Angela Oonk

Director of Development

It may sound like I’m especially excited about the legal language behind a bequest, a new fund agreement, or the gift of a large collection. The truth is more practical: Declarations of Intent, Gift Agreements, Bargain Sales, and Memorandums of Understanding can be some of the most time-consuming and complicated parts of my job. But they matter—because once they’re signed, they become part of the permanent record. Long after the donor and I are gone, those pages will still be here, quietly enduring as a lasting statement of intent.

In Margaret Maxwell’s book Shaping a Library: William L. Clements as Collector, she gives us the sense of just how important this documentation was to Clements. She chronicles numerous discussions, visits, and letters between 1916-1920 that led to a proposal for the formation of the library being formally accepted by the Regents. She then goes on to devote a chapter to the gift agreement (1920-1921), and later yet another entire chapter to its revision (1922).

Clements donated his remarkable collection of rare books, manuscripts, maps, and prints—along with resources to house and steward them—so that scholars and students could study the founding era and the nation’s development through original sources. The agreement marked a turning point for the university’s research mission, transforming a private passion into a public trust and creating a library that continues to preserve, expand, and share materials central to understanding America’s past.

University President Marion Burton also acknowledged the importance of the revised gift agreement as part of the historical record when he wrote to Clements in December 1922, “It rather inspires me to think how in the centuries to come students of American history and others interested in the welfare of this University will study the Agreement which we have been attempting to formulate.”

Begin with William Clements’ declaration. Continue it with yours. 

Any gift to the Clements is, in a real sense, a declaration of support—for preserving the fragile, irreplaceable evidence of the past and making it available for study. It says you believe primary sources still matter: the letters, maps, books, and documents that let us test ideas against the known narrative and tell fuller, truer stories. Whether it funds conservation, acquisitions, teaching, fellowships, or public programs, your generosity becomes a public commitment to stewardship and access—helping the Clements Library carry its mission forward for the next generation.

Gift Agreement

A well-crafted agreement puts your intentions in black and white: what you’re giving, how it should be used, how it will be stewarded over time, and how your support will be recognized. It’s the step that turns a generous idea into a durable commitment, giving the library clear guidance it can honor into the future.

On February 11, 1884 Eliza A. Cummings signed a contract with the Vermont Methodist Seminary giving the institution $500 on the condition that the Seminary pay her $30 per year until her death. This is an early example of a planned gift that we would now call a charitable gift annuity where an institution invests the initial gift and pays a percentage to the donor or their designate until their death at which time whatever is remaining in the corpus becomes a donation to the organization. Eliza died on March 13, 1895, so she would have received 10 years of payments. We don’t know how the sum was invested to know what the final amount was that the Seminary received.

Staff News

On account of the increasing volume of digitized manuscripts and other archival materials, we opened a new position to oversee the creation, proofreading, editing, and standardization of descriptive metadata. We are pleased to announce that Meghan Arends, formerly a Digitization Technician, has accepted this new role as Metadata Librarian

Due to the tremendous growth of the Clements Library’s collection of photography, senior staff identified a need for a curatorial role specifically focused on photographic material. We were able to create a new Assistant Curator of Graphics position, and are delighted that Jakob Dopp (former Graphics Cataloger) has been hired into this new role.

Library Director Paul Erickson has been on the road. He participated in a session at the Organization of American Historians conference in Philadelphia in April on “Writing Your Second Book NOW,” and was invited to participate in the opening plenary session of the annual conference of the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture in Nashville in June on the theme “Engaging Treasures: Archives, Libraries, and National Narratives in the 21st Century’s Revolutions.”

The Clements Library congratulates Digitization Specialist Ella Johnson as she embarks on the next chapter of her career, pursuing a graduate degree in Information Science. 

Librarian for Instruction and Engagement Maggie Vanderford submitted the final version of her doctoral dissertation, “The Vermicular Imagination in Eighteenth-Century Literature (1660–1760),” to the Department of English at UCLA in March. She will receive her Ph.D. in June. Congratulations to Dr. Vanderford!

Ava Wilcox joined the Manuscripts Division as a Processing Assistant in February 2026. She received her BA in History from Wellesley College in 2025, and has previously worked at the Leventhal Map and Education Center at the Boston Public Library and the Geography & Map Division of the Library of Congress.

Board of Governors Updates

In Memoriam

John R. Axe passed away on February 1, 2026, after a battle with cancer. He was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and studied Political Science at the University of Michigan before attending and graduating from Harvard Law School. He had a strong passion for law, and was admired for his expertise in municipal law. 

John was also an insatiable reader with a love of history. He collected, among other items, maps, war posters, and sports ephemera. Every piece in his collection contained a story, which John was always eager to share. John also shared his collections with the Clements, donating a number of maps to the library. These included Bellin’s map of the Great Lakes, one of the earliest appearances on a map of Detroit, the Port of Chicago, and the four fictitious islands in Lake Superior. In addition to the fictitious islands, the map also shows an imaginary mountain range in Michigan. John’s love of the Clements ran deep, as he served on the CLA Board of Governors for nearly 25 years.

New Members

Welcome to new board members Ben Grimmett (Wayland, Mass.), Lee Rucker Keiser (Bethesda, Md.), Denise Kiernan (Asheville, N.C.), Julian Mortenson (Ann Arbor, Mich.), Lori Rumley (Grosse Ile, Mich.), Alyce Sigler (Ann Arbor, Mich.), and Greg Zimmerman (Ann Arbor, Mich.).

Farewell

In her 36 years as a CLA Board member, Sally Kennedy has graced the Clements Library with her generosity and deep knowledge of history. Described as a “walking encyclopedia of history,” Sally has family roots at West Point and in the Schuyler family. During her time as a board member, she funded the David B. Kennedy Fellowship, named after her late husband. Sally and Dave were also instrumental in funding the ceiling restoration in the Avenir Foundation Room in the early 2000s. She retired at the May CLA Board of Governors meeting.

All board portraits by Michigan Photography.