Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

The Committees subseries consists of minutes, agendas, and related material for the principal policy and management committees of the Computing Center. These include the UCCPU (University Committee on Computer Policy and Utilization), Committee "A," the Computing Center Advisory Committee, and the Computing Center Executive Committee, among others. The UCCPU was a university-wide committee charged with developing broad computing policy across campus. All purchases of major computing systems by academic and administrative units had to have UCCPU approval to insure some level of compatibility and coherent development. The UCCPU files in the Computing Center record group cover the years from 1979 to 1983. (Minutes for the years 1965 to 1977 are located in a separate UCCPU record group at the Bentley Library. See finding aid for "University of Michigan. University Committee on Computer Policy and Utilization.") The minutes document both broad policy questions and reviews of requests by university units to purchase particular computing systems. The Computing Center record group also includes files of several UCCPU subcommittees: Computer Ethics, 1979; Computing Center Priorities, 1979-1980; Micro-Computer Policy, 1983; and Word Processing, 1980.

Committee "A" was established by director Aaron Finerman in 1978 to serve as the Computing Center's primary internal management committee and was composed of senior computing center administrators. The files, 1978-1986, (1.2 linear feet) include minutes, agendas, reports and correspondence. The Advisory Committee consisted of senior Computing Center staff plus six to eight other staff members who served on a rotating basis. The committee's function was to advise the director on operation of the Computing Center. The records, 1978 to 1980, include some long-range planning materials. The Executive Committee was created in 1959 to serve as the Computing Center's governing board. It was composed of the Computing Center director and university faculty and administrators. The committee files, dating from 1959 to 1966 and 1979 to 1985, provide an overview of Computing Center activities. The Review Committee files, 1984-1986, contain minutes, reports and correspondence relating to the university's review of the Computing Center.