Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

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.

Professor at the University of Michigan Law School. Specialized in International Law, having served in the U.S. Department of State. Stein was born in the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic in 1913. The bulk of the Eric Stein collection relates to his research and writings, and his career as a law professor at the University of Michigan. The papers, dated from 1933 through 2012, have been arranged topically into eight series: Biographical, Ford Foundation, Correspondence, Courses, Topical Files, Writings, Czech Constitution, and Research Materials.

The Eric Stein papers consist of his writings, correspondence, and biographical material, spanning his early professional career in the military in the 1930s, through his death in 2011, but primarily focusing on his career as a professor of law at the University of Michigan. The materials received by Stein were donated in three main installments and as such are arranged in this manner. Many of the series contain materials from multiple accessions, but the larger series, such as the correspondence and topical files, are arranged in multiple sub-series. Because sub-series are arranged by accession, there is some overlap in subjects covered as well as dates of material.

Francis Allen was a professor at the University of Michigan Law School, from 1962 to 1986, and dean of the Law School, from 1966 to 1971. He also taught at Northwestern University, Harvard, the University of Chicago, and the University of Florida. He was chairman of the Attorney General's Commission on Poverty and the Administration of Federal Criminal Justice (1963), and took part in the psychosurgery court case Kaimowitz vs. Department of Mental Health for the State of Michigan, 1972-1979. Papers include a biography and bibliography, correspondence, published and unpublished works, court proceedings of the psychosurgery trial, speeches, other court documents, as well as sample examinations from his various law school courses.

The Francis A. Allen Papers are composed of professional and personal documents spanning 1940-2006, with the majority of the documents dating between 1950-2000. The bulk of the papers (roughly 50 percent) are correspondence, including professional, academic, and personal documents. The next biggest sub-set is a sampling of some of his published works as well as unpublished works. There are also documents from court cases he was involved in, speeches he delivered over the course of his career, and samples of student examinations he gave while teaching as a law school professor.

Central academic administrative unit of the University of Michigan which functions as chief executive assistant to the president, responsible for appointments and promotions with oversight for schools, colleges, educational units and programs; including budget planning, legislative relations, institutional research, and affirmative action policies. The Staff Files subgroup contains the files of individual of vice-presidents, associate and assistant vice-presidents, and other staff members within the vice-president's office.

The Staff Files subgroup of the record group Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs consists of 570 linear feet and spans the years from 1947 to 2013. The Staff Files subgroup is comprised of the records of the associate and assistant vice presidents for academic affairs. Whereas the records of the Central Files subgroup often contain finished products, such as reports and policy statements, the Staff Files subgroup tends to document the process of policy formation and other decision-making functions. Scattered through the associate and assistant vice presidents' papers, for example, are frank statements of opinion regarding various schools and programs, candidates for promotion, and the relationship between the branches of the university, as well as notes on meetings with faculty members, committee activities, and other subjects.

The Staff Files subgroup includes the records of the following past and current associate and assistant vice presidents, listed in the order in which their records first appear in the boxlist: Ernest R. Zimmermann, Carolyne K. Davis, Edward A. Dougherty, Richard A. English, Robert L. Williams, John H. Romani, Mary Ann Swain, Robert S. Holbrook, W. Allen Spivey, Robert B. Holmes, Niara Sudarkasa, Robin Jacoby, Robert Sauve, E. Kay Dawson, Susan Lipschutz, Paul Courant, Marilyn Knepp, Pamela A. Raymond, Katharine Soper, Karen Gibbons, John Godfrey, Nancy Cantor, A. Lawrence Fincher, Ralph P. Nichols, Valerie Castle, Glenda Haskell, Linda Gillum, Janet Weiss, Ben van der Plijm, Sharon Schmidt, Kathleen (Kati) Bauer, James Hilton, Stephanie Riegle, Catherine Shaw, Philip Hanlon, Teresa Sullivan, Anne Berens, Brian Konz, John King, Lester Monts, Martha E. Pollack, Lori Haskins, and Ron Fitzgerald. The records of an individual, while still in office, are received by the archives on an ongoing basis.

Yale Kamisar, the Clarence Darrow Distinguished University Professor, was a professor in the University of Michigan Law School from 1965 to 2004. An expert in criminal law, particularly the exclusionary rule of the Fourth Amendment and the Miranda right based on the Fifth Amendment, Kamisar was a proponent of defendant rights, and wrote extensively on the subject. In the 1960s, his arguments were influential as Chief Justice Earl Warren's Supreme Court ruled on several key defendants' rights issues, such as search and seizure (Mapp v. Ohio), guaranteed legal counsel to the poor (Gideon v. Wainwright), the right to counsel while in custody (Escobedo v. Illinois), and the right to remain silent (Miranda v. Arizona). Kamisar also wrote and lectured extensively on assisted suicide, euthanasia, and mercy killing. His collection consists of research topical files; speech, debate, lecture, and presentation files; teaching files; and writings.

The Yale Kamisar papers include biographical information, topical files, correspondence with law school colleagues, Supreme Court justices, judges, lawyers, and students. They also include teaching files and articles on constitutional and criminal law, particularly the exclusionary rule and the Miranda rule, as well as material on Kamisar’s work on assisted suicide, euthanasia, and mercy-killing and other topics. The papers are divided into four series: Research Topical Files; Speech, Debate, Lecture, and Presentation Files; Teaching Files; and Writings.