Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

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.

Correspondence and other papers dealing with departmental plans, reviews and organization, buildings and laboratories, staff recruitment, research, impact of World War I and personal affairs of various staff members especially when they were studying in Europe. Correspondence includes letters of John W. Langley, Robert A. Millikan, Harrison Randall, James M. Cork, Ernest Lawrence, Walter Stevens, John O. Reed, Henry Carhart, Karl Guthe, Fred Hodges, Horace R. Crane, and others. Also includes correspondence of chairmen Daniel Sinclair, Richard H. Sands, and Lawrence W. Jones. Efforts to locate a superconducting super collider in Michigan in the 1980s are well documented in these records.

The Department of Physics records contain budget sheets, clippings, committee minutes, correspondence, departmental review reports, organizational charts, personnel records, and photographs. The records are most informative in the administrative proceedings of the department. They are least informative in curricular and research areas. The records span the years 1873-1995 and are arranged into four series: Administrative Files, Undergraduate and Graduate Programs, Research, and Awards and Special Events and L3 Project. Although there are 19th century records present, the bulk of the records cover the period from 1954 to 1991.

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 Institute for Social Research (ISR), an interdisciplinary center for social science research, was created in 1949 when the Research Center for Group Dynamics (founded at Massachusetts Institute of Technology) joined the university's Survey Research Center. ISR houses the Center for Political Studies (CPS), Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), Population Studies Center (PSC), Research Center for Group Dynamics (RCGD), and the Survey Research Center (SRC). Records document the founding and development of ISR and its related centers and programs and include audiovisual materials, minutes, correspondence, topical files, reports, and proposals. Administrative records include governance committees and director's files. Records of the Program for Research on Black Americans (PRBA) consist of grant proposals, survey instruments, focus group transcriptions, correspondence, bulletins, and internal governance records created under the auspices of PRBA and its various projects. Records of the Research Center for Group Dynamics are primarily the papers of director Kurt Lewin, including manuscripts and talks. Survey Research Center records consist largely of proposal and project files, although they also include faculty oral histories. The records of the Population Studies Center consist of lectures from its founder, Dr. Ronald Freedman, while the Center for Political Studies contains one binder of material from the American National Election Survey conducted in 1980.

The Institute for Social Research (ISR) records are dated from 1936-2017 (scattered) and consist of 143.8 linear feet (in 146 boxes) and digital files (online). Materials in this record group include audiovisual material, committee files (which include minutes and agendas), correspondence, directors' files, oral histories, publications, reports, and topical files. These records document the founding and subsequent development of ISR as well as its centers and programs, particularly the Program for Research on Black Americans (PRBA) and the Survey Research Center (SRC). The records also provide an overview of ISR's administration and the evolution of social science survey research methodology.

There are gaps in the records, which can be addressed in part through the papers of Rensis Likert, Angus Campbell, Dorwin P. Cartwright, and Philip E. Converse—all of which are held at the Bentley Historical Library (BHL). When viewed in conjunction with other ISR-related personal papers in the Bentley Historical Library, a rich and detailed picture of the growth of ISR as a center and the social science research discipline emerges.

Nuclear engineer, professor and eleventh president of the University of Michigan (1988-1996), leader in efforts to transform the University of Michigan, and higher education generally, into a culturally diverse, financially secure, and technologically advanced institution. Collection consists of both paper and digital documents, including speeches, presentations, writings and images. Portions of the collection are restricted. This collection represents the "personal papers" of president Duderstadt. Other material relating to his presidency is located in the record group "University of Michigan. President."

The James J. Duderstadt papers span the years from 1963 to the present, although the bulk of the material covers 1970 to 1996. The collection, consisting mainly of Speeches, Position Papers, and Presentations, effectively documents Duderstadt's vision, agenda, and planning process. There are two subgroups in the collection: Paper Documents and Digital Documents.

The Paper Documents subgroup is comprised of thirteen series: Biographical / Background Material, Speeches and Accompanying Material, Computer Printouts of Speeches, Position Papers, Publications, Presentations, Correspondence, Research, Topical Files (Pre-Presidency), Teaching, Presidential Transition Files, Strategic Planning, and Diaries and Notebooks. It includes a few papers from his years as engineering dean and his term as provost, along with a substantial amount of material from his years as professor of nuclear engineering and as president of the university.

A second subgroup, Digital Documents, is comprised of material created and maintained in electronic form (utilizing a number of software programs), and is particularly strong for representing Duderstadt's entire term as president of the university. The subgroup includes eight series: Speeches, Idea Files, Strategy, Position Papers, Presentations, Write Files and Legacy Files. The digital files of speeches and position papers frequently contain various and well-organized iterations of key documents. Of particular note are the Strategy Files, which hold substantial planning documents, many designed to encourage and promote vigorous response to change at many levels within the university. The subgroup also contains a series of Digital Images, most of which appeared in the 1996 publication Rebuilding the University: 1986-1996.

University of Michigan physicist, involved in effort to have Superconducting Super Collider located in Michigan. Papers include documentation of the state of Michigan's proposal for the SSC and some material related to his teaching and professional activities.

The Lawrence W. Jones Papers document Jones' professional activities as an experimental physicist throughout his career from 1952 through 2006, including major research interests as well as his participation in professional organizations and the administrative life of the University of Michigan. Jones' papers are arranged in seven series: Superconducting Super Collider, Professional Activities, Correspondence, Research Logs, and Subject Files, Biographical, and Professional Files.

A cross-disciplinary center for the study of Chinese history, culture and contemporary Chinese society at the University of Michigan, includes administrative records of the Center and information on research, lecture series, exhibits and other activities of the center.

The Center for Chinese Studies record group consists primarily of material for the years 1962 to 1994. Overall strengths of the collection include documentation of PASE, records of the Asia Library (1962-1982), and course information from curriculum development (1960s). Yearly budget and financial records are fairly complete, except for the period from 1971 to 1976. The gap is unfortunate because it was during these years that the Ford Foundation grants ended and the center had to search for new funding sources. Other material is broadly illustrative of the diversity of the tasks undertaken by the center.

The record group, as received by the Bentley Library, mostly consisted of loose documents and random topical folders. It now consists of topical folders arranged alphabetically within five series. The series Directors Correspondence and the Asia Library are in their original order, as received by the library; Administrative Records, Activities, and Printed Materials are artificial groupings created to provide order and easy access to the records.

The Bentley Historical Library received another large transfer of records from the Center for Chinese Studies in 1997. Spanning the years 1966 through 1994, these consist primarily of administrative files and information pertaining to the activities which the Center for Chinese Studies organized or in which it participated. The records were relatively well organized when it was attained by the Bentley Library. The original order of the records was retained with the exception of some files pertaining to the East Asian Capital Campaign. These were reorganized so that they could be located in one series.

The Life Sciences Institute (LSI) is a University of Michigan life sciences research and education organization dedicated to "advanc[ing] the understanding of the fundamental processes of life, and to pioneer new ideas to improve human health". The Life Sciences Institute records document the activities of the LSI and related organizations and includes reports, strategic planning documentation, photographs, publications, digital audio and video recordings, and print-outs of the LSI's 2003 website.

The Life Sciences and Institute records document the activities of the Life Sciences Institute (LSI). Materials are dated from 2001-2016 and include reports, strategic planning documentation, photographs, publications (such as newsletters and fliers), digital audio and video recordings, clippings, and print-outs of the LSI's 2003 website. Notable people and organizations in this collection include former LSI Director Dr. Alan R. Saltiel; Emerita Professor Rowena Mathews, a charter member of the LSI; and the Life Sciences, Values, and Society Program (LSVSP), a life sciences outreach organization founded alongside the LSI. Also prominently reflected in the collection are materials relating to LSI's annual symposium and the construction of the LSI building.

Intended as a living memorial to former students, faculty, and staff who died in World War II, the Michigan Memorial Phoenix Project is dedicated to the study of peacetime applications of atomic energy. The records include significant material relating to the origins of the project and extensive documentation of research conducted over the course of nearly fifty years. In addition, the files include correspondence, minutes, reports, development and director topical files.

Records of the Michigan Memorial Phoenix Project were received in three major accessions and from three major donors: National Executive Chairman Chester Lang, 1958; Assistant Director Leonard Greenbaum, 1972; and Michigan Memorial Phoenix Project, 2000. In addition, one item, a copy of the Phoenix Project logo, was received from Jacqueline Kolle Haring in 2001. The material is described as two accessions and is primarily comprised of records related to fund-raising, research, and administrative functions. Series include files documenting the history of the project, prospects, donors, research grants, and outreach. Researchers tracking a particular topic should note that there is significant overlap between accessions.

The records of the first two accessions measure three linear feet and date from 1947 to 1959. They are primarily comprised of correspondence, speeches, minutes, financial reports, and research files and are arranged into four series: Chester Lang/National Executive Chairman Files; Fund-raising Campaign; Financial Reports; and Early Research.

The records accessioned between 2000 and 2001 range from 1948 to 1997 and add 46 feet of valuable and significant documentation to the Michigan Memorial Phoenix Project record group. While large portions of the records relate to development and fund-raising aspects of the project, there are also important correspondence, research, and committee files. In addition, the accession includes a rich group of materials documenting the history of the project, as well as files regarding the national and international involvement of Phoenix administrators and scientists in the nuclear energy field.

The records are organized into the following series: History; Minutes of Meetings; Development Topical Files; Director's Topical Files; Ford Reactor; Organizations; Prospects; Donors; Research; and Audio Materials. It is important to note that since the years covered in the development topical files and director topical files series overlap, the researcher is advised to examine both runs for material on a given subject.

The University of Michigan News and Information Services (NIS) acts as the University's media relations office, disseminating information about university programs, research, events, and faculty activities. This collection includes audiovisual recordings of press releases, news briefs distributed to television and radio stations, web-based podcasts and digital videos, and externally produced materials about the University and its activities. Additionally, researchers will find copies of University-produced media from the 1970s to the early 2000s in both audio and video formats.

The University of Michigan News and Information Services Audiovisual Materials contains sound and visual materials produced by the University of Michigan to share with the media as well as materials relevant to the promotion and image of the University. News and Information Services also publishes materials featuring achievements by scholars, recordings of speeches by invited speakers, and media appearances by or about University officials, programs, and scholars.