Goodbye Michael

Today we say farewell to our longest serving and one of our best known members of staff, Michael Bolik.  Michael is a familiar face to all of our users having been with the Archives since 1987 but his association with the University of Dundee goes back further as Michael studied here in the 1970s. He has the rare distinction of having studied or worked under all six Principals of the University of Dundee.

The importance of Michael’s contribution to Archive Services cannot be overstated.  Significant among his many contributions in the past 25 years is the key role he has played in organising the records of the University of Dundee and its predecessors. He has also worked on many other important collections including the records of the Glasite and Sandemanian Churches.  His knowledge of the University archive collections is extensive and his expertise will be missed by us all. Michael has also provided invaluable advice and support to a large number of our users and it is no surprise that several major publications have cited him in their acknowledgements.

Michael quickly grasped the importance of new technology in promoting our collections and created our first webpages in the early 1990s; his role in  managing our IT needs has been crucial in allowing ARMMS to flourish. We have over 30,000 digital images of our collections which have been managed by Michael, and he has been responsible for overseeing the use of some of these in publications around the world. His often behind the scenes assistance, for example with A Dundee Celebration and Lost Dundee, did not go unnoticed by his colleagues. 

We will miss Michael not just for this work, but for his personality.  His sense of humour and genuine interest in the lives of those who work with him have meant that everyone in ARMMS has found him a pleasure to work beside. Michael has made many friends across the University who will be saddened by his departure. However, our sadness is tempered by our happiness that he is starting a new life and we wish him the very best for the future. 

Good luck from everyone at ARMMS and CAIS.