Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

The Administrative series best illustrates the internal structure and workings of the organization, particularly in its constitution and bylaws, reports to the national organization (scattered), minutes of executive and general meetings, and incoming and outgoing correspondence. Correspondence files, for example, effectively illuminate the organization's concentrated effort to broaden community support for the organization. Numbers of these documents are marked as "agenda items" and similar items appear also in files containing minutes for executive and general meetings. Newsletters, initiated in 1987, are an effective vehicle for ascertaining how the branch projected itself to its membership, and press releases are a useful source for looking at the range of issues and activities it relied on the media, in a large part, to write about and help promote. Thirteen folders of newspaper clippings attest to the success of the branch in utilizing and responding to media attention. (The collection of clippings were copied onto acid-free paper and are arranged chronologically.)

Administrative material also holds applications prepared for the prestigious Thalheimer Award, recognition bestowed annually on chapters at each national NAACP convention for outstanding programmatic activity. This is a particularly rich source. Each application includes summaries of the year's activities, offers supporting evidence, illustrates local support, and in most cases, includes photographs (photocopied onto acid-free paper) of major events. Researchers should note that a file of financial material in this series is closed until the year 2006.

The Administrative series includes grant proposals, by-laws, meeting minutes, and promotional material. A draft proposal prepared for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) offers the most complete overview of the organization's goals, objectives and inspirations. Meeting minutes also reveal strategies that were devised to gather the collective and individual memories of the community before opportunities disappeared. Since the organization's primary intent was to publish a book, the folder entitled "Book, Notes and Outlines for" is valuable for understanding the scope of the project.

The Administrative records chronicle the financial and leadership activities of Immanuel U.C.C. from 1912 to 1995, with the bulk falling between 1942 to 1978. The researcher will find a copy of the 1894 church constitution in the Constitution and Bylaws file as well as various later drafts. The first volume of Consistory and Congregational meeting minutes contains the earliest consistent documentation of church decisions and activities, which were recorded in German until mid-1927. Minutes were handwritten until early 1969, after which they were typed, copied, and taped into the journal. The folders in this series include minutes, agendas, and reports that are absent from the bound volumes.

The church's financial activities and membership levels are available from the formal Financial Reports and Year Book Reports to the parent United Church of Christ. More detailed records of disbursements and income are found in several of the Yearly Files. The church's organizations, for example the Consistory, Board of Education, Ladies' Aid Society, and the Pastor, report on their finances and activities in the Annual Reports to the Membership.

The Pastors file is an incomplete collection of ten of Immanuel's twelve (non-interim) pastors' hiring, letters of resignation, and correspondence after departure. It also includes documents for Keith Westphal, who was minister of Christian Education from 1966 to 1967.

Immanuel's self-reflection, as it sought to be responsive to its membership, is evident in the number of surveys it did. In 1961, the church coordinated with their parent organization to do a comprehensive Congregational Analysis. In 1967 and 1973, the leadership conducted surveys of the membership; the responses can be found in the corresponding Yearly Files. The most serious evaluation of the church's relevance came in the late 1970s with the decision whether or not to merge with St. Mark's and Trinity churches (the third, St. Peter's, decided to close rather than merge). The Tri-Church Merger series includes meeting minutes, Immanuel's compiled files pertaining to the three churches (each includes a formal appraisal), and their membership survey and ultimate rejection of the merger.

The Administrative series is comprised of two major areas: funding and management matters. An NIH grant application for 1990-1995 comprises the major part of the Funding subseries. Included in the General folders is the report produced for the NIH site visit in 1994, for the renewal of the grant. A small amount of correspondence regarding program expenditures and stipends during the period from 1986 to 1993 is included. A Program Management folder contains job descriptions, a management schedule, and recommendations resulting from an administrative review. These papers provide background for the policy procedures and decisions of the program.

The Administrative series contains meeting minutes of the Kappa chapter and the Inter-chapter council meetings, financial records, research foundation recognition awards, and information on the John and Frances Trytten Fund. These records detail the operation of the chapter, from the gathering of dues, to the research sponsored and pursued for scholarship.

The Administrative series covers the period 1957-2002 and is the largest portion of the record group. In addition to the church's quarterly conference minutes, this series also documents its activities within the Michigan Conference and within the General or national conference. Under "Financial" are formal, detailed, annual and quarterly reports containing information about nearly all of the church's expenditures and receipts. It should be noted that financial information about the status of various church projects can be found scattered throughout this series. Under "Pastors," the researcher will find information about pastors Hilliard and Ardrey. Although most of these files relate to the activities of Pastor Ardrey, files of Bishop Hilliard have been separately donated to the library and may be found cataloged under his name. The Ardrey files reflect his concern for his community and his desire to improve the educational system. Materials from many of the committees that he worked on - including the Property Release Option program, Citizens for Millage, and the Task Force on School/Community Relations - are found in this portion of the Administrative series.

St. Paul A.M.E. Zion Church was also involved in a housing project, 1966-1978, and records from this undertaking are found under the heading "St. Paul Housing Corporation." Designed to be an affordable housing alternative for the elderly and low income families, this project was financed by a federal government loan. Unfortunately, the project never materialized as anticipated because the loan came due before construction was completed.

The Administration series also includes materials on some of the organizations within the church, such as its clubs, the board of stewards and the board of trustees. The researcher will get a sense of the church's membership by examining the funeral notices, many of which contain brief summaries of the lives of deceased members. This subseries is arranged alphabetically by name of member. There are also funeral notices scattered among the most recent Sunday Bulletins.

The Administrative series, 1910-2001 (5 linear feet), is arranged alphabetically and primarily consists of reports and memoranda. The background folder contains informative documents that explain the purpose, organization, and history of the Botanical Gardens. Annual reports and Committees are the largest subseries. The annual reports are yearly accounts of collection development and research projects at the gardens. The Committees subseries contains incomplete records of four committees: Ad Hoc Study, Budget Review, Executive, and Literature, Science, and the Arts Program Evaluation. The Executive Committee records are the most comprehensive, consisting of minutes, reports, and memoranda from the years 1913-1919 and 1980-1986. Though less comprehensive, the other committee records provide insight into the gardens' administration at specific points in time. Also included in the Administrative series are materials on budget, grants, planning and scheduling including the master plan for the years 1980-1985. Docent guides and documents concerning conservatory renovation are also included. The series continues in Box 11.

The Administrative and Related Records series documents IGE's background and general administration and includes bylaws, clippings, correspondence, financial records, grant proposals, and information related to meetings and volunteers.

The Administration and Research Development and Training Program series (1.8 linear feet, 1976-1996) contains records from the administrative core facility and the research development and training program component of the MDRTC; these two components form one series since they are closely intertwined. This series contains the minutes of many committees, including the policy committee (1976), the executive committee (1976-1980), and the scientific review committee (1978-1984). The series documents the planning process behind the MDRTC, the initial grant application and site visit preparation, subsequent grant renewal activities, and the development of research projects.