A Finding Aid for the President's Reports Records

1936-2002

Collection Summary

Collection Title: President's Reports Records

Creator: Ferris State. Office of the President.

Dates: 1936-1952; 1984-2002

Abstract: The annual reports provide summaries of the activities, budget and enrollment of the institution. Not all presidents produced annual reports. The collection contains all known annual reports.

Language: English

Quantity: 0.8 cubic feet; 2 hollinger boxes

Identification: UA 1.0.600

Repository: Ferris State University Archives and Records Management Program

---

Historical Note

The first known written annual report by the president of Ferris was by Merle S. Ward and covered the 1936-1937 school year at Ferris Institute. At that time, Ferris was still a privately incorporated school and Ward was giving his self-evaluation to the businessman who hired him. Specific financial values on facilities and projects are therefore scattered throughout the seven page report. However, Ward was also an educator with a vision. He notes that in coming years he hopes to "expand in appropriate way to serve the needs of students while preparing for vocations. It will serve also the great traditions of the past, such as the efficacy of hard work, the democratic ideal of equality of education and the personal interest of members of the faculty in the students under their tuition."

The majority of the report contains sections on academic programs such as the Junior College, College of Pharmacy, College of Commerce and College of Education. Other non-academic programs such as athletics, the library, the Dean of Men and Women and financial aid are also documented. At the end are included projects such as campus improvements, adult education programs and the creation of alumni chapters.

Reports continued through the presidency of Bryon J. Brophy. During the transfer of the Institute to the State of Michigan, to become a state college, quarterly reports as well as annual were produced. The new president Victor Spathelf, did not create the formal report to the Board. There is a break in the reports between 1953-1984. The annual reports return in 1984, with a slightly shorter format and more emphasis on non-classroom activities.

In 2003, President Dave Eisler stopped the creation of the annual reports.

Return to the Table of Contents

---

Scope and Content Note

The annual reports range from a few pages to extensive bound booklets. Later reports include images and charts, as well as text. All, however, contain various reports from the divisions of the college. Within the academic division, specific schools/colleges are given space for their own reports. Information about student enrollment, the physical plant and the campus budget are recurring topics among reports from all areas. These reports were directed to the Board of Trustees, and served as a snapshot of campus activities and planning for the year. It provided highlights of what had occurred over the past year, and the goals/planning priorities for the upcoming year.

This collection does not contain any annual reports between 1953-1984. This is because they were not created. Instead of separate annual reports to the board which were often compilation of departmental/division reports given to the president, the presidents wrote letters to the Board of Trustees which were bound and published. These records are available in Series E: Correspondence, as part of the Board of Trustees Records. In 1984, reports resumed. The last annual report was in 2002.

Return to the Table of Contents

---

Arrangement

The papers are divided into a single series.

Return to the Table of Contents

---

Access Information

Conditions of Access

The President's Reports are open for research to all users in accordance with University Archives and Records Management access policies. It is available in the reading room of the Ferris State University Archives.

Conditions of Use

Requests for permission to publish material should be directed to the University Archivist. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights.

Copyright interests for this collection have been transferred to Ferris State University. For more information, contact the University Archivist.

Return to the Table of Contents

---

Subject Headings

Below are a list of names, organizations and subjects relating to the collection. Names have been taken from Library of Congress Authority headings whenever possible.

Annual reports.

Ferris Institute (Big Rapids, Mich.)- Office of the President

Ferris State College (Big Rapids, Mich.)- Office of the President.

Ferris State University (Big Rapids, Mich.)- Office of the President.

Universities and colleges- Administration.

Return to the Table of Contents

---

Related Materials

Board of Trustee Records. (UA 2.2)

Return to the Table of Contents

---

Administrative Information

Citations

Footnotes and bibliographic references should use the following format:
[Item], Folder, Box. President's Reports Records. Ferris State University Archives. Big Rapids, Michigan.

Provenance (Acquisition Information)

The pre-1984 materials within this collection were transferred at some point prior to 1980. The remainder of the records were transferred by Elaine Kamptner in the Office of the President in October 2002 (box labelled PO AR-1).

Processing Information

The President's Report Records were processed to the folder level by Nicole Vanderlaan in March 2004. A finding aid was prepared in a word processing format and converted to EAD 1.0 by Melinda McMartin Isler in June 2006. In November 2007, the print finding aid was revised and converted to Microsoft Word. A collection level MARC-21 record was prepared and placed in the library online public access catalog. Description based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 2004).

Technical Requirements

This collection consists of reports, both loose and bound on 8.5 x 11 inch paper. No specialized software or hardware is required for viewing.

Return to the Table of Contents

---

Content Listing

Series 1. President's Reports. 1936-2002.

This series consists consists of approximately 0.8 cubic feet of records. During the 1950-1952 transition period, quarterly reports were produced in addition to annual reports. A typical report discusses enrollments, goals, building activity and financial stability.

The materials are organized chronologically.

Box	Folder		Contents
1	1		Annual report. 1936-1937.
	2		Annual report. 1937-1938.
	3		Annual report. 1939-1940.
	4		Annual report. 1940-1941.
	5		Annual report. 1941-1942.
	6		Annual report. Interim. 1946-1947.
	7		Annual report. 1946-1947.
	8		Annual report. 1947-1948.
	9		Annual report. 1948-1949.
	10		Annual report. 1949-1950.
	11		Annual report. 1950-1951.
Box	Folder		Contents
2	1		Quarterly report. 1950-1951.
	2		Annual report. 1951-1952.
	3		Quarterly report. 1951-1952.
	4		Annual report. 1984-1985.
	5		Annual report. 1985-1986.
	6		Annual report. 1986-1987.
	7		Annual report. 1987-1988.
	8		Annual report. 1988-1989.
	9		Annual report. 1989-1990.
	10		Annual report. 1990-1991. (Missing)
	11		Annual report. 1991-1992. (Missing)
	12		Annual report. 1992-1993. (Missing)
	13		Annual report. 1993-1994.
	14		Annual report. 1994-1995.
	15		Annual report. 1995-1996.
	16		Annual report. 1996-1997.
	17		Annual report. 1997-1998.
	18		Annual report. 1998-1999.
	19		Annual report. 1999.
	20		Annual report. 2001.
	21		Annual report. 2002.

Return to the Table of Contents