Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Republican member of the Michigan state legislature (House and Senate, 1971-1990); governor of Michigan (1991-2003); active member of the Republican Governors' Association and the National Governors' Association. The Engler collection consists primarily of materials created and maintained by Governor Engler and his staff during the period when he was governor, 1991-2003. Other records include papers from his several terms in the Michigan House and the Michigan Senate. The collection includes papers files, photographs, sound recordings, videotapes, memorabilia, and some electronic files. The gubernatorial files are arranged mainly by unit or functional responsibility within the governor's office. These series are Executive Office, Communications Division, Legal Division, State Government Affairs, Legislative Affairs Division, Operations Division, External Affairs, Scheduling, Washington DC Office, and Office of the First Lady. Topics extensively documented include state welfare and school funding reform, reorganization of state boards and commissions, notably the restructuring of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, and Republican party politics.

The John Engler papers are the most important source available for the study of Michigan's state government from 1991 to 2002. The collection is particularly strong on the topics of welfare and school funding reform, state government reorganization and the rising impact of the National Governors' Association in state and national politics. Engler's efforts to attract commerce to Michigan are also well-documented. The materials are arranged into two main subgroups: Pre-gubernatorial Papers and Gubernatorial Papers. The bulk of the material relates to Engler's gubernatorial career, therefore, the analysis that follows focuses primarily on this subgroup.

The materials in the "Gubernatorial Papers" subgroup are arranged according to the offices and subdivisions of the governor's office that created them. This means that the governor's speeches and press releases, for example, may be found within a grouping or "series" called "Communications Division," within the "Gubernatorial" subgroup, while legislative histories for various public acts may be found within the "Legislative Affairs" series.

While some kinds of documents were produced uniquely by one division, other kinds were produced in several divisions of the governor's office. The governor's correspondence, for example, was drafted and approved by several different staff members. Letters to important business and political leaders may be found within the "Executive Office" series, the "State Government Affairs" series, and the "Washington DC Office" series in particular. There no comprehensive chronological correspondence file.

In using the collection, the researcher should think functionally and ask who would have created the information sought. For example, the policy advisors in the State Government Affairs Division created individual topical files which gathered together correspondence and research materials to support briefing memoranda which they presented to the governor, while the speechwriters in the Communications Division often gathered different types of materials to help them shape the presentation of the same policies to the public.

Republican state senator from Battle Creek, Michigan, 1987-2002; legislative files documenting issues of higher education appropriations, state health concerns, and expenditure of monies received from lawsuit against the tobacco companies.

The papers represent a fragment of this state senator's career as much material had been discarded prior to the library's contact with the Schwarz office. Although some of the materials (mainly clippings) date to the period when he first came to Lansing in the mid-1980s, the great bulk of the collection dates from Schwarz's last term in office, 1999-2002. As might be expected, the files pertain to Schwarz's activities in the state senate, especially on issues of appropriations to the state's colleges and universities. There is also substantial information relating to current state health issues. Not present in these papers are materials relating to his activities outside the senate, campaigns for office, or his candidacy for governor in 2002. There are also no photographs or other visual materials in the collection.

The papers have been brought together in the following series: Higher Education; Health Issues; Other Issues; and Miscellaneous.

Grand Rapids, Michigan, businessman and Republican campaign official. Correspondence, reports, newspaper clippings and campaign materials concerning the Warren Commission's investigation of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the writing of the book, Portrait of the Assassin with Gerald Ford, and his activities as campaign manager for Paul Bagwell for governor in 1958, and as field director of the Richard Nixon for President campaign in 1960.

The collection documents John R. Stiles' work with the Warren Commission and the state Republican Party. The collection has been arranged into the following series: Portrait of the Assassin drafts; Warren Commission File; and Republican Party Political Files.

Attorney, Michigan State Senator, and Judge; correspondence and other papers primarily from the period when he served in the Michigan State Senate, 1959-1964.

The collection is arranged into the following series: Correspondence; Michigan State Senate, 1959-1964; University of Michigan Law School; Photographs; Campaign Materials; Michigan Supreme Court; and Press files.

Press official for Michigan House of Representatives Republican Policy Committee; reports of Committee Task Forces, press clippings, research materials, internal memorandum, and documents related to the career of Speaker Paul Hillegonds.

The documents contained in this collection focus primarily on the setting of policy agendas by the Michigan Republican Party in the State House of Representatives in the 1980s, 90s and 2000s. The record group has been divided into four series: House Republican Policy Committee Task Forces, Materials Compiled as Communications Specialist of the House Republican Communications Section, Materials Compiled as Director House Republican Communications Services and Miscellaneous.

Chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, Regent of the University of Michigan, Michigan Supreme Court justice. Political files include activities as Republican State Chairman and his involvement in the presidential campaign of Nelson Rockefeller (1964) and George Romney (1967-1968); also files from his service as regent of the University of Michigan (1969-1975) and justice of the Michigan Supreme Court (1975-1977).

The Lawrence Lindemer Papers contain correspondence, memoranda, official reports, newspaper clippings, photographs, and an audio tape documenting the political and legal career of Lawrence B. Lindemer. While the entire collection spans from 1954 to 1982, the bulk of the records date from 1964 to 1976 with an additional cluster of records dated 1981-1982.

The collection has been divided into four series: Political files; Regent of the University of Michigan; Legal Career, including Michigan Supreme Court; and Other materials. The Lindemer files are especially valuable for their documentation of Lindemer's activities within the Republican Party, as state chairman, as chair of the Midwest Nelson Rockefeller campaign for President in 1964, and his involvement in the presidential candidacy of George Romney for President in 1968.

Civic leader, wife of Michigan governor, George Romney, and Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1970. Correspondence, political background files, speeches, and miscellanea largely concerning election of 1970; and campaign and speech files covering gubernatorial career of George Romney.

The Lenore Romney papers (1960-1974) include correspondence, speeches, and other materials relating to her official role as the wife of Governor George Romney. In addition, there are files that relate to her participation in the political campaigns of her husband and to her own campaign for the U.S. Senate in 1970.

The collection consists of digital materials for 28 oral history interviews with state political figures, most of them active in the period of 1950 to 2000. The interviews are conducted by individuals knowledgeable about state political history. The content of the interviews are both about the individual's career and about the issues and personalities of the time. These interviews are with political and labor leaders, past members of the state legislature, a Detroit mayor, and a member of the state constitutional convention of 1961-1962.

Owen J. Cleary was an attorney, president of Cleary College in Ypsilanti (1940-1960), Michigan secretary of state (1953-1954), and chairman of the Republican State Central Committee (1949-1953). The collection includes correspondence, scrapbooks and clippings, organizational files, and Republican Party files.

The collection documents the later period of Cleary's life, mainly from 1945 to 1959. The series include Correspondence; Scrapbooks and clippings; Organizational interests; and Political files.

The great bulk of the collection consists of correspondence dated from 1945 to 1959 and documenting his work as Republican State chairman (1949-1953), his tenure as Michigan secretary of state (1953-1954), and his various other civic, political, and business involvements. There is included with this finding aid a selective index to Cleary's correspondents.

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.