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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.

Records generated by administrators and offices charged with the financial activities of the University, including Secretary and Vice-President Shirley W. Smith and Controller and Assistant Secretary John C. Christensen; include general University financial records; records of land; trust fund records; proposed development and construction projects; operating records of buildings, divisions and other units.

The records of Financial Operations date from 1837 to 1982, primarily after 1910. The 27 linear feet of manuscript material, 52 oversized volumes and one reel of microfilm reflect not only the financial records normally associated with an accounting office, but also the broad range of subjects which became a concern under the leadership of Shirley Smith. What would eventually become Financial Operations may have served as a records storage office for many of the other units under Smith's control. In any event, Financial Operations became the guardian of a wide variety of records, documenting the University in a number of ways not normally expected of an accounting service.

Of particular note, the collection contains a variety of different record formats. Bound materials, in the form of books, are included in the boxes and when numbering more than one, are listed in the finding aid as multiple volumes. The collection also contains oversized volumes, in the form of large accounting books. These oversized volumes are numbered and stored separately. They are listed in the finding aid where intellectually appropriate, and designated by volume number. Enclosed in this finding aid is an index of the oversized volumes, organized by number, and their contents.

The collection is divided into six series: General University Financial Records; Trust Fund Records; Records of Land, Proposed Development and Construction; Operating Records of Buildings, Divisions and other Units; Miscellaneous Reports, Studies and Volumes; and Accounting Office Records.

Chairman of the department of political science at University of Michigan. Correspondence, reports, manuscript articles, book reviews, lecture notes, and miscellaneous papers concerning family affairs and his academic interests in political science and international law.

The Reeves papers largely concern JSR's activities as professor (also chairman) of the University of Michigan Department of Political Science from his appointment in 1910 until his retirement in 1937. The great bulk of the collection consists of Reeves' correspondence. With this is a smaller series of such other materials as lectures, research materials, professional organizational materials. As an aid to accessing the correspondence, a selective index of correspondents and subjects has been prepared and is appended to the following containing listing.

Professor of history at Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan; correspondence, family materials, scrapbooks, and photographs.

The Chase collection consists of correspondence, family materials, scrapbooks, and photographs. The correspondence dates from 1894 to 1955. One folder of letters is between Chase and James Cochran in which they discuss southern and northern attitudes toward Blacks. The family materials include letters of his mother Delia to Clara and Mary Noyes, and thirteen letters of the Chase-Beach family. There are also genealogical papers and a manuscript of "Personal Recollections of the Civil War" by Delia Chase. The scrapbook series includes letters, clippings, programs and photographs. One volume concerns Wilbert B. Hinsdale, Northern Michigan University, the Michigan School for the Blind in Lansing, and the Chase family. Correspondents include: James B. Angell, Harriet Bates, Alberta Chase, Cornelia Chase, George W. Chase, Edna Ferber, Archibald MacLeish, Thomas Mann, Ambrose M. Shotwell, Shirley W. Smith, Isabel Van Tyne, and Alexander Woolcott.

Correspondence and other files of University of Michigan Secretary Shirley W. Smith and of Controller and Assistant Secretary John C. Christensen. The files document university operations, relations with the state legislature, business and financial matters, buildings and grounds, and such university events as the graduation commencement. The files also relate to the university's struggles during the Depression to maintain its facilities and to provide employment for deserving students as seen in its relations with the Federal Emergency Relief Administration and the National Youth Administration. There are also earlier collected files of treasurers George S. Baker and James H. Wade.

The records of the University of Michigan Secretary, although including earlier materials from the mid-nineteenth century, are in fact the files of secretary Shirley Wheeler Smith and of controller and assistant secretary John C. Christensen and date primarily from 1908 to 1944.

The secretary was the official who performed much of the detail work involved in the administration of the university. The files of the secretary and of those individuals who worked under him pertain to matters of operations, relations with the state legislature, business and financial dealings, building and grounds, and management of university-wide events (particularly commencements). Within these files, the researcher will also find documentation of the university's struggles during the depression to maintain its facilities and to provide financial aid through employment to deserving students. This information will be found in a topical files series under the headings Federal Emergency Relief Administration and National Youth Administration.

The miscellaneous folders in this record group that fall before the period when Smith was secretary consist of collected materials accumulated by the university's treasurer and pertain to financial dealings of the university (land transactions, bequests, etc.)

Saginaw, Michigan, lumberman and businessman, and Michigan State Tax Commissioner, 1912 and wildlife conservationist and sportsman. Papers include extensive correspondence files, business records and photographs.

The William Mershon collection consists of correspondence dealing with Mershon's various activities as a lumberman, Saginaw businessman, and member of the State Tax Commission in 1912. Subjects included in the papers are Michigan wildlife conservation, the Michigan Sportsmen Association, the Michigan Manufacturers Association, the Michigan State Tax Commission, Michigan politics, the Democratic party, personal business investments, lumbering and mining interest, and personal affairs.

The collection also includes diaries, a book of notes on hunting and fishing trips, and various business records such as cash books, time books, ledgers, and journals. These primarily concern his investments and lumbering business. Many of the business records are available on microfilm. The collection also includes photographs.