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Summer 2021

In the early 1970s, as federal pressure grew for U‑M to provide women equal opportunity, a determined group of women demanded action. This issue also spotlights celebrated athlete Willis Ward, whose interviews and papers reveal segregation beneath a “progressive” campus image. Finally, it traces how a stagecoach robber and murderer was brought to justice.

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Selected Stories

A selection of stories of this issue. Please download PDF to read all content.

M Glow Blue

U-M sported a fully functional nuclear reactor, complete with a 55,000-gallon glowing reactor pool. Bentley collections help tell the story of why the reactor was built, and what happened to it.

Scratching the Surface

To write his new memoir, multimedia journalist and educator Harvey Ovshinsky had to research his own collection at the Bentley.

From the Top

Early aerial photos of U-M's campus were taken by an aviation pioneer.

It Was a Man’s World

In the early 1970s, government pressure was mounting for U-M to give women a level playing field on campus, but the University’s all-male administration was slow to act. A group of determined women demanded accountability and action.

The Great Debate

In April 1920, two leading astronomers met on stage in front of a packed audience at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, defending their respective “models” of the universe.

Black and Blue

Willis Ward was a celebrated U-M athlete. Interviews and papers from the Bentley reveal Ward's experiences on a campus that thought itself progressive, but in reality was highly segregated.

Michigan’s “Black Bart”

How a stagecoach robber and murderer was brought to justice, and how the details of the case -- including a one-of-a-kind photo -- made it to the Bentley.