Search

In-house architectural office of the University of Michigan. Records include project files for new University buildings, and additions to, and alterations of, existing structures; include files for Ann Arbor, Dearborn and Flint sites and off-campus projects with documentation for numerous medical-related buildings; contain minutes, correspondence with University officials, architects and contractors; photographs, brochures and conference notes; also data sheets relating to specific building projects, including cost, size, names of architects and contractors, and construction period.

The records of the University Architect's Office consist of twenty (20) linear feet and three oversize volumes. Records include correspondence, meeting minutes, reports, architectural drawings, and photographs spanning the years from 1950 to 1989. The records document the numerous construction and renovation projects undertaken by the university on the Ann Arbor campus as well as on the Dearborn and Flint campuses. The materials are arranged in two series: University Architects and University Buildings Files. The bulk of the records are comprised of building files

There are three oversize volumes of photographs regarding the Administration Building (LS&A Building), Mary Butler Markley Hall, and the Outpatient Clinic of the University Hospital, which have been removed to an oversize location.

Correspondence, memoranda, reports, minutes, and other materials relating to administration of the office; include files relating to operation and naming of University dormitories, especially detailing the establishment of housing policy and the resolution of housing controversies; information on small group housing and off-campus housing with individual files on fraternities and sororities; also files concerning the occupational status and treatment of Japanese-Americans working for the University during World War II, and concerning the housing and training of military personnel on campus during the war.

The records of the Housing Division provide documentation on development and administration of the university's dormitory system, off-campus housing and student life. The records include correspondence, memoranda, reports, minutes, and other materials relating to administration of the office; include files relating to operation and naming of University dormitories, especially detailing the establishment of housing policy and the resolution of housing controversies; information on small group housing and off-campus housing with individual files on fraternities and sororities; also files concerning the occupational status and treatment of Japanese-Americans working for the University during World War II, and concerning the housing and training of military personnel on campus during the war.

Blueprints, renderings, and blue-line prints of original University structures, and additions to, and alterations of existing structures. Architects and architectural firms represented include: Albert Kahn, Alexander J. Davis, Pond and Pond, C. William Palmer, and William LeBaron Jenney.

This collection of University of Michigan architectural blueprints, renderings, and blueline prints has been drawn together from different sources. The provenance is not always clear, though most of the sheets probably originated with the Buildings and Grounds Department of the University. The collection is selective and does not include all campus buildings. Significant buildings are included, however, as are important architects and architectural firms. Represented in the collection are the works of Albert Kahn, Alexander J. Davis, Pond and Pond, the Chicago architectural firm, C. William Palmer, William L. Jenney, and York and Sawyer of New York.

Photographs collected from various sources, depicting buildings, faculty, students, and other topics relating to the University of Michigan.

The University of Michigan Photographs Vertical File represents a miscellaneous assemblage of U of M-related photographs from many different sources, mainly prior to 1950. The vertical file is especially strong on the earliest photographic images of the campus, university buildings, and class activities. While the vertical file contains many images of individuals, researchers should first consult the library's on-line catalog for images of faculty, administrators, and other University personalities. Most photographs originally accumulated by a University department or other unit are kept with that unit's records.

The arrangement of the photographic images was intended to parallel the classification used with University of Michigan published materials and with manuscript materials. Both of these used a classification system using letters of the alphabet (A through N only) for groupings of published or manuscript material. This system was carried over for use with the library's photographic images though there are certain categories for which images are unlikely to be found (Category A, for example, which pertains to legislation affecting the University or Category I which is reserved for university publications of a scientific or literary nature). The classification is further broken down under each letter by a number code which refers to a more specific subdivision. The heaviest concentration of images will be found under C (for U-M schools and colleges, departments, and other units), D (for university buildings and views), and F (for class pictures, photos of student organizations, and images detailing aspects of student life and customs).

Each heading in this finding aid includes the letter classification plus a numbered subdivision. In addition, the individual envelopes are numbered sequentially. Headings for which there are oversized images (usually larger than 8x10) will be indicated by reference to medium or large size photographs. When requesting material, researchers must specify the heading and the classification and folder number.

This finding aid describes only a small portion of the Bentley Library's U-M visual images. The on-line catalog will direct the researcher to additional images.

Records of University of Michigan office (and its predecessor administrative offices) responsible for external fund raising and development activities, including subject files of development officials Arthur Brandon, Lyle Nelson, and Michael Radock; staff files; and photographs.

The records of the Vice President for Development date from 1948 to the present and measure 39.5 linear feet. They reflect the basic concerns of the office for these four decades: preserving and improving the university's public image and planning major fundraising efforts. Unfortunately, both activities are incompletely documented. In the area of public relations the records tend to discuss how immediate problems will be dealt with, rather than overall conceptions of the university's image. The thought behind the innovative fundraising devices created or employed by the office is sometimes recorded through consultant reports, but in general is not well documented.

The manuscript records have been divided into two subgroups, one representing the records of the vice president (or senior staff person, for those years in which there was no vice presidency), the other containing records created by the development office. The Vice Presidents subgroup has been divided by the name of each person who has held the office: Arthur Brandon, Lyle Nelson, and Michael Radock. Researchers should note that since Nelson and Radock used their predecessor's files for some time before inaugurating their own records, the relationship between office tenure and file dates is not an exact one. The Development Office subgroup contains records of that office and its subsidiary units. Several accessions of Development Office records received in 1989 and 1990 have been grouped together as Development Office subgroup: 1989-1990 accessions.

University of Michigan administrative office, established as the Dean of Student Affairs in 1921, responsible for overseeing many aspects of non-academic student services and activities including at various times: counseling, financial aid, student housing, student activities and organizations, health services, student discipline, and fraternities and sororities. Records provide extensive documentation of student life.

The records of the Vice President for Student Life provide a unique perspective to the extracurricular life and customs of students at the University of Michigan and an insight to the development of the office of the Vice President. The records span the years 1908-2005 with the bulk of the material covering 1941-1995. The material from the early years is especially rich in documenting student life from the 1920s to the 1950s. The strongest feature of this collection is in documenting the administration's response to the needs and to the demands of student, ranging from disciplining drinkers during Prohibition, dealings with fraternities up to 1960, reacting to student protests in the 1960s to the 1988 debate over the Student Code for Non-Academic Conduct, and the 2000 protest against Michigamua. The records also contain materials related to students' health, housing, organizations, and activism. The coverage of these areas varies across administrations as office reorganizations altered the focus and functions of Student Services.

This uneven documentation reflects the fact that, over time, different offices were created to handle more narrowly-defined areas of responsibility. Areas which had originally been handled by Dean Bursley under his broad conception of control over non-academic student life came to be administered by separate offices. Frequently the records of these administrative units were not included with the Vice President for Student Life records. To gain a more comprehensive understanding of student life, as refracted through the lens of University Administration, one should also refer to the records of the Housing Office and Student-Community Relations Office, and the papers of Peter Ostafin, director of housing.

The Vice President for Student Life collection consists of correspondence, reports, memos, minutes, and financial reports generated by both the University Administration and students. These materials are arranged in chronological series by the administrative head in charge of students' extracurricular affairs. Nine series represent records of Vice Presidents of the office: Joseph A. Bursley, 1913-1950; Erich A. Walter, 1925-1959; James A. Lewis, 1908-1964; Richard L. Cutler, 1950-1969; Barbara W. Newell, 1965-1970; Robert L. Knauss, 1962-1973; Henry Johnson, 1950-1985; Mary Ann Swain and Maureen Hartford, 1990-2005; and E. Royster Harper, 2000. In addition, the collections includes a Topical Files series, 1953-1995 (records of several Vice Presidents that have been received by the Bentley in various accessions); as well as a Printed Materials series. This organizing scheme required some manipulation of the files, but it best enables the researcher to trace the changing nature of the student body concerns and the development of the office itself.

The researcher should note that the strict chronological sequencing of the series was not possible. This was due in large part to a series of office reorganizations which resulted in some files created during Bursley or Walter's tenure ending up in later series. The most significant move here resulted in Lewis' series containing a good deal of Bursley and Walter materials on fraternities and student organizations. Lewis created the fraternities subseries in 1959 and compiled the student organization subseries during a May 1963, office reorganization. The researcher should also be conscious that early series contain a variety of materials which may not reflect the full scope of Bursley, Walter, or Lewis' responsibilities. Gaps are also discernible in the later series, but these are more readily fleshed out by referring to other University collections.