Search

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.

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 Office of the President records group includes the records of University of Michigan Presidents Robben Fleming, 1968-1978 and 1988 (interim); Allan Smith, 1979 (interim); Harold T. Shapiro, 1980-1987; James J. Duderstadt, 1988-1996; Homer Neal, 1996-1997 (interim); Lee C. Bollinger, 1997-2001; B. Joseph White, 2002 (interim); Mary Sue Coleman (2002-2014); and Mark Schlissel (2014-present). The record group includes annual files from the Office of the President, which include topical files and schools and colleges files. Other series in the record group include supplemental files for each president, search files, committee appointment files, audio and visual materials, development files, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) files, and ephemera.

The records of the University of Michigan President contain the central files created and collected by the President and members of the President's staff. There is some content inherited from earlier presidents, but the record group effectively begins in 1967 with the administration of Robben W. Fleming and continues through successive administrations. (Records of Presidents prior to Fleming are cataloged under the name of the individual office holder).

The University of Michigan President's records are organized into the following series: Topical Files; Schools and Colleges Files; Supplemental Files; Search Files; Committee Appointment Files; Development; Facilities; Freedom of Information Act; Audio-Visual Material Files; Ephemera; Archived Website. Three first three series are major recurring series (Topical, Schools and Colleges, and Supplemental Files). The additional series (Committee Appointment; Searches; Development; Facilities; Freedom of Information Act; Audio-Visual Material Files; Ephemera; Archived Website) are not consistently created or predictably transferred.

Although the series are collectively described, the actual ordering of the boxes in the contents listing are not necessarily consecutive given the timing and sequence of transfers. For a summary bringing all boxes together under a particular series, see the Summary Contents list for a collective representation of boxes.

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.)

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.

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.