Provost for Information Technology, Virginia Rezmerski Files, Computer Sales Program, Computing Sites, Dean's Partnership Program, Software, and Photographs.

As part of the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Institute for Social Research, individuals connected with the history were interviewed. Excerpts of the videotaped interviews were used to produce "In the Public Interest: Fifty years of Social Research." Includes videotaped interviews with ISR personalities and typed transcripts of the interviews. For some interviews only a transcript is available. A copy of the final product excerpted from the interviews is included along with digital materials containing copies of the transcripts.

During 1997-1998, as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations of ISR, a series of filmed interviews were conducted by Erik Austin with individuals connected with the history of ISR. The interviews were excerpted and used to produce the videotape history In the Public Interest: Fifty Years of Social Research. Documentation from this project includes a copy of the final video, videotaped interviews with individuals associated with ISR, and typed transcripts of the interviews. The records are arranged as two series: Videotapes and Transcripts.

The Videotapes series (29 VHS tapes) includes a copy of In the Public Interest: Fifty Years of Social Research a copy made from a 1956 University of Michigan television program featuring Angus Campbell, and 27 videotapes of interviews from 1997-1998. The Transcripts series contains written transcriptions of the interviews, along with a digital convenience copy of the written text. The digital material contains the text of the interview transcripts in Microsoft Word, PDF and TXT formats. Researchers should note that there are some interviews for which only a transcript is available. As such, the transcript series is more comprehensive than the videotape series.

The Institute for the Humanities, founded in 1987, was developed in response to a recognized need for renewed dialogue across disciplines. Originally oriented around the humanities and the arts, the center soon evolved into a widely recognized venue for international scholarship. The records are largely comprised of video and sound cassettes documenting a diverse range of events.

There are two series in the Institute for the Humanities record group: Administrative Records and Audio-Visual Material. The records, largely comprised of videotapes and cassette tapes, provide dynamic evidence of the steady growth and refinement of an initiative that greatly enriched teaching and scholarship in the humanities at the University of Michigan.

Administrative files, conference proceedings, project proposals, research files, records, and photographs relating to continuing education conferences and workshops.

The records of the Institute consist of forty-nine linear feet of manuscripts and printed materials. The records date form 1965 to 1983. The record group is divided into four broad Series: Administrative Files (boxes 1-7), Research Files (boxes 8-18), Continuing Education (boxes 19-48), and Photographs (box 49). Of these, only the Administrative Files have been closely processed. The Administration Files are divided into several subseries, the most substantive of which are History of ISMRRD, Committees, Institute Reviews, and Projects, Proposals and Reports.

University of Michigan scientific research center. Office files relating to the activities of the unit, and to the research divisions that IST administered, notably the Willow Run Laboratories, the Great Lakes and Marine Waters Center, the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, and others.

The records of the Institute of Science and Technology of the University of Michigan cover the period 1959 to 1987, from the establishment of the unit to the year of its regentally-approved reorganization. Scattered documents prior to 1959 and after 1987 will be found, but not in great quantity.

The record group consists of thirteen series. Except for some modifications and combining of similar materials, these are series that were maintained by the institute office. Types of documents present within these series include memoranda, reports, minutes of meetings, budgetary and financial papers, correspondence, proposal and grant documents, subject files, and photographs. The researcher should note that much material was retained by the IST office at the time of the 1989 transfer of records to the library. Thus, records for expected areas of interest might still be in the possession of IST. Periodic additions to this record group are expected.

Although of obvious value for its documentation of the history and activities of IST, the records of the institute have prime interest for the researcher interested in the study of research at a major educational institution. In particular, the records of IST document the development of the relationship between a university and state and national governments for the purpose of fostering research in areas deemed mutually advantageous. On the national level, especially in the 1960s, this research centered on areas of national defense and environmental study. On the state level, research was intended to improve the economy: to develop the state's technological and industrial base, thereby reducing the debilitating consequences of depression and unemployment that had periodically plagued Michigan's one-industry economy.

Of some value for the study of the content of research undertaken under IST auspices, the records here are of greater importance for the study of the environment required for research programs to be successful. The specifics of research will be found in scientific notebooks, laboratory experiments, and published studies. The IST records document a different story: the need to search out, administer, and balance competing requests for funding, space, equipment, and trained personnel. The IST files, in effect, document the management of research.

Beyond these research possibilities, the records of IST are illustrative of the changing patterns of technological research over the past thirty years. Founded with specific economic goals in mind, IST (with the administrative transfer of Willow Run Laboratories) managed programs having national defense implications. With the completion of these programs, and especially as the university ceased its responsibility for Willow Run, IST turned to areas of new research or areas of special significance to Michigan (perhaps the most notable examples being in the areas of highway safety and water-related research).

The Inter-Cooperative Council at Ann Arbor is an organization established to coordinate the activities of cooperative houses founded and operated by University of Michigan students. Their records are comprised of minutes, office files, and newsletters, as well as organization-level topices and related research. The collection also contains records of student cooperative, the Socialist House.

The records of the ICC at Ann Arbor cover the years 1932 to 2012 and are divided into ten series: Minutes, Office Files, Printed Materials, Events and Programs, Organizational Topical Files, Correspondence Files, Collected Research Materials, House Records, External Organizations, and Audio-Visual Materials.

Researchers should note that because of the differences between ICC office organizational systems and the individual processing archivists working on the collection, topics and materials might be found in multiple series.

Records of the Interfaith Council For Peace and Justice, a Washtenaw County-based interdenominational organization encouraging participation in social justice education and activism. The collection is divided into twelve series, Chronological Files, Topical Files, Hunger Task Force, Clergy and Laity Concerned, Photographs and Audiovisual Materials, Steering Committee, Religious Coalition on Central America, Middle East Task Force, Racial and Economic Task Force, Disarmament Working Group, and Posters.

The files of the Interfaith Council have been arranged into twelve series: Chronological Files, Topical Files, Hunger Task Force, Clergy and Laity Concerned, Photographs and Audiovisual Materials, Steering Committee, Religious Coalition on Central America, Middle East Task Force, Racial and Economic Task Force, Disarmament Working Group, and Posters.

Irwin Small graduated from the University of Michigan in 1949 where he was a member of the national champion football teams in 1947 and 1948. Small went on to a career in dentistry specializing in oral and maxillofacial surgery. He developed a mandibular staple for use with fixed dental implants. The collection contains articles, slides, and videotapes related to the development and use of the mandibular staple bone plate, and material on the University of Michigan 1947 and 1948 football teams, particularly the 50th reunions.

The Irwin A. Small collection consists of two series, Football Team Reunions and Dentistry Career.

Jack Kausch was a photographer who specialized in family portraits and historical photography. The collection includes still and moving images created and collected by Kausch throughout his career.

This collection highlights a portion of the projects that Jack Kausch completed during his photographic career. A range of subjects is covered and both original and historical photography is included. The collection is divided into two series: Photographs and Other Visual Materials.

Democratic congressman from Michigan, member of the House committees on Education and Labor, Interior and Insular Affairs, Budget, and the Joint Committee on Congressional Operations; and chairman of the Democratic Study Group, 1967-1968, and chairman of the Democratic Party Commission on Rules, 1969-1972. Congressional files, political files, Democratic Party materials; photographs; and post-congressional materials.

The James G. O'Hara Papers, 1958-1987, comprise 53.5 linear feet of material documenting his career as a member of Congress, his 1976 campaign for the Senate nomination, his service on various commissions and committees of the national Democratic Party, and his various activities and interests after leaving the House of Representatives. The collection has been organized in two subgroups: Congressional Papers and Post-Congressional Activities with most of the papers accumulated during his years in Congress. The papers include correspondence, staff memoranda and background papers, speeches, press releases, campaign brochures and literature, texts of bills sponsored or co-sponsored by O'Hara, transcripts of hearings and minutes of meetings, a diary kept by O'Hara from April to August 1969, newspaper clippings, photographs, audio and video tapes, and scrapbooks.