Alexander G. Ruthven Papers, 1901-1961 (majority within 1906-1951)

Summary

Creator:

Ruthven, Alexander Grant, 1882-1971

Abstract:

Zoologist, college professor, president of University of Michigan, 1929-1951. Professional files relating to his career with the University Museum and as a professor of zoology, and presidential files containing correspondence, reports, speeches, and other University materials, including budget and legislative files, material relating to changes in University administration, his relationship with faculty, students and alumni, and photographs.

Extent:

65.4 linear feet
1 oversize folder

Language:

English.

Call Number:

86550 Aa 2 UAm

Authors:

Finding aid prepared by: Michigan Historical Collections staff

Background

Scope and Content:

The Alexander Ruthven papers consists of two series of records. The first is the papers of Ruthven as president of the University of Michigan, 1929 to 1951. The second, and smaller, series is the files maintained by Ruthven as a zoologist with the University Museum and as professor of zoology. This latter series dates largely from 1908 to 1929 but also includes collected earlier files from the 1870s.

Biographical / Historical:

Alexander G. Ruthven was born April 1, 1882 in Hull, Iowa. He received his BS degree in 1903 from Morningside College and his Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Michigan. As a zoologist, Ruthven's major interest was in reptiles and amphibians - snakes, lizards turtles, frogs, etc. He wrote extensively in his disciple and also directed various scientific expeditions in North, South and Central America. Also, before assuming the presidency, Ruthven was chief field naturalist with the Michigan Geological and Biological Survey (1908-1912).

Ruthven's entire career was spent at the University of Michigan where he was successively instructor of zoology and curator of the Museum of Zoology (1906-1911); assistant professor and curator of the Museum of Zoology (1911-1913); assistant professor and director of the Museum of Zoology (1913-1915); profess and director of the Museum of Zoology (1915-1929); director of University Museums (1922-1936); chairman of the department of zoology and director of the Zoological Laboratories (1927-1929); and dean of administration (1928-1929). Upon President Little's resignation, Ruthven was named to a committee of three to administer the affairs of the University. With administrative skills demonstrated in this position, Ruthven in October 1929 was selected by the regents as president of the University of Michigan. He served in this position until 1951 when Harlan Hatcher assumed office.

Upon assuming office as president, Ruthven worked to reform the administrative structure of the university. He believed that the university must distribute authority and responsibility among the many units and officers which make up the total structure. Early on he selected two vice-presidents, one in charge of business affairs and the other in charge of educational investigations. He also appointed a director of plant extension, and some time later, a vice-president in charge of university relations outside the campus. In 1944, the university's administrative structure included a provost, two vice-presidents, and a secretary. Deans and directors of schools, colleges, and other educational units were given authority commensurate with their responsibilities. Usually, advisory or executive committees were set up to aid unit heads with their duties.

During Ruthven's tenure, the School of Music was formally affiliated and integration with the university. In 1941, the School of Public Health was established; and in 1951, the School of Social Work was established. Other important developments during his tenure were the creation of an Institute of Public Administration and the reorganization of the School of Forestry as the School of Natural Resources.

Ruthven died January 19, 1971.

Acquisition Information:

The bulk of the collection was transferred over from the President's Office (donor no. 566 ) in 1948. Professional papers were transferred from the Museum of Zoology (donor no. 837 ) in 1982.

Subjects

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Subjects:

African Americans -- Michigan.
Anti-Nazi Movement -- United States.
Antisemitism -- Michigan.
Athletics -- Michigan -- Ann Arbor.
Child welfare.
Conservation of natural resources.
Dormitories -- Michigan -- Ann Arbor.
Draft -- Michigan.
Drugs -- Michigan.
Education -- Michigan -- Ann Arbor.
Elections -- Michigan -- 1948.
Greek letter societies -- Michigan -- Ann Arbor.
Indians of North America -- Michigan.
New Deal, 1933-1939 -- Michigan.
Peace -- Societies, etc.
Prohibition -- Michigan.
Radicalism -- Michigan -- Ann Arbor.
Refugees.
Women's rights -- United States.
Working class -- Education -- Michigan.
World War, 1939-1945.
World War, 1939-1945 -- Education and the war.
World War, 1939-1945 -- Michigan -- Ann Arbor.
Weddings.

Formats:

Caricatures.
Drawings.
Photographs.

Names:

Ann Arbor School of Religion.
B'nai B'rith Hillel Foundation (University of Michigan)
Mackinac Bridge Authority (Mich.)
Michigan Memorial Phoenix Project.
University of Michigan -- Administration.
University of Michigan -- Alumni and alumnae.
University of Michigan. Board in Control of Intercollegiate Athletics.
University of Michigan. Center for Japanese Studies.
University of Michigan. Dept. of Anthropology.
University of Michigan. Department of Astronomy.
University of Michigan. Dept. of Fine Arts.
University of Michigan. Dept. of Military Science and Tactics.
University of Michigan. Dept. of Physics.
University of Michigan. Dept. of Zoology.
University of Michigan -- Student housing.
University of Michigan. English Language Institute.
University of Michigan -- Faculty.
University of Michigan -- History.
University of Michigan. Institute for Social Research.
University of Michigan. Library.
University of Michigan. Medical School.
University of Michigan. University Museum.
University of Michigan. President.
University of Michigan -- Publishing.
University of Michigan. School of Dentistry.
University of Michigan. School of Music.
University of Michigan. School of Public Health.
University of Michigan -- Students -- Discipline.
University of Michigan -- Students -- Social life and customs -- 1931-1940.
University of Michigan -- Students -- Social life and customs -- 1941-1950.
University of Michigan -- Students -- Societies, etc.
University of Michigan. University Hospital.
University of Michigan. Women's League.
William L. Clements Library.
University of Michigan -- Students -- Social life and customs -- 1921-1930.
American Civil Liberties Union.
American Council on Education.
American Wildlife Institute.
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Ecological Society of America.
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
National Research Council (U.S.)
Ruthven family.
Ruthven, Alexander Grant, 1882-1971.
Acheson, Dean, 1893-1971.
Adams, Charles C. (Charles Christopher), 1873-1955.
Adams, James P. (James Pickwell), 1895-1969.
Adams, Randolph Greenfield, 1892-1951.
Agassiz, Alexander, 1835-1910.
Angell, James Rowland, 1869-1949.
Angell, Robert Cooley, 1899-1984.
Babst, Earl D., 1870-1967.
Baits, Vera Burridge, 1892-1963.
Baker, Newton Diehl, 1871-1937.
Baker, Ray Stannard, 1870-1946.
Ball, Joseph H. (Joseph Hurst), 1905-1993.
Barbour, Thomas, 1884-1946.
Bartlett, Harley Harris, 1886-1960.
Bates, Henry Moore, 1869-1949.
Beal, Junius E. (Junius Emery), 1860-1942.
Bentley, Alvin M. (Alvin Morell), 1918-1969.
Bevis, Howard L. (Howard Landis), 1885-1968.
Billington, Ray Allen, 1903-1981.
Bingay, Malcolm Wallace, 1884-
Bishop, Russell Spencer, 1886-1946.
Bishop, William Warner, 1871-1955.
Bizzell, William Bennett, 1876-1944.
Blakeman, Edward W. (Edward William), 1880-1963.
Bliven, Bruce, 1889-1977.
Bonner, Campbell, 1876-
Booth, Evangeline, 1865-1950.
Boring, Edwin Garrigues, 1886-1968.
Bradley, Omar Nelson, 1893-1981.
Bricker, John W. (John William), 1893-1986.
Brooks, Van Wyck, 1886-1963.
Brown, Joe E. (Joe Evan), 1892-1973.
Brown, Prentiss M. (Prentiss Marsh), 1889-1973.
Brown, William Ellis, 1896-1970.
Brucker, Wilber Marion, 1894-1968.
Brumm, John Lewis, 1878-1958.
Bryan, William Lowe, 1860-1955.
Bunche, Ralph J. (Ralph Johnson), 1904-1971.
Bursley, Joseph Aldrich, 1877-1950.
Butler, Orma Fitch.
Byrd, Harry Flood, 1887-1966.
Byrd, Richard Evelyn, 1888-1957.
Cabot, Hugh, 1872-1945.
Carr, Lowell Juilliard, 1885-
Celler, Emanuel, 1888-1981.
Christian, David Palmer, 1885-1947.
Churchill, Winston, Sir, 1874-1965.
Clements, William L. (William Lawrence), 1861-1934.
Coffey, Wilford L., 1879-
Coffman, Lotus Delta, 1875-1938.
Compton, Arthur Holly, 1892-1962.
Compton, K. T. (Karl Taylor), 1887-1954.
Comstock, William Alfred, 1877-1949.
Conant, James Bryant, 1893-1978.
Connable, Alfred B. (Alfred Barnes), 1904-
Cook, Franklin Mead, 1863-
Coolidge, Calvin, 1872-1933.
Copeland, Royal S. (Royal Samuel), 1868-1938.
Couzens, James, 1872-1936.
Cram, Esther Marsh.
Dana, Samuel Trask, 1883-1978.
Darrow, Clarence, 1857-1938.
Day, Edmund Ezra, 1883-1951.
De Kruif, Paul, 1890-1971.
Denny, George Hutcheson, 1870-1955.
Dern, George Henry, 1872-1936.
Dewey, John, 1859-1952.
Dewey, Thomas E. (Thomas Edmund), 1902-1971.
Dickinson, Luren Dudley, 1859-1943.
Dingell, John D. (John David), 1894-1955.
Dodds, Harold W. (Harold Willis), 1889-1980.
Dondero, George Anthony, 1883-1968.
Donovan, William J. (William Joseph), 1883-1959.
Downey, Sheridan.
Downs, Tom, 1916-
Dulles, John Foster, 1888-1959.
Eckert, Otto E., 1890-
Edmonson, James Bartlett, 1882-1954.
Effinger, John R. (John Robert), 1869-1933.
Eisenhower, Dwight D. (Dwight David), 1890-1969.
Eisenhower, Edgar, 1889-1971.
Eisenhower, Milton Stover, 1899-1985.
Ferguson, Homer, 1889-1982.
Fern, George Henry, 1897-
Ferry, Dexter Mason, 1872-1959.
Fitzgerald, Frank Dwight, 1885-1939.
Ford, Edsel, 1893-1943.
Ford, Guy Stanton, 1873-1962.
Ford, Henry, 1917-1987.
Forrestal, James, 1892-1949.
Foster, Richard Clarke, 1895-1941.
Frank, Glenn, 1887-1940.
Frost, Robert, 1874-1963.
Furstenberg, Albert Carl, 1890-1969.
Gore, Victor M.
Green, Fred W. (Fred Warren), 1872-1936.
Grew, Joseph C. (Joseph Clark), 1880-1965.
Griffin, Clare E. (Clare Elmer), 1892-1979.
Guest, Edgar A. (Edgar Albert), 1881-1959.
Haber, William, 1899-1988.
Hale, William J. (William Jay), 1876-
Hannah, John A., 1902-1991.
Hayden, Joseph Ralston, 1887-1945.
Hays, Will H. (Will Harrison), 1879-1954.
Hayward, Ralph A., 1895-1951.
Herbert, J. Joseph, 1894-1956.
Hershey, Lewis Blaine, 1893-1977.
Hill, Lister, 1894-1984.
Hobbs, William Herbert, 1864-1952.
Hoffman, Clare Eugene, 1875-1967.
Hoover, Herbert, 1874-1964.
Hoover, J. Edgar (John Edgar), 1895-1972.
Hopkins, Harry L. (Harry Lloyd), 1890-1946.
Hopkins, Louis Allen.
Hubbard, Lucius L. (Lucius Lee), 1849-1933.
Hubbs, Carl L. (Carl Leavitt), 1894-1979.
Huber, Gotthelf Carl, 1865-1934.
Hughes, Charles Evans, 1862-1948.
Hulbert, Henry Schoolcraft, 1869-1959.
Hull, Cordell, 1871-1955.
Hutchins, Harry B. (Harry Burns), 1847-1930.
Hutchins, Robert Maynard, 1899-1977.
Ickes, Harold L. (Harold LeClair), 1874-1952.
Kahn, Reuben L. (Reuben Leon), 1887-1979.
Karpinski, Louis Charles, 1878-1956.
Kelly, Harry F. (Harry Francis), 1895-1971.
Kennedy, Charles Stuart, 1887-1966.
King, William Lyon Mackenzie, 1874-1950.
Kipke, Harry G., 1899-1972.
Knight, John Shively, 1894-1981.
Knudsen, William S., 1879-1948.
La Guardia, Fiorello H. (Fiorello Henry), 1882-1947.
Lamont, Robert Patterson, 1867-1948.
Lane, Alfred C. (Alfred Church), 1863-
Lane, Robert Porter, 1891-1953.
Larue, George R. (George Roger), 1882-
Lilienthal, David Eli, 1899-1981.
Lindbergh, Charles A. (Charles Augustus), 1902-1974.
Little, Clarence C. (Clarence Cook), 1888-
Lloyd, Alice Crocker, 1893-1950.
Lorch, Emil, 1870-1963.
Lynch, John David, 1890-1946.
McCallum, George P. (George Porterfield), 1871-1952.
MacLeish, Archibald, 1892-1982.
Maddy, Joseph E. (Joseph Edgar), 1891-1966.
Malcolm, George A. (George Arthur), 1881-1961.
Mapes, Carl Edgar, 1874-1939.
Marshall, George C. (George Catlett), 1880-1959.
Marshall, S. L. A. (Samuel Lyman Atwood), 1900-1977.
Matthaei, Frederick C. (Frederick Carl), 1892-1973.
Maverick, Maury, 1895-1954.
Meader, George, 1907-1994.
Mershon, Wm. B. (William Butts), 1856-1943.
Michener, Earl C. (Earl Cory), 1876-1957.
Moody, Blair, 1902-1954.
Morgenthau, Henry, 1856-1946.
Mott, Charles Stewart, 1875-1973.
Murfin, James Orin, 1875-1940.
Murphy, Frank, 1890-1949.
Murrow, Edward R.
Nelson, J. Raleigh (Joseph Raleigh)
Nimitz, Chester W. (Chester William), 1885-1966.
Okkelberg, Peter Olaus, 1880-
Osborn, Chase S. (Chase Salmon), 1860-
Page, Herman, 1866-1942.
Paxson, Frederic L. (Frederic Logan), 1877-1948.
Peale, Norman Vincent, 1898-1993.
Peckham, Howard H. (Howard Henry), 1910-1995.
Peterson, Enoch Ernest, 1891-
Peterson, Reuben, 1862-1942.
Phillips, Ulrich Bonnell, 1877-1934.
Pollock, James K. (James Kerr), 1898-1968.
Pond, Irving K. (Irving Kane), 1857-1939.
Rackham, Horace H., 1858-1933.
Reeves, Jesse Siddall, 1872-1942.
Reighard, Jacob, 1861-1942.
Reuther, Walter, 1907-1970.
Rightmire, George W. (George Washington), 1868-1952.
Roberts, Kenneth Lewis, 1885-1957.
Rockefeller, John D. (John Davison), 1874-1960.
Rockefeller, Nelson A. (Nelson Aldrich), 1908-1979.
Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1884-1962.
Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945.
St. Laurent, Louis S. (Louis Stephen), 1882-1973.
Sawyer, Walter H. (Walter Hulme), 1861-1931.
Shields, Edmund Claude, 1871-1947.
Shorts, Robert P. (Robert Perry), 1879-1975.
Sigler, Kim, 1894-
Sloan, Alfred P. (Alfred Pritchard), 1875-1966.
Smith, Harold Dewey, 1898-1947.
Smith, Richard Root, 1869-1940.
Smith, Shirley Wheeler, 1875-1959.
Sproul, Robert Gordon, 1891-1975.
Stason, E. Blythe (Edwin Blythe), 1891-1972.
Stearns, Robert Lawrence, 1892-
Stimson, Henry L. (Henry Lewis), 1867-1950.
Stoll, Albert, 1884-
Stone, Ralph, 1868-1956.
Strauss, Louis Abraham, 1872-1938.
Sundwall, John, 1880-1950.
Tapping, Theodore Hawley, 1889-1969.
Thompson, William Oxley, 1855-1933.
Titiev, Mischa, 1901-1978.
Titus, Harold, 1888-1967.
Untermeyer, Louis, 1885-1977.
Vandenberg, Arthur H. (Arthur Hendrick), 1884-1951.
Van Wagoner, Murray Delos, 1898-
Vaughan, Henry F. (Henry Frieze), 1889-1979.
Vinson, Fred M., 1890-1953.
Wagner, Robert F. (Robert Ferdinand), 1910-1991.
Walcott, Jesse P., 1893-
Walker, Bryant, 1856-1936.
Wallace, Henry Agard, 1888-1965.
Wallace, W. Atwood.
Walter, Erich Albert.
Ward, Marcus Llewellyn, 1875-1963.
Waterman, Leroy, 1875-1972.
Weideman, Carl May, 1898-1972.
Welles, Sumner, 1892-1961.
Wenger, Christian Nat, 1886-
Whalen, Grover A. (Grover Aloysius), 1886-1962.
Wheeler, Burton K. (Burton Kendall), 1882-1975.
White, Leslie A., 1900-1975.
White, Stewart Edward, 1873-1946.
Wilbur, Ray L. (Ray Lyman), 1875-1949.
Wilkins, Roy, 1901-1981.
Williams, G. Mennen, 1911-1988.
Willkie, Wendell L. (Wendell Lewis), 1892-1944.
Winter, John Garrett, 1881-1956.
Wood, John S. (John Stephens), 1885-1968.
Woodring, Harry Hines, 1887-1967.
Woodruff, Roy Orchard, 1876-1953.
Yost, Fielding Harris, 1871-1946.
Allen, Glover Morrill, 1879-1942.
Amaral, Afræanio, do, 1894-
Bailey, Vernon, 1864-1942.
Baird, Spencer Fullerton, 1823-1887.
Blanchard, Frank Nelson, 1888-1937.
Eigenmann, Carl H., 1863-1927.
Hankinson, Thomas Leroy, 1876-1937.
Kelly, Howard A. (Howard Atwood), 1858-1943.
Noble, Gladwyn Kingsley, 1894-1940.
Pearse, A. S. (Arthur Sperry), 1877-1956.
Stejneger, Leonhard, 1851-1943.
Taverner, Percy Algernon, 1875-1947.
Van Denburgh, John, 1872-1924.
Williamson, Edward Bruce, 1878-1933.

Places:

Isle Royale (Mich.)
Palestine.
Philippines -- History -- 1898-1946.
Philippines -- History -- 1946-1986.
Philippines -- History -- Japanese occupation, 1942-1945.
Soviet Union.
Spain -- History -- Civil War, 1936-1939.