Blogs

The Reuther Library’s Reading Room will be closed November 26th-28th, 2025 for the Thanksgiving holiday. We will be back to serve your research needs on Monday, December 1st.

As always, feel free to submit a request via Ask an Archivist and we will answer as soon as we return. Have a safe and happy holiday!

Connor Chapman received a 2025 Ronald Raven Annual Award, a scholarship providing a tuition stipend and a 135-hour internship in the Wayne State University Archives. At the end of his internship, Connor wrote this summary of his experience.

Raven Award Intern Blog Post

In a way, I feel like the Indiana Jones of the archives. The great Dr. Jones is famed for his roguish demeanor, devilishly good looks, and penchant for historical preservation and is known for jumping into action and delving into ancient ruins to find riches in both gold and history. Meanwhile, I, brandishing, if I dare, similar charm and drive, instead prefer to dive into boxes filled to bursting with peoples’ life’s work.  read more »

On the morning of July 30, 1975, Tony Spina, the Chief Photographer for the Detroit Free Press, had no idea that a routine assignment would connect him to one of the defining mysteries of the late 20th century: the disappearance of former Teamsters president Jimmy Hoffa.  read more »

Olivia Barron received a 2025 Ronald Raven Annual Award, a scholarship providing a tuition stipend and a 135-hour internship in the Wayne State University Archives. At the end of their internship, Olivia wrote this summary of their experience.

Ronald Raven Award Internship: A Retrospective

When I was a freshman history student at Wayne State University, the History Club went on a tour of the Walter P. Reuther Library to see its collections and the archive’s inner workings. I cannot begin to describe how excited I was by this experience, and how much it impacted the rest of my academic career up to the present.  read more »