Search

Redords of two projects: Inventory of University of Michigan-Owned Art, 1988-1989, and Fine Art Survey, 1997-1998, that sought to inventory and document works of art owned by the University of Michiagn.

Records of Inventory of University of Michigan-Owned Art are primarily the product of the 1988-1990 inventory of University of Michigan-owned art. Reords include survey sheets, database print-outs, reports, and photographs and negatives generated during efforts to inventory campus artwork (excluding decorative art, furnishings, and portrait photography). Inventory information includes art work description, medium, artist information, and campus location at the time of the survey. Photographic documentation is limited and not comprehensive. Some background documents and photographs from the 1997-1998 survey of fine art undertaken by risk management staff, that built on the earlier inventory activity, are also included. The records are organized as two series indicative of the different inventory initiatives: Inventory of University of Michigan-Owned Art, 1988-1989, and Fine Art Survey, 1997-19980.

Director of special projects, freedom of information officer, and director of state outreach at the University of Michigan, 1994-2003. Papers document his work in these roles, especially outreach. Includes documentation of Michigan Advancement Council, commercials made by Big Ten universities, and the Michigan Road Scholars program.

The Lewis A. Morrissey Papers document projects and programs undertaken by Lew Morrissey in his tenure in the University of Michigan government relations office as director of special projects, state outreach director, and chief freedom of information officer.

The Big Ten Commercials series documents Morrissey's work as special projects director in developing a series of television commercials promoting higher education (and the Big Ten universities in particular) in cooperation with the other universities in the Big Ten Conference. It includes correspondence between officials at the universities and with advertising firms and possible corporate sponsors, research reports, meeting agendas and minutes, and contracts and other business information related to the project.

The Freedom Of Information Act series documents Morrissey's work as chief freedom of information officer for the university. Specifically, it includes a report on the applicability of FOIA laws to email communication prepared for the Michigan Law Revision Commission by Kent D. Syverud, UM Law professor and Executive Secretary of the Commission. The series also includes correspondence between Syverud and various officials within UM and Michigan state government regarding the issue, and correspondence from Morrissey to university officials regarding Syverud's study.

The Outreach Planning and Development series includes information detailing the new outreach initiative sponsored by UM in the mid-1990s in reaction to fights in Lansing over the university's budget and more generally by what were perceived to be negative perceptions of the university statewide. The series includes reports on the state and need of outreach and possible outreach initiatives, agendas and detailed minutes of meetings between university officials about outreach, and historical information about outreach programs at UM. Morrissey was deeply involved in all these events.

The Michigan Advancement Council (MAC) series documents Morrissey's involvement with MAC, of which he served as president from 1996 to 1998. The series includes meeting notices and agendas, promotion materials, mission statements, and a large amount of correspondence between members. The materials document MAC's activities throughout the 1990s up to its eventual dissolution in 2001.

The Michigan Public Radio series contains information about Morrissey's work with the Michigan Public Radio. This includes correspondence, programming information, equipment and space, and strategic planning. Materials are mainly from the 1990s.

The Michigan Road Scholars (MRS) series, which comprises the bulk of the collection, documents the MRS program, an annual five-day tour of the state of Michigan for 30 faculty and staff members chosen from all UM campuses. The MRS program, one of the most significant results of the new outreach initiative at the university in the late 1990s, was initiated under Morrissey's leadership in 1999, and he continued to coordinate and participate in it until his retirement. The series includes correspondence and planning documents concerning the program's development, as well as detailed information about every tour from 1999 through 2003. This information includes faculty member applications, agendas of the tours, faculty participant evaluations of the tours, lists of participants, agendas of planning meetings, and a variety of other documentation. The series also includes general documentation of the MRS seed grants program, which provided grants to past program participants to do community-based service projects, research projects, or educational programs as an outgrowth of their participation in the MRS program.

Thomas A. Butts, an expert in financial aid and student loan programs, worked for the University of Michigan, 1964-1999. He served as Director of Student Financial Aid (1971-1977), policy advisor and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Student Financial Assistance for the federal government (1977-1981), and was responsible for government relations for the University of Michigan at the Washington D.C. office (1991-1999). The collection documents his work for the University of Michigan admissions office, office of orientation, office of financial aid, and Washington D.C. office of government relations, his work for the U.S. Department of Education, and the evolution of federal student financial aid legislation.

This collection would be of use for research into the role of Thomas Butts at the University of Michigan, the role of the University of Michigan in student financial aid policy, and the evolution of federal student loan policy generally. The collection is composed of six series. The first five correspond to the positions Thomas Butts held (Office of Admissions, Office of Orientation, Office of Financial Aid, U.S. Department of Education, and Washington D.C. Office) and a sixth series, Loans, contains information on specific loan programs. The Loans series especially provides insight into how laws are developed in the federal government, including the evolution of the Higher Education Act and the Direct Loan program. Thomas Butts was involved with many organizations, and a glossary of the main acronyms follows the scope and content note.

Office established in 1968 as the Vice-President for State Relations and Planning; reorganized and name changed in 1974 with the appointment of Richard L. Kennedy who already had the position of University Secretary. University Secretary became a separate office following Kennedy's retirement in 1994. Files relating to the University's liaison with state government agencies, including budget and appropriations materials; also topical files and materials documenting the communication process between the University and the state, and slides; also files of the university's office in Washington, D.C.

The records of the Office of Vice President for Government Relations reflect the core functions of the office (local, state, and federal government relations and planning) and the various incarnations of the office, including the duties of Secretary of the University variously performed by the office. Documentation is primarily from the Ann Arbor campus office, but also includes files on the federal relations office operated by the university in Washington, D.C. Files received directly from the state relations office in Lansing are not included here. Materials detail the budget and appropriations process, interaction with community, state and federal legislators, and lobbying and monitoring efforts in Washington, D.C. on issues such as research funding, student loans, and support for higher education. The records are physically arranged in the manner in which they arrived in the archives. In this finding aid the records are described by their intellectual organization and similar material for the various accessions is described and listed together. Researchers should note that later accessions often extend records series and topics from prior accessions.

The records of the University of Michigan Office of the Vice President for Government Relations and Secretary of the university have been divided into the following series of material: University Budget, Topical Files, Office Assignments and Communication Records, Special Topical Files, Correspondence Files, Evolution of the Office, Audio-Visual Materials, Washington Office Files, and Vice President for University Relations Correspondence, .