Provost and Executive Vice-President for Academic Affairs (University of Michigan) Central Files, 1961-2013
1 oversize folder — 605 linear feet (in 610 boxes) — 50.6 GB (online) — Digital files
1 oversize folder — 605 linear feet (in 610 boxes) — 50.6 GB (online) — Digital files
The records of the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs date from 1947 to 1997 and total more than 675 linear feet. The records are a rich source of information on the University of Michigan from the 1960s to the present. They contain a wide variety of material documenting the concerns of the administration and, to a lesser extent, the faculty and students regarding academic programs, student and faculty activities, and the administrative operations of the University of Michigan.
The records, which include the provost's files as well as the files of associate and assistant vice presidents, are arranged in three subgroups: Central Files, Staff Files, and Supplemental Files. The Central Files subgroup consists of the records maintained by the provost's office and is discussed in greater detail below. The Staff Files subgroup includes the records of assistant and associate vice presidents and of the assistants to the provost. The Supplemental Files subgroup contains material on specific topics to which a number of academic affairs staff contributed their efforts, including retreats, unit reviews, and searches. Each of the subgroups is fully described in a separate finding aid.
It should be noted that some of the records in the record group predate the founding of the Office of Academic Affairs. Such records were generally brought by vice presidents or staff members from previous positions or inherited from persons who formerly performed their duties.
The Central Files subgroup consists of 605 linear feet dating from the creation of the Office of Academic Affairs in the academic year 1961/1962 to 2012/2013. The records consist primarily of correspondence, minutes and other committee files, reports, and budget materials, reflecting the broad range of responsibilities and functions of the provost. Whereas the records of the Staff Files subgroup tend to document the process of policy formation and decision-making functions, the Central Files records more often contain finished products, such as reports and policy statements. For the researcher interested in the provost's views on a particular topic or issue, or the Office of Academic Affairs involvement in the academic and financial life of various schools and colleges, the Central Files subgroup is the single best starting point.
The records of the Central Files subgroup are broken into series by academic year, and each series consists of one or more of the following subseries: Alphabetical Files, Schools and Colleges Files, and Chronological Files. From 1961/1962 through 1973/1974 the series each consist of one subseries of Alphabetical Files. The Alphabetical Files are arranged alphabetically and include topical files as well as files regarding university academic, research, and service units.
From 1974/1975 to 1983/1984 the series are split into two subseries, Alphabetical Files and Schools and Colleges Files. The Alphabetical Files remain similar in content to previous years with the exception that files relating to academic units, namely schools, colleges, and their departments, now comprise the subseries Schools and Colleges Files. Records concerning centers, special libraries, museums, institutes, and interdisciplinary programs are filed in the Alphabetical Files subseries. The Schools and Colleges Files are arranged alphabetically by academic unit and contain materials relating to the annual budget requests, promotion and tenure decisions, internal and external reviews, dean evaluations, and changes in academic programs.
For the years 1974/1975 to 1981/1982, with the exception of 1976/1977, there is an "Index to Correspondence" located at the end of the Alphabetical Files which lists in chronological order the letters written by the vice president, the name of the recipient, the subject of the letter, and the heading under which it is filed.
From 1984/1985 to 1993/1994, 1998/1999-2008/2009 and 2010/2011-2011/2012 the series consist of three subseries: Alphabetical Files, Schools and Colleges Files, and Chronological Files. The Alphabetical Files and the Schools and Colleges Files, while becoming more voluminous over the years, remain similar in nature. The Chronological Files consist of all outgoing correspondence from the vice president and are arranged by month. The Chronological Files are useful if the researcher knows the date the vice president might have corresponded on a particular topic but is unsure of the heading used for filing in the Alphabetical Files.
The Alphabetical Files, as mentioned above, are a strong source of information on a variety of topics relating to the administration of a large university, including the university's relationship with state and federal governments, issues confronting institutions of higher education at various points in time (student unrest and affirmative action, for example), collaborative efforts with other Big Ten and area colleges and universities, and the creation and revision of university policies. The minutes of the Academic Affairs Advisory Council (AAAC) are an especially good source of information on the activities of the Office of Academic Affairs. The AAAC, composed of the deans of the schools and colleges, directors of institutes, centers, and special libraries, and the staff of the Office of Academic Affairs, was established to hold monthly meetings to discuss educational policy, planning for growth, and special studies.
Because folder titles on a particular subject may vary from year to year, researchers are advised to be imaginative in searching for information in the topical files. It should also be noted that information on any given subject can probably be found in various places in the collection.
The 2010 and 2011 series feature the addition of the Archived Website subseries. These were created to preserve the office's public website over time. The subseries document the mission, activities, policies, and individuals involved in the operation of the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs as they are presented on its public website. Content includes important news and announcements, publications (such as reports and administrative documents), and information about committees, initiatives, and events. This archived website will be captured on a regular, ongoing basis as part of the University of Michigan Web Archives, hosted at https://archive-it.org/organizations/934.
1 oversize folder — 605 linear feet (in 610 boxes) — 50.6 GB (online) — Digital files
570 linear feet (in 571 boxes) — 3.4 GB (online)
The Staff Files subgroup of the record group Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs consists of 570 linear feet and spans the years from 1947 to 2013. The Staff Files subgroup is comprised of the records of the associate and assistant vice presidents for academic affairs. Whereas the records of the Central Files subgroup often contain finished products, such as reports and policy statements, the Staff Files subgroup tends to document the process of policy formation and other decision-making functions. Scattered through the associate and assistant vice presidents' papers, for example, are frank statements of opinion regarding various schools and programs, candidates for promotion, and the relationship between the branches of the university, as well as notes on meetings with faculty members, committee activities, and other subjects.
The Staff Files subgroup includes the records of the following past and current associate and assistant vice presidents, listed in the order in which their records first appear in the boxlist: Ernest R. Zimmermann, Carolyne K. Davis, Edward A. Dougherty, Richard A. English, Robert L. Williams, John H. Romani, Mary Ann Swain, Robert S. Holbrook, W. Allen Spivey, Robert B. Holmes, Niara Sudarkasa, Robin Jacoby, Robert Sauve, E. Kay Dawson, Susan Lipschutz, Paul Courant, Marilyn Knepp, Pamela A. Raymond, Katharine Soper, Karen Gibbons, John Godfrey, Nancy Cantor, A. Lawrence Fincher, Ralph P. Nichols, Valerie Castle, Glenda Haskell, Linda Gillum, Janet Weiss, Ben van der Plijm, Sharon Schmidt, Kathleen (Kati) Bauer, James Hilton, Stephanie Riegle, Catherine Shaw, Philip Hanlon, Teresa Sullivan, Anne Berens, Brian Konz, John King, Lester Monts, Martha E. Pollack, Lori Haskins, and Ron Fitzgerald. The records of an individual, while still in office, are received by the archives on an ongoing basis.
570 linear feet (in 571 boxes) — 3.4 GB (online)
155 linear feet (in 159 boxes) — 12.5 GB (online)
The Supplemental Files subgroup of the record group Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs consists of 155 linear feet (in 159 boxes) and spans the years from 1953 to 2013. This subgroup consists of material that was not interfiled with the vice presidents' or staff's papers when the record group was received. The records generally were not created or maintained by any one staff member in the Office of Academic Affairs, but rather are the result of the examination of a particular issue or topic over a period of time by a variety of people.
There are 14 series of varying sizes which comprise this subgroup. For an alphabetical list of the series in this subgroup, please consult the Summary Contents List in the Arrangement section of the finding aid.
155 linear feet (in 159 boxes) — 12.5 GB (online)
73.7 GB (online) — 2 phonograph records — 1 oversize folder — 30 linear feet (in 31 boxes)
The records of the Residential College relate to the planning and founding of the Residential College, 1962-1967, and include materials concerning curriculum, educational policies, governance and student attitudes from the College's opening in 1967 through to the present. Research papers produced by the Social Science Program's Student-Faculty Research Communities are also present. The records are arranged into the following series: Planning and Organization, Administration, Executive Committee, Triennial Reviews, Social Science Program, Photographs, Topical Files, Audiovisual, and Archived Website.
73.7 GB (online) — 2 phonograph records — 1 oversize folder — 30 linear feet (in 31 boxes)
0.75 linear feet — 1 oversize box
The Richard E. Smith papers document Smith's personal and professional activities, particularly his involvement in the Epsilon chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha, professional career as an obstetrician-gynecologist (OB-GYN), and efforts to commemorate the role that Detroit and its institutions played in the Underground Railroad. Material is dated from 1969-2022 and includes award information, biographical and genealogical material about his family, historical material about St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, correspondence relating to his professional career and activities, publications, an Alpha Phi Alpha scrapbook, and topical files.
40.5 linear feet (in 41 boxes) — 1 oversize volume — 1 oversize folder — 1.3 GB (online)
The School of Dentistry record group spans the years from 1873 to 2010, but does not comprehensively document the entire span. The records are fragmentary, providing only a partial picture of the School of Dentistry. Documentation reflects the tenures of various deans with scattered documents from the late 1800s and more detail in the period 1920-1990. The records give some insight into the development of dentistry as a profession, and the training and education of dental students. The records, comprised of 40.5 linear feet, 1 oversize volume, 1 oversize folder, and 1.3GB, have been divided into 10 series: Educational Information, Administration, Black Dentistry Conference, Organizations, Surveys, Photographs and Audiovisual Materials, Department Chairpersons' Meetings, Faculty Meetings, American Dental Association Accreditation, Dental Research Institute, and Website.
40.5 linear feet (in 41 boxes) — 1 oversize volume — 1 oversize folder — 1.3 GB (online)
51 linear feet — 3.3 GB (online) — 2 digital audio files
The records of the School of Information (formerly the School of Library Science and most recently the School of Information and Library Studies) include 51 linear feet of material dated between 1904 to 2014. The records document the development library education at Michigan from its beginnings as summer course to a full-fledged professional program that has, in recent years moved beyond traditional library science to incorporate a multi-disciplinary approach to information studies with a strong emphasis on the role of technology in the creation, dissemination and preservation of information.The records also document the decision to change the name of the school from the School of Library and Information Science to the School of Information Science, further emphasizing a focus on information and technology.
The records, including correspondence, reports, committee minutes, administrative files and course descriptions, came to the library in nine accessions. There is some overlap and continuation of series among the accessions.
The records are organized into ten series: Histories, Office Files, Dean's Files, Audiotapes, Photographs, Faculty Meetings, Course Material, Archived School of Information Website, Faculty Files, and Collaboratory for Research on Electronic Work Project.
51 linear feet — 3.3 GB (online) — 2 digital audio files
112 linear feet — 2 oversize folders — 1.24 GB
The physical records of the School of Nursing measure 112 feet, 2 oversize folders, and 1.24 GB (online), with an additional 9 feet of material in records center storage. Physical records date from 1891 to 2010, although the great majority of the material was created after 1940 by the current School of Nursing; the School of Nursing website has been archived since the early 2000s.
Only fragmentary records of the school's two predecessor units are found in the collection. Reflecting the source of the material, the collection has been arranged into broad subgroups, the titles of which usually reflect the dean from whose office the records originated.
112 linear feet — 2 oversize folders — 1.24 GB
8.74 GB (online) — 97 linear feet (in 98 boxes)
The records of the School Public Health include Dean's files of Henry F. Vaughan, Myron Wegman, Richard Remington, John Kirscht, June E. Osborn and Noreen M. Clark; files concerning the Association of Schools of Public Health; records of the school's Program in Public Health Nursing; institutes and inservice courses; records regarding school-wide issues and departmental affairs, including accreditation and program reviews; committee and faculty meeting minutes; building construction records; and files relating to state and national public health issues such as PBB contamination, poliomyelitis, and AIDS; including materials concerning public health in Detroit.
8.74 GB (online) — 97 linear feet (in 98 boxes)
23 linear feet — 1 oversize volume — 94104 digital records (4.06 GB 52.1 MB)
The records of the various U-M Solar Car projects have been received in multiple accessions and are generally described by accession. Accessions are typically organized around specific vehicles, but do contain material carried over from previous cars and races reflecting the fact that students learned from and built on the work of previous teams. For this reason, researchers are advised to review all accessions. The records contain a wide variety of documentation on the design, building, financing and racing of the solar cars and administrative and project management records.
Records include group reports; topical files; and binders containing newsletters and bulletins, and administrative and technical information for the cars; also included are videocassettes detailing design, building, and racing of the Sunrunner solar-powered automobile; photographs and albums of snapshots of team members performing general team tasks and captures of the Solar Car Team website.
23 linear feet — 1 oversize volume — 94104 digital records (4.06 GB 52.1 MB)
Current results range from 1817 to 2022