Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

The Administrative series (1955-2003) includes annual reports, surveys, correspondence with the Bishop of the Diocese of Western Michigan, and files relating to its planning for, and transition to a "Total Ministry" church.

The Administrative series (9 linear ft., 1966-2001) documents the administrative aspects of developing and managing Merit, consisting primarily of meeting minutes, contracts, project proposals, finance and budget records, technical memos, and seminars and presentations. Of special note is a historical materials section, assembled by Merit staff that includes key documents in Merit's growth, including Merit's NSF grant and network printouts.

The Administrative series (.75 feet) covers the years 1971-1982 and comprises budget information, PEO staff meeting minutes, and administrative papers in addition to procedure and policy information. Records detailing administrative relationships between PEO and various national and university programs and associations, such as the National Institute of Education, the Trotter House, the United Negro Fund, Inc., and the School of Social Work are located in Topical Files, the final series.

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 (2.65 linear feet, 1908-1998) is primarily made of annual reports covering 1908-1973 and 1983-1987. It also contains various department committee records and other documentation that was produced at the administrative level of the department, including departmental reviews in 1969 and 1981 as well as visiting committee reviews. Correspondence sent by the department and Gordon Van Wylen, former dean of the college, is contained in this series, as well.

The Administrative series (0.6 linear feet and one oversize folder) consists mostly of correspondence and work-related files maintained between 1966 and 1969, although it also includes several scattered folders of information from the late 1990s. Several folders of historical material and staff meeting minutes are also included.

The Administrative series covers the period from 1932 to 1989 and is arranged alphabetically. The minutes provide the best continuous source of information about the activities and platforms of the League. The minutes of board meetings are nearly complete, but the unit and general meetings are better documented in earlier decades. The annual reports are valuable for documenting earlier decades of the League. From 1939 to 1958, board members and committee chairs submitted reports, but from 1961 to 1976, the annual reports were created on forms according to state and national guidelines. From 1964 to 1987, the annual meeting workbooks provide summary information about the year's activities and interests. The workbooks contain minutes from the annual meetings, budgets, treasury reports, reports from committee chairs, and current agendas and positions. Newsletters summarize issues raised in general, unit, and board meetings, provide interim project reports and reminders of activities, and address relationships among national, state, and local programs. The newsletters fill in documentary gaps between the annual reports and the annual meeting workbooks.

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 series, 1929-2000 (0.25 linear ft.), contains minutes of Department and Executive Committee meetings from 1929-1941 and 1985-2000, reports from the Committee on Foreign Language Instruction, information regarding the awarding of honorary degrees, rotational (internal) review materials, diversity issues, and long-range staffing plans.

Administrative series documents the organizational structure and functions of the Workmen's Circle/Arbeter's Ring. Included in the series are seven volumes of minutes from the organization's early period. The Minute Books are largely written in Yiddish. The series also contains newsletters, press releases, correspondence and material related to the different district conferences and committees within the Michigan District. All material has been arranged chronologically.