Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

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.

The Museums was comprised of the Museums of Anthropology, Zoology, and Paleontology, the Herbarium, and the Museum of Natural History (formerly, the Exhibit Museum). The record group consists of committee files; records related to the construction of the Museums building, including correspondence with architect Albert Kahn; topical files of directors including Alexander Ruthven and Carl Guthe; and topical files of Irving G. Reimann, prefect of exhibits.

The records of the University of Michigan Museums measure four linear feet (and one oversize folder) and date from 1863 to 1976. The great majority of the material, however, falls between 1930 and 1970. The files have been arranged alphabetically.

The bulk of the material consists of files created from two sources: various committees involved in the Museums' governance or Irving Reimann. The committee records are detailed and are particularly complete for the Operating Committee (1945-1956). This committee's documentation is supplemented by various other committee records.

Most of the records created by Reimann relate to the planning or construction of exhibits, as well as the public role of the Museums. This material makes up the bulk of the non-committee files, supplemented by an extensive run of reports (1935-1969). A few records created before Reimann's appointment also exist. These are generally items authored by either Guthe or Ruthven. Of particular interest from Ruthven's era are files (located under "Building") discussing the construction of the Museums building between 1925 and 1928. Records include substantive correspondence between Ruthven and the building's architect, Albert Kahn. Guthe is represented by the Works Progress Administration's Michigan Museum project (located under "Works Progress Administration, Statewide Museum Project").

Ten series of negatives, slides and copy prints documenting all aspects of University of Michigan life and activities, includes prints used in the University Record.

The News and Information Services Photographs document many aspects of university and community life, particularly activities of the administration, faculty, departments, and students beginning in 1946 and continuing into the early 1980s. Photographs were, for the most part, made by the staff of the News Service (later Information Services and now News and Information Services) for use with university press releases, or upon request of individuals with the university, or for outside media with special interests in university personnel or activities.

The record group presently consists of 10 series (A-J).

The series are comprised primarily of black and white negatives and contact sheets, although Series E includes six linear feet and one oversize box of prints, most of which are 8" x 10" black and white images, and Series H includes color transparencies. There are also prints in Series I, Series J, slides in Series E and I, and a 16 mm film in Series I. Color negatives become more frequent in the late 1980s.

The original order and file headings created by News and Information Services have been retained wherever possible. Thus, the several lettered series reflect various organizational schemes used in the past.

Records of astronomical observatories operated by the University of Michigan including the Detroit Observatory on the Ann Arbor campus (1855-), the Lamont-Hussey Observatory (Bloemfontein, South Africa, 1928-), the McMath-Hulbert Observatory (Portage Lake, Michigan, 1935-1979), the Portage Lake/Peach Mountain Observatory (Dexter, Michigan, 1948-. Records include correspondence files, administrative files, observation notebooks, photographs and architectural drawings.

The University of Michigan Observatory records include those of the Lamont-Hussey Observatory, the McMath-Hulbert Observatory, the Peach Mountain Observatory, the Angell Hall Laboratory, the Department of Astronomy, and records of faculty members. Documentation consists of correspondence, astronomical and meteorological observation records, financial records, reports, scrapbooks and blueprints. The collection is divided into seven series: Correspondence, Observatories, Department of Astronomy, Scrapbooks and Clippings, Observation Charts and Notebooks, Photographs, and Blueprints.

University of Michigan office established in 1973 to counsel students in matters of faith and morality, successor to several organizations concerned with student religious activity. Records are mainly of predecessor organizations, the Student Christian Association (1860-1937) and the Student Religious Association (1937- 1956), but does include some records of the Office of Religious Affairs (1956- 1973) and of successor organization, the Office of Ethics and Religion (1973- 1991); also records of component and related organizations, including the University of Michigan chapters of the Young Men's Christian Association and the Young Women's Christian Association and the Association of Religious Counselors.

Although the name given to this group of records is the University of Michigan Office of Ethics and Religion, the researcher should note that the records consist primarily of predecessor organizations, the Student Christian Association (SCA), the Student Religious Association (SRA), and the Office of Religious Affairs, as well as component and ancillary organizations such as the University of Michigan Young Men's Christian Association, the Young Women's Christian Association, the Association of Religious Counselors, and the Christian Federation Advisors.

The record group begins with a summary history of the organization written by C. Grey Austin and entitled A Century of Religion at the University of Michigan (1957). Covering the period up to the establishment of the Office of Religious Affairs, this history provides solid information about the role of religion at the university and the activities and restructuring of the SCA and the SRA. Written by the same individual who wrote the sections on the two organizations in The University of Michigan; An Encyclopedic Survey, this volume is more detailed than those summaries and should be consulted first for background information.

Officially established in 1959, the Office of Research supports and administers large interdisciplinary projects called research centers and administers research institutes. The record group includes individual vice president's files, central office files, staff files, financial records, administrative files, committee and task force documents and reports, special event files, and project and institute files.

The records of the vice-president for research date from 1911 to 2013 and measure 323.5 linear feet, 1 oversize box and 157 MB of digital materials. The records document the activities of the office overseeing grant funded research at the University of Michigan and offer some insight into the range of research undertaken at the university. Records include administrative files of vice-presidents, including correspondence, memoranda, and budgetary material relating to research projects and grants of university units and departments; and photographs.

The organization of the records, particularly the early accessions, reflects the tenure of the successive vice presidents for research. Later accessions included files of associate vice-presidents and senior staff officers as well topically organized files that spanned the tenure of several vice presidents. The records are organized into the following series:

1. A. Geoffrey Newman -- Boxes 1-15, 70-71
2. Charles Overberger -- Boxes 15-69
3. Charles Overberger/Warren Sussman -- Boxes 72-87
4. Linda S. Wilson,-- Boxes 88-100
5. William C. Kelly -- Boxes 102-105
6. Central Files -- Boxes 108-127, 180-210, 266-275, Boxes 277-301, Boxes 311-322
7. OVPR Staff Files -- Boxes 128-134
8. Julie Ellison -- Boxes 135-136
9. Marvin Parnes -- Boxes 137-146
10. OVPR Financial and Administrative Files -- Boxes 147-148
11. Administrative Files -- Boxes 149-150, Boxes 323-324
12. Committees and Task forces -- 151-164
13. Michigan Memorial Phoenix Project and Ford Nuclear Reactor -- Boxes 165 --166, 218-219
14. Special Events, Symposiums, and Promotional -- Boxes 167-170, 275
15. Presidential Initiatives Fund -- Boxes 171-179
16. Contractual Restrictions Requests (PAF-R's) -- Boxes 213-216
17. Michigan Life Science's Corridor -- Boxes 216-218
18. Discretionary Fund -- Boxes 220-264
19. Indirect Waivers -- Boxes 265
20. Research Faculty Appointments -- Boxes 276, Box 322
21. Washington D.C. Office -- Boxes 302-310

Records of unit responsible for facilities management and regulatory compliance at the University of Michigan. Includes minutes, correspondence, reports, proposals, and archived websites.

The records of the Office of the Associate Vice President for Facilities and Operations are contained in two series, Topical and Archived Website.

Executive office at the University of Michigan serving as liaison between the Board of Regents and the executive officers of the university. Coordinates and manages policy and governance matters for and facilitates communication between the two bodies. Responsible for coordinating the business affairs of the Board of Regents and maintaining official Board records. Includes records from Secretaries Richard L. Kennedy, Roberta Palmer, Lisa Tedesco, and Sally Churchill.

The Vice President and Secretary of the University records group (36.5 linear feet) dates from 1935-2007, with the majority of records dating from 1987-2007, and starts with Secretary Richard L. Kennedy. The majority of the records are from secretaries Kennedy and Lisa Tedesco. The collection includes records related to the performance of the various functions of the Secretary and consists of four major series: Functions and Roles of the Secretary, Board of Regents, Secretaries of the University, and Topical Files.

The first classes in art at the University of Michigan were offered in 1906 by the Department of Architecture. In 1926, a program in decorative arts was housed in the College of Engineering and Architecture. Art evolved as a discipline, moving through the colleges of engineering and architecture to become the School of Art, an autonomous institution, in 1974. It became the School of Art & Design in 1996. The records focus on the evaluation and review of the program in the 1970s and early 1980s during the budget crisis faced by the university. The records also contain minutes of the Executive Committee and the Faculty Committee, from the mid-1970s to 1999.

The School of Art & Design records are composed of six series: Topical Files, 1970-1987; Committees; Correspondence; Topical Files, 1980-2000; Visual Materials; and Website. There is a separate collection of printed material. The majority of the records document the years from 1975 to 1999, a crucial period in the school's history as it was formally established as a school in its own right and later experienced serious budget reductions.

The University of Michigan Photo and Campus Services is a comprehensive photographic unit established to meet the needs of the schools, colleges, departments, and other units within the university as well as individuals within the university community. In existence since 1948, the unit officially became part of News and Information Services in 1997. Services include photographic reproduction and studio and location photography.

The photographic images in the Photo and Campus Services record group represent a small portion of the images created by the unit. The photographic materials are divided into three series based on format: Slides, Portrait Negatives, and Photographs.