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The Dean's Files series (453 linear feet and digital files (online)) constitutes the central file of the office covering the years from 1911 to 2015. The organization and substantive content of the Dean's files changed over the years. In the early period, a single alphabetical file covered a span of years. Later, there is a separate alphabetical file for each academic year. The annual alphabetical files were later subdivided into an alphabetical Topical File and files for Departments, Centers/Programs, Museums, Laboratories/Gardens, Institutes, and Committees. The content of the Dean's files evolved over the years from being primarily routine correspondence to the central administrative record of the college. The records were received in several accessions. In this finding aid, the dean's files from the various accessions have been brought together. As a result, the box numbers are not always consecutive.

The first accession of records (boxes 1-39) cover the years 1916-1932, the period when John R. Effinger was dean, and document the role of the dean as an administrator of student problems and activities. The content of these files focus on matters of admission, transfer of credits, request for transcripts, letters of recommendation, and questions regarding degree requirements. These files, though occasionally containing information about university administrative policy, faculty affairs, and the relationship of the university with other institutions and with the public, are for the most part routine in content and of modest research value. The bulk of the records in this accession are arranged alphabetically and thus will be difficult to use when researching a subject area unless the name of a correspondent or organization associated with a subject, or the approximate date when discussion of a subject within the college might have occurred, is known. Fortunately, John R. Effinger maintained a separate subject file (boxes 34-37) that supplements somewhat the alphabetical files. This file contains departmental and committee files, budgetary materials, policy statements, and various administrative reports.

With the death of Effinger and the appointment of Edward H. Kraus as dean of the college in 1933, the character of the dean's files changed. In this second major accession of records (boxes 40-65), dating from 1933 through the end of Kraus' deanship in 1945, the dean's files become more properly an administrative record of the dean's relationship with other university administrators and faculty members. Gone from the files are those documents and letters concerning individual student problems. The file headings in this accession are specific subjects; a much smaller part of the files are those alphabetical sequences of letters that characterized the records from Effinger's deanship. This accession of records is arranged, with but few early exceptions, alphabetically by academic year. The early sequences appear to be grouped in a random fashion: 1933-1936; 1936-1937; 1937-1940; and 1940-1942. With academic year 1942/43, the files are arranged alphabetically by single academic year. As a rule in these files, there is a miscellaneous folder (or folders) of materials for each letter of the alphabet followed by subject files.

The third accession of records covers the period beginning with academic year 1944/45 and continuing through 1970/71, years when the College of LSA was administered by a number of deans. These years saw tremendous growth in the College as the University responded to returning veterans attending college via the GI Bill after World War II. Postwar files detail work with refugees and Cold War issues, including Red Scare politics, charges of un-American activities among faculty, and the massive influx of federal research funding. Files from the 1960s reflect the college responding to campus unrest, Civil Rights issues, and anti-Vietnam protests. The administrative files detail the administration, budget, priorities, and the development of new programs such as the Residential College.

Midway through this third accession, there is a change in the order of the files. With academic year 1957/58, the dean's office abandoned the use of the single alphabet in favor of a system that grouped certain categories of files together. At first, there were just two series of records for each academic year: the alphabetical subject files and "Departmental files." Formerly, the departmental files had been part of the subject files, but now, because of their importance, the dean's office had separated them. The departmental files document the college's relationship with the various LSA departments on matters of budget and personnel. The fourth major accession of records (boxes 201-317) covers the period of the academic years from 1971/72 to 1981/82, when Frank Rhodes and Billy Frye served as dean. The content of the files is much the same as for preceding years. One difference the researcher should note is that the finding aid lists each folder in the accession (rather than just listing an alphabetical span with an index to the subject headings used). Additionally, the dean's office, perhaps reflecting the increasing complexity and diversity of its responsibilities, created other series of records that formerly had been placed in the single alphabetical sequence. With files for departments and museums, the records for each academic year also includes files for university centers and programs, university committees, university laboratories and gardens, and university institutes over which the college had some responsibility. The researcher should note that the placement of a file heading within one of these series might vary from year to year depending upon who did the filing. A quick perusal of the finding aid for each academic year should enable the researcher to locate such folders.

Issues well documented in the 1996 accession (boxes 336-355) include a proposal to create a Center for Public Affairs; information on a merger between LSA and Engineering which would create a unified division of computer science and engineering; proposal drafts for the creation of a Center for Law and Society, which would arise out of a merger between LSA and the law school; recommendations, endowment proposals, and drafts for the establishment of a Humanities Institute; and a large amount of documentation centering on the academic freedom dispute with Professor Mark Green in the early 1970s. The dispute focused upon Green's showing of an anti-war film in his Chemistry class; his actions caused an outcry among both students and faculty as this occurred during the volatile Vietnam era.

As in previous accessions, the Dean's Files received in 2000 (boxes 356-386) are primarily comprised of records for Departments, Museums, Centers/Programs, and Institutes and document the administrative functions of two deans, Peter Steiner and Edie Goldenberg. The Dean 's Files 1989-1998 covers the broadest period and includes more files of a topical nature, as well as Goldenberg's general correspondence, committee files, and records documenting special initiatives. Of particular note within the 1988-1990 series is a run of bound documents with data on most LSA departments entitled "Historical Reports." The reports contain department salary histories, comparative rankings with peer institutions, faculty teaching load statistics, position requests, and other information accumulated in the mid-1980s. Particularly strong in this accession is documentation of a dramatic transformation in undergraduate education that was instituted during Edie Goldenberg's tenure. Both Dean's Files and Administrative Files hold records pertaining to the Undergraduate Initiative, an undertaking that resulted in a rich array of planning documents, reports, surveys, and correspondence. Among the new initiatives documented are Theme Semesters and the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP).

The Topical Files, 1997-1999 subseries, received in 2002, (boxes 389-400) contains the dean of LSA's central files related to LSA administration and budgeting, coordination with non-LSA university units, faculty awards, and other topics for the academic years 1997/98 and 1998/99. The majority of the files are from Edie Goldenberg's final academic year as dean, and the one-year tenure of her interim successor, psychology professor Patricia Gurin. Older files are included on several topics, including the Magellan Project, a multi-institution collaboration between Michigan, the Carnegie Institution, Harvard, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the University of Arizona, to build two large telescopes in northern Chile.

The Departments, 1990-1991 and Centers, Institutes, Museums, and Programs, 1990-1991 subseries, and the subseries of the same name for 1991-1992, contain correspondence between the dean, the associate deans, and the various academic units of LS&A during the 1990/91 and 1991/92 academic years. The files include event announcements, reports, proposals and external reviews. The files also contain a wealth of information about search processes for chairs and directors of the units, hiring and retention negotiations with faculty and personnel, the development of new academic programs and initiatives, and the various priorities and concerns of the college during these years. Older files are included within the four subseries for some long-running negotiations or projects.

The Dean's Files in the 2009 accession primarily document the administrative functions of three deans: Edie Goldenberg, Patricia Gurin (Interim Dean), and Shirley Neuman. The records are divided among ten dated sub-series, covering the academic years from 1992-1993 to 2001-2002. The sub-series are then further divided into sub sub-series: Departments, Centers/Institutes/Museums/Programs, and, beginning in 1999/2000, Topical Files. The files contain correspondence between the dean, the associate deans, and the various academic units of LS&A. The files include event announcements, reports, proposals, and external reviews. The files also contain a wealth of information about search processes for chairs and directors of the units, hiring and retention negotiations with faculty and personnel, the development of new academic programs and initiatives, and the various priorities and concerns of the college during these years.

In addition to the dated sub-series, there are three other sub-series: Neuman, Shirley, 1999-2002; Reports and Reviews, 1973-1991; and Subject Files, 1982-1999. The Neuman, Shirley sub-series contains materials pertaining to Dean Neuman's hire and subsequent departure from LS&A, personal and professional papers, and speeches written by or for the dean for specific events. The Reports and Reviews sub-series contains internal and external reviews for degree granting, non-degree granting, and smaller academic programs within LSA. However, researchers should note that similar records regularly appear in Dean's Files throughout the record group, and there is sometimes varying material for the same year in more than one location. Reviews contained here cover the period from 1973 to 1991. The Subject Files, 1982-1999 sub-series contains the dean of LSA's central files related to LSA administration and budgeting, coordination with non-LSA university units, faculty awards, and other topics for the academic years from 1982/83 to 1998/99.

Some topics of interest include the Kitt Peak Telescope, a telescope in Arizona that was originally shared by the Astronomy Departments of the University of Michigan, Dartmouth, and MIT. The files on the Kitt Peak Telescope document efforts by the three institutions to include other institutions in splitting the costs of using and maintaining the telescope. Also related to the Astronomy Department are additional files on the Magellan Project, which can also be found in the 2002 accession. Other interesting topics include issues concerning the Communication Department. The first involves controversy surrounding the hire and subsequent resignation of Professor Neil Malamuth, documented in the Malamuth, Neil files, and partially documented in the News Articles (1994-95 Investigation and Reorganization) file. Along with the Malamuth controversy, there are materials regarding an evaluation of the Journalism department that can also be found in the New Articles file, and in the file entitled Journalism Response to Faculty Advisory Committee Charge. Finally, a file from the Political Science Department, "Meizlish/Brown Censorship Issue," contains documentation on a disagreement between a teaching assistant and a student regarding a passage from a class paper. The disagreement resulted in correspondence between the dean and the department, as well as between the dean and a number of newspapers that commented on the situation.

The Dean's Files accession covering the years 2002-2004 includes two sub-series consisting of dean's files from 2002-2003, and 2003-2004. The files in this accession document the administrative functions of Terrence McDonald, who became interim dean in 2002 following Shirley Neuman's departure, and was then appointed Dean of the College of Literature, Science and the Arts in 2003. Scattered documents from Dean Neuman's tenure appear in some files. The files in the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 sub-series are divided into three sub sub-series: Topical Files, Departments, and Centers/Institutes/Museums/Programs.

Some topics of interest include the Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum. In 2003 Associate Provost Janet Weiss headed a committee to investigate a possible alliance between Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum. This committee eventually proposed that the two units be combined. The Botanical Gardens (Matthaei) file from 2002-2003 contains correspondence and other documentation related to the proposed unification. Another interesting set of files cover the Life Sciences Institute. The new Life Sciences Institute building was completed in September 2003. The file contains documents and correspondence leading up to the building's completion. Some of the materials hint at some possible disagreements within the college regarding the building project. Finally, there is a healthy amount of material included on the ADVANCE program. Beginning as a five-year, grant-funded project, the ADVANCE program continues to insure equal treatment and provide incentives for women pursuing careers in fields relating to science and mathematics.

The DEAN'S FILES, 2004-2006 (2011-2012 accessions) consists of two sub-series of dean's files from 2004-2005, and 2005-2006. The records continue the documentation of the administration of dean Terrence McDonald. The files in the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 sub-series are divided into the following three sub sub-series: Departments, Centers/Institutes/Museums/Programs, and Topical Files.

Among the significant topics covered in this accession are the construction of the new North Quad Building, the allocation of spaces for LSA units, and the development of theme semesters, a practice that began in the 1990s.

The 2019 accession added additional departmental and topical files covering the years 2006-2015. Several accessions acquired from 2018-2020 added additional departmental and topical files for the 2015-2016, 2016-2017, and 2017-2018 years.