The Frederick C. Matthaei Jr. papers (24 linear feet, 2 oversize boxes, 1 scrapbook and 2.20 GB) contain the materials of University of Michigan alumnus and Detroit area businessman Frederick C. Matthaei Jr. The materials highlight Matthaei's personal background, interests, philanthropic and outreach work, and his dedication to the University of Michigan. The collection been divided into three series:
The Personal Materials series contains bibliographical information, personal correspondence, scrapbooks, and photographs.
The Projects series contains materials from Matthaei's work with a number of different organizations including the Detroit Olympics Project, the Economic Alliance for Michigan, and the Detroit Renaissance project.
The University of Michigan series includes materials related to Matthaei's term as Regent of the University of Michigan, his involvement in alumni organizations, and general records from the University of Michigan.
Frederick Carl Matthaei Jr. (1925-2016) was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1925. He was the son of Frederick C. Matthaei Sr., the owner of the automobile parts company American Metal Products (AMP) and a prominent local philanthropist. Frederick Matthaei Sr. helped build the Matthaei Botanical Gardens and the Radrick Farms Golf Course at the University of Michigan as well as the Huron Valley Humane Society in Ann Arbor. Frederick Matthaei Jr. graduated from Ann Arbor High School in 1943 and earned a B.S. in Industrial Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan in 1947. He worked as an engineer at American Metal Products from 1947 to 1968. In 1968, he purchased the automobile parts manufacturer ARCO Industries. Matthaei also worked in the real estate business and developed housing communities in Bloomfield Hills and Ann Arbor.
Like his father, Matthaei was a devoted alumnus of the University of Michigan. In 1966, he was elected to take over the last two years of his father's term on the Board of Regents and served as Regent from 1967-1968. Matthaei was also active in the Alumni Association, president of the U of M Alumni Club of Greater Detroit, and helped to endow several scholarships including the Mildred Hague Matthaei Student Research Fund and the Matthaei Family Athletic Scholarship. In 1997, Matthaei contributed to the engineering class of 1947's gift of a reflecting pool outside the Lurie Engineering Center on North Campus by donating the funds for "Fred's Fountain" to be built with the pool.
Matthaei was also active in Detroit area economic and social initiatives. He collaborated with his father in an effort to bring the Olympic Games to Detroit as the city applied seven times to host the games from 1944 to 1972. Detroit came the closest to being selected for the 1968 games that were eventually awarded to Mexico City. Matthaei was also chairman of the Economic Development Corporation of Greater Detroit from 1968 to 1974 and the chairman of New Detroit Inc., an organization that tried to address racial tensions following the 1967 riots. He was also active in the Michigan Amateur Athletic Union and the National Center for Nursing Research.
