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Established in 1959 to operate academic computing facility and provide computing services for faculty and students. Developed Michigan Terminal System (MTS) operating system and other software for mainframe computers. Merged into University of Michigan Information Technology Division in 1985. Administrative records including minutes, correspondence, budget material, and reports, documenting management of the center, purchase and operation of mainframe computers, development of MTS and other software, and computer networks. Also includes paper and digital MTS distribution documentation.

Records of the Computing Center have been received in three major accessions ? 1994, 1996, and 2011. Arrangement of the records in each accession is intended to reflect complimentary series. Each accession is described separately, and there is some overlap between the two.

The 1994 accession of the Computing Center record group primarily documents the founding and operation of the University of Michigan Computing Center from 1959 to 1987. It also includes some information on computing activities at the university prior to the founding of the Computing Center, dating back as far as 1952. Researchers should note that there is overlap between this accession and 1996 accessions. There is also overlap with the Information Technology Division record group, particularly after 1986 when ITD was created to bring together the Data Systems Center and the Computing Center under the purview of the Provost for Academic Affairs.

The records, which were in a very disorganized state when accessioned into the archives, were arranged into eight series: Historical Files, Administrative Records, Topical File, MTS (Michigan Terminal System), Word Processing Project, Vendors, and Photographs.

The 1996 accessions from the Computing Center add 32 feet of additional material to the record group. The records bring (in various formats) both breadth and depth to the earlier accessions, filling in major gaps and adding new documentation. The records are organized into nine series, generally corresponding to the arrangement of the earlier accession: Administrative Records, Computer Files, MTS (Michigan Terminal System), Merit Network, MAD (Michigan Algorithm Decoder), Word Processing Project, Vendors, Software Contracts, and Topical Files. Researchers should note that there is considerable overlap between Computing Center accessions and the Information Technology record group, particularly between 1985 and 1990 and especially for financial material and major committees.

The Information Technology Division, formed in 1985, consolidated academic and administrative computing at the University of Michigan. Douglas Van Houweling was named head of the unit and at the same time appointed to the new position of Vice Provost for Information Technology. During the 1980s, the unit oversaw a shift away from Michigan Terminal System (MTS) mainframe computing to a distributed, networked environment. The Information Technology Division record group documents the development of networked computing at the University of Michigan as it evolved from 1979 to 1995, mainly during the tenure of Douglas Van Houweling. The records include historical data, internal and external committee material, correspondence, and topical files and visual material.

The records of the Information Technology Division measure 23.5 linear feet and date from 1976 to 1998; the bulk of the material represents the years 1985 to 1997. The records consist of correspondence, meeting minutes, electronic mail, newspaper clippings, and reports. They document the administration of ITD, the development of computing on campus, UM's role in the development and management of local, regional, and national computer networks, and ITD's participation, largely in the person of Douglas Van Houweling, in a number of computing organizations, most notably EDUCOM and CIESIN (Consortium for International Earth Science Information Network).

The ITD record group is divided into fourteen series including Central Files, Divisions, Networks, University Files, Vendors, Organizations, Deputy Vice-Provost for Information Technology, Vice-Provost for Information Technology, Virginia Rezmerski Files, Computer Sales Program, Computing Sites, Dean's Partnership Program, Software, and Photographs.

Officially established in 1959, the Office of Research supports and administers large interdisciplinary projects called research centers and administers research institutes. The record group includes individual vice president's files, central office files, staff files, financial records, administrative files, committee and task force documents and reports, special event files, and project and institute files.

The records of the vice-president for research date from 1911 to 2013 and measure 323.5 linear feet, 1 oversize box and 157 MB of digital materials. The records document the activities of the office overseeing grant funded research at the University of Michigan and offer some insight into the range of research undertaken at the university. Records include administrative files of vice-presidents, including correspondence, memoranda, and budgetary material relating to research projects and grants of university units and departments; and photographs.

The organization of the records, particularly the early accessions, reflects the tenure of the successive vice presidents for research. Later accessions included files of associate vice-presidents and senior staff officers as well topically organized files that spanned the tenure of several vice presidents. The records are organized into the following series:

1. A. Geoffrey Newman -- Boxes 1-15, 70-71
2. Charles Overberger -- Boxes 15-69
3. Charles Overberger/Warren Sussman -- Boxes 72-87
4. Linda S. Wilson,-- Boxes 88-100
5. William C. Kelly -- Boxes 102-105
6. Central Files -- Boxes 108-127, 180-210, 266-275, Boxes 277-301, Boxes 311-322
7. OVPR Staff Files -- Boxes 128-134
8. Julie Ellison -- Boxes 135-136
9. Marvin Parnes -- Boxes 137-146
10. OVPR Financial and Administrative Files -- Boxes 147-148
11. Administrative Files -- Boxes 149-150, Boxes 323-324
12. Committees and Task forces -- 151-164
13. Michigan Memorial Phoenix Project and Ford Nuclear Reactor -- Boxes 165 --166, 218-219
14. Special Events, Symposiums, and Promotional -- Boxes 167-170, 275
15. Presidential Initiatives Fund -- Boxes 171-179
16. Contractual Restrictions Requests (PAF-R's) -- Boxes 213-216
17. Michigan Life Science's Corridor -- Boxes 216-218
18. Discretionary Fund -- Boxes 220-264
19. Indirect Waivers -- Boxes 265
20. Research Faculty Appointments -- Boxes 276, Box 322
21. Washington D.C. Office -- Boxes 302-310