Robert P. Briggs (April 3, 1903 – September 2, 1998) was chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago board of directors, vice-president of finance of the University of Michigan, and executive vice-president of Consumer Power Company of Jackson, Michigan. A graduate of the University of Michigan, Briggs served as a professor in the University's School of Business Administration, first as an administrator, and eventually as a member of the Board of Regents. Briggs spent 17 years as an executive vice-president at the Consumer Power Company, where he led various committees and organizations within the state of Michigan. Some of these organizations included: the Michigan United Fund, the Michigan State Chamber of Commerce, the Michigan Traffic Safety Commission, and the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan. Dividend magazine, a publication by the University of Michigan's then School of Business Administration, described Briggs' career as having, "embraced both academic and business worlds, and his activities have covered an almost endless range of community and business affairs."
The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago is one of twelve regional Reserve Banks that, along with the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., make up the nation's central bank. The Chicago Reserve Bank serves the Seventh Federal Reserve District, which encompasses the northern portions of Illinois and Indiana, southern Wisconsin, the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, and the state of Iowa. In addition to participation in the formulation of monetary policy, each Reserve Bank supervises member banks and bank holding companies, provides financial services to depository institutions and the U.S. government, and monitors economic conditions in its District.
The University of Michigan, often simply referred to as Michigan, is a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The university is Michigan's oldest; it was founded in 1817 in Detroit, as the Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania, 20 years before the territory became a state. The school was moved to Ann Arbor in 1837 onto 40 acres (16 ha) of what is now known as Central Campus. Since its establishment in Ann Arbor, the university campus has expanded to include more than 584 major buildings with a combined area of more than 34 million gross square feet spread out over a Central Campus and North Campus, two regional campuses in Flint and Dearborn, and a Center in Detroit. The university is a founding member of the Association of American Universities.
Consumers Energy is a public utility that provides natural gas and electricity to 6.7 million of Michigan's 10 million residents. It serves customers in all 68 of the state’s Lower Peninsula counties. It is the primary subsidiary of CMS Energy. The company was founded in 1886 and is currently headquartered in Jackson, Michigan.
Robert Peter Briggs was born on April 3, 1903, in Monroe, Michigan, to parents Robert Douglas Briggs and Rose Pierce Briggs.[1] His father was a superintendent of the Monroe, Michigan schools.[1] Starting in 1908, Robert attended Lansing Public Schools, and proceeded to work for the Lansing State Journal from 1911 to 1917 as a mail carrier.[1] After graduating from Lansing public schools, Briggs enrolled as a student at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts,[1] where he also worked a number of jobs in order to pay food, housing, and tuition fees.[2] He elected to attend the University of Michigan as opposed to the nearby Michigan State University because his eventual wife, Maxine Eloise Corliss, was attending Michigan State and thus he thought it would be a good idea if they attended different schools.[2] Briggs struggled in his first semester at the University of Michigan, and was not allowed to return for the winter semester in 1921.[2] He was allowed to re-enroll later in the University on academic probation.[3] He has described his academic struggles during his first year as being, "a good learning experience,"[2] and would eventually work his way up to A's by graduation, enabling to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan's college of Literature, Science, and the Arts in 1925.[1]
Monroe is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan located on the western shore of Lake Erie. It is the county seat and largest city of Monroe County. Monroe had a population of 20,733 in the 2010 census. The city is bordered on the south by Monroe Charter Township, but both are politically independent. Monroe is located approximately 14 miles (23 km) north of Toledo, Ohio, and 25 miles (40 km) south of Detroit. The United States Census Bureau lists Monroe as the core city in the Monroe Metropolitan Area, which had a population of 152,021 in 2010. Monroe is officially part of the Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint combined statistical area, and the city is sometimes unofficially included as a northerly extension of the Toledo Metropolitan Area.
The Lansing State Journal is a daily newspaper published in Lansing, Michigan, owned by Gannett.
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census recorded its population to be 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan.
Continuing education and teaching
After graduating from the University of Michigan, Briggs moved to Kansas to be a professor of business administration at Kansas Wesleyan University from 1925-1927.[1] He was an acting dean at the university from 1926 to 1927.[1] In 1927, Briggs was offered a position teaching economics at the University of Michigan's College of Literature, Science, and the Arts while also studying in the School of Business Administration, where he eventually graduated from with a Masters of Business Administration in 1928.[1]
Kansas Wesleyan University is a private four-year Christian-based college in Salina, Kansas. Founded in 1886, it is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. About 850 students attend the 28-acre (110,000 m2) campus. The university is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, the National League for Nursing, and the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP).
From 1927 to 1935, Briggs was an instructor of economics at the University of Michigan's College of the Literature, Science, and the Arts.[1] In 1933, Briggs became a certified public accountant in Michigan.[1] In 1935, Briggs returned to the University of Michigan as an assistant professor of economics and accounting, which he taught until 1940 before being promoted to associate professor of economics and accounting at the School of Business Administration, a position he held until 1945.[1] Intermittently, from 1934 to 1938, he was also the fraternity financial advisor within the university.[1] During World War II, Briggs was on leave from the University of Michigan as assistant to the president of Standard Steel Spring Company, which made essential war material.[4]
Michigan is a state in the Great Lakes and Midwestern regions of the United States. The state's name, Michigan, originates from the Ojibwe word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake". With a population of about 10 million, Michigan is the tenth most populous of the 50 United States, with the 11th most extensive total area, and is the largest state by total area east of the Mississippi River. Its capital is Lansing, and its largest city is Detroit. Metro Detroit is among the nation's most populous and largest metropolitan economies.
World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. The major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons in war.
Vice president of the University of Michigan
In 1945, Briggs was named vice-president of business and finance at the University of Michigan,[1] which put him in charge of purchasing, finance, collections, and investments.[5] At the same time, the university was facing a significant problem: increasing enrollment because of soldiers returning from World War II who were interested in higher education.[5] Briggs was tasked with expanding the facilities of the university in order to handle the increase in enrollment. He played an important role in securing married student housing at the nearby Willow Run Airport.[2] University administrators did not believe that the university was prepared for the amount of food that would be brought in for the dorms, so Briggs worked to raise funds for the eventual food service building.[2] Briggs was also critical in financing the building of key University of Michigan facilities such as Alice Lloyd Hall, South Quadrangle, the School of Business Administration, and the Administration Building, as well as acquiring land that would become the University of Michigan's North Campus.[5] He reviewed different available land options the university could purchase, and settled on the site of what is now North Campus.[2] Many within the university thought present-day North Campus was too far to be a part of the University, however Briggs argued that it was the best location because it would allow for the most expansion, and with this expansion came the realization that the physical and architectural face of the university was changing. Briggs said, "Each architect wants to leave his monument. And each one has got his own ideas. And which do you do? Do you let them have some fun and give the benefit of their best judgement, or do you straight lace them and tell them to do it your way. And we didn't do it that way."[2]
Willow Run Airport is an airport in Van Buren Charter Township and Ypsilanti Township, near Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States, and serves freight, corporate, and general aviation. Due to its proximity to Detroit Metropolitan Airport, no major airlines schedule passenger flights to or from Willow Run.
Vice president of Consumer Power Company
In 1951, Briggs resigned from his position as vice-president of business and finance at the University of Michigan in order to become the financial vice-president of nearby Consumer Power Company in Jackson, Michigan.[1] Before he left Michigan, Briggs was thought to be a possible replacement for the retiring University of Michigan President Ruthven as he had a very successful tenure as an educator and administrator at the University of Michigan.[6] Upon Briggs' resignation, the Ann Arbor News wrote, "When he leaves to go to his new post, he leaves the University as a bigger and better place for his foresight and provision in fields once foreign to learning."[5]
Alexander Grant Ruthven was the President of the University of Michigan from 1929 to 1951.
Briggs became financial vice-president of Consumer Power Company in 1951.[1] In 1952, Briggs was made executive vice-president and a member of the company's board of directors. At the Consumer Power Company, Briggs was tasked with running the company's financing, insurance, pensions, and other corporate activities.[7] He retired on May 1, 1968, because of a company policy of retiring at the age of 65.[7] However, he would stay on the board of directors until 1968.[1]
Other professional positions
In 1959, Briggs became founding president of Michigan State Chamber of Commerce.[1] The Michigan Chamber of Commerce promotes conditions that are favorable to business growth within the State of Michigan. While president, Briggs argued in the Detroit Free Press that, "Reduced taxes on business will improve our competitive position and stimulate the flow of risk capital back into Michigan."[8]
On October 1, 1956, Briggs was added to the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.[1] Briggs would be a member of the board of directors until he was nominated as a candidate for election to the Michigan State Board of Education in 1958.[9] Briggs would go on to lose the election for the state board of education.[9]
Board of regents of the University of Michigan
In 1964, University of Michigan Regent William McInally died, giving Michigan Governor George Romney the rare opportunity to nominate a regent. Governor Romney selected Briggs to fill the seat on the University of Michigan's Board of Regents.[1] Romney said, "Bob Briggs is exceptionally well qualified for this important post and I am sure that by virtue of his long and faithful association with The University of Michigan, he will contribute significantly to the future growth of this fine institution."[10] Briggs very much wanted to join the board of regents, saying later in an interview, "I definitely wanted (seat on Board of Regents)... It was a great responsibility, because you were setting the framework with a pattern that was going to be followed. And the issues that came to the Board of Regents were pretty fundamental."[2] In 1968, while a member of the board of regents for the University, Briggs was also chairman of a committee that selected the replacement for retiring President Hatcher.[2] The committee would select then University of Wisconsin provost Robben Wright Fleming to be the next President of the University of Michigan, a position he would hold until 1979.[2] Briggs was criticized by some in the media when he refused to announce President Fleming's salary when Fleming was hired, saying, "Salaries at the U. of M. have never been a matter of public record."[11] Briggs was a member of the Board of Regents of the University of Michigan during a time when there was much political unrest in the university community, especially amongst the students. He would later say, "Our first reaction, of course, was we don't want that around here. But it wasn't were long before you realized that this was something that was with us, and we had to find a way to work with the students and gradually it was recognized as something you had to face up to."[2]
In 1968, Governor Romney asked Briggs to leave the University of Michigan Board of Regents in order to become the Commissioner of Michigan Financial Institutions, a role he honored until 1973, when he became a consultant for the Bureau of Department of Commerce for the state.[1]
President of University of Michigan Alumni Association
Briggs was recruited by the alumni of the University of Michigan to become president of the Alumni Association in 1979.[1] His long history with the school and expansion of the school while vice president were the main factors in his recruitment.[1] The alumni association was in need of a new building on campus, and they wanted Briggs to spearhead the project given his prior experience in expanding the school.[2]
Awards
Briggs received numerous awards and honors throughout his life. In 1962, he was awarded the Wolverine Frontiersman Award by the State of Michigan, "in recognition of his contributions to the advancement of Michigan."[12] In 1992, Briggs was awarded the Alumni Achievement Award from the University of Michigan's School of Business Administration's Alumni Society Board of Governors.[6] They said, "Through a long and successful life, (Briggs) has always used his talents to guide himself and others toward the highest standards of citizenship and service and achievement in both the public and private realms of his life."[6] In 1969, Briggs was awarded an honorary Doctor Of Law from the board of regents of the University of Michigan.
Vision for education
Briggs' strong vision for public education in America and for the University of Michigan prompted him to say, "But part of it is other things in the minds of the public becoming a lot more important than higher education. And to my mind, higher education is the most important responsibility that the University has" in reference to the importance of higher education.[2] Briggs also accurately predicted that with the decrease of the size of the auto industry within the State of Michigan, the university would see a cut in the size of its state funding and thus would have to rely more heavily on private funds.[2]
Personal life and death
Briggs married Maxine Eloise Corliss December 22, 1925, in Lansing, Michigan.[1] Together they had two children: Ruth and Peter.[1] Briggs died on September 2, 1998, at the age of 95, at his home in Elk Lake, Michigan.[1]
Related Research Articles
Alvin Morell Bentley III was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. As a U.S. representative, he made national headlines as one of the wounded of the 1954 U.S. Capitol shootings.
The history of the University of Michigan (UM) began with its establishment on August 26, 1817 as the Catholepistemiad or University of Michigania. The school moved from Detroit to Ann Arbor in 1837, on land offered to the university by the city. The first classes were held in 1841, and eleven men graduated in the first commencement ceremony in 1845. Although the Board of Regents of the University of Michigan was formed as a new legal entity in 1837, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled in 1856 that it was legally continuous with the Board of Trustees of the University of Michigan that was formed in 1821, and with the Catholepistemiad, or University, of Michigania that was formed in 1817.
The Romney family, prominent in U.S. politics and other professions, is most known for its connection with George W. Romney, 43rd governor of Michigan (1963–1969) and his son, Mitt Romney, 70th governor of Massachusetts (2003–2007), Republican nominee for the presidency of the United States in 2012, and U.S. Senator from Utah. George Romney's father was Gaskell Romney, and his mother was Anna Amelia Pratt. Anna's grandfather was renowned early Mormon leader Parley Parker Pratt.
Harry George Kipke was an American football, basketball, and baseball player and coach. He was the head football coach at Michigan State College in 1928 and at the University of Michigan from 1929 to 1937, compiling a career record of 49–30–5. During his nine-year tenure as head coach at Michigan, Kipke's teams compiled a 46–26–4 record, won four conference titles, and captured two national championships in 1932 and 1933. He is one of only three coaches, along with Fielding H. Yost and Bo Schembechler, in Michigan football history to direct teams to four consecutive conference championships. Kipke was also the head baseball coach at the University of Missouri for one season 1925 while he was an assistant football coach at the school. He was inducted into of the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1958.
Harry Burns Hutchins was the fourth president of the University of Michigan (1909–1920).
Mervin Pregulman was an All-American football player, businessman, and philanthropist. He played football as a tackle and center for the University of Michigan Wolverines from 1941 to 1943 and was selected as a first-team All-American in 1943. He was inducted into the United States Navy and served in the Pacific Theater during World War II, narrowly surviving a kamikaze attack on his ship in 1945.
Henry Simmons Frieze was an American educator and academic administrator. He was an instructor at Brown University and its University Grammar School, a professor at the University of Michigan, and served three separate times as acting president of the University of Michigan.
The President of the University of Michigan is a constitutional officer who serves as the principal executive officer of the University of Michigan. The president is chosen by the Board of Regents of the University of Michigan, as provided for in the Constitution of the State of Michigan. Fourteen people—thirteen men and one woman—have held the office, in addition to several others who have held it in either in an acting or interim capacity.
The Regents of the University of Michigan, sometimes referred to as the Board of Regents, are constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Michigan who collectively form the governing body of the University of Michigan, comprising the campuses at Ann Arbor, Flint, and Dearborn. The Board of Regents was first created by legislative act in 1837, and the Regents as a body corporate have been defined in the Constitution of Michigan since 1850. There are eight regents, two of whom are elected to an eight-year term by statewide ballot every two years, plus the President of the University of Michigan, who serves ex officio but does not vote.
Charles A. Baird was an American football manager, university athletic director, and banker.
Robben Wright "Bob" Fleming, also known in his youth as Robben Wheeler Fleming, was an American lawyer, professor, and academic administrator. He was president of the University of Michigan from 1968 to 1979—and interim president again in 1988—and established a reputation for patience and willingness to engage in dialogue with students during the frequent campus protests of that era. He has been called "one of the truly great presidents of the University of Michigan".
Barbara Hackman Franklin is an American government official, corporate director, and business executive. She served as the 29th U.S. Secretary of Commerce from 1992-1993 to President George H.W. Bush, during which she led a Presidential mission to China.
Samuel Spencer Scott was an American publishing executive. He joined Harcourt, Brace in 1920 and developed the company's educational department into a business generating a million dollars in annual revenue. He became the president of Harcourt, Brace & Company in 1948 and held that position until his retirement in 1954.
Jane "Janey" Briggs Hart was an aviator and wife of Senator Philip A. Hart. Hart earned her first pilot's license during World War II, and later became the first licensed female helicopter pilot in Michigan.
Frederick Clever Bald was a teacher and authority on early Michigan history and served as director of the Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan. Following service in France with an ambulance unit during World War I, Bald completed his college education and embarked on a teaching career in Detroit, Michigan before returning to graduate school to study the history of the Northwest Territory. The subject of his dissertation was Detroit during its first decade under American occupation, subsequently published as Detroit's First American Decade 1796 to 1805. Bald also authored the book Michigan in Four Centuries as well as numerous articles. During World War II, Bald was appointed University War Historian at the University of Michigan, beginning his affiliation with the Michigan Historical Collections, forerunner of the Bentley Historical Library. He served as director of the Michigan Historical Collections from 1960 to 1966.
Roscoe Osmond Bonisteel Sr. was an attorney in Ann Arbor, Michigan and a member of the Board of Regents for the University of Michigan from 1946-1959. He served as president of the Michigan State Bar Association from 1936-1937, was on the board of directors and chairman of the executive committee of the National Music Camp at Interlochen. He served on the board of the University Musical Society beginning in 1938. Bonisteel Boulevard on the University of Michigan's North Campus is named in his honor.
Henry Frieze Vaughan was an American epidemiologist with a strong discipline in environmental health, an academic professor, and an administrator. Among the positions he held, he was the Health Commissioner for the City of Detroit (1919–1941), editor for “American Journal of Public Health” (1922–1924), President of American Public Health in 1925, trustee of the W. K. Kellogg Foundation (1933–1978), President of Council at the Michigan Department of Council (1939–1960), founder and Dean of the University of Michigan School of Public Health (1941–1960), and the co-founder and first president of the National Sanitation Foundation (1944–1966). Vaughan was born in Michigan and stayed in Michigan for most of his life contributing to the development and innovation of medical and health services in Michigan.
Louis H. Fead was an American jurist. He was appointed to the office of Chief Justice Michigan Supreme Court in 1928. After completing that term, he served as a Justice, later becoming Chief Justice again. He had been a Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Michigan Masons.
William Lawrence Clements (1861–1934) was a collector of historical works, founder, and donor to the William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan. In addition, Mr. Clements donated more than twenty-million-dollars throughout his life to the University, oversaw a successful business career in the manufacturing and banking industry, and served as a regent of the University of Michigan for twenty-four years.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 "Robert Briggs." Interview by Enid H. Galler. n.d.: n. pag. Print. Box 1, Robert Peter Briggs, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan.
↑ Effinger, John R. Letter to Mr. Robert P. Briggs. 21 Sept. 1921. MS. N.p. Box 1, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan.
↑ 1964. Candidate for Six_Year Term on State Board of Education. Box 1, Robert Peter Briggs, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan.
1 2 3 4 "Briggs Deserves Great Credit For Services Rendered." Editorial. Ann Arbor News n.d.: 4. Print. Box 1, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan.
1 2 3 . "Alumni Board Chooses Robert Briggs, MBA '28, to Receive Achievement Award." Dividend n.d.: 32. Box 1, Robert Peter Briggs, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan.
1 2 Consumers Power Company, Exact Source Unknown, Box 1, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan.
↑ Mudge, James. "Chamber Chief Offers Cure for Economic Ills." Detroit Free Press 22 Sept. 1960: 13. Print. Box 1, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan.
1 2 Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Exact Source Unknown, Box 1, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan.
↑ Robert Peter Briggs File, Exact Source Unknown, Box 1, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan.
↑ University of Michigan Committee to Select President of University of Michigan (2), Exact Source Unknown, Box 1, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan.
↑ Robert P. Briggs, Executive Vice President, Consumers Power Company. 4 Jan. 1966. Biographical Data. Box 1, Robert Peter Briggs, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
