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Professor of civil engineering and specialist in soil mechanics at the University of Michigan. Correspondence, daily logs of activities, class materials, conference and lecture files, and professional reports and soil investigation studies; and photographs.

The Housel papers include correspondence, newspaper clippings, lectures, conference materials, class materials, and various reports and studies of soil investigations. Of interest is a series of daily logs kept by Housel in the period 1962-1968 and which concern some of his consulting projects.

Professor of electrical engineering at the University of Michigan. Files documenting his scientific research and professional activities, notably his studies of high-frequency power welding, vacuum tube development, gas discharge plasma, microwave electron tubes, use of rockets and satellites in investigations of the upper atmosphere, missile guidance systems, and military electronics; files relating to his involvement with various University of Michigan research centers and institutes; and photographs.

The William G. Dow Papers document his career as a faculty member of the University of Michigan Department of Electrical Engineering, his scientific research, his participation in professional organizations, and his other professional interests and activities. The collection also contains copies of published and unpublished technical and professional papers written by Dow, and two unpublished books. The papers include lecture notes taken by Dow, texts of lectures given by Dow and others, course materials used in Dow's classes, correspondence, minutes, reports, raw data, photographs, and other material relating to Dow's research. The papers are composed of six series: University of Michigan Activities, Research, Professional Organizations, Articles, Books and Talks, Topical Files, Correspondence, and Photographs. There is a great deal of overlap between theses series, as Dow was often engaged in educational, research, publishing, and professional activities simultaneously. Researchers are advised to consult the entire collection. A small group of biographical and bibliographical materials begins the collection.

Senior engineering society at the University of Michigan. Minutes of meetings, constitution, membership lists, and photographs.

The Vulcans record group consists of minutes, financial records, and photographs relating to the activities of the Vulcan Honors Society. In addition to two boxes of manuscript material and photographs, the record group includes an oversized folder of composite and group photographs of Vulcans.

Professor of humanities in the College of Engineering of the University of Michigan. Reminiscences and family history; files relating to his administrative responsibilities at the University; essay written by Jan Veering, and edited by Sawyer, describing Veering's year in Ann Arbor, Michigan, as a visiting Dutch scholar to the University of Michigan.

The Sawyer papers have been arranged into two series: Reminiscences and Family History which provides personal information on Sawyer and relates to memorable experiences during World War II and travels abroad and University Activities which is comprised of materials relating to Sawyer's activities at the University of Michigan in the period 1951-1986.

University of Michigan professor of engineering mechanics; papers include biographical information, writings, visual materials, and World War II letters of his two sons.

The collection of Richard Liddicoat is contained in four small series: Biographical Information/Personal Material, Writings, Visual Materials, and World War II Letters of his two sons Richard and William.

Ralph A. Loomis was a professor of English in the English and Humanities department of the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan. He made significant contributions to faculty governance while teaching at the University of Michigan, 1953-1993. The collection ranges from 1963 to 1989 (bulk 1968-1975, 1983). The records contain information on the College of Engineering and the Department of English, including the dissolution of the Department and Loomis' involvement in many committees on campus, and documentation of the Johnathan Marwil court case.

As an active member of committees at both the University of Michigan and as a member of the AAUP, Ralph Loomis comprehensively collected correspondence and memoranda from the work of Department of English and Humanities committees, College of Engineering committees, and University committees established by the Senate Assembly and SACUA, as well as various ad hoc committees established by the university.

As a member of the AAUP, Ralph Loomis collected a wide array of correspondence, memoranda, and minutes of the university, state, and national chapters, as well as working committees of those chapters. Especially interesting is the collection of papers relating to collective bargaining. These papers include speeches that Ralph Loomis gave on collective bargaining, as well as papers relating to the collective bargaining elections at Eastern Michigan, Northern Michigan, and Wayne State, which occurred during 1971 to 1972.

The collection is divided into four major series: Department of Humanities/English, College of Engineering, University of Michigan, American Association of University Professors, Dissolving of the Department, General Files, and Johnathan Marwil Case.

Central academic administrative unit of the University of Michigan which functions as chief executive assistant to the president, responsible for appointments and promotions with oversight for schools, colleges, educational units and programs; including budget planning, legislative relations, institutional research, and affirmative action policies. Supplemental Files subgroup includes material on a number of subjects that was filed separately from the vice presidents' or staff's papers when the record group was received.

The Supplemental Files subgroup of the record group Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs consists of 155 linear feet (in 159 boxes) and spans the years from 1953 to 2013. This subgroup consists of material that was not interfiled with the vice presidents' or staff's papers when the record group was received. The records generally were not created or maintained by any one staff member in the Office of Academic Affairs, but rather are the result of the examination of a particular issue or topic over a period of time by a variety of people.

There are 14 series of varying sizes which comprise this subgroup. For an alphabetical list of the series in this subgroup, please consult the Summary Contents List in the Arrangement section of the finding aid.

Central academic administrative unit of the University of Michigan which functions as chief executive assistant to the president, responsible for appointments and promotions with oversight for schools, colleges, educational units and programs; including budget planning, legislative relations, institutional research, and affirmative action policies. The Staff Files subgroup contains the files of individual of vice-presidents, associate and assistant vice-presidents, and other staff members within the vice-president's office.

The Staff Files subgroup of the record group Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs consists of 570 linear feet and spans the years from 1947 to 2013. The Staff Files subgroup is comprised of the records of the associate and assistant vice presidents for academic affairs. Whereas the records of the Central Files subgroup often contain finished products, such as reports and policy statements, the Staff Files subgroup tends to document the process of policy formation and other decision-making functions. Scattered through the associate and assistant vice presidents' papers, for example, are frank statements of opinion regarding various schools and programs, candidates for promotion, and the relationship between the branches of the university, as well as notes on meetings with faculty members, committee activities, and other subjects.

The Staff Files subgroup includes the records of the following past and current associate and assistant vice presidents, listed in the order in which their records first appear in the boxlist: Ernest R. Zimmermann, Carolyne K. Davis, Edward A. Dougherty, Richard A. English, Robert L. Williams, John H. Romani, Mary Ann Swain, Robert S. Holbrook, W. Allen Spivey, Robert B. Holmes, Niara Sudarkasa, Robin Jacoby, Robert Sauve, E. Kay Dawson, Susan Lipschutz, Paul Courant, Marilyn Knepp, Pamela A. Raymond, Katharine Soper, Karen Gibbons, John Godfrey, Nancy Cantor, A. Lawrence Fincher, Ralph P. Nichols, Valerie Castle, Glenda Haskell, Linda Gillum, Janet Weiss, Ben van der Plijm, Sharon Schmidt, Kathleen (Kati) Bauer, James Hilton, Stephanie Riegle, Catherine Shaw, Philip Hanlon, Teresa Sullivan, Anne Berens, Brian Konz, John King, Lester Monts, Martha E. Pollack, Lori Haskins, and Ron Fitzgerald. The records of an individual, while still in office, are received by the archives on an ongoing basis.

Central academic administrative unit of the University of Michigan which functions as chief executive assistant to the president, responsible for appointments and promotions with oversight for schools, colleges, educational units and programs; including budget planning, legislative relations, institutional research, and affirmative action policies. Central Files subgroup includes correspondence files of vice-presidents, associate and assistant vice-presidents, and other staff members within the vice-president's office.

The records of the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs date from 1947 to 1997 and total more than 675 linear feet. The records are a rich source of information on the University of Michigan from the 1960s to the present. They contain a wide variety of material documenting the concerns of the administration and, to a lesser extent, the faculty and students regarding academic programs, student and faculty activities, and the administrative operations of the University of Michigan.

The records, which include the provost's files as well as the files of associate and assistant vice presidents, are arranged in three subgroups: Central Files, Staff Files, and Supplemental Files. The Central Files subgroup consists of the records maintained by the provost's office and is discussed in greater detail below. The Staff Files subgroup includes the records of assistant and associate vice presidents and of the assistants to the provost. The Supplemental Files subgroup contains material on specific topics to which a number of academic affairs staff contributed their efforts, including retreats, unit reviews, and searches. Each of the subgroups is fully described in a separate finding aid.

It should be noted that some of the records in the record group predate the founding of the Office of Academic Affairs. Such records were generally brought by vice presidents or staff members from previous positions or inherited from persons who formerly performed their duties.

The Central Files subgroup consists of 605 linear feet dating from the creation of the Office of Academic Affairs in the academic year 1961/1962 to 2012/2013. The records consist primarily of correspondence, minutes and other committee files, reports, and budget materials, reflecting the broad range of responsibilities and functions of the provost. Whereas the records of the Staff Files subgroup tend to document the process of policy formation and decision-making functions, the Central Files records more often contain finished products, such as reports and policy statements. For the researcher interested in the provost's views on a particular topic or issue, or the Office of Academic Affairs involvement in the academic and financial life of various schools and colleges, the Central Files subgroup is the single best starting point.

The records of the Central Files subgroup are broken into series by academic year, and each series consists of one or more of the following subseries: Alphabetical Files, Schools and Colleges Files, and Chronological Files. From 1961/1962 through 1973/1974 the series each consist of one subseries of Alphabetical Files. The Alphabetical Files are arranged alphabetically and include topical files as well as files regarding university academic, research, and service units.

From 1974/1975 to 1983/1984 the series are split into two subseries, Alphabetical Files and Schools and Colleges Files. The Alphabetical Files remain similar in content to previous years with the exception that files relating to academic units, namely schools, colleges, and their departments, now comprise the subseries Schools and Colleges Files. Records concerning centers, special libraries, museums, institutes, and interdisciplinary programs are filed in the Alphabetical Files subseries. The Schools and Colleges Files are arranged alphabetically by academic unit and contain materials relating to the annual budget requests, promotion and tenure decisions, internal and external reviews, dean evaluations, and changes in academic programs.

For the years 1974/1975 to 1981/1982, with the exception of 1976/1977, there is an "Index to Correspondence" located at the end of the Alphabetical Files which lists in chronological order the letters written by the vice president, the name of the recipient, the subject of the letter, and the heading under which it is filed.

From 1984/1985 to 1993/1994, 1998/1999-2008/2009 and 2010/2011-2011/2012 the series consist of three subseries: Alphabetical Files, Schools and Colleges Files, and Chronological Files. The Alphabetical Files and the Schools and Colleges Files, while becoming more voluminous over the years, remain similar in nature. The Chronological Files consist of all outgoing correspondence from the vice president and are arranged by month. The Chronological Files are useful if the researcher knows the date the vice president might have corresponded on a particular topic but is unsure of the heading used for filing in the Alphabetical Files.

The Alphabetical Files, as mentioned above, are a strong source of information on a variety of topics relating to the administration of a large university, including the university's relationship with state and federal governments, issues confronting institutions of higher education at various points in time (student unrest and affirmative action, for example), collaborative efforts with other Big Ten and area colleges and universities, and the creation and revision of university policies. The minutes of the Academic Affairs Advisory Council (AAAC) are an especially good source of information on the activities of the Office of Academic Affairs. The AAAC, composed of the deans of the schools and colleges, directors of institutes, centers, and special libraries, and the staff of the Office of Academic Affairs, was established to hold monthly meetings to discuss educational policy, planning for growth, and special studies.

Because folder titles on a particular subject may vary from year to year, researchers are advised to be imaginative in searching for information in the topical files. It should also be noted that information on any given subject can probably be found in various places in the collection.

The 2010 and 2011 series feature the addition of the Archived Website subseries. These were created to preserve the office's public website over time. The subseries document the mission, activities, policies, and individuals involved in the operation of the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs as they are presented on its public website. Content includes important news and announcements, publications (such as reports and administrative documents), and information about committees, initiatives, and events. This archived website will be captured on a regular, ongoing basis as part of the University of Michigan Web Archives, hosted at https://archive-it.org/organizations/934.

New York State and Ann Arbor, Michigan family; family correspondence, business papers, student notebooks, photograph albums.

The Patterson family papers have been arranged as much as possible by family member name. To avoid confusion and because the name George Washington Patterson was passed down from father to son, the series names have been given a Roman numeral to distinguish one family member from another.