ANN ARBOR—The University of Michigan has several experts and resources related to Gerald R. Ford—his presidency, his role in history and his relationship with U-M. They include:

The dean of the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy
Rebecca Blank, the Joan & Sanford Weill Dean of Public Policy, talked with Ford extensively in his final years as U-M built a new home for the public policy school that bears his name. She also conducted an extensive interview with Ford that was videotaped and is available online. She can be reached at (734) 763-2258 or [email protected]
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The director of the Gerald R. Ford Library
Elaine Didier, director of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum, is responsible for more than 20 million documents from the Ford administration housed at U-M. Ford’s prior vice presidential and congressional papers are also at U-M. She can tell numerous anecdotes about Ford and his role in history. She can be reached at (734) 205-0555.
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Ford’s role in history: Healing nation, Vietnam, Cold War, Helsinki Accords
Matt Lassiter, associate history professor, specializes in 20th century history as well as the role of moderates in politics and popular culture. He can be reached at (734) 647-4618 or [email protected].
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David Fitzpatrick, a visiting professor of history, is an expert on military history and specializes in modern U.S. history. He can speak about Ford’s foreign policy, which included serving as president during the fall of Saigon in 1975, and military affairs. E-mail him at [email protected] or to arrange an interview, contact Joe Serwach at (734) 647-1844.

J. David Singer, a U-M political science professor emeritus, is an expert on the Cold War, international conflict and arms control. He can speak about Ford’s foreign affairs record. He can be reached at (734) 763-6590 or email him at [email protected]
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Brian Porter, associate professor of history, has conducted extensive research on the history of eastern Europe, and can comment on the impact of the Helsinki Accords signed by Ford in 1975. The accords paved the way for human rights openings in the communist world. He can speak about Ford’s impact on eastern Europe. In spite of an infamous gaffe about Poland during a 1976 presidential debate, Ford’s policies actually did far more to undermine communism than is generally recognized. Porter can be reached at (734) 764-6803 or [email protected].
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Presidents, power and political speech
Michael Traugott, professor of communication studies, has studied the mass media and its impact on U.S. politics and voter behavior. He serves on the Ford Presidential Library Advisory Committee. He can be reached at (734) 647-0421 or [email protected]

Gerald Ford’s many ties to U-M

U-M mourns loss of Gerald Ford

Gerald Ford’s final speech

Video of Ford at the groundbreaking of the Ford School: http://www.umich.edu/news/index.html?videos#fspp

Gerald R. Ford and the political reform movement in Grand Rapids
http://bentley.umich.edu/bhl/topics/fordgr.htm

Ford’s 1999 statement on race and affirmative action during the U-M cases:
http://www.umich.edu/~urecord/9899/Aug16_99/12.htm

Student Gerald Ford’s first letter to U-M, 1931:
http://bentley.umich.edu/bhl/myumich/daybook/dbook34.htm

Ford’s football records:
1932: http://bentley.umich.edu/athdept/football/fbteam/1932fbt.htm
1933 national champion team: http://bentley.umich.edu/athdept/football/fbteam/1933fbt.htm
1934 football team MVP: http://bentley.umich.edu/athdept/football/fbteam/1934fbt.htm

The U-M Document Center maintains online copies of original documents related to U.S. presidents, including their original IRS tax returns, photos and national security documents from the Ford years as well as other administrations, at: http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/fedprs.html

The Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States contains material that was compiled and published by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration. It includes volumes covering the administrations of Presidents Hoover, Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton. http://www.hti.umich.edu/p/ppotpus/

Other original documents from the Ford era available
The Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research, a unit of U-M’s Institute for Social Research since 1962, has done many surveys on the Ford era including media access to the White House: http://webapp.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR-STUDY/08253.xml

The impact of the 1974 and 1976 elections:
http://webapp.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR-STUDY/07355.xml

http://webapp.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR-STUDY/07990.xml