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University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library

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1150 Beal Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2113, USA
bentley.ref@umich.edu

Office of Research (University of Michigan) records, 1911-2013 (majority within 1950-2010)

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Restrictions:
University records are public records and once fully processed are generally open to research use. Records that contain personally identifiable information will be restricted in order to protect...

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Summary

Creator:
University of Michigan. Office of Research.
Abstract:
Officially established in 1959, the Office of Research supports and administers large interdisciplinary projects called research centers and administers research institutes. The record group includes individual vice president's files, central office files, staff files, financial records, administrative files, committee and task force documents and reports, special event files, and project and institute files.
Extent:
323.5 linear feet (In 324 boxes)
1 oversize volume
157 MB (online)
4 digital video files
Language:
English
Call Number:
87258 Bimu B6 2 UBImul B6
Authors:
Finding aid created by Bentley Historical Library Staff. Last updated, October 2018.

Background

Scope and Content:

The records of the vice-president for research date from 1911 to 2013 and measure 323.5 linear feet, 1 oversize box and 157 MB of digital materials. The records document the activities of the office overseeing grant funded research at the University of Michigan and offer some insight into the range of research undertaken at the university. Records include administrative files of vice-presidents, including correspondence, memoranda, and budgetary material relating to research projects and grants of university units and departments; and photographs.

The organization of the records, particularly the early accessions, reflects the tenure of the successive vice presidents for research. Later accessions included files of associate vice-presidents and senior staff officers as well topically organized files that spanned the tenure of several vice presidents. The records are organized into the following series:

  1. A. Geoffrey Newman -- Boxes 1-15, 70-71
  2. Charles Overberger -- Boxes 15-69
  3. Charles Overberger/Warren Sussman -- Boxes 72-87
  4. Linda S. Wilson,-- Boxes 88-100
  5. William C. Kelly -- Boxes 102-105
  6. Central Files -- Boxes 108-127, 180-210, 266-275, Boxes 277-301, Boxes 311-322
  7. OVPR Staff Files -- Boxes 128-134
  8. Julie Ellison -- Boxes 135-136
  9. Marvin Parnes -- Boxes 137-146
  10. OVPR Financial and Administrative Files -- Boxes 147-148
  11. Administrative Files -- Boxes 149-150, Boxes 323-324
  12. Committees and Task forces -- 151-164
  13. Michigan Memorial Phoenix Project and Ford Nuclear Reactor -- Boxes 165 --166, 218-219
  14. Special Events, Symposiums, and Promotional -- Boxes 167-170, 275
  15. Presidential Initiatives Fund -- Boxes 171-179
  16. Contractual Restrictions Requests (PAF-R's) -- Boxes 213-216
  17. Michigan Life Science's Corridor -- Boxes 216-218
  18. Discretionary Fund -- Boxes 220-264
  19. Indirect Waivers -- Boxes 265
  20. Research Faculty Appointments -- Boxes 276, Box 322
  21. Washington D.C. Office -- Boxes 302-310
Biographical / Historical:

After World War II the burden of overseeing the university's rapidly expanding research programs fell upon the Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies. The dean's broad responsibility for research activity was formally acknowledged in 1959 when Dean Ralph A. Sawyer was given the additional title of Vice President for Research (VPR). The Office of the Vice President for research (OVPR) supports and administers large interdisciplinary projects called research centers and also administers research institutes. Research projects which have been overseen by the VPR include the Michigan Memorial Phoenix Project, which provides beneficial uses for atomic energy; the Institute of Science and Technology (IST), which managed large research projects that did not fit into the existing academic structure; and the Institute for Social Research (ISR), which undertakes substantial programs in survey research, political behavior, and other areas.

For practical reasons, the University of Michigan Research Institute (UMRI) was assigned to aid Sawyer in carrying out the administrative tasks of the VPR. The administrative relationship between the VPR and UMRI was formalized in 1961 with UMRI becoming the Office of Research Administration. The function of the Office of Research Administration is to assist faculty members in obtaining support for their research projects and to maintain appropriate records of university research projects. In 1972 the ORA became the Division of Research Development and Administration (DRDA).

At the time of Dean Sawyer's retirement, in 1964, a decision was made to separate the vice presidency from the deanship. Arthur Geoffrey Norman, a professor of botany at Michigan since 1952 and director of the university's botanical gardens since 1955, was named to replace Sawyer as vice president. Some of the problems facing the new VPR were recovering indirect costs of large research programs, integrating research with instructional programs, and developing interdisciplinary research.

During the early 1960s much of the work of the OVPR was involved in overseeing the expansion of government funded research. The majority of sponsored research funds went to engineering and scientific research projects, but as the decade advanced more research funds were received by the social and health sciences. Prior to 1966/67 sponsored research funds had increased an average of 13% to 14% a year, but from 1966 to 1968 a rise of only 5% was reported. By 1968/69 sponsored research had reached a plateau. This was caused in part by a leveling of federal funds and because available faculty time and research space had reached a saturation point.

Classified research policy was a topic of great debate during the late 1960s and early 1970s. A new policy was put into effect in 1968 and then revised in 1972. The 1972 revision prohibits research activities, the foreseeable result of which is to destroy or incapacitate human life, and restrictions that limit open publication of results beyond one year. Interpretation of the new policy resulted in the Willow Run Laboratories disassociating itself from the university, since the majority of university classified research occurred there.

In 1972, although he continued to perform various tasks within OVPR, Norman retired from the vice presidency. He was succeeded by Charles G. Overberger, who had joined the University of Michigan faculty in 1967 and was then chairman of the Chemistry Department. During Overberger's tenure in OVPR, research expenditures increased only 2.4% when adjusted for inflation during the 1970s. In the 1979/80 academic year the distribution of sponsored research funds was 43.3% life sciences, 20% engineering, 16.7% social sciences, 8.9% physical sciences, 1.3% humanities, and 9.8% other.

Overberger resigned in 1983. Rather than seek an immediate replacement, a major study was authorized to determine if the 1964 decision to separate the vice presidency from the deanship of the graduate school should be reversed. While the study was underway, Alfred A. Sussman was named interim VPR while also continuing in his position as Dean of the Graduate School. Eventually it was concluded that the two posts would remain separate, and in 1985 Linda S. Wilson was named vice president for research. Wilson resigned in 1989 and William C. Kelley became interim vice president. In 1990 he became the permanent vice president for research.

Homer Neal (1993-1996), Frederick C. Niedhardt (1996-1998), Fawwaz Ulaby (1999-2005) and Stephen R. Forrest (2005-2013) succeeded William C. Kelley as Vice President of Research. In 2014, the unit changed its name from the Office of the Vice President of Research to the University of Michigan Office of Research (UMOR). Also in 2014, S. Jack Hu was appointed interim Vice-President and officially named Vice President for Research in 2015. The University of Michigan continues to be a world leader in academic research and was ranked #1 in research volume among United States public universities in 2017.

Vice Presidents for Research
Date Event
1959-1964 Ralph A. Sawyer
1964-1972 A. Geoffrey Norman
1972-1983 Charles G. Overberger
1983-1985 Alfred A. Sussman (acting)
1985-1989 Linda S. Wilson
1989-1990 William C. Kelly (acting)
1990-1993 William C. Kelly
1993-1996 Homer Neal
1996-1998 Frederick C. Niedhart
1999-2005 Fawwaz Ulaby
2005-2013 Stephen R. Forrest
2014-2015 S. Jack Hu (Interim)
2015- S. Jack Hu
Name Changes
Date Event
1959-2014 Office of the Vice President for Research
2014- University of Michigan Office of Research
Acquisition Information:
The record group (Donor 5123 ) was first received in 1981.
Processing information:

Box 101 was eliminated during reprocessing.

Previous collection title: Office of the Vice-President for Research (University of Michigan) records.

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.

Accruals:

Periodic additions to the records expected.

Physical Location:
Portions located in offsite storage; prior notification required for access.
Rules or Conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

Using These Materials

Info for Visitors

How to Request

Ordering Reproductions

Download PDF Finding Aid
RESTRICTIONS:

University records are public records and once fully processed are generally open to research use. Records that contain personally identifiable information will be restricted in order to protect individual privacy. Certain administrative records are restricted in accordance with university policy as outlined below. The restriction of university records is subject to compliance with applicable laws, including the Freedom of Information Act.

The Vice President for Research record group includes restricted material in the following categories:

  1. Personnel Records - Box 106-107, 276, 321-322
  2. Patient/Client Records - Box 106, 144
  3. Executive Officers Records -- Boxes 121, 149, 180-204, 208, 210-213, 215-219, 266-268, 272-275, 277-324, and online

Access Restrictions for University of Michigan Records

University records are public records and once fully processed are generally open to research use. Records that contain personally identifiable information will be restricted in order to protect individual privacy. Certain administrative records are restricted in accordance with university policy as outlined below. The restriction of university records is subject to compliance with applicable laws, including the Michigan Freedom of Information Act.

Categories of Restricted Records

  • Personnel-related files, including search, review, promotion, and tenure files, are restricted for thirty (30) years from the date of their creation.
  • Patient/client records are restricted for one-hundred (100) years from the date of their creation. The terms of use for particular records older than 100 years may require the research to sign a Patient/Client Access Agreement.
  • Executive records: Records generated by the university's executive officers, deans, directors, department heads, and their designated support staff are restricted for twenty (20) years from the date of their creation.

Restricted files are indicated in the contents list of the collection’s finding aid with a restriction note indicating the restriction type and the date of expiration.

For further information on the restriction policy and placing Freedom of Information Act requests for restricted material, consult the reference archivist at the Bentley Historical Library (bentley.ref@umich.edu) or the University of Michigan Freedom of Information Office website (https://foia.vpcomm.umich.edu/).

Select recordings within this collection have been digitized. Original sound recordings are only available for staff use.

Access Restrictions for University of Michigan Records

University records are public records and once fully processed are generally open to research use. Records that contain personally identifiable information will be restricted in order to protect individual privacy. Certain administrative records are restricted in accordance with university policy as outlined below. The restriction of university records is subject to compliance with applicable laws, including the Michigan Freedom of Information Act.

Categories of Restricted Records

  • Personnel-related files, including search, review, promotion, and tenure files, are restricted for thirty (30) years from the date of their creation.
  • Patient/client records are restricted for one-hundred (100) years from the date of their creation. The terms of use for particular records older than 100 years may require the research to sign a Patient/Client Access Agreement.
  • Executive records: Records generated by the university's executive officers, deans, directors, department heads, and their designated support staff are restricted for twenty (20) years from the date of their creation.

Restricted files are indicated in the contents list of the collection’s finding aid with a restriction note indicating the restriction type and the date of expiration.

For further information on the restriction policy and placing Freedom of Information Act requests for restricted material, consult the reference archivist at the Bentley Historical Library (bentley.ref@umich.edu) or the University of Michigan Freedom of Information Office website (https://foia.vpcomm.umich.edu/).

USE & PERMISSIONS:

Copyright is held by the Regents of the University of Michigan but the collection may contain third-party materials for which copyright is not held. Patrons are responsible for determining the appropriate use or reuse of materials.

PREFERRED CITATION:

[item], folder, box, Office of Research (University of Michigan) records, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan

[item], [URL], Office of Research (University of Michigan) records, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan

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Collection

Office of Research (University of Michigan) records, 1911-2013 (majority within 1950-2010)
Call Number 87258 Bimu B6 2 UBImul B6
Total components 7,121
Items available online Online 8
Last indexed 2023-12-08