University of Michigan - Michiganensian Yearbook (Ann Arbor, MI)

Page 20 text:

ALUMNI MEMORIAL HALL whole institution to follow. In addition to the advisory staff the president can call upon the Conference of the Deans, which has existed since the first days of the Burton administration, and likewise upon several divisions, such as those of Fine Arts, English, and Social Sciences, which have been created in order to coordinate the work of instructional departments whose fields are somewhat similar. The executive staff is something which is more familiar. The University has always had major administrative officers such as the vice-president and secre- tary, deans, director, librarian, registrar, and the like. There have also been in the past a number of committees, of which the Board in Control of Physical Education is perhaps the best known example, which are in effect executives. The legislative organization of the University is likewise less novel. For years there have been faculty organizations in the various schools and colleges and the more general University Senate, in which all persons of professional rank hold membership. Since 1931, however, there has been in existence the University Council, which is in effect an executive committee of the Senate organization with a membership partly composed of administrative officers and partly of representatives of the various faculties. Although the Council was not actually created until some time after President Ruthven ' s inauguration the need of such a body had become very evident some years before and the matter had already been under discussion. The unwieldy size of the University Senate, the difficulty of assembling any large proportion of the group at one time, and its unsuitableness as a major policy were the reasons behind the innovation. The University Council has been given all of the legislative powers of the Senate, the latter body, however, retaining as a safeguard the right to review any action of the Council. The general administrative structure of the University of Michigan at present is what has roughly been set forth in the above sketch. The President is the one to whom the Regents look as the officer in general command. When executing his duties he has the advice of his cabinet, each member of which is particularly informed upon one phase of the University ' s activities. The legislative functions of the University in the meanwhile are carried out by the University Council, the Senate, and the other organizations of school and college staffs. With the exception of the fact that there is no specially defined judicial power, the structure is not unlike that of the national government. BUREAU OF ALUMNI RELATIONS In the creation of the Bureau of Alumni Relations, the University of Michigan has inaugurated an experiment in an entirely new educational field. Since its establishment in October 1929 under the direction of Wilfred B. Shaw, a growing interest has been manifested, even though it appears that often the precise function of the Bureau is not always understood. From the first, emphasis has been placed upon the conception of the Bureau of Alumni Rela- tions as an expression of the desire on the part of the University to be of service to the alumni in whatever fields such service may prove to be practicable and accept- able. Si nce the basic function of the University is educational, and since practically all its facilities are designed to further the cause of higher education, it is to be assumed that the principal avenue for such practical assistance to the alumni as SHIRLEY W. SMITH Vice-President and Secretary CLARENCE S. YOAKUM Vic.e-President WILFRED B. SHAW Director of Alumni Relations JOSEPH A. BURSLEY Dean of Men

Page 19 text:

University Administration ALEXANDER GRANT R U T H V E N Prfsidfnt af ikf University Doubtless any organization which is thoroughly alive, as is the University of Michigan, never attains a form which remains completely fixed for all time. Such things vary with the times and circumstances and also in accordance with the ideas of the persons who have the responsibility of leadership in the institution. Since President Ruthven took office in 1929 his theories of administrational organization have been taking shape. During the past year several additions were made to the structure which bring it much more closely to the finished product which Dr. Ruthven has had in rr.ind. He has not, of course, cast into the discard all cf the eld methods, but his policy has been rather to rearrange and regroup existing agencies in such ways as to make the whole structure more logical and to produce a more smoothly running machine. The theory cf the University of Michigan ' s adminis- tration begins with the postulate that the general direction of the institution is in the hands of the Regents, whcse executive officer is the president of the university. This, in fact, is determined by the fundamental law of the State. The University, however, is made up of a large number cf individuals officers, professors, stu- dents and groups composed of these individuals. The organization of this large body is made clearer if we distinguish three functions, the advisor) ' , the executive, and the legislative. Under the first heading come all of the individuals and groups who are called upon to advise the President and through him the Board of Regents upon the gen- eral policies cf the University, to determine what use shall be made of its funds, what educational undertakings shall be projected, and the like. The executive group includes those individuals and committees to whom are delegated by the President and Regents the duties of carrying out university policies and actually superintending the work which is done on the campus of whatever kind. To the legislative division belong the larger groups of faculty and staff members who under the constitution of the University are charged with the responsibility of passing regulations on subjects with which the University is concerned as an educational organization. Of the above the first category has been made especially eminent during President Ruthven ' s administration because it is comparatively a new thing. The iriajor advisory staff, consisting of the three vice-presidents, the director of plant extension, and the director of alumni relations, is entirely a development of the past four years. In recommending this innovation to the Regents the President has, of course, had in mind to some extent the practice of large business organizations in which, subject to the chief executive officer who must bear the ultimate responsibility, there are others who are placed in general charge of specific interests, or groups of interests, throughout the whole organization. So in the University of Michigan the field of one of these officers is the University ' s physical property and finances, that of the second its educational policies, that of the third matters relating to plant extension, and that of the fourth and last to be appointed the University ' s relations with its students outside of their classrooms and with its alumni. Before the director of student-alumni relations was appointed an actual count showed that there were seventeen different offices, bureaus, committees, or other groups concerned with this one field of the University ' s interests. With such diversity it was hopeless to expect any real concentration upon a unified program. It was also very difficult for the President, among his other duties, to give the proper attention to all these various agencies. The duty of the new officer is not to admin- ister student-alumni affairs, but by supervision and advice, on the one hand, to coordinate them and, en the other, to advise with the president and the Regents upon the proper policy for the Page is

Page 21 text:

the University can furnish will lie in this field. From the point of view of the University ' s fundamental educational purpose, the desirability of developing a closer educa- tional tie with the alumni is obvious, particularly when its respon- sibility to the State is considered. But may it not be argued that an obligation rests upon it to show, in the educational coin in which it deals, its appreciation of these great benefits which have come, and are coming, from the alumni? Thus the creation of the Bureau of Alumni Relations as a division of the University, in no way related to the Alumni organization save in sympathetic cooperation, may be taken as at once a recognition of newly recognized educational responsibility and an acknowledgement in practical form of benefits received from Michigan ' s great alumni body. The Bureau of Alumni Relations ' value lies in its ability to act as a coordinating agent for the many departments of the University and seeing that the services desired by the Alumni are made available to them by these different divisions. It creates no additional and unnecessary depart- ments but merely utilizes to a fuller extent those already existing in the University. At the present date the Bureau of Alumni Relations offers many types of services to the alumni. Some typical services are as follows: (l) Study and discussion groups organized in cooperation with members of the faculty, with outlines and reading references supplied if desired; (2) The issuing of bulletins from time to time containing information about events of general interest; (3) guidance in study programs. Through the Bureau of Alumni Relations, alumni who desire personal guidance in some study may take advantage of the University: (4) publication of the Quarterly Review. As its name indicates, the magazine is published four times yearly and is sent to subscribers to the Michigan Alumnus. The Quarterly Review contains a number of interesting articles contributed by faculty members and others connected with the University. Mr. Shaw edits the publication; (5) the Alumni University. This consists of a week of classroom work on the campus for alumni, usually in the latter part of June. Mr. Shaw has had long experience in alumni relations. Before his appointment to his present position he was for twenty-five years the General Secretary 7 of the Alumni Association and editor of the Michigan Alumnus. That the Bureau of Alumni Relations is past the experimental stage is due to the fine work of Mr. Shaw. However, Mr. Shaw states that Its future development depends upon the respons e it continues to receive from those alumni who wish to develop and maintain an intellectual fellow- ship with the University. ALUMNI ASSOCIATION Michigan ' s relations with her great Alumni body have been particularly happy and fortunate. Frcm the earliest years her graduates have shown their vi al interest in the University ' s welfare. They have gi -en their best to the University in the way oisdvice and personal help; they have supported its interests in the communities in Which they live; and increasingly, they have given financial assistance. Significant of this last aspect of their support is the fact that nearly one-half of the University ' s present worth in building and endowment is represented by gifts from the alumni. Instrumental in the creation and maintenance of this great alumni spirit is LOBBY ALVMXI MEMORIAL HALL JAMES D. Bart E ' I R SMITH Rfgittrar HEXBEKT G. WATKIXC Atsittext Secretory ALICE C. LAOTD Dram of Womiem