Collections

The Nichols Arboretum consists of 123 acres of land adjacent to the University of Michigan's Central Campus. This collection of the Arboretum's records dates mainly from the latter half of the 20th century, and features publications and printed materials from the 1990s. It also includes written histories from the early 20th century, several files of administrative materials from the late 1960s, and materials pertaining to proposals for the Arboretum grounds in the 1990s

The Nichols Arboretum records comprise of 3 linear feet and 12 oversize folders of materials spanning the years from 1921 to 2006. The bulk of the collection dates from 1995 to 2004. The records document a brief period of the arboretum's administration from the late 1960s, plans and proposals for the arboretum grounds from throughout the late 20th century, and publications and events at the arboretum from the mid-1990s to the very early 2000s. The records have been divided into ten series: Administrative, Correspondence, Display Materials, Events, Friends of NA, Projects, Publications and Printed Materials, Topical Files, Maps, and Plans and Proposals.

Night Photos Taken Before and After the Earthquake and Fire is a photograph album containing 25 nighttime photographs of buildings and streets with electrical lighting in San Francisco, California, from 1901 to 1909.

Night Photos Taken Before and After the Earthquake and Fire is a photograph album containing 25 nighttime photographs of buildings and streets with electrical lighting in San Francisco, California, from 1901 to 1909.

The album (18.5. x 14.5 cm) has black cloth covers with “Photographs” gilt-stamped on front and black paper pages. An inscription on the inside of the front cover reads “Night Photos Taken Before and After The Earthquake and Fire by Cecil C. Cline S.F.” The photographer may possibly have been Cecil Cephas Cline (1884-1949), a San Francisco-based electrician. Buildings pictured include the Ferry Building, the Old Union Trust Building, the Old City Hall, the Tivoli Opera House, and more. While most photographs are exterior views, interior shots of the Ferry Building and Tivoli Opera House are also present.

Towards the back of the album one page is captioned “After the Earthquake and Fire.” Seven photographs are present in this section of the album including several images documenting the Portola Festival held in October, 1909, which was the first city-wide public event held in San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake.

The Noah Scovell collection contains 12 letters and documents related to Captain Noah Scovell, a merchant and shipbuilder in Saybrook, Connecticut. The material concerns shipping, finances, and Scovell's acquaintances.

The Noah Scovell collection contains 12 letters and documents related to Captain Noah Scovell, a merchant and shipbuilder in Saybrook, Connecticut. Scovell received personal and professional correspondence pertaining to subjects such as finances, U.S. citizenship proceedings, shipping, and business in New York. See the Detailed Box and Folder Listing for more information.

Detroit, Mich. based travel group which toured destinations throughout the world. Records include tour files arranged by destination. These files consist of description of the proposed tour, itineraries of events, and list of tour members. The collection also has organization newsletter Nomad Notes and The Nomad; and photographs from the social activities of the group.

The papers and photographs of the Nomads were initially processed by the organization in the summer of 1989. The collection was gathered from the office records of the Club as well as from the private collections of various members, especially those of Joseph and Anne Marie Benich. Additional items were processed in the spring of 1990 and 1991.

The collection includes Dr. Clarke’s biographical materials, papers, memorabilia, and his collection on the heart and his research interests.

The collection includes Dr. Clarke’s biographical materials, papers, memorabilia, and his collection on the heart and his research interests. The papers include certificates of appreciation, membership, degrees earned, an autobiographical manuscript, correspondence, materials related to his collecting interests, Polyclinic, professional papers he presented at conferences and associations, and published articles that he wrote. Correspondence includes both personal and professional correspondence, some of which relates to CMU and the CHL. The memorabilia includes plaques of appreciation, mason paraphernalia, and an academic hood, probably from CMU. His collection of publications and information about the heart, ethylene diamino tetraacetic acid (EDTA), endate, and chelation therapy reflect his research and professional interests. Also included are audiovisual materials, mostly cassette tapes, of research topics of interest to Dr. Clarke and a tape of an award dinner where he was honored for his long service to Providence Hospital. Photographs and other visual or illustrative materials are found throughout the collection.

A 2023 addition includes 1 folder of family photographs of Dr. Clarke, Sr. and his parents, Hannah Grove Clarke and James George Clarke, a veterinarian, and photographs of the veterinary office and livery stable, where he worked, and the family home. Other family photographs are of his wife, Lucile C. Hogan (1892-1968), and her extended Proud family, and a Vermont one-room school in Vermont where a Proud relative attended or taught. The photographs have tape and edge damage. Information taped to them about the images was removed and photocopied and a photocopy is found immediately after each related photograph.

For additional correspondence and information related to Dr. Clarke’s donation of his collections to the CHL, see the CHL Organizational Records collection.

The Norwalk, Ohio family photograph albums consist of two volumes containing approximately 560 photographs that depict an unidentified family, their homes, vacations, and construction of a house.

Volume 1: This album (29 x 36 cm) has black leather covers and black paper pages. Images include many affectionate pictures of children and pets as well as photographs of family vacations, homes, and the construction of a large house. At the end of the album, several photographs of children that appear earlier are replicated in larger formats.

Volume 2: This volume (35.5 x 43 cm) is a leather portfolio bearing an elaborate embossed elephant design on the front cover. Contained within is a series of thirty large format mounted photographs of the same house that is pictured while under construction in Volume 1. Photographs include views of surrounding natural scenery and gardens, exterior shots of the house, and images showing the porch and sunroom.

An unnamed parent or caregiver kept notes about children in a partially used Teachers' Institute Note Book, 1886. The volume was printed in Chicago and Maquoketa, Iowa, by Donohue & Henneberry and W. M. Welch, respectively, and includes advertisements on the inside covers for educational texts and forms. Two pages of manuscript notes define musical intervals. An additional nine pages of text sporadically document the words and actions of at least two children, Harry and Inez, between the ages of 1.5 and 5.5 years old. The writer notes the ages at which children were singing, the type of art they created, the humorous questions, observations, and comments they made, and religious thoughts they vocalized.

An unnamed parent or caregiver kept notes about children in a partially used Teachers' Institute Note Book, 1886. The volume was printed in Chicago and Maquoketa, Iowa, by Donohue & Henneberry and W. M. Welch, respectively, and includes advertisements on the inside covers for educational texts and forms. Two pages of manuscript notes define musical intervals. An additional nine pages of text sporadically document the words and actions of at least two children, Harry and Inez, between the ages of 1.5 and 5.5 years old. The writer notes the ages at which children were singing, the type of art they created, the humorous questions, observations, and comments they made, and religious thoughts they vocalized.

The childhood observations about death, spirits, and God reflect a religious upbringing and household, including one entry about how Harry "was drawing a picture of a deathbed scene where angels were coming to carry the man's spirit to God in accordance with what he had been told on the subject. He said 'Mama I guess one angel holds the man's mouth open while the other takes his spirit out of him.' " Comments about dogs, toys, and imaginative games speak to youthful entertainment and play, and others are more suggestive about the conditions in the children's environment that caught their attention. Questions like "what color is the moon on the other side," or observations that a dead mouse "is kind of wilted isn't it," provide insights into what the children were seeing and wondering about.

One entry at the back of the volume reads, "J. D. McAuliff (Heals by rubbing) St. Louis, Mo."

The Oberlin, Ohio photograph album contains 11 studio portrait photographs, including several images of family members and friends apparently related to a biracial family based in Oberlin, Ohio.

The Oberlin, Ohio photograph album contains 11 studio portrait photographs, including several images of family members and friends apparently related to a biracial family based in Oberlin, Ohio.

The album (13.5 x 10 cm) has embossed leather covers and a broken metal clasp. The album spine has completely deteriorated and all pages are completely detached from one another. For conservation and preservation purposes, all original photographs have been removed from their album page slots and replaced with facsimile copies. The original photographs are stored in a separate container along with the album.

Most of the individuals represented in this album have been tentatively identified through the presence of inscriptions made on album pages; all or most of the subjects appear to have been biracial/African American. Many page captions appear to be associated with friends and family members of the Vaughn family (alternatively spelled “Vaughan”) of Oberlin, Ohio. One group portrait of two boys present in the page captioned “John & Louis Vaughn” may depict brothers John Sewell Vaughn and Wendal Louis Vaughn, the latter of whom went on to become a professional photographer. While it remains unclear who the original compiler of the album was, it is possible that it was assembled by either a member or close friend of the Vaughn family.

The following list includes inscriptions present on album pages (in order of appearance) and/or descriptions of the portraits associated with each inscription:

• “Oscar Viney Dolph Viney’s father”: Carte de visite portrait of a bearded man with a hat. Possibly Oscar F. Viney (approximately 1830-1904) of Gallipolis, Ohio, who had a son named Adolphus E. Viney (1873-1947)
• “Aunt America Vaughn Clark”: Tintype portrait of a young woman. Possibly America Vaughn Clark (approximately 1845-?) of Gallipolis, Ohio. Includes revenue tax stamps on verso dated January 16 1866 as well as pasted-on clipped newspaper obituary for a woman named Maude Cooper Horton (1880-1903). The obituary mentions a surviving three-year-old daughter by the name of Louise; a Columbus, Ohio, death certificate for a Louise Horton (1900-1918) with parents listed as “Maud Cooper” and “William Horton” indicates that this family was "colored."
• “Will Vaughn”: Carte de visite portrait of a man with a large mustache by H. M. Platt of Oberlin, Ohio. Possibly William Craddock Vaughn (approximately 1835-1912)
• “John & Louis Vaughn”: Carte de visite group portrait of two boys by H. M. Platt. Possibly John Sewell Vaughn (1857-1931) and Wendel Louis Vaughn (approximately 1860-1918).
• “John Vaughn": Carte de visite portrait of a young man by H. M. Platt. Possibly John Sewell Vaughn, though also appears to possibly resemble older version of Wendel Louis Vaughn when compared to preceding group portrait.
• “Aunt Margaret”: Carte de visite portrait of a woman with curly hair.
• “Aunt Margaret”: Tintype portrait of a woman with curly hair. Same woman photographed in preceding image.
• “Thresa Madey”: Carte de visite portrait of a woman by C. W. Howland of Cincinnati, Ohio.
• “? Cooper”: No photograph in page slot.
• “Mary Hamilton”: Tintype portrait of a young African American woman.
• [Unidentified African American infant]: Carte de visite portrait of an unidentified infant by an unidentified photographer of St. Louis, Missouri.

The University of Michigan's Office of Academic Human Resources (AHR) provides human resource services for various university faculty and graduate student employees. Its staff are responsible for union contract issues and processes for academic employees as well as managing the tenure and promotion process for the Provost's office. The collection consists of hard copy and digital promotion casebooks for University of Michigan faculty and research staff at the Ann Arbor, Dearborn, and Flint campuses. Also included are promotion guidelines and checklists.

The Office of Academic Human Resources Promotion Casebooks record group primarily consists of files on various tenure-track faculty members recommended by the leaders of colleges, schools, divisions, and institutes to the Board of Regents for promotion and/or tenure. Each individual's file typically includes the notification of the Regents' decision in the case, the promotion recommendation from the dean (or appropriate unit leader), a curriculum vitae, letters of recommendation, and related documentation. The records are arranged chronologically by academic year and then alphabetically by academic unit. Larger schools and colleges associated with the University of Michigan Ann Arbor's campus, such as the College of Engineering; College of Literature, Science and the Arts; and the Medical School, are often further subdivided by department or division. Files for the UM-Dearborn and UM-Flint campuses are usually located at the end of each year and are also subdivided as appropriate. Particularly for the later years, as the files become more voluminous, additional documentation may be present, such as examples of research or teaching evaluations. In some cases, there is some blurring of the academic year or a promotion file was held back. For those reasons, those seeking a particular file may be compelled to look in one or more years—and particularly consult the appropriate out of season casebooks—to locate the sought-after file. In addition to these casebooks, the record group also includes promotion and tenure guidelines and checklists for particular academic years.

Unit of the Office of Budget and Planning, established in 1974 for purpose of conducting research on academic administration at University of Michigan and coordinating evaluation and planning activities of the VPAA and units under its jurisdiction. Successor of the Office of Institutional Research, Office of Academic Analysis and Planning. Primarily records of the Evaluation and Planning Project, 1974-1979, a study of all academic and academically related units under the Vice President for Academic Affairs. Includes correspondence, grant reports, evaluations of academic units, and planning documents. Also miscellaneous college and school accreditation reports.

The records of the Office of Budget and Planning document the activities of the office from 1970 to 1982. This period includes the transition of the office from the Office of Institutional Research to the Office of Academic Planning and Analysis (renamed Office of Budget and Planning in 1997) and the concurrent shift of core office activities from data collection to planning and analysis. One such analysis and planning activity that is well documented in the records is the Evaluation and Planning Project, 1974-1982. These records both document the planning process as well as provide a unique portrait of the academic units which reported to the Vice President for Academic Affairs. There is also material relating to formal unit reviews and self-studies, 1978-1982, that were not formally part of the Evaluation and Planning Project. In addition to the records from the 1970-1982 period, the record group includes a complete sequence of the Standard Survey Response Document (SSRD) starting in 1991. The records of the Office of Budget and Planning are organized into four series: Administrative Files, Unit Reviews, Correspondence, and Standard Survey Response Document.