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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.

The University of Michigan's highest governing body is the Board of Regents. The Regents deal with virtually every aspect of university policy and campus life. The records of the Regents reflect this broad range of interests and authority. This record group contains exhibits from meetings beginning in 1899. These exhibits are the most complete record of the actions of the Regents, supplementing and detailing the published minutes Proceedings of the Board of Regents. Additional documentation in this record group includes manuscript minutes, 1837-1870, correspondence, material by and about the Regents, photographs, audio recordings of meetings, 1977-2011, and material on recent presidential searches.

As the official governing body of the university, the Regents deal with virtually every aspect of university policy and life. The records of the Regents--which includes exhibits of Regents' meetings, topical files, correspondence files, audio and visual material, and archived web content--reflect this broad range of interests and authority. But while the documentation is wide-ranging, it is not continuous. Certain types of records are continually before the Regents, particularly information regarding salaries, leaves of absence, appointments to faculty positions, and formal approval of degrees conferred upon students. More often, however, the Regents are presented with a specific problem and asked to resolve it through the creation of policy. After the creation and successful implementation of a policy, the situation which caused the issue to arise is usually no longer a matter of Regental concern. The Regents' records reflect this pattern of action. Issues arise, are resolved, and then are supplanted by new concerns.

University of Michigan professor of Greek; Assistant to the President; papers include correspondence, writings, pencil sketches and photographs, topical files.

The papers of Frank Egleston Robbins consist of materials from his work as the assistant to the university president, and his other activities within the university. The series are: Correspondence, Miscellaneous, Writings, Visual Materials and Assistant to the President Topical Files.

The University of Michigan's first professional school; the Medical School record group includes historical and administrative records related to the school and its faculty and administrators, 1850-2010.

The records of the Medical School span over 160 years, beginning in 1850 and continuing through 2010. They include 389.7 linear feet of material, 10 oversize volumes, 9 oversize folders of miscellaneous documents, and 3.3 GB of digital material stored online. The records include dean's correspondence and subject files, executive committee minutes, faculty minutes, annual reports of departments, school accreditation and review files, a variety of special reports and studies, and extensive files on the Replacement Hospital Project (Taubman Center). The record group also contains photo prints depicting faculty, students and facilities, including a remarkable series of photographs taken by J. Jefferson Gibson circa 1893.

The Medical School records have been organized into five subgroups: Dean's Records, Subordinate Administrative Officers, Faculty Records, Audio-Visual Materials, and Miscellaneous records. Within each subgroup there are a number of series and these series may be further subdivided to reflect the date span of the records received in each accession.

The Medical School records have been received in several accessions and the physical arrangement of the records (the number order of the boxes) reflects the various installments in which they were received. The accessions sometimes reflected the tenure of a particular dean or other administrator, but frequently appear to have been somewhat arbitrary transfers of files. Records from individual subgroups, series and subseries often continue across multiple accessions--sometimes with consecutive date ranges, but often with overlapping date spans.

In this finding aid the records are described in their intellectual order -- subgroups and series are brought together irrespective of the particular accession in which they were received. As a result, in the detailed contents listing the box number order will not always be consecutive.

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.

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.