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Governor of Michigan 1949 to 1960, under-secretary of state for African Affairs from 1961 to 1965, and Michigan Supreme Court justice from 1970 to 1986 and leader in state and national Democratic Party. Papers document his public career and aspects of his personal and family life and include correspondence, subject files, staff files, speeches, press releases and news clippings, photographs, sound recordings, films and videotapes.

The G. Mennen Williams Papers consist of official and personal files arranged into six subgroups: 1) Gubernatorial papers, 1949-1960 (681 linear ft.); 2) Non-gubernatorial papers, 1883-1948 and 1958-1988 (107 linear ft.); 3) Visual materials, ca. 1911-1988 (ca. 25 linear ft.); 4) sound recordings, 1950-ca. 1988 (5 linear ft.) Scrapbooks, 1948-1987 (43 vols.) and State Department Microfilm, 1961-1966 (23 reels).

As part of its own control system, the governor's office maintained a card index to the correspondents in many of the subgroups and series within the gubernatorial papers. This card file is located in the library's reading room. In addition, Nancy Williams and her staff compiled an extensive and detailed run of scrapbooks covering the Williams years. There is a separate inventory to these scrapbooks in a separately bound volume.

Strategy for Use of the Gubernatorial Papers: Although the Williams gubernatorial collection consists of hundreds of linear feet of material, the file arrangement created by the governor's staff is a fairly simple one to understand and to use.

The bulk of the collection falls within specific functional groupings, corresponding to the various activities and responsibilities that Williams performed as governor. Thus, if the researcher is uncertain of what portions of the collection might be relevant to his/her research, he/she is advised to think in terms of gubernatorial function. Does the proposed research concern the workings or area responsibility of a state board? If so, the Boards and Commissions series would be the most likely place in which to find material. The election of 1954? Then Democratic Party/Campaign Papers should be first choice. The passage of a specific piece of legislation? Here, Legislative Files is an obvious choice. The possible choices (called subgroups and series) that the researcher has are listed in the Organization of the Collection section. A description of the contents of each of these subgroups/series is provided below.

If, at first, unsuccessful in finding material on any given topic, the researcher might consider these additional strategies:

1. Refer to the Williams card index (located in the library's reading room). Sometimes, the name of an individual associated with a subject provides the easiest point of access into the collection. This file is arranged alphabetically and lists the dates of letters between an individual and the governor's office. This file only indexes the larger series and subgroups in the collection. It does not index the staff files, or parts of the Democratic Party/Campaign subgroup. Nevertheless it is an invaluable tool, and can uncover important material otherwise buried.

2. Refer to the various series of staff papers. Staff members were often closely involved in a specific subject areas (Jordan Popkin and aging, for example) and thus their files are frequently rich in source material.

3. If only partially successful in locating desired material, the researcher should think of an alternative subgroup or series. The governor's office, for a variety of reasons, often filed related material in different locations depending upon the source of a document. Thus, information relating to a strike might be filed both under the Labor Mediation Board in Boards and Commissions, and Strikes in General Subjects. Furthermore, if the strike influenced a specific piece of legislation, there could be material in the Legislative Files.

The Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy (formerly the School of Public Policy) developed out of various institutes at the University of Michigan including the Institute of Social and Public Administration the Institute of Public Administration, and the Institute of Public Policy Studies. The School provides courses and conducts research in areas of public administration and public policy issues. Records include administrative files, correspondence, topical files and some material on research projects.

The University of Michigan Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy record group documents the history and development of public policy studies at the University of Michigan. The records contain some information on the beginning of instruction in public administration in 1915 and the formation of the Institute of Social and Public Administration in 1936. The bulk of the material documents the administration and subsequent reorganizations of the academic unit currently known as the School of Public Policy. Records include correspondence, minutes, historical materials and topical files concerning the Institute, its Lansing Office, its programs in the Republic of China and documented the Philippine Islands, and the Michigan Constitutional Convention of 1961- 1962. the records have been received in three major accessions, 1972 (boxed 1-9), 1997 (boxes 10-14) and 2006 (boxes 15-18).

Most of the materials comprising the 1972 accession cover the period from the 1950s to the mid-1980s. Unfortunately, few documents about the establishment and development of the public policy studies curriculum between 1915 and 1945 exist. Particular strengths of the record group are the materials on the Philippine Institute of Public Administration and the Taiwan Center for Public and Business Administration Education. The German Training Program files also offer insight into international interests of the public administration faculty at the University of Michigan. The German Training Program was a program established to provide Germans with a knowledge of American political and social institutions, democratic skills, and development of individual competence in fields of knowledge such as journalism, pedagogy, and public administration. Other series in the School of Public Policy records allow for a general overview of the structure of the School of Public Policy. They also demonstrate the composition and research interests of the faculty and students in the department.

The records comprising the 1997 accession from the School of Public Policy were primarily arranged chronologically. This arrangement has been retained and the record group has been broken down into a Chronological Files series, several Topical Files series, a Sound Recordings Series, and a Photographs series. It should be noted that some of the files in the Topical Files series include documents created after the dates noted in the series heading.

The 2006 accession consisted of additional administrative files and material relating to the dedication of the Joan and Sanford Weil Hall groundbreaking and dedication.

Oral history interviews collected as part of a project of the University of Michigan Center for South and Southeast Asia Studies, funded by the Henry Luce Foundation, on "U.S.-Philippine Interactions as Reflected in Oral Histories."

The collection contains four series of oral history interviews, all recorded on audiocassettes. The series are: Forrest McGill, Petra Fuld Netzorg, Michael P. Onorato, and Bienvenido Santos.

Secretary of University of Michigan Alumni Association; correspondence, scrapbooks, and photographs.

The T. Hawley Tapping collection includes material documenting his student days at the University of Michigan and University of Iowa, the Acacia fraternity and his work as consultant to f University in the Philippine Islands and service to the University of Michigan Alumni Association. The papers are arranged into three series: Correspondence; Scrapbooks; and Photographs.

Journalist, foreign correspondent; correspondence, material accumulated as a journalist, articles, clippings, and other writings; and photographs.

The Stanley Swinton papers include correspondence; dispatch files; notebooks relating to the death of Mussolini, the Malayan insurgency in the late 1940s, and the Indonesian revolutions; notes of interviews with Seni Premot of Thailand, Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia, Ho Chi-Minh of Vietnam, Konrad Adenauer of West Germany, Joao Goulart of Brazil, Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines, and Kim Jong Pil of South Korea. The bulk of Swinton's writings will be found in the collection, either in draft or in clippings of his articles. The series in the collection are Correspondence; Newspaper career; Writings, speeches, etc.; Personal and miscellaneous; Photographs; and Printed Material.

Zoologist, college professor, president of University of Michigan, 1929-1951. Professional files relating to his career with the University Museum and as a professor of zoology, and presidential files containing correspondence, reports, speeches, and other University materials, including budget and legislative files, material relating to changes in University administration, his relationship with faculty, students and alumni, and photographs.

The Alexander Ruthven papers consists of two series of records. The first is the papers of Ruthven as president of the University of Michigan, 1929 to 1951. The second, and smaller, series is the files maintained by Ruthven as a zoologist with the University Museum and as professor of zoology. This latter series dates largely from 1908 to 1929 but also includes collected earlier files from the 1870s.

Birmingham, Michigan, businesswoman, Democratic Regent of the University of Michigan; contain materials relating to her life and interest in the Philippines, especially during the administration of Frank Murphy, during World War II, and during the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos; papers relating to her interest in University of Michigan history; and photographs.

The Irene Murphy collections has been arranged into the following series: Correspondence; Murphy family; University of Michigan Board of Regents; Philippines interests and activities; Other topics; Scrapbooks and clippings; Sound recording; and Photographs.

Teaching fellow in political science at the University of Michigan, later foreign service officer with the Division of Philippine Affairs in the Office of Far Eastern Affairs, U. S. Department of State, and professor of diplomacy and world affairs at Occidental College. Academic files, correspondence, papers relating to his work and interest in the Philippine Islands and Indonesia, topical files concerning his various academic interests, and photographs.

The Edward Mill Collection is divided into seven series: Personal; Academic Papers; Correspondence; Far Eastern Materials; Topical File (largely correspondence); Visual Materials; and Microfilmed materials.

Justice on the Philippine Supreme Court, founder of the Law School of the University of the Philippines, and attorney general of Puerto Rico. Correspondence, scrapbooks, printed reports, articles, and legal opinions, diplomas, citations, memorabilia, manuscript of book, 1956, entitled, "Sunset of Colonialism: memoirs of an American Colonial Careerist": decisions, 1909-1939, made while a jurist in the Philippines; copies of addresses and legal articles; and photographs.

The Malcolm papers have been arranged into the following series: Personal and biographical; Scrapbooks; Philippine Supreme Court; Assistant Legal Adviser to United States High Commissioner; Puerto Rico Attorney General; Occasional addresses and articles: Historical topics, Philippines; Sound recordings; Visual Material; and Realia.

Career civil servant from Michigan who worked in state government revenue and budgeting agencies, and in the federal government as a budget consultant to foreign governments; the series in the collection are titled: Foreign Service, Fiscal Management, Writings on Government, and Photographs.

The Frank M. Landers papers document his experience as a state and federal government official and consultant to foreign governments. The papers are arranged in four series: Foreign Service, Fiscal Management, Writings on Government, and Photographs.