About the Daily Alumni Photographers Project
The Michigan Daily Photographers Project is a collaborative effort of the University of Michigan Board of Student Publications, The Michigan Daily and Bentley Historical Library to preserve and promote the rich photographic heritage of The Michigan Daily. That heritage provides documentation of the campus, the community, and the wider world and demonstrates the technical skills and aesthetic vision the photographers brought to their assignments.
More than 100 students photographers have worked for the Daily since the first photographs were printed ca. 1900. The roster of Daily alumni photographers includes some who have gone on to notable careers as photojournalists--Pauline Lubens, Steve Kagan and Sara Krulwich to name just a few. Some have found success as commercial photographers, while for others photography became an avocation as they pursued other career paths.
The Bentley Library's Michigan Daily record group includes negatives and prints dating from 1963 to 2004 (bulk 1963-1982) and some digital images from 1995 to 2006.
To supplement the Bentley's Michigan Daily collection, the Bentley and the Board of Student Publications have reached out to former Daily photographers who may have personal collections of their work for the Daily, asking if they would consider contributing a selection of their best images for inclusion in the Michigan Daily Alumni Photographers Project. To date Jay Cassidy (1967-1969), Steve Kagan (1970-1973), and Sara Stillman (1995-1998) have contributed to the project. Cassidy has contributed his entire collection of nearly 5000 images (original negatives and digitized surrogates). Kagan provided a selection of 91 digitized images and Stillman had earlier donated her collection of negatives to the archives, A selection of Stillman's negatives and approximately 200 images from the Bentley 's Daily collection have been digitized in the initial phase of the project
We invite other Daily alumni photographers to join the Bentley and the Board of Student Publications in preserving and promoting the rich archive of The Michigan Daily photography.
The Digital Library Production Service unit of the University Library hosts and provides the search and display for the images in the Michigan Daily Alumni Photographers Project.
The Michigan Daily Bureau at Democratic Convention, Chicago, 1968
Back: Tom Copi, John Gray, Leslie Wayne, Daniel Okrent
Middle: Pat O'Donahue, Andy Sacks, Eric Pergeaux
Front: Jay Cassidy
Photo by Jay Cassidy, from the Jay Cassidy Collection