Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Organization of women faculty members established to exchange information about their status as faculty women and to investigate and resolve issues of special concern. records include history, awards files, correspondence, minutes, topical files, photographs, and video and sound recordings.

The records of the Academic Women's Caucus (AWC) provide an almost complete history of the AWC from its origins to the present, although the materials documenting the years 1972-1974 are not particularly strong. Many of the early records are from the co-chair Aline Soules. The records do provide valuable documentation of the general concerns of women faculty members at a major research university.

Alan B. Howes was professor of English at the University of Michigan from 1955 to 2001. He was involved in the formation of several unique programs, such as the NDEA Summer Institute for English Teachers, the New England Literature Program, and the Professional Semester. This collection includes correspondence, material from Howes' teaching career and involvement with these programs, and an assortment of Howes' writings.

The Alan B. Howes Papers document Howes' career in teaching, primarily his many years as professor of English at the University of Michigan, and his involvement in programs such as the NDEA Summer Institute for English Teachers, the Professional Semester, and the New England Literature Program (NELP). The records are arranged into nine series: Biographical, Correspondence, Course Materials The Michigan English Teacher, NDEA Summer Institute for English Teachers, New England Literature Program, Photos, Professional Semester, and Projects and Papers.

Alfred M. Beeton was a professor at the University of Michigan specializing in limnology, the study of the biology, chemistry, and physics of freshwater lakes. The papers reflect Beeton's primary interest in the limnology and preservation of the St. Lawrence Great Lakes, with an emphasis on factors affecting water quality and eutrophication, i.e. the lack of oxygen--and concomitant death of fish--in lakes due to over-enrichment. The papers also highlight Beeton's ongoing interests in the opossum shrimp, Mysis Relicta, and his extensive work as a consultant and administrator on projects relating to these topics.

The papers of Alfred Beeton--while covering his entire career from his days as a graduate-student teaching fellow to his Directorship of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory--are most comprehensive in their documentation of Beeton's activities from 1966 to 1976, during his tenure at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Nevertheless, the papers give insight into Beeton's long career, with its wide range of interests and numerous activities. The collection is organized into eight series: Correspondence, Professional Activities and Inquiries, Drafts of and Information on Talks and Manuscripts, Course Material, Army Corps of Engineers Dredging Studies, Toxic Substance Control Commission, Court Activities and Depositions, and Topical.

Allan G. Feldt was a Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Michigan who developed a number of simulation games related to urban planning. The collection includes materials related to simulation games Feldt developed and consulted on.

The Allan G. Feldt papers, 1962-2013, consist of materials related to his work creating simulation games for urban and regional planning. The collection includes manuals, correspondence, planning, and press materials related to the development of the Community Land Use Game (CLUG), the Northern Virginia Decision Simulation (NOVADS), Water and Land Resource Utilization Simulation (WALRUS), and the Population Policies Orientation Model (PPOM).

The CLUG is a teaching tool designed around a team activity focused on the challenges of business strategy, city management, and community building that was developed in the 1960s.

The NOVADS is a simulation game that begins with a major economic, political, social, and environmental properties of Fairfax County, Virginia as they existed in 1970. Each team represents a local household responsible for decision making according to specific economic, social, political, and geographic interests.

The WALRUS is an adaption of CLUG and was developed and published by the Michigan Sea Grant Program in 1972. The game deals with water pollution and sewage issues in a small city surrounded by farm land at the base of a large bay or lake.

The PPOM was developed in 1971 to address the questions of policy affecting and concerning human populations that are spatially distributed within finite geographical boundaries. Players are asked to be decision makers at a local, state, and national level and learn how to decisions affect the game's population.

The Alumni Association of the University of Michigan was established in 1897 following a consolidation of the Society of Alumni with the alumni societies of the professional schools. The Michigan Alumnus became the association's official organ. As the organization grew, local chapters were established and provided greater structure. The records include files pertaining to the Alumni Association's administrative office and various chapters and interests groups. This includes national and international U-M alumni and alumnae clubs, the Alumnae Council, the Society of Alumni, the University of Michigan Black Alumni (UMBA-formerly the African American Alumni Council (AAC)), and the Reunion of Black Graduates (RBG). The records include but are not limited to correspondence, minutes, reports, and survey responses, audiovisual materials, digital files, photographs, and publications.

The collection spans 1845-2001. The textual records of the Alumni Association (boxes 1-133) are largely unprocessed, and are described in only general terms in this finding aid. Exceptions include files maintained by Marjorie Williams who served as the vice chair and chair of the Alumnae Council from 1960 to 1962, Class Reunion files, and Topical Files.

Additions to the collection (boxes 168-171) incorporate records, audiovisual materials, photographs, and publications pertaining to the University of Michigan Black Alumni (UMBA). To note are materials specifically related to the African American Alumni Council (AAAC)-formerly the UMBA, and the Reunion of Black Graduates (RBG). This includes information about the Dr. Leonard F. Sain Award, the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. scholarship and symposium, the Camp Michigania retreat, and annual reunion for black graduates photographs, planning materials, and souvenir books.

Professor of Public Health at the University of Michigan from 1961 to 1988, noted for research in the field of quality assessment of public health and service. Papers contain biographical material, correspondence, and material related to his research and professional activities, including studies for the Community Health Association of Detroit, Michigan and background on various publications.

The papers of Avedis Donabedian document his career as professor at the University of Michigan School of Public Health and in the medical research field from 1946 to 1997. The papers are divided into three series: Correspondence, Research and Professional Activities, and Biographical.

Bernadine Cimprich was a professor and researcher at the University of Michigan School of Nursing. She conducted extensive research on breast cancer patients and survivors, assessing cognitive issues during treatment, survivorship and quality of life, and the role of environment on patient recovery. The collection consists of materials relating to her teaching, research and service.

The Bernadine Cimprich papers (2.5 linear feet) document her work primarily with the University of Michigan. The papers span from 1986 to 2012. The contents are for the most part paper materials which include numerous research proposals, IRB documentation, pilot studies and course materials. The contents are divided into four series: Personal, Service, Teaching, and Research.

The Blanchard family papers document the lives and careers of several members of the Blanchard, Cobb, and Proctor families from the mid-nineteenth century through the late twentieth century. Includes visual materials, publications, personal writings, and extensive correspondence files.

The Blanchard Family Papers document the professional achievements and personal lives of several generations of a scientifically minded and artistically gifted family. The papers focus heavily upon the eminent plant pathologist and nematologist Nathan A. Cobb, his wife Alice Vara Cobb, their daughter, biologist Frieda Cobb Blanchard, and her husband, herpetologist Frank Nelson Blanchard (the latter two of whom were professors at the University of Michigan). In addition to the photographs, drawings, correspondence, journals, and writings of these four individuals, the collection is rich in family correspondence, diaries, and personal papers from other members of the Cobb and Blanchard families (and their forebears and branches, including the Bigelow, Proctor, Ross, White, and Randall families). The Blanchard Family Papers will be of value to researchers interested in a variety of topics: scientific endeavors and methodologies (and in particular those related to agronomy, nematology, botany, and herpetology); the visual arts and the development of photography in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; colonial and provincial life in Australia and Hawaii (respectively); and the daily affairs of American (and Michigan) families throughout the twentieth century. The Blanchard Family Papers consist of seven series: Nathan A. Cobb, Alice Vara Cobb, Frieda Cobb Blanchard, Frank Nelson Blanchard, Blanchard and Cobb Family Letters, Other Family Members, and Isaac G. Blanchard.

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.

Bright Sheng, a composer born in China, is also renown as a conductor, pianist, and researcher. The Bright Sheng Collection contains the papers of University of Michigan composition professor Bright Sheng. In addition to Sheng's own files and correspondence, it includes manuscript, printed, and published versions of his scores (printed scores are for musicians' use, while published scores are for a wider audience), published and unpublished recordings of his works, interviews, programs and reviews featuring his works, and work from Sheng's students. Also included are field recordings and an audio diary from the 2000 Silk Road project in China.

The Bright Sheng Collection contains the papers of University of Michigan composition professor Bright Sheng. It is comprised of 17 series: Biographical, 1982-c2000; Correspondence, 1962-2004; Professional, 1997-1998; Career, 1988-1995; Program Notes [undated]; Awards and Citations, 1984-2003; Photographs, 1985-2004; Reviews, 1986-2004; Programs, 1973-2003; Libretti, 1999-2003; Published Scores, 1988-1999; Printed Scores, 1982-2002; Manuscripts and Revised Scores, 1985-2004; Audio Recordings [undated]; Student Works, 1996-2004; Silk Road Trip, 2000; and Moving Images, 1985-2003. Together, these series document Sheng's career from his early days as a student to his current status as world-renowned composer and professor.

The first six series in the Bright Sheng Collection are extremely short, with a combined physical extent of approximately .5 linear foot. The Biographical, 1982-c2000 series is comprised of a single folder containing biographical material about Sheng. The Correspondence, 1962-2004 series contains topical files of Sheng's correspondence with colleagues in China, with his professors, and with his family, as well as a partial chronological file of correspondence falling outside of those three categories. The Professional, 1997-1998 series includes an article written by Sheng, as well as articles in Chinese about Sheng's music. The Career, 1988-1995 series contains materials related to Sheng's various appointments and positions over the years. The Program Notes series contains an article about the Sung Dynasty and the work Two Poems from the Sung Dynasty. The Awards and Citations, 1984-2003 series includes materials related to various honors Sheng has received in the course of his career, including a MacArthur 'Genius' grant and the University of Michigan's Leonard Bernstein Distinguished University Professorship.