Michigan Daily Alumni Photographers Project

Photographers from the Michigan Daily record group

The Michigan Daily records at the Bentley Historical Library include a nearly complete bound set of the printed Daily going back to the first issue in 1890 (as well as a microfilm version), a collection of faculty/staff/administration biographical files, which has become a valuable research resource, and a faculty portrait collection. Most significant, for present purposes, is the run of 35mm negatives covering the years 1963-2006 and a small number of digital camera images beginning in 1993. Daily alumni of the period will doubtless be familiar with the white envelopes, sometimes cryptically labeled and attributed, that make up the Bentley's collection of Daily negatives.

The provenance, retention and archiving of Daily negatives has been a somewhat haphazard process over the years. The whereabouts of negatives prior to 1963 is largely a mystery. The Bentley's collection begins in 1963 with a single envelope of unattributed negatives of picketers in front of the Administration Building and the President's House, demanding that the university hire more African Americans ("Jobs or Mobs" one sign read). Not until 1966 does the Bentley's collection begin to look like a real working file of a photo department. Even then however, it is unclear what the rationales or circumstances were that led to some negatives remaining with the Daily and others being retained by the photographers.

The choice of photographers and images for inclusion as samples from the Bentley's Michigan Daily collection was based in part on previous requests for images by Bentley patrons and on selections made either on the significance of subject, that it captured a slice of campus life, or that it was simply an interesting image. The selections of 5-20 images for a photographer were made by student staff of the Bentley. Titles or captions for the images are derived, for the most part, from the annotations on the negative envelopes. We expect to add sample images from more photographers as time and staffing permit.


James Forsyth

  • Daily Staff: 1967/68
  • Hometown: Ann Arbor, MI
  • U-M Degree: BA 68, JD 72

Browse photos by James Forsyth
James was on the staff of the Michganensian, but also did photography for the Daily. He received an AB degree in 1968 and a JD in 1972 and established a law practice in Florida

Photo caption: Turkey Hunt at Markley, Nov. 11, 1967

Dennis Gainer


Browse photos by Dennis Gainer






As might be expected for a photographer working 1970 to 1972, a good portion of the negatives attributed to Gainer deal with protests and demonstrations of one sort or another. The selection included here are from a guerilla theatre performance on the steps of the Diag. Dennis works as a visual journalist for USA Today, "currently working on a team to develop interactive graphics that will be popular over time."

Photo caption; Knauss - Tent City Guerilla Theatre

Tom Gottlieb

  • Daily Staff: 1970-1974
  • Hometown: Highland Park, MI
  • U-M Degree: AB 1974

Browse photos by Tom Gottlieb






Tom was most active as a photographer during the 1970/71 school year. He covered regents meetings, football, and a variety of performers at Canterbury House, The Ark and Hill Auditorium. He earned a MA from Stanford and worked for the Rand Corporation on Asian national security issues before returning to U-M to teach. He later entered the financial services and investment business in Hawaii and founded Palm Grove Capital in 2001.

Photo caption: Black Action Movement Concert, Hugh Masakela, Sept. 1970

James Judkis


Browse photos by James Judkis



Jim Judkis' negatives in The Daily collection are most heavily concentrated in the 1970/1971 school year. His assignments included a range of campus news stories as well as football and theatre and art events. Jim is a professional photographer in Pittsburgh and teaches photography at LaRoche College.

Photo caption: Waterman Gym Registration Line, Sept. 9, 1970

Judith Kessler

  • Daily Staff: 1967/68
  • Hometown: Boston, MA
  • U-M Degree AB 1973

Browse photos by Judith Kessler


In her one year as a Daily photographer, the biggest campus story Kessler covered was probably the sit-in at Bursley Hall. She covered a few men's basketball She went on to a career as a technical winter.

Photo caption: Bursley Sit-In (protesting dormitory hours for women)

Sara Krulwich

  • Daily Staff: 1968-1972
  • Hometown: New York City
  • U-M Degree: AB 1972

Browse photos by Sara Krulwich



Sara broke barriers for women photographers at the Daily by, among other things, being the first female sideline photographer at Michigan Stadium. She also covered (and participated in) the student activism that characterized her time on campus. Sara is the arts photographer for the New York Times.

Photo caption: Roller Skating in Model Cities Play(ground?), May 18, 1970

Pauline Lubens


Browse photos by Pauline Lubens





Lubens' photos in the Michigan Daily collection document the Graduate Employees Organization's efforts to unionize graduates assistants, a 1975 Conference Against Racism, several Gerald Ford presidential campaign events, and the usual variety of Daily assignments. Twice a Pulitzer Prize finalist, Lubens has worked as a photojournalist for the Trenton Times, Detroit Free Press and San Jose Mercury News. She was a Knight-Wallace Journalism fellow at U-M in 1993-1994.

Photo Caption: Ozone Parade (4), Oct. 25, 1974



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