The Peter A. Ostafin Papers consist of both personal and official (University of Michigan) records that reflect his professional career in housing at the University of Michigan from 1955 to 1977. The records cover a range of subjects that include housing developments at the university, transportation issues, student governance, a variety of student activities, and administrative activities and issues. Materials found include minutes, reports, proposals, memoranda, newspaper clippings, and a variety of background and source documents relating to housing, transportation, and student affairs. The original order of the collection consisted of topical folders and loose documents in a random order. Scattered throughout the collection are documents created by and for both John Feldkamp, director of Housing, and Barbara Newell, vice-president for Student Affairs. Outside the strengths of the collection, much of the remaining material is scattered throughout the topical files and is of limited importance. Included are materials that mostly serve to illustrate sources consulted by the various groups on which Ostafin served. These reference materials form the majority of the early records, some dating back to the early 1940s.
Although the papers touch on many aspects of both students' lives and housing, the strength of the collection lies particularly in several specific areas: Housing (including both University and non-University), Student Activities, Transportation, and the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments.
Ostafin was active at the University of Michigan for twenty years from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s. He served in many capacities, including Assistant to the Vice-President of Student Community Relations, Assistant to the Director of Housing, and Assistant Director of Men. He was a member of a wide variety of committees and commissions, such as the Joint Committee on Central Business District Hi-Rise Developments and Parking (1964), the University Safety Committee (1964), the Parking Operations Committee (1968-1971), the Commission on Student Governance (1973-1975), and other groups. Ostafin was involved in student housing, both on-campus and off-campus, especially during the upheavals of the 1960s, when racial discrimination in housing, co-ed housing, and the development of North Campus were prominent issues. He was also interested in students' lives outside the dormitories and campus, ranging from the problems of vandalism and crime to community volunteer programs.
