Biography
Sidney Fine was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1920. He was awarded his B.A. from Western Reserve University in 1942, served in the Navy, serving as a Japanese Language Officer from 1942-1946, and earned both an M.A. (1944) and Ph.D. (1948) in history from the University of Michigan. Dr. Fine was a specialist in modern American history, with interest in the history of the labor movement, the New Deal, and the history of Michigan and its political environment. He wrote and edited over fifteen books and many articles.
Sidney Fine’s first appointment at the University of Michigan was as a teaching assistant in 1946. He accepted a position as a UM instructor in 1948 and was appointed as an assistant professor, an associate professor, then a full professor in 1959 in the History Department. Dr. Fine acted as advisor to masters and doctoral students, served on many doctoral committees, and was chairman of the department from 1969-1971. He was named the Richard Hudson Research Professor of History, the Andrew Dickson White Distinguished Professor of History, the Henry Russel Lecturer, and was named the “Professor of the Year” for the state of Michigan in 1986. He is the only member of the UM faculty to have ever been designated as the Henry Russel Lecturer as well as being honored by the undergraduates with the Golden Apple Award for outstanding university teaching.
During the course of his career, he taught over 26,000 students. His continued presence was a significant factor in getting the Michigan legislature to repeal mandatory retirement at age 70 for university professors.
He retired from UM in May 2001.
Fine was very active in the University of Michigan community, serving on numerous committees in the College of Literature, Science & the Arts (LSA) and the general university community. He was the adviser for student associations such as Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi, and he served on the executive and advisory committees of UM libraries, including the Bentley Historical Library, the Gerald R. Ford Library, and the Friends of University Library. Dr. Fine was very involved in library and archive issues nationally, serving on the Archives Advisory Council and the Public Documents Commission. He also consulted on several UM-related and private projects such as the Ford Corporate History Project, the UAW Oral History Project, and television series on labor history. Dr. Fine was a member of many professional societies and served on the editorial board of several history journals.
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