Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Files concerning honorary degree recipients, University commencements, the Honors Convocations, and various University fellowships and scholarships; topical files of Frank E. Robbins, Erich Walter, Robert N. Cross, Herbert Hildebrandt, Richard L. Kennedy, William Cash, Jr., and James Shortt; and photographs

The Assistant to the President records contain file related to university commencements (1930-1965), honors convocations (1922-1966), the sesquicentennial celebration of the founding of the university in 1817, university fellowships, gifts, and prizes; correspondence and biographical sketches related honorary degree recipients, and State of the University Addresses. Also included are minutes of the meetings of the university's executive officers (1968-1982), dean's conferences (1951-1985), presidents' conferences (1965-1968), and topical files generated by the office (1933-1980). These records were generated during the tenures of Frank Robbins, 1921-1953; Erich Walter, 1953-1966; Herbert Hildebrand, 1966-1970; Richard Kennedy, 1970-1974; and William Cash, 1970-1983.

University of Michigan Engineering School graduate (1937-1941); aeronautical engineer (1941-1945) at Ford Motor Company's Willow Run Bomber Plant; aeronautical engineer (1945-1946) North American Aviation, Inglewood, California; research engineer (1946-1980); Ford Motor Company's Research and Engineering Center, Dearborn, Michigan.

World War II from the Willow Run Bomber Plant, Selective Service, wartime Office of Price Administration (rationing) during his work as an aeronautical engineer in the aircraft industry. The papers also consist of technical papers, photos, and public relations brochures related to his career at the Ford Motor Company's Research & Engineering Center including a collaborative research project with the late Prof. Harm Buning in 1966 with the University of Michigan wind tunnel on North Campus.

The papers show glimpses of a University of Michigan Engineering School graduate in aeronautical engineering starting his career in a defense plant during World War II, entering the private aircraft industry in California, after the war's end, then returning to the Detroit area to work for a Big Three automobile manufacturer--the Ford Motor Company. The value of the engineering school training can be seen in the accomplishments of Francis N. Beauvais who applied his skills as an aeronautical engineer to development of aerodynamic testing of Ford automobiles and also collaboration as an alumnus with the University of Michigan's Engineering School in 1966 in solving a problem. Included are some war time ephemera and later brochures from Ford Motor Company. A special set of 12 black and white photos was taken in 1941 showing test apparatus inside the original University of Michigan wind tunnel in the East Engineering building. There are also some color slides showing various university buildings, the Indiana v. Michigan homecoming football game of 1946, the arboretum, and some scenes around Ann Arbor.

University of Michigan staff photographer, 1913-1947 and commercial photographer in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Collection includes some manuscript material but is primarily photographic prints and negatives made by Swain. Photo subjects include university buildings, faculty, and student activities, archeological expeditions to the Near East and, Ann Arbor scenes and landscapes form his travels in the western United States and Canada.

The papers and photographs of George R. Swain mainly document Swain's accomplishments as university photographer at the University of Michigan from 1913 to 1947. Researchers should note, however, that this is only a sampling of the photographer's work during these years. The Kelsey Museum of Archaeology at the University of Michigan has an extensive collection of Swain's archaeological negatives and prints, and researchers interested in his full career will want to also look at the Kelsey collection. The Bentley Library material, while including several folders of fine photographs Swain made on his travels with Professor Frances Kelsey, for the most part documents Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan.

The collection at the Bentley Library consists of three series: Miscellaneous Papers; Photographers Log; and Photographs (prints; negatives; and lantern slides. Since the bulk of the collection is comprised of early twentieth century images of Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan, the materials will be of most interest to researchers searching for visual documentation of this part of the state in that time period. There are very few materials beyond the visual, although the lengthy captions attached to many overseas images and the essays, diaries, and letters, are extremely interesting and offer insight into how Swain approached his craft, both as a professional photographer and in his personal work.

Alumni magazine currently published by the University of Michigan News Services. Records include complete run of the print publication, selected online issues, and photographs collected in preparation for publication.

The Michigan Today records (4 linear feet and digital files) date from 1968 to 2007 and will be received on an ongoing basis. These records constitute a full run of the publication, as well as additional materials documenting the photographic research process. There are four series in the collection: Michigan Today: Print Edition, Michigan Today: Online Edition, Photographs, and Michigan Today: NewsE.

The Michigan Today: Online Edition series consists of the digital files used to publish the magazine to the web. It contains selected issues from the early online version of Michigan Today (published from March 1993 to July 2007) and all issues of the current online version of Michigan Today. Beginning in 2001, unique content was created for the online version of Michigan Today. An "Alumnae/Alumni News" section was published exclusively in the online version of the magazine and a "Books" section was published with additional content in the online version of the publication. Also, the current online version of Michigan Today published from September 2007 is included in this series. This represents the primary version of Michigan Today still being published.

University of Michigan administrator; reports and other data relating to the budgetary and physical operation of University of Michigan.

The Williams collection consists entirely of reports, studies, and other documentation accumulated in his role as University of Michigan administrator. This includes notebooks containing reports and other data relating to the budgetary and physical operation of University of Michigan; reports with information on the financial status and characteristics of University faculty members; and statistical reports relating to students attending the University.

Surveillance-type and other photos of student demonstrations at the University of Michigan.

Photographs and negatives, 1969-1970, showing student unrest on the University of Michigan campus and nearby. Includes protests over interviews conducted on campus, Black Action movement, the ROTC takeover, vandalism and other demonstrations of protest.

The Safford Sunderland papers trace several generations of a Southeastern Michigan family, showcasing everyday life and Michigan (as well as U.S.) history over the course of the first half of the Twentieth Century.

The Safford Sunderland Family collection consists of the papers of Gertrude Sunderland Safford, her husband Homer E. Safford, his sister Ada M. Safford, and of two of the Sunderland Saffords' daughters, Helen Safford Toohy and Mildred H. Safford. The papers also contain information on and materials from Gertrude Sunderland Safford's parents, Jabez T. Sunderland and Eliza Jane Read Sunderland; her siblings, Edson Read Sunderland and Florence Sunderland; and the Sunderland Saffords' other two children, Truman Sunderland Safford and Virginia Safford Arnold. Additionally, there is some material from and on Helen Safford Toohy's husband (Clifford M. Toohy) and daughters (Janet Toohy Ferguson and Phyllis Toohy). Finally, the collection contains Ada Murray Safford's extensive genealogical materials on the Murray and Safford families.

The papers are organized into six series arranged by family member: Photographs, Gertrude Sunderland Safford, Homer Erwin Safford, Ada Murray Safford, Mildred Hortense Safford, and Helen Safford Toohy.

The Class Albums collection consists of photograph albums compiled by University of Michigan students. The albums include individual and group portraits of class members, faculty portraits, and views of university buildings, the campus, and Ann Arbor scenes.

The albums are arranged under series which are listed here chronologically by volume. Arrangement of photographs within volumes often begins with portraits faculty and administrators followed student portraits. Some volumes also include photos of campus buildings and other individuals. The portraits in each section are sometimes arranged alphabetically, but frequently there is no apparent order. Photos in most volumes have been given sequential identifying numbers. In the contents list below, the portraits are generally listed in alphabetical order with the identifying number in square brackets.

Photos of student and faculty activities, research, the campus, athletics, and individuals, used in University publications.

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.