Collections

The collection includes vertical file materials such as reports, meeting minutes, brochures, and miscellaneous.

This collection includes vertical file materials such as reports, meeting minutes, brochures, and miscellaneous.

Miscellaneous School of Music material including programs.

The collection consists of miscellaneous materials from various sources documenting the history of Central Michigan University (CMU)’s Department of and, later, School of Music. Materials in the collection include: correspondence, events, workshop materials, organizational history information, and publications including posters, bulletins, newsletters, un/bound music programs, 1904-2003 (Boxes 1-2); a bound program for 1975 is missing. The first two boxes of the collection were part of the Clarke Historical Library's Central Michigan University (CMU) Vertical File and, as such, the collection is incomplete. A 2017 addition consists entirely of CMU School of Music bound programs, 1979/80-2016/17 (Boxes 3-15). There are no bound programs extant in the collection nor in the School of Music (as of 2017) for the following years: 1992/93, 1994/95, 2003/04, 2004/05, and 2011/12. Materials are in alphabetical and chronological order.

Researchers may also be interested in other, related School of Music collections which are also housed in the Clarke Historical Library.

This collection of Central Michigan University School of Music (SOM) recordings documents diverse musical performances and events performed in the School of Music by its faculty and students, and alumni, as well as guest musicians and artists, 1962-2018.

This collection of Central Michigan University School of Music (SOM) recordings documents diverse musical performances and events performed in the School of Music by its faculty and students, and alumni, as well as guest musicians and artists, 1962-2018. The recordings include choral, woodwind, brass, string, keyboard, and percussion soloists and ensembles, the CMU Marching Chippewas (band), recitals, annual and holiday concerts, galas, student and faculty recitals, master classes, workshops, high school choir and honors band concerts and camps, and annual scholarship competitions including: Patricia Nixon Woodwind, Paul I. Wilworth Brass, Irwin Piano, and the Cedric Colness and Dees Vocal. Boxes 1-33 consists mainly of reel-to-reel tapes and cassettes with a few CDs, 1962-1998. Boxes 33-69 includes cassettes, CDs, and some DVDs. Programs are included with nearly every recording. Paper programs are in the original reel-to-reel box, wrapped around the cassettes, and printed on CD and DVD cases. The most unique musical source in the collection is a laptop, see CD, MicroCHIP Music, November 12, 2010, while the most unusual group name is that of the Suspicious Cheese Lords, see their CD, October 29, 2010 (both CDs are in Box 55). The collection is organized in chronological order.

There are some inconsistencies or inaccurate information in the collection. Obvious typos were checked and corrected. Sometimes label information on reel-to-reel boxes and interior labels did not match. Other times, the information indicated that newer musical events were recorded over older recording/s, sometimes several times. In these cases, we included all names, events, and dates in the Box and Folder listing since we lacked the resources to listen to all of these recordings. Overall the recordings and original housing are in good to excellent condition. For a number of years, someone wrote on cassettes labels using red ink pens and the data is now quite faded and difficult to read.

The first deposit, Boxes 1-33, was transferred in June 1997, when the SOM moved from Powers Hall to the then new Music Building. Archivist Marian Matyn and a student packed the boxes and moved them through a window into her car as the doors were blocked during renovations. The second deposit, Boxes 34-69, was packed by two students and Marian and pushed by carts into the Clarke in spring 2021 when the Music Resource Center, where the recordings had been stored and made accessible to researchers, was converted into a lounge area. The SOM switched from hard copy recordings to live streaming in early March 2020 when COVID-19 closed campus

Researchers may be interested in other SOM collections in the Clarke including those with photographs, programs, and historical information. The SOM is also represented in numerous other Clarke collections in CMU photographs, publications, homecoming and athletics materials, vertical files, as well as in separately cataloged audio recordings, videos, dissertations and thesis, and musical scores.

The Central Michigan University’s women Softball Videotapes, 1981-2015, and undated, consist of taped recordings documenting the team.

The Central Michigan University’s women Softball Videotapes, 1981-2015, and undated, consist of taped recordings documenting the team. The majority of the tapes cover games played by the team, but a few tapes feature practices/scrimmages, trips, holiday events, and award ceremonies. While most tapes provide specific dates, numerous feature just the year or the opponents. These partially unidentified tapes are organized at the end of the chronological ordering for each year. Some tapes are labeled specifically for tournaments, such as National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Tournament, and these are kept together. The format of the tapes are VHS, VHS-C, HI-8, and MiniDVs, with MiniDVs being the majority of the collection.

Processing Note: During processing 17 miniDVs, 4 VHS-Cs, and 1 High-8 were withdrawn as they were unlabeled, and the format is inaccessible on current CMU equipment.

The collection includes correspondence, 1982-2003, and undated, concerning the planning, financing and construction of the Student Activity Center (SAC) at Central Michigan University (CMU).

This collection consists mainly of correspondence dealing with the planning, financing, and construction of the SAC. Key people involved in the process and correspondences were Jerry Scoby (Director of Business Services and Assistant Vice President for Business Affairs), Kim Ellertson (Vice President of Business and Finance), and Tim Jones (Director of Campus Recreation).

Box 1 in this collection contains documents generally focusing on the immediate planning and building of the recreation center, 1983-1990.

Phase I of the SAC Project began in 1983 and focused on proposals for and the planning of the campus’s recreation building, and the renovation of several other buildings on campus, including: remodeling the President’s house, the physical plant building, and a library addition.

There are numerous correspondences between the University and the Nuveen Co., which was chosen to be the senior manager of the projects and the financial advisor. The letters discuss different funding avenues for the projects, including the use of student bonds.

In addition, there is documentation of several other capital projects that the university was planning and funding in conjunction with the SAC. One such project was the Biomass Wood Fuel Plant and Telephone Systems Project (aka Woodchip).

Phase II of the project began in 1987 and comprised the final approval of designs and schematics of the building, and topographical surveys of the land. Most of the letters are between Anthony Paparella, the University Architect, and TMP Associates, the firm chosen for design development.

Included are a sampling of Construction Invoices, 1986-2000, that show areas of main concern in the building, as well as issues that arose during construction and additions and subtractions that were made due to budgetary limitations. There are documents discussing if a student membership fee should exist and how it should be implemented, tuition-based or as an outside fee. Also included are financial records documenting the University’s attempt to raise $25 million for the multiple projects, Bond Revenue Statistics, 1987-1989.

Box 2 contains documents pertaining to after the recreation center was opened, 1990-2003, as well as other properties that the University owned.

Letters discussing food services that should be offered in the new building are part of the collection, including the mission statement of FAST BREAK, a healthy food store. The internal audit of 1992 listed the weak points of the SAC, such as the definition of outside users and funding for equipment replacement, and offered recommended solutions.

In the ‘Budget and Finance’ folder there are letters that address the financial structure of the SAC. This was a main concern because the SAC was originally funded entirely from the General Fund, which meant that all of the money its services made would automatically go back into the University and be equally divided among other campus institutions. There was also concern that under this structure the building would continuously be in a state of financial default. In order to avoid this, administrators of the SAC wanted it to be listed as an auxiliary institution of the University.

There is also a folder of issues that the SAC faced. Issues included, how encompassing the University’s insurance was in relation to unauthorized access of children and teams granted by current employees, and illegal entry by students using fake or duplicate IDs. There is a response written by Kim Ellertson concerning an article titled, “Staff ignored threat pools of blood posed.” There was also concern over improper videoing and photographing of people working out, as well as the loss of intramural sports fields due to the new football stadium and the expanding network of new facilities related to the SAC. An unusual issue that arose was the public protest following an Anheuser Busch visit. According to the letters, Anheuser set up their tent in the SAC on the same day as the Isabella County United Way was hosting a Red Hacker carnival for children. The matter worsened because a one-day liquor license was purchased for the SAC and the famous “Bud Girls” were allowed to freely walk around the building. Employees of the SAC felt that by allowing this to happen, especially during a children’s day, the University was living up to its party college name instead of dispelling it.

This box also contains several plans to try to offset the building costs of the SAC, including: a market plan to attract more outside donors and the selling of numerous University-owned properties.

Interesting documents to note are those concerning Riverwood Golf, which document the University’s desire to purchase a golf course, and those concerning the Ann Arbor Railroad Company when the University attempted to purchase the tracks that run through campus.

Processing Note: During processing approximately 0.25 cubic feet of duplicate materials were withdrawn from the collection and shredded.

Organizational records, 1979-2014, and undated, including minutes, budget, major topics of interest to SGA, packets of the CMU Academic Senate and the CMU Board of Trustees, a scrapbook, photographs, and oversized materials.

This is a collection of CMU SGA organizational records, 1979-2014, and undated. Among the documents featured in this collection are committee meeting minutes, budget, major topics of interest to the Student Government Association, packets of the Central Michigan University (CMU) Academic Senate and, especially, the CMU Board of Trustees packets, 2000-2010. Box 4 includes badges, certificates, plaques and a photograph (organized by size- from top to bottom of the box). Oversized materials include a scrapbook, organizational hierarchy chart, and three laminated posters. Box 5 includes photographs of unidentified CMU students and children from SIBS weekend events, 2002-2004. This event is sponsored by SGA. The posters in the oversized folder are housed separately in a map cabinet due to their size. The posters are not official published posters of CMU, but rather something SGA members must have created on their own.

Processing Note: Approximately 2 cubic feet of duplicates and oversized materials and 3 cubic feet of emptied binders were returned to donor as per donor form. Approximately 1 cubic foot of reports was added to the CMU vertical files.

Central Michigan University Student term papers from history, English, and other classes. These papers are sometimes the only source of information about Michigan people, events, or communities.

The collection consists of student term papers, mostly those from Dr. Dain’s History of Michigan class, and other (history, English, business administration, economics, geology, journalism, and sociology) classes at CMU. The term papers are sometimes the only source of history for a Michigan event, person, or community. The writing style and depth of research varies with each paper. If the paper's title does not specify what Michigan location the paper discusses, that information has been added by Clarke staff in parenthesis.

Papers from Professor Dain’s class are mostly in boxes 1-36. Papers from Professor Root’s class are mostly in boxes 36-40. Note: abbreviations in the box and folder listing are those found in the titles of the papers.

Miscellaneous vertical file material for Central Michigan University Career Services.

The collection, 1939, 2003, and undated, includes photographs, photograph albums, scrapbooks, and plaques. The scrapbooks, 1939-1970, document campus activities and events and the student union when it was in Powers Hall/ Keeler Union. The scrapbooks consist of CMLife clippings on acidic pages. The rest of collection documents the staff, students, and events in the Bovee UC, including the period right after it was built. This information was generated by CMU staff and students. The 40th anniversary of the UC is documented in the Photograph Album, 2000-2003.

Overall the collection is in good physical condition, except for the scrapbooks, which are acidic and several of two of which, 1953-1959 and 1964-1970, have broken or loose covers.

The collection is organized by size and format and then chronologically.

The Collection, 1990-2014, and undated, includes signed black and white or color photographs or posters of nationally recognized actors, performers, musicians, musical groups, and speakers who spoke or entertained at CMU.

The collection includes Central Michigan University Women brochures, correspondence, historical materials, photographs, negatives, and reports.

Organizational records include: Bridge Club Materials, Spring 2003; Brochures and Membership Forms, 2000-; Correspondence, 1999-; Hiking Schedules and Members, 2000-2002; Historical Calendar and PowerPoint, 2020; Meeting Programs, 1999/2000-; Photographs and Negatives, 2000-; Reports, 2010/2011-; and 75th Anniversary Materials, spring 2003, including written memories of past presidents, a list of past presidents expected at the anniversary celebration, party mementos, compiled, selected minutes of historical importance from past meetings, and photographs of the event. The collection is ongoing.