The records of the University of Michigan Secretary, although including earlier materials from the mid-nineteenth century, are in fact the files of secretary Shirley Wheeler Smith and of controller and assistant secretary John C. Christensen and date primarily from 1908 to 1944.
The secretary was the official who performed much of the detail work involved in the administration of the university. The files of the secretary and of those individuals who worked under him pertain to matters of operations, relations with the state legislature, business and financial dealings, building and grounds, and management of university-wide events (particularly commencements). Within these files, the researcher will also find documentation of the university's struggles during the depression to maintain its facilities and to provide financial aid through employment to deserving students. This information will be found in a topical files series under the headings Federal Emergency Relief Administration and National Youth Administration.
The miscellaneous folders in this record group that fall before the period when Smith was secretary consist of collected materials accumulated by the university's treasurer and pertain to financial dealings of the university (land transactions, bequests, etc.)
Since the early part of the twentieth century, the business function of the University of Michigan has undergone several administrative changes. The University's Business Office grew out of the two traditional financial offices: treasurer and secretary. The treasurer's duties "were largely confined to collecting money and making disbursements, whereas the secretary kept the more detailed accounts of receipts and disbursements." The growth of the University in the late nineteenth century, however, spotlighted the deficiencies of this relatively simple system and pointed out the need for more sophisticated accounting methods. The first reorganization occurred in 1909 with the appointment of Shirley W. Smith as Secretary. It was Smith who sought to centralize in the Secretary's office control of the University's financial dealings. In 1914, John C. Christensen came to the University to assist Smith as his Assistant Secretary. In 1927, Smith's title was changed to Secretary and Business manager.
With the appointment of Alexander Ruthven as President in 1929, the University underwent a major reorganization. A carry-over of this occurred in the Secretary's office with the resignation of Treasurer Robert A. Campbell in 1931. The Secretary's office was reorganized into four divisions: accounting, purchasing, cashier, and investments. Smith's title was changed again, this time to Vice-President and Secretary in charge of Business and Finance. John C. Christensen was appointed Controller and Assistant Secretary. The financial management of the University was then centralized in the person of the Vice-President. His responsibilities included the central Business Office, the Department of Buildings and Grounds, and various other departments such as printing and the bindery.)
Smith was secretary from 1908 to 1944. Following his retirement, the office was again revised. Smith's vice-presidential responsibilities were formally separated from his secretarial duties. Robert P. Briggs was named vice-president, while Herbert G. Watkins became secretary. In 1956, because of an illness to Watkins, the secretary's functions were taken over by assistant to the president Erich Walter, who now also became acting secretary. In 1959, the regents formalized the combining of the offices of secretary and assistant to the president. Walter continued in this position until 1966 when he was replaced by Herbert W. Hildebrandt.
Evolution of the Office of Secretary of the University
| Date |
Event |
| 1909 | Shirley W. Smith appointed Secretary |
| Feb. 1927 | Secretary replaced by Secretary and Business Manager (Regents Proceedings) |
| March 1930 | Secretary and Business Manager replaced by Vice- President and Secretary (Regents Proceedings) |
| Nov. 1944 | Vice-President and Secretary replaced in part by Secretary and Assistant Vice-President (Regents Proceedings) |
| June 1959 | Position of Secretary and Assistant Vice-President abolished (Regents Proceedings) |
| June 1959 | Assistant to the President given new title of Secretary of the University and Assistant to the President (Regents Proceedings) |
| Sept. 1974 | Secretary of the University also became Vice-President for State Relations (Regents Proceedings) |
| Sept. 1985 | (State Relations renamed Government Relations) |
| Sept. 1994 | Secretary of the University separated from Vice-President's position (Regents Proceedings) |
