Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

University of Michigan chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity for Black college students. The Epsilon chapter was founded in April 1909. History, administrative records, topical files, reports, and photographs largely relating to the chapter and activities of African American students at the University of Michigan. Also included is some material related to the chapter's 2009 centennial celebration.

The records of the Epsilon Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha include correspondence, minutes, photographic material, publications, reports, and topical files.

The records—which document the activities and experiences of African Americans at the University of Michigan—also provides a rich source of information about the history, activities, and administration of the Epsilon Chapter, particularly during the 1920's, 1980's, and 1990's. Also documented is the chapter's centennial celebration in 2009.

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.

Minutes, correspondence, audiovisual materials, and other records documenting the founding, public programs, research projects, day-to-day administrative activities, and individual staff members of the University of Michigan's Center for the Education of Women.

The Center for Education of Women collection consist of minutes, correspondence, audiovisual materials, and other records documenting the founding, public programs, research projects, day-to-day administrative activities, and individual staff members of the University of Michigan's Center for the Education of Women. It is divided into four broad subgroups: Central Office Files, 1961-2009; Individual Staff Files, 1919-1999; Audiovisual Materials, 1963-1997; and Website. The current CEW collection is the result of a major reprocessing project that combined several new accessions with the pre-existing record group--itself the accumulation of several accessions--and which has resulted in a re-figured collection nearly double the size of the original. The first three subgroups and their major series have been retained, but some of the lower-level organization has been updated to reflect the fuller picture of the Center that the combined set of materials affords.

Documents within folders may be arranged either chronologically or reverse chronologically, based on the existing arrangement of the majority of materials (in both the pre-existing collection and in the new accessions), and in some cases may adhere to the original filing order. Also, some files (e.g. most correspondence) were filed by calendar year (Jan-Dec.), while others (notably budgets, staff meetings, and program files) were filed by fiscal year. Unless otherwise noted, files arranged by academic year (indicated in the box list by dates such as '1990/91') run from July of the first year through June of the second year.

Researchers examining the CEW collection may also be interested in related files in the following other Bentley University of Michigan record groups: Institute on Gerontology, Michigan Initiative on Women's Health, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs.

Additionally, researchers should note the following overlaps between the 'Topical' series in the 'Central Office Files' subgroup and the files of CEW staff members in the 'Individual Staff Files' subgroup:

1. Counseling: Myra Fabian, Dorothy McGuigan, Vivian Rogers, and Patricia Wulp
2. Evening Program (especially 1982 and later): Patricia Wulp
3. Group Counseling and Workshops (e.g., Career Decision Making, Assertiveness, the Step Before the Job Search, etc.): Myra Fabian, Barbara Anton, and Patricia Wulp
4. Programs by Academic Year: Patricia Wulp
5. Publicity: Louise Cain, Patricia Wulp and Dorothy McGuigan
6. Research (including: non-traditional student surveys, Women in Science (and Engineering) studies, participant data, and especially Ford Grants): Jean Campbell, Carol Hollenshead, Jean Manis, Hazel Markus, and Dorothy McGuigan
7. Sexual Harassment Implementation Team and other Sexual Harassment materials: Sue Kaufmann
8. Women's Initiative Group (WING): Myra Fabian, Sue Kaufmann, Vivian Rogers, and Patricia Wulp

Due to the decentralized nature of the CEW records, researchers are encouraged to check for headings in each of the subgroups and series, even for subjects not listed above.

Acronyms used frequently in the records and in this finding aid include:

1. CFW / COW -- UM Commission for Women (prior to 1972, the name was the Commission on Women)
2. CURIES -- Cross-University Research in Engineering and Science
3. GEO -- UM Graduate Employees' Organization
4. IOG -- Institute of Gerontology (Joint UM/Wayne State program)
5. LSA / LS&A -- UM College of Literature, Science, and the Arts
6. MAWDAC -- Michigan Association of Women Deans, Administrators and Counselors
7. MSA -- Michigan Student Assembly (UM student government)
8. NAWDAC -- National Association of Women Deans, Administrators and Counselors
9. NACME -- National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering
10. NSF -- National Science Foundation
11. OVPR -- UM Office of the Vice President for Research
12. UM -- University of Michigan (Ann Arbor campus unless otherwise noted)
13. WING -- UM Women's Initiative Group
14. WIS / WISE -- Women in Science / Women in Science and Engineering, originally a CEW project that later spun off into its own unit)

Records of the University of Michigan College of Engineering include histories, correspondence and topical files of deans; minutes of the executive and other committees; faculty records, including minutes of meetings and faculty biographies; miscellaneous student and alumni records; photographs, microfilm, digital files, and archived website.

The College of Engineering records date from 1860 to 2014 and measure 118.5 linear feet, 3 oversize folders, and 1,196 GB. The records document the internal activities of the College of Engineering, both administrative and academic, the role of the college as a unit of the University of Michigan, and research developments and trends over the years. Correspondence, meeting minutes, reports, financial records, and other material reflect changing research interests within the field of engineering as well as the curriculum development that has accompanied technological advances. Of particular interest are the files relating to outside work by faculty members, a question of enduring concern within the college. The records reflect the relations of the College of Engineering with private industry, especially through the documentation of funding from outside sources and the involvement of professors in outside research.

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.

University of Michigan department responsible for administering and teaching required curriculum in physical education for women and overseeing recreational sports for women. Records include annual reports, minutes of staff meetings, scrapbooks, topical files, history of physical education for women at the University, and other materials relating to the Women's Athletic Association; also photographs

Photos of women involved in athletics and other physical activities, including dance, Lantern Night, and Freshman Week; also photos of Barbour Gymnasium, Women's Athletic Building, the Health Service, and the Michigan League.

Graduate School of the University of Michigan. Records include dean's topical files, 1892-1996; files of associate deans; minutes of the executive board; project and grant files detailing faculty and student research; lists of degrees granted; records of fellowships and awards granted by the graduate school and university; and files relating to academic departments and programs, including reviews of degree programs.

The records of the Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies document the administration of the school, its academic programs and research projects and fellowships funded by the school and outside sources. The records include Dean's Files, minutes of the Executive Board and Administrative Council, Academic Unit and Program Evaluation files, and grants administration records.

Records of the Graduate School have been received by the library in numerous accessions, some large others quite small. Some accessions represent continuations or complements to previously received materials. This finding attempts to intellectually integrate continuing or similar record series received in multiple accessions.

The records are organized into a number of series. Among the more significant are:

1. Deans' Topical File
2. Research Records
3. University Units
4. Program Evaluations
5. Faculty Research Grants
6. Degree Lists
7. Faculty Fellowships, Grants and Awards
8. Graduate School Executive Board and Administrative Council

In 2008, the Rackham School of Graduate Studies announced that it would become a 'paperless' office and that future accessions to the Bentley Library would be electronic. The materials from 1990 to 2003 were thus digitized by Rackham staff (from the original paper records) and saved as PDF (Portable Document Format) files. As of 2012, these digital accessions comprise two subseries within the Graduate School Executive Board and Administrative Council series and Program Evaluation series.

The records of the University of Michigan International Center contain administrative records from the various Directors of the center. These materials include documentation on the establishment of the University of Michigan's foreign student exchange scholarships, records relating to the development of important programs and national associations for international students, housing surveys between 1965-1971, printed materials such as annual reports, newsletters, and manuals, scrapbooks, photographs, and newspaper clippings.

The collection is divided into six series. The first series, Historical Files, contains early filing methods of the Directors and a small amount of background on the Center. It also contains early papers from 1927-1930 on the Cosmopolitan Club and spring trips for foreign students. The second series, Director's Files, has been organized according to the filing systems employed by each of the Center's first four directors: J. Raleigh Nelson (1933-1943); Esson M. Gale (1943-1954); James M. Davis (1954-1964); and Robert B. Klinger (1964-1971). Files of each director comprise separate sub-series. Each of these four sub-series includes administrative records such as papers of the Board of Governors, minutes of committees connected to the International Center, and annual reports. Within each sub-series there are files of particular importance and interest. Photographs compose the third series, including one scrapbook of directors, students, and visitors to the International Center. Printed materials comprise the fourth series. The fifth series is made up of newspaper clippings. The sixth series consists of National Association of Foreign Student Advisers (Publications).

The Julio Perazza collection includes three series: Visual, Printed, and Audiovisual. The collection offers significant visual documentation to researchers interested in artistic photography, the Detroit Latino community, Detroit Police Department, and the city of Detroit in general. Highlights of the collection include photographs of Latino community cultural events, daily police activities, and Perazza's "Demolished by Neglect" series, a photographic critique of Detroit's urban policies.

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.