Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

The Nu Sigma Nu Fraternity was founded at the University of Michigan in 1882 and is the oldest medical fraternity in the United States. It was created to promote cooperation and fellowship among medical men and to raise medical education and scholarship to a higher level. These records document the creation of the Nu Sigma Nu fraternity and the history of the Alpha Chapter from its inception in 1882 to its termination in 2008.

The Nu Sigma Nu, Alpha Chapter collection contains records that relate to both the local chapter of Nu Sigma Nu as well as the founding of the national organization. Information within these records reveals the history of the fraternity, the daily business of the Alpha Chapter throughout its existence, and the interaction between the Alpha Chapter and the University of Michigan. These records are divided into eight series: Administration, Correspondence, Financial Records, History, Housing, Nu Sigma Nu Medical Scholarship Fund, Photographs, and Publications.

Detroit, Michigan lawyer and banker, and alumnus of University of Michigan. Correspondence, essays, and newspaper clippings concerning the Detroit banking crisis of 1933; and biographical and genealogical information on the Church, Benedict and Mahon families; also photographs.

The Orla B. Taylor collection consists of correspondence, essays and other writings, and biographical and personal material. Many of the writings relate to banking in Detroit in the 1930s.

The records of the University of Michigan Panhellenic Association contain meeting minutes, annual officers' reports, newspaper clippings, presidents reports, scrapbooks, photographs, printed materials, posters and broadsides. The records document the administration and history of the Panhel at the University of Michigan.

The records of the Panhellenic Association (Panhel) measure 7.5 linear feet and include one outsize scrapbook and an outsize folder. The records date from 1945 to 1991 and consist of meeting minutes, annual officers' reports, newspaper clippings, photographs, printed materials, and posters. Despite the range of years covered by the collection as a whole, no one time period is completely documented. For additional information on the history of Panhel, the researcher should consult the folders under the heading "Sororities" in the University of Michigan Library Clipping File and the folder "Panhellenic" in the Vertical File at the Bentley Historical Library.

The records of Panhel are divided into six series: Topical Files, President's Reports, Scrapbooks, Photographs, Printed Materials, and Posters and Broadsides.

Christian fraternity founded in 1929 at the University of Michigan by alumni of Calvin College. The collection includes architectural plans for the fraternity house, foundational documents, newsletters, and records of alumni events.

The bulk of the Phi Alpha Kappa records includes architectural drawings and designs of the fraternity house on East Ann Street. Two folders of foundational documents contain articles of incorporation and bylaws for the organization. Scattered copies of "Newsreel," the Phi Alpha Kappa newsletter from the 1990s and 2000s, are found in the collection, as well as material documenting various alumni reunion events.

Phi Delta Chi Fraternity was founded in 1883 by a group of pharmacy students at the University of Michigan. The Phi Delta Chi records contain minutes, publications, correspondence, a constitution and bylaws, a pledge manual, and photos from the mid-1990s.

The Phi Delta Chi records are divided into five series: Governance, Minutes, Miscellaneous, Photographs, and Publications.

Fraternity for undergraduate students at the University of Michigan; financial records.

The record group consists of various financial records (ledgers, cash books, etc.) and one roll book. There are also yearbooks from the national fraternity entitled The Scroll of Phi Delta Theta.

Dr. Richard E. Smith is a Black University of Michigan alum, member of the Epsilon chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha, a historically Black fraternity, and an obstetrician-gynecologist (OB-GYN) who worked to enhance prenatal care for teenage and young mothers. He was also involved in efforts to commemorate the role that Detroit and its institutions played in the Underground Railroad. Includes award information, biographical and genealogical material, correspondence, publications, a scrapbook, and topical files.

The Richard E. Smith papers document Smith's personal and professional activities, particularly his involvement in the Epsilon chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha, professional career as an obstetrician-gynecologist (OB-GYN), and efforts to commemorate the role that Detroit and its institutions played in the Underground Railroad. Material is dated from 1969-2022 and includes award information, biographical and genealogical material about his family, historical material about St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, correspondence relating to his professional career and activities, publications, an Alpha Phi Alpha scrapbook, and topical files.

Roger Sherman (1872-1957) was a University of Michigan alumnus (class of 1894) and Chicago (Illinois) lawyer. Consists of groups portraits of the University of Michigan football team and banjo club as well as a portrait of Sherman.

The collection consists of groups portraits of the University of Michigan football team and banjo club as well as a portrait of Sherman.

The School of Dentistry is a teaching and research unit of the University of Michigan. Records include administrative files, faculty meeting minutes, curriculum and education, subject files relating to dentistry and to the professional interests of the school's faculty; and photographs and films.

The School of Dentistry record group spans the years from 1873 to 2010, but does not comprehensively document the entire span. The records are fragmentary, providing only a partial picture of the School of Dentistry. Documentation reflects the tenures of various deans with scattered documents from the late 1800s and more detail in the period 1920-1990. The records give some insight into the development of dentistry as a profession, and the training and education of dental students. The records, comprised of 40.5 linear feet, 1 oversize volume, 1 oversize folder, and 1.3GB, have been divided into 10 series: Educational Information, Administration, Black Dentistry Conference, Organizations, Surveys, Photographs and Audiovisual Materials, Department Chairpersons' Meetings, Faculty Meetings, American Dental Association Accreditation, Dental Research Institute, and Website.

Institution representing the university faculty and providing an oppertunity for shared governance and a collective voice surrounding university conerns. Minutes, correspondence, committee files, publications, and institutional history.

The Senate (University of Michigan) records contains 12.4 linear feet (in 13 boxes) of correspondence, minutes, committee files, publications, and papers recording the history of the University Senate and its branches.

University of Michigan chapter of Greek letter fraternity. Meeting minutes and financial records, pledging and initiation records, alumni records, visual materials and miscellaneous.

Sigma Nu records have been divided into the following series: Meeting Minutes and Financial Records, Pledging and Initiation Records, Alumni Records, Visual Materials, and Miscellaneous. These materials describe the history of the Gamma Nu chapter of Sigma Nu at the University of Michigan, and the national fraternity as well.

University of Michigan student chapter of the Society of American Archivists. Records contain founding documents, including a copy of the constitution, e-mail correspondence, minutes and meeting notes as well as membership lists.

The Society of American Archivists Student Chapter (University of Michigan) records date from 1993-1996. The records document the founding of this student chapter at the University of Michigan.

University of Michigan section of national organization established to further interests of women engineering students. History and background information, annual reports, newsletters and newspaper clippings, budget information, photographs and scrapbooks, correspondence, and files relating to section activities

The records of the University of Michigan student section of the Society of Women Engineers cover the period from 1971 to 2011 and have been divided into three series: Society Records, Student Activities, and Audio-Visual.

University of Michigan Class of 1917 graduate, member of the Druids, the University of Michigan honorary society, and of the Alpha Phi Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta. Scrapbook containing photographs, dance cards, and event programs.

Scrapbook contains photographs of the Alpha Phi chapter house exterior and of its interiors, group portraits and photographs taken during social and sporting events, and chapter activities; also select chapter publications, dance cards, event programs, and other ephemera. The scrapbook also contains Smith's portrait and his U.S. Army Signal Corps enlistment papers.

Dean's files of R. A. Stevenson, 1944-1960, with some earlier files of deans Edmund E. Day and Clare E. Griffin; dean's files of Floyd A. Bond primarily 1960-1979, but including earlier and later materials; administrative records concerning faculty matters, alumni activities, students, course offerings, conferences, and programs sponsored by the school, and the operation and construction of the school's building; records relating to special bureaus within the school, particularly the Bureau of Business Research, the Bureau of Hospital Administration, and the Bureau of Industrial Relations; miscellaneous files of Stevenson, including University of Minnesota records, speeches, and board of directors materials from Lear, Incorporated; miscellaneous personal files of Floyd Bond concerning other organizational activities; audiovisual material including photographs and negatives of faculty, conferences and meetings, buildings, and school functions; dean's files of Gilbert A. Whitaker, 1925-1991; architectural records; the Ross School of Business website, 1996-ongoing; and records of Development and Alumni Relations, primarily created by Frank C. Wihelme, including committee meeting material, information related to capital campaigns, and records of the William Davison Institute.

The records of the Ross School of Business (1916-2017), measure 143.2 linear feet, 154.33 GB, 21 oversize items, and 1 archived website. Materials include papers from deans of the business school, committee documents, The records also include audiovisual materials including photographs, slides, videos and sound recordings.

The Ross School of Business (University of Michigan) records documents the administration and operation of the Business School; its organizational structure; news and events; people including deans, faculty, and staff; educational program; fundraising and development; and physical spaces. The records include administrative records of committees, correspondence, topical files, audiovisual material such as photographs and audiotapes, architectural drawings, and the School's website.

Organization concerned with the administration of fraternity and sorority publications, fund raising, and membership solicitation. Topical files, newsletters, and general correspondence.

The records consist primarily of correspondence and promotional materials for the various fraternities and sororities on the University of Michigan campus. There is also a scattering of the organization's newsletters and correspondence with alumni of the various student groups.

Records, 1912-1975, of the Student Government Council and predecessor student government agencies at the University of Michigan. Contains minutes, clippings and topical files concerning, in part, black studies and black student organizations. Also papers of Laing Study Committee, a university group concerned with the study and evaluation of student government.

The records encompass a broad range of documents from successive student government agencies including the Student Council, Student Legislature and Student Senate. Included are minutes, petitions, election materials and results, financial records, and correspondence. The most extensive records are those dating from 1960 on. Topical files from that period include reports on university housing, classified research, campus security, minority affairs, and the University Cellar. Included also are the minutes of the Liang Study Committee (1953/1954) and reports from the Office of Student Affairs on housing and student conduct (1966-1969).

Architecture and allied arts honorary fraternity organized in 1913 at the University of Michigan. Michigan chapter and national chapter records including bylaws, correspondence, membership records, manuals and treasurer's records.

The Tau Sigma Delta record group comprises 2 linear feet but spans a wide range of years from 1943 to 1989. Since Michigan was the founding member of Tau Sigma Delta, and two Michigan faculty members had served as the Grand Master and Grand Scribe for the honor society from 1960 to 1967, the Tau Sigma Delta (Alpha Chapter) collection contains materials relating to both the local chapter and national chapter. The collection has been divided into two series: the Michigan Chapter and the National Chapter.

University of Michigan senior honors society with initiation rites, costumes and other rituals based on supposed Native Amerincan traditions; records include chronological "tribe" files, minutes of meetings, topical files, visual materials, and printed materials.

The records consist of four linear feet, six oversize folders, and one oversize volume, and span the years from 1902 to the present. They document the activities of past Michigamua tribes, the role of the Old Braves within the society, and the development of Michigamua traditions. The records are divided into five series: Chronological Tribe Files, Meeting Minutes, Topical Files, Visual Materials, and Printed Materials.

Gamma Deuteron Charge (chapter) of the Theta Delta Chi fraternity, instated at the University of Michigan in 1889. Records include original and digital copies of annual composite photographs of the members of the University of Michigan chapter, as well as drawings of an unbuilt fraternity house designed by Alden B. Dow. Also included are a volume of meeting minutes; an oversize ledger detailing per person costs; and an alumni register.

The Theta Delta Chi Gamma Deuteron Charge records consist of yearly composite photographs of the members of the chapter; a ledger detailing per person costs of fraternity life; and an alumni register. Particularly of note is a volume of handwritten meeting minutes which date from 1947-1956. The minutes detail the "Meetings of the Charge" and cover house events, planning, and finances, house morale and interpersonal conflicts, and other issues related to the running of the Gamma Deuteron Charge chapter. Also included in the minutes volume are treasurer notes from 1951-1972.

The collection also contains the original copies of the composite photographs, as well as digital copies. Also included are a small number of drawings of an unbuilt fraternity house that were designed by Alden B. Dow.

University of Michigan umbrella and activist student organization that supports and represents different Asian/Pacific Islander American (A/PIA or APIA) organizations and individuals, highlights issues related to the A/PIA community, and builds relationships with allied organizations on and off the University of Michigan campus. The collection documents aspects of A/PIA student communities at the university and includes administrative records, program files and publications, topical files, and correspondence.

The records of the United Asian American Organizations provide a good source of information on issues pertaining to the Asian/Pacific Islander American community and other groups at the University of Michigan. Materials are dated from 1986-2001 and include consitutitons and related foundational documents, correspondence, financial records, meeting agendas and minutes, publications, and topical files.

Student-controlled bookstore at the University of Michigan (established 1970, ceased operation in 1987.) Minutes and memoranda of board of directors, financial records, labor negotiation files, and other subject files; and photographs.

The records of the University Cellar have been arranged into three series: History and background; Administrative records; and Former employees files. The bulk of the records concerns the administration of University Cellar with extensive documentation of its financial operations and labor negotiations with the Industrial Workers of the World. Included are board of directors minutes and minutes of the Store, Retail, and Operations Councils.

Correspondence, memoranda, reports, minutes, and other materials relating to administration of the office; include files relating to operation and naming of University dormitories, especially detailing the establishment of housing policy and the resolution of housing controversies; information on small group housing and off-campus housing with individual files on fraternities and sororities; also files concerning the occupational status and treatment of Japanese-Americans working for the University during World War II, and concerning the housing and training of military personnel on campus during the war.

The records of the Housing Division provide documentation on development and administration of the university's dormitory system, off-campus housing and student life. The records include correspondence, memoranda, reports, minutes, and other materials relating to administration of the office; include files relating to operation and naming of University dormitories, especially detailing the establishment of housing policy and the resolution of housing controversies; information on small group housing and off-campus housing with individual files on fraternities and sororities; also files concerning the occupational status and treatment of Japanese-Americans working for the University during World War II, and concerning the housing and training of military personnel on campus during the war.

Photographs collected from various sources, depicting buildings, faculty, students, and other topics relating to the University of Michigan.

The University of Michigan Photographs Vertical File represents a miscellaneous assemblage of U of M-related photographs from many different sources, mainly prior to 1950. The vertical file is especially strong on the earliest photographic images of the campus, university buildings, and class activities. While the vertical file contains many images of individuals, researchers should first consult the library's on-line catalog for images of faculty, administrators, and other University personalities. Most photographs originally accumulated by a University department or other unit are kept with that unit's records.

The arrangement of the photographic images was intended to parallel the classification used with University of Michigan published materials and with manuscript materials. Both of these used a classification system using letters of the alphabet (A through N only) for groupings of published or manuscript material. This system was carried over for use with the library's photographic images though there are certain categories for which images are unlikely to be found (Category A, for example, which pertains to legislation affecting the University or Category I which is reserved for university publications of a scientific or literary nature). The classification is further broken down under each letter by a number code which refers to a more specific subdivision. The heaviest concentration of images will be found under C (for U-M schools and colleges, departments, and other units), D (for university buildings and views), and F (for class pictures, photos of student organizations, and images detailing aspects of student life and customs).

Each heading in this finding aid includes the letter classification plus a numbered subdivision. In addition, the individual envelopes are numbered sequentially. Headings for which there are oversized images (usually larger than 8x10) will be indicated by reference to medium or large size photographs. When requesting material, researchers must specify the heading and the classification and folder number.

This finding aid describes only a small portion of the Bentley Library's U-M visual images. The on-line catalog will direct the researcher to additional images.

Records of University of Michigan office (and its predecessor administrative offices) responsible for external fund raising and development activities, including subject files of development officials Arthur Brandon, Lyle Nelson, and Michael Radock; staff files; and photographs.

The records of the Vice President for Development date from 1948 to the present and measure 39.5 linear feet. They reflect the basic concerns of the office for these four decades: preserving and improving the university's public image and planning major fundraising efforts. Unfortunately, both activities are incompletely documented. In the area of public relations the records tend to discuss how immediate problems will be dealt with, rather than overall conceptions of the university's image. The thought behind the innovative fundraising devices created or employed by the office is sometimes recorded through consultant reports, but in general is not well documented.

The manuscript records have been divided into two subgroups, one representing the records of the vice president (or senior staff person, for those years in which there was no vice presidency), the other containing records created by the development office. The Vice Presidents subgroup has been divided by the name of each person who has held the office: Arthur Brandon, Lyle Nelson, and Michael Radock. Researchers should note that since Nelson and Radock used their predecessor's files for some time before inaugurating their own records, the relationship between office tenure and file dates is not an exact one. The Development Office subgroup contains records of that office and its subsidiary units. Several accessions of Development Office records received in 1989 and 1990 have been grouped together as Development Office subgroup: 1989-1990 accessions.

University of Michigan administrative office, established as the Dean of Student Affairs in 1921, responsible for overseeing many aspects of non-academic student services and activities including at various times: counseling, financial aid, student housing, student activities and organizations, health services, student discipline, and fraternities and sororities. Records provide extensive documentation of student life.

The records of the Vice President for Student Life provide a unique perspective to the extracurricular life and customs of students at the University of Michigan and an insight to the development of the office of the Vice President. The records span the years 1908-2005 with the bulk of the material covering 1941-1995. The material from the early years is especially rich in documenting student life from the 1920s to the 1950s. The strongest feature of this collection is in documenting the administration's response to the needs and to the demands of student, ranging from disciplining drinkers during Prohibition, dealings with fraternities up to 1960, reacting to student protests in the 1960s to the 1988 debate over the Student Code for Non-Academic Conduct, and the 2000 protest against Michigamua. The records also contain materials related to students' health, housing, organizations, and activism. The coverage of these areas varies across administrations as office reorganizations altered the focus and functions of Student Services.

This uneven documentation reflects the fact that, over time, different offices were created to handle more narrowly-defined areas of responsibility. Areas which had originally been handled by Dean Bursley under his broad conception of control over non-academic student life came to be administered by separate offices. Frequently the records of these administrative units were not included with the Vice President for Student Life records. To gain a more comprehensive understanding of student life, as refracted through the lens of University Administration, one should also refer to the records of the Housing Office and Student-Community Relations Office, and the papers of Peter Ostafin, director of housing.

The Vice President for Student Life collection consists of correspondence, reports, memos, minutes, and financial reports generated by both the University Administration and students. These materials are arranged in chronological series by the administrative head in charge of students' extracurricular affairs. Nine series represent records of Vice Presidents of the office: Joseph A. Bursley, 1913-1950; Erich A. Walter, 1925-1959; James A. Lewis, 1908-1964; Richard L. Cutler, 1950-1969; Barbara W. Newell, 1965-1970; Robert L. Knauss, 1962-1973; Henry Johnson, 1950-1985; Mary Ann Swain and Maureen Hartford, 1990-2005; and E. Royster Harper, 2000. In addition, the collections includes a Topical Files series, 1953-1995 (records of several Vice Presidents that have been received by the Bentley in various accessions); as well as a Printed Materials series. This organizing scheme required some manipulation of the files, but it best enables the researcher to trace the changing nature of the student body concerns and the development of the office itself.

The researcher should note that the strict chronological sequencing of the series was not possible. This was due in large part to a series of office reorganizations which resulted in some files created during Bursley or Walter's tenure ending up in later series. The most significant move here resulted in Lewis' series containing a good deal of Bursley and Walter materials on fraternities and student organizations. Lewis created the fraternities subseries in 1959 and compiled the student organization subseries during a May 1963, office reorganization. The researcher should also be conscious that early series contain a variety of materials which may not reflect the full scope of Bursley, Walter, or Lewis' responsibilities. Gaps are also discernible in the later series, but these are more readily fleshed out by referring to other University collections.

Senior engineering society at the University of Michigan. Minutes of meetings, constitution, membership lists, and photographs.

The Vulcans record group consists of minutes, financial records, and photographs relating to the activities of the Vulcan Honors Society. In addition to two boxes of manuscript material and photographs, the record group includes an oversized folder of composite and group photographs of Vulcans.

Minutes, 1868-1881, 1895-1899, and 1905-1916, of the Webster Debating Society of the University of Michigan, a law school student organization.

The collection comprises six volumes of minutes.

Gideon O. Whittemore family of Pontiac and Tawas City, Michigan. Business and personal correspondence of Whittemore, his wife, their son James O. Whittemore, and other members of the Whittemore, Mack, and Abram Mathews families; also business and legal documents, sermons, photographs, and miscellaneous papers, covering family matters, Tawas City, Michigan (which the family founded), lumbering, journey of the Mormons across the United States and settlement in Salt Lake City, Utah, University of Michigan and its branches, and family genealogy.

The papers date from 1817 to 1978, and include correspondence, business papers, deeds, genealogical materials, photographs and other papers of Gideon O. Whittemore, his wife, their son James Olin Whittemore and other member of the Whittemore, Mack, Harlow, and Abram Mathews families. Letters of Temperance Mack and Almira Covey document in part the journey of the Mormons across the United States and settlement in Salt Lake City. Other papers relate to activities in Tawas City (which the family founded), lumbering interests, and other business matters. A portion of the papers of James Olin Whittemore pertain to his activities as a student at the University of Michigan, class of 1846.

The Whittemore family collection has been arranged into the following series: Correspondence; Other Family papers; Genealogical records; Temperance Mack letters and related; Individual Whittemore family members; Photographs; and Business and professional ledgers and daybooks.

General secretary of the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan and editor of the Michigan Alumnus; correspondence, drawings and etchings, photographs and other visual materials

The Shaw collection is an assemblage of personal materials such as correspondence, essays and student notebook, and of Shaw's work as an artists including drawings, etchings, and other examples of artistic expression that he used in connection with his work with the University's Alumni Association and its publications. Records of Shaw's activities with the university will be found in the record groups for the Alumni Association and the Bureau of Alumni Relations also located at the Bentley Library. The collection has been divided into five series: Correspondence, Essays, Drawings and Etchings, Miscellaneous, and Photographs and other Visual Materials.

Singing group established in 1902 as the University of Michigan Girls' Club before changing the name to Women's Glee Club in the 1940s. The group performed on campus and throughout Michigan as well as touring nationally and internationally. The group disbanded in 1953 and was reactivated in 1976. This records include concert programs and posters, fundraising information, correspondence, photographs, audio/visual recordings of performances, newspaper clippings and scrapbooks. Also included are administrative papers including budget information, schedules, rosters and rules.

The Women's Glee Club collection dates from 1903 to 2017 and is comprised of multiple accessions. Because these accessions came with little discernible structure, and because their contents overlapped, they were combined into one collection made up of printed and manuscript materials, as well as posters, scrapbooks, sound and video recordings in a few different formats. The collection has been divided into four series: Audio/Visual Materials, Topical File, Scrapbooks and Concert Posters. The first two series of the collection have been arranged alphabetically by topic, and chronologically within the files. The Scrapbooks series is contained in Box 2, and each scrapbook has retained its original organization.