The records of the Affirmative Action Office span 1969 - 1993 and document the activities of the office and its predecessors, and provide information about affirmative action programs at the university and the status of minority, women, the disabled and other groups on campus. The records have come to the library in a number of accessions.
The Affirmative Action Office record group is organized into five subgroups: Affirmative Action Office, 1969 - 1993; Commission for Minority Affairs, 1971 - 1980; Commission for Women, 1970 - 1985; Council for Minority Concerns, 1979 - 1983; and Advisory Committee on Affirmative Action Programs, 1977 - 1986. The Affirmative Action Office subgroup includes records created or acquired by the Office. The other subgroups represent various university units that were merged into or whose function were taken over by the Affirmative Action Office.
The University of Michigan Affirmative Action Program was developed in 1972 in response to federal laws passed in the 1960s meant to guarantee equal opportunity in employment for women and minorities. To comply with the federal regulations, the university developed recruiting practices and set goals and timetables for achieving equality for women and minorities in employment. Since 1970, the university has issued an Annual Compliance Report to the United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW). Much of the program's work during the early 1970s revolved around the preparation of these reports and interpreting HEW criteria.
Nellie M. Varner was appointed the first director of the Affirmative Action Program. Varner's main responsibility was to interpret the specific guidelines that were issued in October 1972 by the Office of Civil Rights in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (OCR-HEW guidelines). Her task was to create a university framework to meet these guidelines. The director also served as a liaison between the university, federal government officials, and the university's Commissions for Minority Affairs and Women. These commissions were established by President Robben Fleming in 1971. His charge to the commissions was to examine university policies, procedures, and practices which might contribute to discrimination against minority groups and women, and to review the Affirmative Action Program of the university and make recommendations to the president for improving programs within the university.
In 1976, the Affirmative Action Program and the Commissions for Minority Affairs and Women were merged, leading to the creation of the Affirmative Action Office. This move was designed to eliminate duplication of efforts and more efficiently focus activity on the eradication of discriminatory practices. The timing for the move was also right. Gwendolyn Baker had just been appointed the new director of the Affirmative Action Office and the two commission's chairmanships were about to expire.
During the 1970s and 1980s, the role of the office expanded beyond the protection of women and minorities. The groups protected by non-discrimination laws and policies grew to include individuals with handicaps, people between the ages of 40 and 70, and veterans of the Vietnam War. In addition, the list of characteristics against which institutions could not discriminate included religion, national origin, height, weight, marital status, and sexual orientation.
In 1980 Virginia Nordby became director of the Affirmative Action Office. The office was divided into compliance and programs teams, with Nordby overseeing both. This division reflects the two major functions of the office, that of meeting federal affirmative action guidelines, and serving the needs of groups or individuals on campus protected by non-discrimination laws. According to a September 1987 Affirmative Action Office newsletter, the compliance team was responsible for all the data retrieval, analysis, and reporting necessary for writing the reports on minority student recruitment and retention, faculty and staff employment, and affirmative action compliance required by the university and the federal government.
In 1991, the office held the first campus-wide diversity and resource forum. At the forum, people learned about the many creative programs and strategies used by different university units to make a better environment in which people of all races, creeds, and cultures, live, work, and study. The Affirmative Action Office also worked with constituency groups, comprised of volunteers united by a common cause. The office continued to provide direct staff and financial support to such groups as the Academic Women's Caucus, the African-American Organizations Coalition, the Age Concerns Council, the Association of Black Professionals and Administrators, the Commission for Women, the Women of Color Task Force, the Men of Color Task Force, the Task Force on Sexual Orientation, and the Women's Initiative Group.
In 1994, the Personnel Office was combined with the Affirmative Action Office, Academic Human Resources, and the Benefits Office to form the Office of Human Resources and Affirmative Action. In 2000, the position of Executive Director of Human Resources and Affirmative Action was renamed the Associate Vice President for Human Resources and Affirmative Action. Barbara Butterfield was appointed the first Chief Human Resources Officer. Under her tenure, the Office for Institutional Equity was formed. Laurita Thomas assumed the role in 2004; two years later, Michigan voters narrowly approved a proposition barring affirmative action in public education, employment, or contracting. With the passing of this, the University's official affirmative action program ended. In 2008, the Regents approved a proposed name change to University Human Resources.
Director of the Affirmative Action Program
| Date |
Event |
| 1972 - 1976 | Nellie Varner |
Director of the Affirmative Action Office
| Date |
Event |
| 1976 - 1978 | Gwendolyn Baker |
| 1978 - 1980 | Charles Allmand |
| 1980 - 1988 | Virginia Nordby |
| 1988 | Mary Ann Swain (interim) |
| 1990 - 1992 | Zaida Giraldo |
| 1992 - 1994 | Jimmy Myers (interim) |
