Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Wyandotte, Michigan, businesswoman, chairwoman of the President's Task Force on Women's Rights and Responsibilities during the Nixon Administration, later deputy assistant secretary of state for public affairs. Papers and photographs relating to her interest in women's rights, the equal rights amendment, Republican Party politics, the activities of International Women's Year, 1975, and the National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs.

The Virginia R. Allan Papers have been grouped both according to types of documents covering her entire career (biographical, correspondence, writings and speeches, etc.). These are followed by three series of files pertaining to Allan's activities and organizational affiliations within specific time periods in her career. These chronological divisions (with some overlapping of dates) are 1950s-1972, 1971-1977, and 1977-1985. Although each of these chronological series documents Allan's life-long interest in women's issues, there are obvious highlights to each. The first chronological series - 1950s-1972, is especially solid with material relating to Allan's association with the Michigan and the National Federation of Business and Professional Women, and her service on the President's Task Force on Women's Rights and Responsibilities. The second of these series - 1971-1977 - obviously documents Allan's work at the State Department, her role with the International Women's Year and her participation in the Mexico City Conference in 1975. And the third chronological series - 1977-1985 - contain files pertaining to her participation in the second and third United Nations International Women's Conferences and to her faculty responsibilities at George Washington University.

The collection concludes with a small series -- Groups and Activities -- which contains both material dated after 1985 as well as earlier materials, a series of Personal materials, and a series of Audio-Visual materials that includes photographs, a videotape, and sound recordings.

Detroit, Michigan, businessman, president of the Burroughs Adding Machine Co. Correspondence and reports relating to the Kelsey Expedition to the Near East for the University of Michigan and correspondence files, 1926-1942, concerning business affairs and social activities in Detroit and Grosse Pointe, Michigan; also writings of father Charles K. Backus, and photographs.

The Standish Backus collection consists of correspondence and reports relating to the Kelsey Expedition to the Near East for the University of Michigan and correspondence files, 1926-1942, concerning business affairs and social activities in Detroit and Grosse Pointe, Michigan; also writings of father Charles K. Backus, and photographs. The Photographs include portraits of members of the Backus and Standish families, and of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Boyer.

The collections is arranged into five series: Kelsey Expedition to the Near East; Correspondence files; Personal and memorabilia; Charles K. Backus volumes; and Photographs.

Professor of English at the University of Michigan. Correspondence concerning his work at the University of Michigan; letters from former students describing their World War II experiences; and papers concerning his organizational and University activities.

The collection is arranged into two series: Correspondence and Topical and University Activities. The correspondence includes a file of letters from former students describing their World War II experiences. There is also a subseries of professional correspondence from 1947 to 1964. This subseries is arranged alphabetically and includes letters from such personages as Langston Hughes, Victor G. Reuther, Elmer Rice, and William W. Whitehouse. The Topical and University Activities subseries relates to Boys varied interests, such as the Art Cinema League, the Faculty Club, and the American Association of University Professors.

Democratic senator from Michigan, the longest-serving U.S. senator (served between 1979 and 2015). The collection documents Carl M. Levin's 36-year career in the U.S. Senate including his service on the Senate Armed Service Committee, Government and Homeland Security, Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Great Lakes Task Force, among other leadership positions. Papers include correspondence, speeches, writings, newspaper clippings, legislative and committee files, campaign materials, photographs, audiovisual materials, and other records documenting his personal life and political career.

The collection documents the personal life and political career of Carl M. Levin including his 36-year career as U.S. Senator from Michigan (1979-2015). The papers include school activities, personal correspondence, materials from Levin's work on the Michigan Civil Rights Commission and Detroit City Council, and campaign materials such as speeches, interviews, platform and planning documents, constituent research, candidate research, financial documents, correspondence, photographs, and audiovisual materials.

The bulk of papers document Levin's tenure in the U.S. Senate including legislative and committee files, correspondence, memoranda, briefing books, background information, schedules, bills, printed materials, press clippings, speeches, writings, photographs, Levin's archived website, social media, and audiovisual materials.

Donald W. Riegle, Jr. served five terms as a Representative from Michigan's 7th district in the U.S. House of Representatives (1967-1976) and three terms as a U.S. Senator from Michigan (1976-1995). Riegle was born in Flint, Mich. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.A. in Business Administration (1960) and from Michigan State University with an M.B.A. (1961). The collection reflects Riegle's service from 1966 to 1994 as a U.S. Congressman and Senator. Material from Riegle's years in U.S. Senate comprise the majority of the collection. Collection includes campaign material, topical files, material related to bills and acts, committees and subcommittees; also material related to Michigan affairs, constituent mail, and personal files.

The papers in this collection reflect Donald Riegle's service from 1966 to 1994 as U.S. Congressman and Senator. There is nothing from his years before his entry into politics in 1966 and nothing from the period afterwards. The papers from his Congressional years amount to 21 linear feet; those from his Senate years comprise 143 linear feet, which is of course the vast majority of the collection.

In a broad sense, most of the collection consists of memoranda, notes, reports, and similar materials, concerning pending legislation. Some concerns committee hearings and testimony. There are also files containing campaign and other political material, staffers' files, and a certain amount that might be considered relating more to Riegle the person. This includes a manuscript of an unpublished book; his schedules, speeches, and records of his legislative activity. The collection also documents the activity of his liaison offices in Michigan.

The University Planner's Office oversees the master planning, site planning, and site design for the university. The records consist of correspondence, memoranda, meeting minutes, reports, architectural drawings, and photographs spanning the years 1840 to 2014.

The records of the University Planner's Office consist of 48 linear feet, 72.3 GB of digital files, and one oversize volume. Records contain correspondence, memoranda, meeting minutes, reports, architectural drawings, and photographs spanning the years 1840 to 2014. The records document the role of the University Planner's Office in campus planning on the University of Michigan campuses and in conjunction with the City of Ann Arbor.

Lawrence L. Witt was a Detroit native who served in the Army Air Force during World War II and was a prisoner of war (POW) for eleven months after getting shot down over Nazi Germany. His daughter Laura A. Edge later researched her father's story and wrote a book about his and other airmen's experiences as prisoners of war in WWII. Correspondence, various documents relating to military and prisoner of war experience, and audio-visual materials including oral histories of several WWII veterans.

The Lawrence Witt and Laura Edge papers document Witt's experiences during and after World War II, as well as his daughter's research on his and other airmen's experiences as prisoners of war in Nazi Germany. Most series consist of folders (both original and digitized copies) originally ordered and numbered by Laura Edge.

Cornelia G. Kennedy, "First Lady of the Michigan Judiciary," was the first woman appointed to the federal bench in Michigan and the first woman to become a chief judge for a United States District Court. Judge Kennedy was nominated to U.S. District Court in 1970 and to U.S. Circuit Court (Federal Appeals Court) in 1979. Although never actually nominated to the Supreme Court, she was mentioned in connection with vacancies there during the administrations of three different U.S. Presidents. In addition to her court-related duties, the collection reflects Kennedy's service to the Judicial Conference of the U.S. and the Federal Judicial Center as well as the American Bar Association and other professional organizations. The collection also contains materials from Wayne County Circuit Court. This finding aid includes a Summary Contents List and expanded Scope and Content Note to provide a brief summary of the Federal Court System's structure and history as well as notes on some of the organizations comprising the context of a legal career that spanned more than half a century.

The Cornelia G. Kennedy papers span Kennedy's career as a judge, beginning with her election to Wayne County Circuit Court (the 3rd Judicial Circuit of Michigan, which includes the City of Detroit) in 1966. The bulk of the collection documents her service as an active federal judge, from the time of her appointment to Federal District Court in 1970 through her confirmation and service in Federal Appeals Court, until she assumed senior federal judge status in 1999.

The collection is valuable not only in that it documents the professional and some of the private life of a federal judge who achieved many 'firsts' as a woman but also for the collection's contribution to an understanding of the federal court system and the evolution of judicial ethical standards and practices, especially with respect to financial disclosure, confidentiality, and conflicts of interest.

To some extent, the history of information and communications technology during the period is also represented in the collection through its examples of different correspondence media in different eras and through materials pertaining to the advent of computer-aided legal research in court libraries and the use of new technologies in federal courtrooms.

Inevitably, Judge Kennedy's long family history in the practice of law coincided with significant milestones in American history and in the development of judicial administration organizations and policy. Kennedy's father had graduated from law school and begun his legal career with World War I on the horizon. Kennedy graduated from law school as the national economy was transforming itself after World War II, and as the federal court system was beginning a new era in judicial practice and in judicial review of administration.

Description of Series Content

This collection is divided into ten series: Personal and Biographical; Correspondence; Speeches and Writings; Wayne County Circuit Court; U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan; U.S. Court of Appeals, 6th Circuit; Judicial Conference of the United States; Federal Judicial Center; American Bar Association; and Other Professional Organizations and Meetings.

Of necessity, some series include materials of multiple formats, located together primarily with regard to conceptual content rather than format and some types of materials are found in multiple series. For example, correspondence can be found not only in the Correspondence series but also within court-related series to the extent that it relates to matters addressed there.

Throughout the collection, Judge Kennedy's own phrasing is used whenever possible to describe file folder contents. Some examples of her original file folders of administrative papers and office files also contain handwritten notes and have been retained in the collection to provide additional information to the researcher. These original folder labels and notations also help to illustrate the use of different terminology in different time frames.

The University of Michigan Department of Mechanical Engineering dates from 1868, and it existed under various designations resulting from shifts and mergers in engineering, including at one time industrial engineering and applied mechanics. Records include minutes of faculty meetings, 1922-1941, and 1984-2007; advisory committee minutes, 1997-2007; and material on the 125th anniversary in 1993. Extensive visual materials document departmental activities and research including color and black and white photographs, contact sheets, slides, and negatives. The departmental website, as of June 2001, also forms a part of this record group.

The Department of Mechanical Engineering record group is comprised of manuscript and visual materials transferred between 1995 and 2001. The materials are arranged in eight series Minutes, E-Mail to Faculty, Office Files, Contact Sheets, Photographs, Panoramic Prints and Slides, Negatives, and Website. The manuscript material covers the periods 1922 to 1941 and 1993 to 2007 while the visual materials are mainly from the time period 1985-2000. The earlier accessions include a series of faculty minutes covering the period from 1922 to 1941 and 1993 to 1999. The earlier accessions also include a small group of electronic mail correspondence (printout) that was sent from the central departmental office to the departmental faculty from 1993 to 1996. Subsequent accessions include a small selection of office files alphabetically arranged and additional faculty minutes.

Visual materials, documenting departmental activities ca. 1985-2000, form the bulk of the record group. The departmental website, as of June 2001, also forms a part of this record group. The visual materials in the record group include color and black and white photographs, contact sheets, slides, and negatives. The visual materials are either arranged by a numerical sequence or alphabetically by topic or last name. Materials in the numerical sequence filing system include 4 x 6 prints, contact sheets, and negatives. While the materials in the numerical sequence are categorized by format, the materials in this sequence were designed to form one system. That is the 4 x 6 prints, contact sheets, and negatives reference each other.

Graduate School of the University of Michigan. Records include dean's topical files, 1892-1996; files of associate deans; minutes of the executive board; project and grant files detailing faculty and student research; lists of degrees granted; records of fellowships and awards granted by the graduate school and university; and files relating to academic departments and programs, including reviews of degree programs.

The records of the Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies document the administration of the school, its academic programs and research projects and fellowships funded by the school and outside sources. The records include Dean's Files, minutes of the Executive Board and Administrative Council, Academic Unit and Program Evaluation files, and grants administration records.

Records of the Graduate School have been received by the library in numerous accessions, some large others quite small. Some accessions represent continuations or complements to previously received materials. This finding attempts to intellectually integrate continuing or similar record series received in multiple accessions.

The records are organized into a number of series. Among the more significant are:

1. Deans' Topical File
2. Research Records
3. University Units
4. Program Evaluations
5. Faculty Research Grants
6. Degree Lists
7. Faculty Fellowships, Grants and Awards
8. Graduate School Executive Board and Administrative Council

In 2008, the Rackham School of Graduate Studies announced that it would become a 'paperless' office and that future accessions to the Bentley Library would be electronic. The materials from 1990 to 2003 were thus digitized by Rackham staff (from the original paper records) and saved as PDF (Portable Document Format) files. As of 2012, these digital accessions comprise two subseries within the Graduate School Executive Board and Administrative Council series and Program Evaluation series.