Historica Critica is a group of active and retired University of Michigan faculty and alumni who believe that the history of the university should be more fully studied, recorded, and celebrated. Toward these ends, Historica Critica has compiled video- and audiotapes of interviews with significant figures of the university faculty, administration, and alumni. The ultimate goal of Historica Critica is to bring about a comprehensive and scholarly history of the university through the use of these tapes.
Members of Historica Critica who have worked on the interview project include: Claude Eggertsen, School of Education; Allen Britton, School of Music Dean; Robert Iglehart, School of Art; Ralph Loomis, English Humanities; Allan Jones, Prakken Publications; Warner Rice, English; Arnold Kuethe, Aerospace Engineering; Arthur Gallagher, former editor of the Ann Arbor News.
Historica Critica has its own criteria for judging whether a member of the university community merits inclusion in its field of significant figures. These criteria, while undefined, seem to cast a net which primarily includes high-level university administrators, Regents, and emeritus faculty. Presidents Fleming and Hatcher; Vice-Presidents Smith, Niehuss, and Pierpont; Regents Roach and Power; and Emeritus faculty Ackley, William Bishop, Britton, Dow, Kuethe, Maurer, Rucknagel, Sears, and Wegman are among those interviewed. Men prominent on the local Ann Arbor scene are also included: Arthur Gallagher, editor of the Ann Arbor News; George Sallade, Ann Arbor Democrat; and Albert Wheeler, former mayor of Ann Arbor.
From the guide to the Historica Critica sound recordings and videotapes, 1984-1992, (Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan)
