The records of the Office of International Academic Affairs document the international affairs and concerns of the University of Michigan. The records span the years 1968-1993; the bulk of the materials cover 1989-1992. The records are divided into five series: Presidential Initiatives Fund, Academic Units, Topical Files, Correspondence, and Visual Materials
In 1988 inaugural address, University of Michigan President James Duderstadt highlighted the importance of the university's international role. International initiatives at the university, from 1988 to 1993, were carried out under the administrative offices of the Associate Vice President for International Academic Affairs and the Office of International Academic Affairs, and by various advisory committees such as the Committee on International Studies, the University Council on International Academic Affairs (UCIAA), and the International Studies Advisory Council. In September 1988 President Duderstadt named University of Michigan Law Professor, John H. Jackson Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs in charge of international activities, to head the Office of International Academic Affairs. Jackson was charged with providing coordination of and increasing visibility for the international programs on campus.
The UCIAA, established in 1990, was charged with "encouraging and strengthening the international components of the teaching and research agendas." The UCIAA was responsible for approving grants awarded by the Presidential Initiative Funds for international activities such as support for visiting scholars. Harold K. Jacobson took over in January 1990 as Interim Associate Vice President for International Affairs.
For the period 1990-1993, Ruth G. Hastie was director of International Academic Affairs, under the Associate Vice President for International Affairs.
In September 1993, the Office of International Academic Affairs was consolidated with the Institute for Foreign Area and International Studies to become the International Institute located within the College of Literature, Science and the Arts. The director of the new institute is David W. Cohen.
