Ostafin was active at the University of Michigan for twenty years from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s. He served in many capacities, including Assistant to the Vice-President of Student Community Relations, Assistant to the Director of Housing, and Assistant Director of Men. He was a member of a wide variety of committees and commissions, such as the Joint Committee on Central Business District Hi-Rise Developments and Parking (1964), the University Safety Committee (1964), the Parking Operations Committee (1968-1971), the Commission on Student Governance (1973-1975), and other groups. Ostafin was involved in student housing, both on-campus and off-campus, especially during the upheavals of the 1960s, when racial discrimination in housing, co-ed housing, and the development of North Campus were prominent issues. He was also interested in students' lives outside the dormitories and campus, ranging from the problems of vandalism and crime to community volunteer programs.
From the guide to the Peter A. Ostafin Papers, 1939-1982, 1955-1975, (Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan)
