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The collection includes correspondence, 1982-2003, and undated, concerning the planning, financing and construction of the Student Activity Center (SAC) at Central Michigan University (CMU).

This collection consists mainly of correspondence dealing with the planning, financing, and construction of the SAC. Key people involved in the process and correspondences were Jerry Scoby (Director of Business Services and Assistant Vice President for Business Affairs), Kim Ellertson (Vice President of Business and Finance), and Tim Jones (Director of Campus Recreation).

Box 1 in this collection contains documents generally focusing on the immediate planning and building of the recreation center, 1983-1990.

Phase I of the SAC Project began in 1983 and focused on proposals for and the planning of the campus’s recreation building, and the renovation of several other buildings on campus, including: remodeling the President’s house, the physical plant building, and a library addition.

There are numerous correspondences between the University and the Nuveen Co., which was chosen to be the senior manager of the projects and the financial advisor. The letters discuss different funding avenues for the projects, including the use of student bonds.

In addition, there is documentation of several other capital projects that the university was planning and funding in conjunction with the SAC. One such project was the Biomass Wood Fuel Plant and Telephone Systems Project (aka Woodchip).

Phase II of the project began in 1987 and comprised the final approval of designs and schematics of the building, and topographical surveys of the land. Most of the letters are between Anthony Paparella, the University Architect, and TMP Associates, the firm chosen for design development.

Included are a sampling of Construction Invoices, 1986-2000, that show areas of main concern in the building, as well as issues that arose during construction and additions and subtractions that were made due to budgetary limitations. There are documents discussing if a student membership fee should exist and how it should be implemented, tuition-based or as an outside fee. Also included are financial records documenting the University’s attempt to raise $25 million for the multiple projects, Bond Revenue Statistics, 1987-1989.

Box 2 contains documents pertaining to after the recreation center was opened, 1990-2003, as well as other properties that the University owned.

Letters discussing food services that should be offered in the new building are part of the collection, including the mission statement of FAST BREAK, a healthy food store. The internal audit of 1992 listed the weak points of the SAC, such as the definition of outside users and funding for equipment replacement, and offered recommended solutions.

In the ‘Budget and Finance’ folder there are letters that address the financial structure of the SAC. This was a main concern because the SAC was originally funded entirely from the General Fund, which meant that all of the money its services made would automatically go back into the University and be equally divided among other campus institutions. There was also concern that under this structure the building would continuously be in a state of financial default. In order to avoid this, administrators of the SAC wanted it to be listed as an auxiliary institution of the University.

There is also a folder of issues that the SAC faced. Issues included, how encompassing the University’s insurance was in relation to unauthorized access of children and teams granted by current employees, and illegal entry by students using fake or duplicate IDs. There is a response written by Kim Ellertson concerning an article titled, “Staff ignored threat pools of blood posed.” There was also concern over improper videoing and photographing of people working out, as well as the loss of intramural sports fields due to the new football stadium and the expanding network of new facilities related to the SAC. An unusual issue that arose was the public protest following an Anheuser Busch visit. According to the letters, Anheuser set up their tent in the SAC on the same day as the Isabella County United Way was hosting a Red Hacker carnival for children. The matter worsened because a one-day liquor license was purchased for the SAC and the famous “Bud Girls” were allowed to freely walk around the building. Employees of the SAC felt that by allowing this to happen, especially during a children’s day, the University was living up to its party college name instead of dispelling it.

This box also contains several plans to try to offset the building costs of the SAC, including: a market plan to attract more outside donors and the selling of numerous University-owned properties.

Interesting documents to note are those concerning Riverwood Golf, which document the University’s desire to purchase a golf course, and those concerning the Ann Arbor Railroad Company when the University attempted to purchase the tracks that run through campus.

Processing Note: During processing approximately 0.25 cubic feet of duplicate materials were withdrawn from the collection and shredded.

Transcriptions (copies) of oral history projects created by Central Michigan university faculty and students mostly of Central Michigan University (CMU) faculty, staff, students, and alumni, documenting their diverse experiences at Central Michigan University, in Mount Pleasant.

Transcriptions (copies) of oral history projects created by Central Michigan university faculty and students mostly of Central Michigan University (CMU) faculty, staff, students, and alumni, documenting their diverse experiences at Central Michigan University, in Mount Pleasant. One oral history is of a Michigan Native American woman discussing her memories of her family members who were forced to attend the Mount Pleasant Indian School, her experiences of the school's impact on her family and the tribe, and memories of one family member who graduated from eighth grade at a Michigan Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp. Currently, all of these transcriptions CLOSED to researchers unless permission is granted by Professor Jay Martin. The collection is ongoing.

Organization founded in 1995 to encourage increased visibility and acceptance and appreciation of the lesbian/gay/bisexual and transgender community in Washtenaw County through education and political action. Materials received by the Bentley Historical Library in 2001 contain records primarily from the 1990s while materials received in 2013 are made up of records mostly from the 2000s. This organization's records contain meeting minutes, staff communications through email, and other documents relevant to the operation of the organization as well as how they carried out events and projects that aided the organization's purpose.

The Washtenaw Rainbow Action Project records came to the library in two accessions, in September 2001 and July 2013. The 2001 accession material (3.5 linear feet, Boxes 1-4) includes the earliest records in the WRAP record group and date from the period when the Ann Arbor/Washtenaw County chapter of the Michigan Campaign for Human Dignity was active in its opposition to the 1994 anti-gay ballot proposal. The bulk of the records in this accession, however, date from the period of 1995 to 2000 following the reorganization of MCHD-Washtenaw into the Washtenaw Rainbow Action Project. They reflect well the day-to-day workings of the organization, its publicity efforts and the various events it sponsored.

The 2001 accession material (3.5 linear feet) is divided into four series: Michigan Campaign for Human Dignity - Washtenaw County chapter, 1993-1995; Administrative; Education and Outreach; and Political Action. Much of the communication done within the organization was handled through e-mail. This included correspondence and minutes of board meetings. As a result, casual and tangential matters often became part of the official record. To conserve space while preserving the integrity of a train of thought or "conversation," the processing archivists decided to retain the final copy of a message as it usually also contained a long string of previous forwards and replies. Much of the material in the record group, particularly meeting minutes and correspondence, was recorded by Jim Toy, an active member of WRAP's board of directors and onetime secretary.

The 2013 accession material (16 linear feet, Boxes 5-17) contains mostly documents from the early 2000s. Material in the 2013 accession is divided into four series: Administrative, Events, Finance, and Projects. A large portion of the WRAP records in this accession are staff communications through email, particularly in the Administrative, and Events and Projects, series.