Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Professor of Chemistry at the University of Michigan, 1936-1957, previously professor at the University of Munich, internationally known for his work on radioactivity; papers include extensive correspondence files, lectures and publications, personal/biographical material and photographs.

The papers of Kasimir Fajans, professor of chemistry at the University of Michigan from 1936 to 1957, cover his career as a physical chemist dating from 1912 to 1975.

Virginia Nordby was a lawyer and University of Michigan administrator with positions as director of the Office of Affirmative Action, policy advisor to the president, university freedom of information officer, associate vice-president for government relations and associate vice-president for student affairs. In addition to her duties at the University, she served as a consultant for the Michigan Women's Task Force on Rape, and served as the pricipal drafter of the Michigan Criminal Sexual Conduct Act of 1974. Her work largely focused on affirmative action, Title IX and equality for women in college sports, and addressing sexual violence on campus. This collection includes Nordby's files from her time as policy coordinator, her research topical files, other professional files, and photographs. Also included are files relating to the formulation of the university's student discriminatory policy and to her work as consultant to the Michigan Women's Task Force on Rape.

The Virginia Nordby Papers (1972-1992) document the professional activities of Virginia Nordby during her tenure as a University of Michigan administrator and Law School lecturer. The papers have been divided into three principal series: University Policy and Affirmative Action, Topical Files, and Professional Files.

Series one, University Policy and Affirmative Action contains files relating to Nordby's work for the University of Michigan, including research and policy proposals regarding the student code of conduct, faculty and staff policies, and student affairs. Series two contains Nordby's topical research files relating to her university work and other professional work, namely student discriminatory policy, Title IX and Athletics, and Labor issues. Series three, Professional Files, contains files related to Nordby's legal work, consulting, and speeches given outside of her capacity as a University of Michigan administrator.

Researchers should note that the language used in the collection and finding aid surrounding sexual violence reflects the language in use during Virginia Nordby's career. Some of the language in the descriptive notes has been updated to include currently accepted terminology in 2023. All folder titles in this collection are original, and reflect the language in use during Nordby's career. Original folder titles may include outdated or harmful descriptive language. Original folder titles have been maintained to preserve the original context of how the creator labeled their files.

Corporate records of C.J.L. Meyer of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin and Hermansville, Michigan, manufacturer of doors, lumber for sashes, hardwood flooring, and related products; records of the William Mueller Company of Escanaba and LaBranche, Michigan, a firm taken over by Wisconsin Land and Lumber in 1909. Financial journals, ledgers, inventories, payroll ledgers; letterbooks of C.J.L. Meyer, Edwin P. Radford, company superintendent, and of other company officials; office correspondence files; and photographs.

This record group which came from the Wisconsin Land and Lumber Company in Hermansville, Michigan is in fact an accumulation of records from three distinct business enterprises. First, there are records of C.J.L. Meyer business enterprises in Chicago and Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Next are records maintained in Hermansville with the establishment of the Wisconsin Land and Lumber Company in the 1870s. A third, smaller portion of the records are from the William Mueller Company, which WLL purchased in 1909.

When originally received in 1948, the records consisted of nearly 500 volumes of business journals and ledgers, time books, and letterpress books. During 1979-1981, the library began a program of microfilming to reduce the size of the record group. With the permission of the company, records that had been microfilmed were discarded. Also discarded were records duplicative in content of the records on microfilm. Other records were retained in the original without filming. The record group then consisted of 53 reels of microfilm representing approximately 112 volumes of business records, 65 oversized volumes, and 42 linear feet of boxed records (volumes, letterpress books, and correspondence files). In 2006, the library received additional microfilm (18 rolls) and digital materials containing scanned images of the photographs in the possession of the IXL Museum, which is the repository for the records of the company not received with the first accession. These records, which were retained, include personal correspondence of C.J.L. Meyer, some records of Meyer prior to the establishment of WLL, and records then considered current or of continuing value to the operation of the company.

The record group has been arranged as much as possible into series, but the researcher should note that identification of individuals volumes or files was not as certain as one would like. Thus, for example, there are various ledgers and journals, some with overlapping dates, but it was not always clear where these records were created or what function or division within the firm they documented. The fact that the company retained some of the earlier records accounts in part for what appear to be broken series. Further complicating the structure of the following finding aid is the interspersing of microfilmed materials and oversize volumes. Similar kinds of records (such as time books), for example, are thus found both in original and on microfilm.

As much as possible, like kinds of records have been kept to together (letterpress books, etc.). These are followed by records known to be created by a specific organization or maintained in a specific locale (e.g. Fond du Lac). The series in the record group are: Letterpress books (mainly business correspondence); Letterpress books (mainly business correspondence); Inventories, order books, etc.; C. J. L. Meyer Business Records; Wisconsin Land and Lumber Company; William Mueller Company; Photographs; and IXL Museum additions.

In 2007, the IXL Museum of Hermansville, Michigan, successor to the company and custodian of additional records of the Wisconsin Land and Lumber Company, entered into agreement with the Bentley Library to exchange microfilm of selected portions of the records housed in the other's repository. In addition, the two repositories agreed that the Bentley Library would place on indefinite loan to the IXL Museum the originals of WLL photographs in its possession, and that the IXL Museum would donated to the Bentley Library digital copies of all of the many hundreds of photographs in its collection.

Professional records, manuscripts, correspondence, and subject files of Ali A. Mazrui, professor of political science and of Afroamerican and African studies at the University of Michigan from 1974 to 1989. Includes material prior to his Michigan appointment.

The Ali A. Mazrui Papers include writings by and about Mazrui professional and personal correspondence, and scholarly and teaching materials. The material covers the mid-1960s until Mazrui's departure from Michigan in 1989. Also material on television series "The Africans." The papers are arranged in ten series: Writings by Mazrui; Materials Related to "The Africans" Television Series; Biographical; Subject Files (1979-1989); Correspondence; Teaching Materials; Scholarly Materials; Clippings; Published Materials; and Writings by Others.

Edwin Franko Goldman (1878-1956) was an American composer and conductor for military bands. Collection, assembled by Goldman, of autographs, letters, photographs, and musical scores of many musical celebrities from his lifetime and before.

The Edwin Franko Goldman Autograph Collection consists of two series: Background Materials and Autographed Photographs and Manuscripts. The collection contains autographs, letters, photographs, and musical scores of such notable musical celebrities as Antonin Dvorák, George Gershwin, Franz Liszt, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, John Philip Sousa, Johann Strauss, and Igor Stravinsky.

Founder and director of University Microfilms, Ann Arbor, Michigan, and member of the board of regents of the University of Michigan. Correspondence, agendas of meetings, memoranda, reports and printed material relating to his business and University activities; and photographs.

The Eugene Power collection consists of correspondence, agendas of meetings, memoranda, reports and printed material, diaries and photographs relating to his businesses, University of Michigan related activities and personal interests. The papers has been arranged into the following series: Personal/Biographical; University Microfilms Incorporated; Projected Books, Inc.; University of Michigan Board of Regents; Correspondence, 1949-1970; Organizational activities and personal interests; Photographs; Sound Recordings; and Microfilmed records.

As processing on this collection has not yet been completed, the researcher should note that this finding aid, with few exceptions, is not a listing of folders but rather a listing of the subject categories within the papers. All major subject categories (usually names of organizations or individuals) have been listed, but the amount of material within the category could be as much as several linear feet of files or as small as a single folder.

Office established in 1968 as the Vice-President for State Relations and Planning; reorganized and name changed in 1974 with the appointment of Richard L. Kennedy who already had the position of University Secretary. University Secretary became a separate office following Kennedy's retirement in 1994. Files relating to the University's liaison with state government agencies, including budget and appropriations materials; also topical files and materials documenting the communication process between the University and the state, and slides; also files of the university's office in Washington, D.C.

The records of the Office of Vice President for Government Relations reflect the core functions of the office (local, state, and federal government relations and planning) and the various incarnations of the office, including the duties of Secretary of the University variously performed by the office. Documentation is primarily from the Ann Arbor campus office, but also includes files on the federal relations office operated by the university in Washington, D.C. Files received directly from the state relations office in Lansing are not included here. Materials detail the budget and appropriations process, interaction with community, state and federal legislators, and lobbying and monitoring efforts in Washington, D.C. on issues such as research funding, student loans, and support for higher education. The records are physically arranged in the manner in which they arrived in the archives. In this finding aid the records are described by their intellectual organization and similar material for the various accessions is described and listed together. Researchers should note that later accessions often extend records series and topics from prior accessions.

The records of the University of Michigan Office of the Vice President for Government Relations and Secretary of the university have been divided into the following series of material: University Budget, Topical Files, Office Assignments and Communication Records, Special Topical Files, Correspondence Files, Evolution of the Office, Audio-Visual Materials, Washington Office Files, and Vice President for University Relations Correspondence, .

Established in 1959 to operate academic computing facility and provide computing services for faculty and students. Developed Michigan Terminal System (MTS) operating system and other software for mainframe computers. Merged into University of Michigan Information Technology Division in 1985. Administrative records including minutes, correspondence, budget material, and reports, documenting management of the center, purchase and operation of mainframe computers, development of MTS and other software, and computer networks. Also includes paper and digital MTS distribution documentation.

Records of the Computing Center have been received in three major accessions ? 1994, 1996, and 2011. Arrangement of the records in each accession is intended to reflect complimentary series. Each accession is described separately, and there is some overlap between the two.

The 1994 accession of the Computing Center record group primarily documents the founding and operation of the University of Michigan Computing Center from 1959 to 1987. It also includes some information on computing activities at the university prior to the founding of the Computing Center, dating back as far as 1952. Researchers should note that there is overlap between this accession and 1996 accessions. There is also overlap with the Information Technology Division record group, particularly after 1986 when ITD was created to bring together the Data Systems Center and the Computing Center under the purview of the Provost for Academic Affairs.

The records, which were in a very disorganized state when accessioned into the archives, were arranged into eight series: Historical Files, Administrative Records, Topical File, MTS (Michigan Terminal System), Word Processing Project, Vendors, and Photographs.

The 1996 accessions from the Computing Center add 32 feet of additional material to the record group. The records bring (in various formats) both breadth and depth to the earlier accessions, filling in major gaps and adding new documentation. The records are organized into nine series, generally corresponding to the arrangement of the earlier accession: Administrative Records, Computer Files, MTS (Michigan Terminal System), Merit Network, MAD (Michigan Algorithm Decoder), Word Processing Project, Vendors, Software Contracts, and Topical Files. Researchers should note that there is considerable overlap between Computing Center accessions and the Information Technology record group, particularly between 1985 and 1990 and especially for financial material and major committees.

Minutes, annual reports, presidents' letters, legislative programs, issue files concerning its involvement with such issues as child welfare, civil service, the Constitutional Convention of 1961-1962, election law reform, environmental quality, fair employment practices, human resources, reapportionment, taxation, and voters services; also include records of local branches.

The Michigan League of Women Voters was formed in the early 1920s. The records of the Michigan League of Women Voters cover the period from the 1940s to the 1990s. The issues series document such concerns as environmental quality (air pollution, pesticides, solid waste, and water) as well as human resources (teacher accountability, busing, the Equal Rights Amendment, housing, and social services). There are also large portions of material on taxation, reapportionment, international relations, election law reform, and on the Michigan Constitutional Convention of 1961-1962.

Each local chapter of the LWV was required to send its annual reports to the state league. These reports summarized special programs, membership, and financial information. These, as well as correspondence, by-laws, and in some cases, minutes, bulletins, special reports, and voters guides reflect the concerns and issues which confronted the league on the local level.

In many cases local leagues were disbanded because of lack of interest or because the members joined with other local leagues. These discontinued leagues have been designated by the word defunct after their name. Individuals interested in the Farmington leagues should also consult the material under the heading of West Bloomfield - Farmington. Huntington Woods and Lathrup Village joined the league of Ferndale and Pleasant Ridge. For those interested in the League of Women Voters in the Upper Peninsula consult the local league series under each community as well as the heading of Copper Country.

Records of the Personnel Office include personnel policies and procedures; memoranda to the deans, directors and department heads; negotiations with and the administration of the contract with the Graduate Employees' Union; and activities with numerous employees' unions at the University of Michigan.

The Personnel Office records comprise 31 linear feet and span the 1940s through the early 1990s. These records document the activities of the office prior to its 1994 consolidation with the Affirmative Action Office. The office is now part of the Office of University Human Resources, with many of its original responsibilities performed by its sub-unit, Academic Human Resources.

The records have been filed as received from the unit in periodic accessions. As such, there is considerable overlap in topics and dates of coverage within the various records series. Files relating to specific promotion and tenure cases are in a separate record group, University of Michigan Office of Academic Human Resources Promotion Casebooks. A finding aid for these records is available in the Bentley Library.

Records are divided into nine series: Topical Files of Assistant to the Vice President for Academic Affairs: Charles Allmand; Topical Files of Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs-Personnel Administration: Colleen Dolan-Greene; Personnel Data Systems (PDS) Files; Graduate Student Assistants (GSA)/Graduate Employees Organization (GEO) Files; Memoranda to Deans, Directors, and Department Heads; Administrative Files, 1980 - 1992; Administrative Files, 1970 - 1994; Labor Relations, and Administrative Files, 1963 - 1994.