Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

The A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning (TC; also referred to as Taubman College) was established in 1931 as the College of Architecture. However, courses in architecture have been offered at the University of Michigan since 1876, and a department of architecture, formed in 1913, preceded the creation of the college. Since its formation, TC has offered courses and programs in several areas, including landscape architecture, urban planning, urban design, real estate, and, of course, architecture. The record group includes dean's administrative files and correspondence, other administrator files, meeting minutes, department and program files, materials from the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), lectures and other documentation on the Raoul Wallenberg lecture hosted by the college, and several photographs and negatives of the college and TC-related events.

The A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning (University of Michigan), records document the teaching of architecture and design at the University of Michigan beginning in 1878. The records include administrative files, correspondence committee minutes, reports, photographs and architectural drawings. The records have been received in a number of separate accessions which may include material that continues or complements record series from a previous accession or may overlap chronologically with previous accessions. This finding aid reflects the intellectual structure of the records by bringing like material together across accessions. As a consequence, in the container listing box numbers will not necessarily be in consecutive order.

The records are organized in the following principal series:

1. Minutes of Meetings
2. Dean's Administrative Files
3. National Architectural Accrediting Board
4. Miscellaneous (correspondence and select files)
5. Raoul. G. Wallenberg
6. Dean's Correspondence
7. Doctoral Program Files
8. Topical Files
9. Administrative Files
10. Architectural Drawings
11. Photographs and Negatives
12. Art and Architecture Building Renovations
13. Department of Urban Planning
14. Audio-Visual Material
15. Articles, Reports and Speeches
16. Artifacts
17. Archived School of Architecture Website

A. Alfred Taubman was an entrepreneur, real estate developer and philanthropist. The Taubman collection consists of business and personal records documenting his development of retail and mixed-use real estate projects, his role as a leader in the real estate industry in Michigan and nationally, his transformation of Sotheby's, his investments and business interests, his contributions to the arts, to American educational institutions, and to the city of Detroit.

This collection documents the business and philanthropic activities of A. Alfred Taubman. While this collection is not a comprehensive archive of Taubman's business and personal activities, it offers a rich and abundant resource for researchers interested in the history of commercial real estate development and those interested in Taubman's varied business concerns and philanthropic work. The bulk of the materials date from the early 1960s to the mid-1990s and include both records created by Taubman and a number of staff members of The Taubman Company. The collection is organized into eight series:

1. Shopping Centers/Commercial Development
2. Industry Leadership
3. Detroit Development
4. Business Investments
5. University Endowments
6. Topical
7. Personal
8. Athena Azerbaijan and Russia Development Projects

A New York attorney originally based in Detroit. Abdeen Jabara is concerned with issues of the civil rights of Arab Americans, the effects of the September 11th terrorist attack - nationally and globally - and the contentious relationship between Arab and Israeli organizations. The Jabara papers pertain to various litigation procedures and case files, including those in Michigan, with the federal government, and those involving various humanitarian projects. In particular, Jabara challenged the practice of law enforcement agencies to collect information and maintain surveillance of Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) communities and Arab Americans. He was involved in a number of high-profile cases, for example, the murder trial of Sirhan Sirhan and the extradition case of Ziyād Abū ʻAyn (sometimes spelled Ziad Abu Ein or Ziad Abu Ain). Materials are organized into litigation and case files, as well as topical files pertaining to Arab American activism, organizational involvement, participation in the Middle East delegation of the National Lawyers Guild, and other pertinent global and national events highlighting Arabic issues.

The collection has been divided into four series: Litigation/Court Cases, Political and Cultural Activities, Publications, and Topical Files. The materials primarily document the types of legal and political battles and causes that Jabara has tackled throughout his career. A limited amount of material in the collection is in Arabic and French, mostly correspondence, press clippings, and newsletters, and is noted where possible in the contents list.

Researchers should note that, because of the interconnected nature of Jabara's legal, political, and cultural work, topics and materials might be found in multiple series.

In 1955, the University of Michigan suspended three professors (H. Chandler Davis, Mark Nickerson and Clement Markert) for their refusal to give testimony before a U.S. House Committee on Un-American Activities group. In 1990, the Academic Freedom Lecture Fund (AFLF) was established to honor those professors. Since 1991, AFLF has organized the annual University of Michigan Senate's Davis, Markert, Nickerson Lecture on Academic and Intellectual Freedom. Documentation begins with the 2000 symposium and includes programs, transcripts, and videotaped lectures. Also included is an upgraded videotape of the documentary Keeping in Mind.

The records of the Academic Freedom Lecture Fund (AFLF) begin in 2000, and mainly consist of videotapes of lectures from the University of Michigan Senate's annual Davis, Markert, Nickerson Lecture on Academic and Intellectual Freedom. There is no documentation of the fund itself.

The annual Davis, Markert, Nickerson Lectures on Academic and Intellectual Freedom are organized chronologically. In addition to the videotapes, documentation includes some transcripts of the lectures, and event programs. The printed program contains background on the lectures, including the resolution establishing the lecture and biographies of the three professors. The 2000 lecture folder also contains a memorial for Clement L. Markert which appeared in The Journal of Heredity.

Adam Kulakow's undergraduate documentary Keeping in Mind, focusing on the University of Michigan's handling of the Davis, Markert, Nickerson cases in the 1950s during the McCarthy era, contributed greatly to the development of the AFLF and the annual lectures. The video was shown publicly for the first time on April 9, 1989. An upgraded 2001 copy of this video is included in these records. For more information about the documentary, and the interviews conducted in support of the project, researchers may consult the Adam Kulakow Papers. The Kulakow collection consists of interview transcripts and videos, and notes which Kulakow generated while producing the documentary. It also includes a copy of the original documentary. Note: The 1989 conditions governing access to "Keeping in Mind" are presumed to remain in force. Please see the finding aid for the Adam Kulakow papers for access and use conditions.

In 2000, the University of Michigan Press published Unfettered Expression: Freedom in American Intellectual Life. The book, edited by Peggie J. Hollingsworth, contained essays originally given as lectures in the annual Davis, Markert, Nickerson Lecture on Academic and Intellectual Freedom series at the University of Michigan from 1991 to 1999.

"A Dangerous Experiment," a play by Emma McGlashen. Directed by Emma McGlashen and Sophia Kaufman, produced by Kate Mendeloff at the University of Michigan Residential College in 2017, February 10-12, 2017 as part of the U-M Bicentennial.

"A Dangerous Experiment," a play by Emma McGlashen. Directed by Emma McGlashen and Sophia Kaufman, produced by Kate Mendeloff at the University of Michigan Residential College. The play concerns the lives of the first women students admitted to the university. Materials include the complete script and an image of the promotional poster.

Records of the administrative office responsible for developing and coordinating affirmative action programs for women, minorities and disabled faculty, staff, and students. Documentation includes topical files, minutes, reports, photographs and audio and video tapes. This record group also includes records of the Commission for Minority Affairs and the Commission for Women.

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.

Al Abrams was Motown's first employee and Global Press Agent. He was hired by Berry Gordy, Jr. in early 1959 as a records promotion director for Tamla Records (future Motown Records Corporation). The collection consists of press releases, clippings, publicity material, scrapbooks containing press coverage of the recording artists that he represented, including the Supremes, photographs, and his writings about Motown, Otis Redding, and Florence Ballard.

The Al Abrams collection contains scrapbooks, correspondence, press releases, photographs, and memoirs detailing Abrams' work as a publicist and press agent for Detroit's Motown and for Stax Records in Memphis. The collection is valuable for its documentation of Motown in the period of the early to mid-1960s when this Detroit company was beginning its great string of record successes. Abrams was a great collector of press and other materials about the artists who worked for Motown and Stax-Volt.

The Abrams collection measures two linear feet and four oversize volumes whose contents have been foldered. The collection has been arranged into the following series: Motown Record Company, Stax Record Company, Al Abrams Associates, Miscellaneous, Visual Materials, and Scrapbooks.

Detroit clergyman who took the name Jaramogi Abebe Agyeman, founder of the Shrine of the Black Madonna, and advocate of the program and philosophy of the Black Christian Nationalist movement. The collection has been divided into four series: Albert B. Cleage, Jr.: Correspondence, Sermons, and Writings, the files of the Shrine of the Black Madonna in Detroit, Michigan, Church Leaders, and the files of the Shrine of the Black Madonna National Office.

The collection contains correspondence, sermons, and writings of Albert B. Cleage, Jr. (his name would later be changed to Jaramogi Abebe Agyeman); records of the shrine of the Black Madonna; papers of individuals within the church who assisted Cleage; and records of the National Office of the Shrine.

The collection has been divided into seven series: Albert B. Cleage, Jr.: Correspondence, Sermons, and Writings, the files of the Shrine of the Black Madonna in Detroit, Michigan, Church Leaders, the files of the Shrine of the Black Madonna National Office, Sound Recordings, Photographs, and Miscellaneous.

Prosecuting attorney for Missaukee County, Michigan, Republican State Senator, and U.S. Congressman from the 9th Michigan District from 1935 to 1951. Correspondence, reports and newspaper clippings concerning his activities on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Armed Services; material on the Manhattan Project and the testing of the atomic and hydrogen bombs; and photographs.

The Albert J. Engel papers primarily document his eight terms of service in United States House of Representatives, 1935-1951, though is some correspondence and other material dating back to 1911. The papers include correspondence, speeches, press releases, clippings scrapbooks and articles about Engel, files on various topics that came before Engel's House committees -- notably the Bikini Island A bomb and H bomb tests, and photographs

Albert Kahn was a Detroit-based architect, active from 1896 to 1942. He founded the firm, Albert Kahn Associated Architects & Engineers, which is today known as Albert Kahn Associates, Inc. He was best known for his industrial design work, including the Ford Motor Company's Highland Park and River Rouge plants; numerous commercial buildings in Detroit such as the Fisher Building, Detroit Athletic Club, and General Motors Building; and much of the University of Michigan's Central Campus, including Angell Hall, the Clements Library, and Hill Auditorium, as well as the Willow Run Bomber Plant near Ann Arbor, Michigan. After Kahn's death in 1942, his architectural firm, Albert Kahn Associates, Inc., has continued to be a worldwide leader in the design of factory buildings that enhance the manufacturing process. The Albert Kahn Associates records are composed of materials produced by Albert Kahn the architect, as well as materials produced by his firm, Albert Kahn Associates, Inc., and include correspondence, company files, photographs, published materials, and architectural drawings.

The Albert Kahn Associates records offer researchers the opportunity to study the correspondence, transcripts of speeches, photographs, and architectural drawings of the preeminent, American, industrial architect, Albert Kahn, and his firm, Albert Kahn Associates, Inc. On March 21, 2003 (the 134th anniversary of Albert Kahn's birthday), Albert Kahn Associates, Inc. (AKA) donated this collection to the Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan to ensure the conservation and accessibility of these records. Through this gift, AKA has shown its commitment to preserving the legacy of Kahn, whose factories on five continents influenced the development of industrial architecture and whose commercial, residential and institutional buildings define the character of Detroit and the University of Michigan today. The collection encompasses 166 linear feet (in 180 boxes) of correspondence, transcripts of speeches, newspaper and journal articles, company files, audiovisual materials, photographs and slides, as well as 90 leather portfolios containing photographs of completed buildings, 22 albums of sample architectural materials, 131 books, and 12,731 architectural drawings in 45 flat-file drawers and 114 oversize tubes.

The narrative and visual materials in the collection illuminate the breadth of Kahn's career and highlight the work of his architectural firm, Albert Kahn Associates, Inc., which continued to develop projects after his death, and remains a living institution. In pairing the textual materials with the photographs and architectural drawings associated with Kahn's projects, this collection offers a rich perspective on the master architect himself, illuminating his personal views on his own architecture and its place in a changing and often tumultuous world.