Institute of Gerontology (University of Michigan) Records, 1948-1987

Summary

Creator:

University of Michigan. Institute of Gerontology.

Abstract:

Interdisciplinary institute at the University of Michigan and Wayne State University for the study of aging. Records include administrative files relating to the activities, research, publications and conferences of the Institute's University of Michigan program; audio-visual material, and photographs.

Extent:

28 linear feet
1.7 GB (online)

Language:

English.

Call Number:

86996 Bimu C6 2

Authors:

Finding aid prepared by: University Archives and Records Program Staff

Background

Scope and Content:

The records of the Institute of Gerontology cover the period 1948 to 1987. They are composed of the office files of several staff members at the University of Michigan. (Not included are the records of that part of the IoG housed at Wayne State University.) Included are the scattered files of four of the institute's co-directors, the chairman of the Executive Board, the editor of the Occasional Papers series, the annual conference coordinators, and the directors of certain projects. Also included are correspondence and memos, financial information, grant proposals and reports, minutes, and printed matter. The programs for the Annual Conferences on Aging provide a "who's who" for many of the individuals represented in the collection.

The records provide an overview of the activities, policies, and personnel of the IoG from its inception. Some substantive and seminal memos and reports exist which throw light on the development of programs and on the value of certain projects. Most of the documents are routine, however, and serve primarily to introduce the researcher to the various units and activities of the institute. For details and insights into particular aspects of the IoG, the researcher should consult the separate collections of the various co-directors, directors of research, and project directors, as well as the institute's publications.

Biographical / Historical:

Work on aging at the University of Michigan began under the auspices of the Institute for Human Adjustment. The nation's first adult education program for older people was begun in 1948 by Clark Tibbitts, then director of the institute. In 1951 the Board of Regents of the University created the Division of Gerontology as part of the Institute for Human Adjustment. Wilma Donahue, of the Psychological Clinic, was appointed the division's first chairperson. In 1965 the Michigan State Legislature passed House Bill No. 2748 to create the Institute of Gerontology (IoG), jointly sponsored by the University of Michigan and Wayne State University. Wilma Donahue and Lawrence Power were named co-directors.

In the enabling act, IoG's objectives were defined as: "developing new and improved programs for helping older people in [Michigan], for the training of persons skilled in working with the problems of the aged, for research related to the needs...of our aging population, and for conducting community service programs in the field of aging." To accomplish these objectives, the institute has worked closely with other units of the universities. The IoG offers short courses for in-service training, a curricula at the master's level, and seeks to attract doctoral students in several disciplines to specialize in gerontological problems.

At the outset, Wayne State and the University of Michigan took responsibility for different aspects of the institute's unitary plan. Wayne State emphasized medical and health related fields, while the University of Michigan concentrated on economic, social, employment/retirement, and educational areas. The University of Michigan's program is highlighted by several projects, among them the investigation of "milieu" therapy in the rehabilitation of geriatric mental hospital patients, the development of discussion programs for use in training community leaders to serve older persons, and stimulating the inclusion of gerontological content in the basic science and professional school curricula.

While the Institute of Gerontology has made many contributions to the nation's attitudes toward and programs for the elderly, its most visible program has been the series of annual conferences on aging which began in 1948 and ended in 1975. The conferences drew national audiences of 600 to 1300 persons who participated in workshops and listened to leading gerontologists present their most recent research findings. Many of the papers presented were published in the IoG's Occasional Papers series.

The IoG underwent considerable change in the early 1980s, beginning with the appointment of Richard Adelman as the UM co-director. Adelman shifted the IoG's focus from pedagogy and generally public-oriented programming to research. Conference activity was curtailed sharply and the continuing education program in geriatric education was rapidly phased out. The institute began to direct its attentions increasingly to multi-disciplinary research and formed alliances with a broad cross-section of UM departments, from architecture and music to medicine and biology. This approach proved difficult for some staff members, but ultimately resulted in the IoG being much more focused on research, preserving the institute's place on the leading edge of geriatric research.

The Institute of Gerontology is governed by a ten-member Executive Board. The board's members are appointed by the presidents of the two universities; in turn the board appoints the institute's co-directors. The size and composition of the institute has varied over time, depending as much on "soft" funds from individual grants as on the "hard" money provided by the parent universities. The two principle funding agencies have been the U.S. Administration on Aging and the Michigan Commission on Aging.

Co-Directors of the Institute of Gerontology

University of Michigan

Date	Event
1965-1969	Wilma Donahue
1969-1972	Woodrow Hunter
1972-1975	Wayne Vasey
1975-1982	Harold Johnson
1982 (acting)	John E. Tropman
1982-1997	Richard Adelman
1988-1989	John A. Faulkner (Interim)
1995	W. Andrew Achenbaum
1997-1998	John A. Faulkner (Interim)
1998-2000	Ari Gafni
2000-2003	Bruce M. Carlson
2004-2011	Jeffrey Halter
2011-	Raymond Yung

Wayne State University

Date	Event
1965-1972	Lawrence Power
1973-	Charles Parrish

Acquisition Information:

This record group (donor No. 6160 ) was transferred from the Institute of Gerontology Library in October 1984. Additions are expected periodically.

Processing information:

Records processed and finding aid prepared by Mark A. Greene, April 1985 (boxes 1-11), Katherine C. Owen, October 1989 (boxes 12-25)., Joan Patterson, October 1992 (boxes 26-28), Kenneth J. Varnum, June 1994 (boxes 26-28).

Encoded finding aid created by Greg Kinney, July 2001

In preparing digital material for long-term preservation and access, the Bentley Historical Library adheres to professional best practices and standards to ensure that content will retain its authenticity and integrity. For more information on procedures for the ingest and processing of digital materials, please see Bentley Historical Library Digital Processing Note. Access to digital material may be provided either as a direct link to an individual file or as a downloadable package of files bundled in a zip file.

Arrangement:

Because of the varied sources and the original poor order of the institute's records, the arrangement is essentially artificial. The records have been arranged into nineteen series:

1. General Documents
2. Ad Hoc University Committee on Gerontology
3. Budget Requests and Supporting Documents
4. Correspondence and Memos
5. Annual Conferences on Aging
6. Conferences and Symposia
7. Programs, Projects, Studies, and Curricula
8. Unfunded Programs, Projects, Studies, and Curricula
9. Ann Arbor Veterans Administration Hospital
10. Miscellaneous
11. Executive Board
12. Executive Committee
13. Photographs
14. Publications
15. Multi-Media Kits
16. Sound Recordings.
17. Films; Slides
18. Institute Files
19. University Files

The Institute files have been received in several accessions, with continuations of records series in multiple accessions. The records have not been physically interfiled. The contents list of this finding aid describes the intellectual arrangement of the records, without regard to date of accessioning. The Summary contents list below provides an overview of the physical arrangement of the records.

Summary Contents List

1. General Documents [box 1, 12]
2. Ad Hoc University Committee on Gerontology, 1965 [box 1]
3. Executive Board Minutes, 1965-1984 [boxes 1, 12-13]
4. Budget Requests and Supporting Documents, 1965-1985 [boxes 1, 12]
5. Correspondence and Memos, 1949-1985 [boxes 1-2, 13-14]
6. Annual Conference on Aging, 1948-1975 [boxes 2-4, 14-15]
   • Publications [box 2]
   • Correspondence, Financial Information, Notes, Summaries, and Miscellaneous [boxes 2-3]
   • Addresses and Unpublished Papers [boxes 3-4]
7. Other Conferences and Symposia, 1942-1984 [boxes 4-5, 15, 27]
   • Sponsored by IoG [box 4]
8. Programs, Projects, Studies, Curricula, 1964-1984 [boxes 5-8, 15-17]
   • Biology of Aging [box 5]
   • Educational Gerontology Graduate Program [box 5]
   • Health Advocacy for Older People, Jackson County [boxes 5-6]
   • Milieu Therapy Training Program [boxes 6-7, 16]
   • "Senior Sounds": Series of Radio Programs for WUOM [box 7]
9. Unfunded Programs, Projects, Studies, Curricula, 1964-1971 [boxes 8-9]
10. Ann Arbor Veteran's Administration (AAVA) Hospital, 1976-1981 [boxes 8-9, 27]
11. Miscellaneous, 1956-1985 [boxes 9-10, 20]
    • IoG [box 9]
    • Gerontology [box 9]
    • Aging and the Elderly [boxes 9-10]
12. Institute Files [boxes 26-27]
13. University Files [box 28]
14. Photographs [boxes 10, 20, 27]
15. Sound Tapes [box 11, 23-24]
16. Publications, 1967-1984 [boxes 17-20, 29]
17. Multimedia Kits [boxes 21-22]
18. Films, slides [box 25]

Physical Location:

Portions located in offsite storage; prior notification required for access.

Related

Alternative Form Available:

Digitization: The Library has undertaken the digitization of a number of sound recordings within this collection. The resulting audio files are available for playback only in the Bentley Library Reading Room. Links to item images and additional information are available within this finding aid. Original sound recordings are only available for staff use.

Subjects

Click on terms below to find any related finding aids on this site.

Subjects:

Aged.
Aging.
Gerontology.
Retirement.
Aging.
Gerontology.

Formats:

Photographs.
Sound recordings.

Names:

University of Michigan. Institute of Gerontology.
Conference on Aging.
Sontag, Susan, 1933-2004.
Donahue, Wilma T. (Wilma Thompson), 1900-
Hunter, Woodrow Wilson, 1913-
Johnson, Harold R.
Vasey, Wayne.