University of Michigan

The University of Michigan (UMich, U-M, or Michigan) is a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Michigan is one of the earliest American research universities and is a founding member of the Association of American Universities.

The university has the largest student population in Michigan, enrolling more than 52,000 students, including more than 30,000 undergraduates and 18,000 postgraduates. UMich is classified as an "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" by the Carnegie Classification. It consists of 19 schools and colleges, offering more than 280 degree programs. The university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2021, it ranked third among American universities in research expenditures according to the National Science Foundation.

The campus, comparable in scale to a midsize city, spans 3,177 acres (12.86 km²). It encompasses Michigan Stadium, which is the largest stadium in the United States, as well as the Western Hemisphere, and ranks third globally. The University of Michigan's athletic teams, including 13 men's teams and 14 women's teams competing in intercollegiate sports, are collectively known as the Wolverines. They compete in NCAA Division I (FBS) as a member of the Big Ten Conference. Between 1900 and 2022, athletes from the university earned a total of 185 medals at the Olympic Games, including 86 gold.

Three years after founding Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit on the strait between Lakes Saint Clair and Erie in 1700, the French explorer and later governor of La Louisiane, Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, wrote to King Louis XIV's minister, Louis Phélypeaux de Pontchartrain, in the Royal government in Paris, urging the establishment of a seminary, similar to those in Montréal and Québec, in the newly formed parish of Sainte-Anne for the education of both Indigenous and French children in piety and the French language. A marriage register from St. Ann's Church in 1755 identified a "director of Christian schools," suggesting the influence of the gentle St. John Baptist de La Salle and his famous Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. The colony was surrendered to the British monarchy in 1762 following the French and Indian War. The local French population maintained the Christian schools; however, the British, who viewed the colony merely as a trading post, did practically nothing for education, leading to stagnation during their rule from 1763 to 1796.

The colony came under the control of the Americans with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783. The strong demand for education among the frontier population led to various attempts to establish a New England-style college. Notably, in 1802, the inhabitants petitioned Congress for a township of land to establish an academy, and in 1806, Gabriel Richard, who presided over the Christian schools in Detroit, petitioned for land to found a college. These preliminary endeavor yielded negligible results. Consequently, it was not until 1817 that the Territorial government, at the instigation of Judge Augustus B. Woodward and with the support of President Thomas Jefferson, passed "an Act to establish the Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania" within the Territory of Michigan that the university came into being. The act was enacted on August 26, 1817, with Richard appointed as vice president and John Monteith as president, and it included thirteen professorships, or didaxiim. The legislative act was signed by acting governor and secretary William Woodbridge, presiding judge Augustus B. Woodward of the Territorial Supreme Court, and judge John Griffin.

The term "Catholepistemiad," a neologism derived from a blend of Greek and Latin roots, can be loosely translated as "School of Universal Knowledge". The corporation was modeled after the Imperial University of France, an entity established by Napoleon I a decade prior, and included an array of schools and libraries under a single administration, with the authority to establish additional schools across the territory. It was not until Michigan became a state in 1837 that the corporation focused solely on higher education. In September 1817, the university received a subscription from the Zion Masonic Lodge. Of the total amount subscribed to start the university two-thirds came from Zion Lodge and its members.

The cornerstone for the first schoolhouse, situated near the intersection of Bates Street and Congress Street in Detroit, was laid on September 24, 1817, and by the following year, a Lancasterian school, taught by Lemuel Shattuck, and a classical academy were operational. Additional schools were established in Monroe and Mackinaw by the end of September 1817. In 1821, by a new enactment, the university itself was created as a "body politic and corporate", maintaining its corporate status through various modifications to its charter. The new act placed the corporation under the control of a board of trustees. Monteith, no longer president, joined the board, and Richard served on the board until his death in 1832. The trustees continued to manage the schools and classical academy, but established no new schools. By 1827, all schools had closed, and the Detroit schoolhouse was leased to private teachers.

In 1837, following Michigan's admission to the Union, its constitution enabled the appointive regents to oversee university operations directly alongside professors, without the need for a president. The regents met in Ann Arbor and accepted the town's proposal for the university to relocate, based on a 40 acres (16 ha) grant from the Treaty of Fort Meigs on Henry Rumsey's farmland. Alexander Jackson Davis devised the original campus plan in Gothic Revival style, and the regents unanimously approved his proposal; however, the plan was abandoned due to financial constraints resulting from the Panic of 1837. In 1841, Mason Hall, the first campus building, was completed, followed by the construction of South College, an identical building to the south, in 1849, leaving a gap for a future grand centerpiece.