The Erich A. Walter papers collection contains Walter's University related papers, including correspondence, research and projects, essays and speeches, and photographs used in and drafts of A Pictorial History of the Great Lakes, as well as papers related to his work as an editor on Essay Annual and Toward Today.
Erich A. Walter was born in Zanesville, Ohio on July 5, 1897. Despite his early roots in Ohio, Walter was a graduate of the Ann Arbor High School class of 1915. After his graduation, Walter received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan's Literary College in 1919 and immediately joined the faculty as an instructor in rhetoric. He earned his Master of Arts degree in 1921, also from the University of Michigan. Shortly after, in 1922, Walter married Meta Henne, a 1919 graduate of the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts at the University of Michigan, with whom he had three children. Furthermore, he studied at the British Museum, London, England, for a time in 1930 and 1931 and in 1937 and 1938. In 1955, Walter served as the University's delegate to the Installation of H. M. Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, as Chancellor of the University of London.
Walter's career at the University of Michigan was marked by a series of promotions throughout his 53 year relationship with the school. In 1923, Walter was promoted to assistant professor of English and was made chairman of the Freshman English Program in 1927. He was promoted to associate professor in 1935, while also taking on the new role of chairman of Academic Counselors. Then, in 1938 he was made Assistant Dean of the Literary College, and later Associate Dean in 1945. In 1947, Walter was given a full professorship at the university and was appointed Director of the Office of Student Affairs, a title which was changed to Dean of Students in 1948. He remained in this role until his appointment in 1953 as Assistant to the President, who at this time was President Harlan Hatcher. Five years later, in 1958, he was also appointed secretary of the Regents. Walter retired from the University in 1967, at the age of 70, upon which he was appointed Assistant Emeritus to the President, Secretary Emeritus of the University, and Professor Emeritus of English.
In addition to these roles, Walter was chairman of the Michigan Memorial-Phoenix Project in 1946 and 1947. He was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Ann Arbor Public Schools from 1933 to 1939, serving as president during his last year on the board. From 1946 to 1953, he was a member of the Board of Directors of Cranbrook School for Boys, Bloomfield Hills, Mich., filling the role of secretary in 1949. From 1949 to 1955, he was also a member of the Board of Directors of the Ann Arbor Chamber of Commerce. Walter was a member of the Modern Language Association, National Council of Teachers of English, Michigan Academy of Science, Arts, and Letters, American Association of University Professors, English Speaking Union, Michigan College Association, Quadrangle Club, Phi Kappa Phi, Sigma Rho Tau, and was decorated Star of Italian Solidarity, Second Class, in 1962.
Walter served as the editor for numerous publications: University Readings (with C.D. Thorpe) in 1931; Bibliography of Contemporary Literature, 1932-1937 (English Journal); Essay Annual (yearly volumes), 1933-1941; Toward Today, 1938; and Religion and the State University 1958. He also co-authored A Pictorial History of the Great Lakes with Harlan Hatcher in 1963. Erich Walter died on April 1, 1977 in South Bend, Indiana, at the age of 79.
