Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your University Of Michigan shopping experience:
1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the University Of Michigan offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of University Of Michigan at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.
2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about
3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a University Of Michigan? Wrong! If the University Of Michigan is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.
4. Questions - Got a question about University Of Michigan then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....
5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling University Of Michigan? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about University Of Michigan and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.
6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your University Of Michigan wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.
7. Feedback - happy with your University Of Michigan then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.
8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the University Of Michigan site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site
9. Contact - got a question about University Of Michigan, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.
10. Payment - ready to pay for your University Of Michigan, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.
{{infobox University|name= The University of Michigan|image_name= Umichigan color seal.gif|motto=
Artes, Scientia, Veritas ("Arts, Knowledge, Truth")|endowment=
United States dollar5.65 1000000000 (number)|president= Mary Sue Coleman
[Sea Grant Colleges
Space grant colleges|calendar = Trimester|staff=|faculty= 6,238|students= 40,025|undergrad= 25,555|postgrad= 14,470|colors=
Maize (color) and
Blue (color) |city=
Ann Arbor, Michigan|campus= 3,176 [acres (12.86
kilometre)
Summation: 20,965 acres (84.84 km²), including arboretum|free_label= Sports|free= Michigan Wolverines|website= www.umich.edu|logo= -->The
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (
U of M,
UM or simply
Michigan) is a coeducational
public university research university in the state of
Michigan. The university was founded in 1817 in
Detroit, Michigan, about 20 years before the territory of Michigan officially became a state, and moved to
Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1837. Today, it is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan system, which now has two satellite campuses, the University of Michigan, Flint and the
University of Michigan, Dearborn.
In its last published survey in 1995, the
United States National Research Council Rankings ranked UM third in the United States in a study that aggregated evaluations of 41 graduate disciplines. The university has one of the largest research expenditures of any American university and one of the largest number of living alumni at 420,000. The university owns one of the most well-regarded academic medical centers in the United States, the
University of Michigan Health System. UM is recognized for its history of
student activism and its athletic teams, notably in American football,
college basketball, and ice hockey. It is considered as one of the original eight Public Ivys.
Despite being a public institution, the University of Michigan is known for its high student fees; in 2007, tuition for out-of-state students was the most expensive in the country. The university has also been at the center of a national controversy involving the use of
Affirmative action in the United States in admissions. Though the university successfully affirmed before the
Supreme Court of the United States that consideration of
race as a factor in admissions to universities was
constitutionality for the holistic law school admissions process in 2003, the Supreme Court also expressed an opinion on the degree to which race could be used by striking down the policy for undergraduate admissions in a separate court case. The former policy automatically awarded 20 points to all minority applicants in its points-based system. Michigan voters responded by Michigan Civil Rights Initiative on affirmative action in public universities and governmental hiring in November 2006. This meant that the university had to cease using race and gender as criteria for admissions.
History
The University of Michigan was established in Detroit in 1817 as the Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania, by the governor and judges of Michigan Territory. Ann Arbor had set aside 40 acres (16 ha) that it hoped would become the site for a new state capitol, but it offered this land to the university when
Lansing, Michigan was chosen as the state capital. The university moved to Ann Arbor in 1837. The original 40 acres became part of the current Central Campus. The first classes in Ann Arbor were held in 1841, with six freshmen and a sophomore, taught by two professors. Eleven students graduated in the first commencement in 1845. By 1866, enrollment increased to 1,205 students, many of whom were American Civil War veterans. Women were first admitted in 1870, making UM the first major university to do so (and the third college overall, after
Oberlin College in 1833 and Lawrence University in 1847). James B. Angell, who served as the university's president from 1871 to 1909, aggressively expanded UM's curriculum to include professional studies in
dentistry, architecture, engineering, government, and medicine. UM also became the first American university to use the seminar method of study.
From 1900 to 1920 many new facilities were constructed on campus, including facilities for the dental and pharmacy programs, a chemistry building, a building for the natural sciences,
Hill Auditorium, large hospital and library complexes, and two residential halls. The university fortified its reputation for research in 1920 by reorganizing the College of Engineering and forming an advisory committee of 100 industrialists to guide academic research initiatives. During World War II, UM's research grew to include
United States Navy projects such as
proximity fuzes,
PT boats, and
radar jamming. By 1950, enrollment had reached 21,000, of whom 7,700 were veterans supported by the
G.I. Bill. As the
Cold War and the Space Race took hold, UM became a major recipient of government grants for strategic research and helped to develop peacetime uses for
nuclear energy. At present, much of that work, as well as research into alternative energy sources, is pursued via the Memorial Phoenix Project.
On October 14,
1960, President of the United States candidate John F. Kennedy proposed the concept of what became the Peace Corps on the steps of Michigan Union.
Lyndon B. Johnson's speech outlining his Great Society program also occurred at UM. Also during the 1960s, UM saw many protests by student groups. On March 24,
1965, a group of UM faculty members and 3,000 students held the nation's first ever faculty-led "teach-in" to protest against American policy in Southeast Asia. In response to a series of sit-ins in 1966 by
Voice–the campus political party of Students for a Democratic Society–UM's administration banned sit-ins. This stimulated 1,500 students to conduct a further one-hour sit-in in the administration building.
During the 1970s, severe budget constraints challenged the university's physical development; however, the 1980s saw a surge in funds devoted to research in the social and physical sciences. Meanwhile, the university's involvement in the anti-missile Strategic Defense Initiative and investments in
South Africa caused controversy on campus. During the 1980s and 1990s, the university devoted substantial resources to renovating its massive hospital complex and improving the academic facilities on the North Campus. The university also emphasized the development of computer and information technology throughout the campus.
In the early 2000s, UM also faced declining state funding due to state budget shortfalls. At the same time, the university attempted to maintain its high academic standing while keeping tuition costs affordable. There were also disputes between UM's administration and labor unions, notably with the Lecturers' Employees Organization (LEO) and the Graduate Employees Organization (GEO), the union representing graduate student employees. These conflicts led to a series of one-day walkouts by the unions and their supporters.
In 2003, two lawsuits involving UM's affirmative action in the United States admissions policy reached the
Supreme Court of the United States (
Grutter v. Bollinger and
Gratz v. Bollinger). President George W. Bush took the unusual step of publicly opposing the policy before the court issued a ruling. The court found that race may be considered as a factor in university admissions in all public universities and private universities that accept federal funding. However, a point system was ruled as being unconstitutional. In the first case, the court upheld the
University of Michigan Law School admissions policy, while in the second it ruled against the university's undergraduate admissions policy. The debate still continues, however, because in November of 2006 Michigan voters passed
MCRI, banning most affirmative action in university admissions. Under that law race, gender, and national origin can no longer be considered in admissions. UM and other organizations were granted a stay from implementation of the passed proposal soon after that election, and this has allowed time for proponents of affirmative action to decide legal and constitutional options in response to the election results. The university has stated it plans to continue to challenge the ruling; in the meantime, the admissions office states that it will attempt to achieve a diverse student body by looking at other factors such as whether the student attended a disadvantaged school, and the level of education of the student's parents.
The August 1, 2006, publication of
The Advocate College Guide for LGBT Students highlighted the University of Michigan as one of the 20 best campuses for LGBT students. The guide acknowledged colleges and universities across the United States for making strides toward the advancement and integration of the LGBT community via a wide variety of student support groups, resources, events, policies, and other efforts to create an overall exceptional educational climate for these individuals.
Academic profile
The university has 25,555 undergraduate and 14,470 graduate students in 600 academic programs, and each year about 5,400 new students are enrolled. Students come from all 50
U.S. states and more than 100 countries. 98% of the university's incoming class of 2006 earned a high school GPA of 3.0 and higher, while the middle 50% of the incoming class earned a high school GPA of 3.60 to 3.90. The middle 50% of applicants reported an
SAT score of about 1900–2160 and an ACT (examination) score of 27–31, with Advanced Placement Program credit granted to over 3000 freshmen students. About 22% of newly-enrolled undergraduates and 25% of all undergraduates are members of ethnic
minorities.
About 65% of undergraduate students are enrolled in the University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LS&A), while the
University of Michigan College of Engineering has about 20%. Fewer than 3% of undergraduate students are enrolled in the Ross School of Business. The rest of the undergraduate students are enrolled in the smaller schools, including the
University of Michigan School of Nursing, the
SNRE, and the University of Michigan School of Art and Design. Most graduate students are enrolled in the
Rackham Graduate School, the College of Engineering, the Law School, the
Ross School of Business, and the
University of Michigan Medical School. The Medical School is partnered with the
University of Michigan Health System, which comprises the University's three hospitals, dozens of outpatient clinics, and many centers for medical care, research, and education. Other academic units include the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy,
Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning and the Schools of University of Michigan School of Dentistry,
University of Michigan School of Education, University of Michigan School of Information, University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance,
SNRE, University of Michigan School of Public Health, and University of Michigan School of Social Work, of which Social Work has been ranked first by the
U.S. News and World Report every year since 1994.
There are over 6,200 faculty members, 73 of whom are members of the United States National Academies, and 435 of whom hold an endowed chair in their discipline. The Top American Research Universities (December 2004).
The Center. Accessed October 2, 2005. The university has also matriculated 24
Rhodes Scholarship.
In one recent rankings summary, more than 70% of UM's 200 major programs, departments, and schools were very highly. The 2008
U.S. News and World Report ranks UM 25th among all American universities and 3rd (tied with UCLA) among public universities. In its 2007 annual college rankings,
The Washington Monthly ranks UM sixth nationally with criteria based on research, community service, and social mobility.
Newsweek International rates UM 11th globally based on "openness and diversity" as well as "distinction in research". Similarly, the 2007 edition of the
Fiske Rankings rates UM with "5 Stars"—reserved for only those universities of the highest academic quality. Furthermore, UM's academic reputation has led to its inclusion on Richard Moll's list of Public Ivies.
A concern about academics at UM is the high level of educational expenses for a public institution, especially for out-of-state undergraduate students, who pay about
United States dollar30,000 annually for tuition alone. In 2005, out-of-state tuition at UM was the most expensive in the United States for a public college or university.Sahadi, Jeanne (October 28, 2005). The 10 most expensive colleges.
CNN/Money. Accessed February 21, 2005. Conversely, in-state undergraduate students paid about US $10,000 annually. Academic Year Tuition and Fees for Full-Time Students for the last 10 years.
University of Michigan Office of Budget & Planning. Accessed October 7, 2006. Notwithstanding the quoted tuition levels, the university is attempting to lower the cost of attendance. To that end, the university is building a US $400 million endowment in order to replace loans with out-right grants to students.
Research and endowment
The university is one of the founding members (1900) of the
Association of American Universities, the nation's most significant consortium of research universities.The university has one of the largest annual research expenditures of any university in the United States, totaling about US $775 million per annum from 2004 to 2005, and US $797 million in 2006. The Medical School spent the most at over US $333 million, while the College of Engineering was second at more than $131 million. UM also has a
technology transfer office, which is the university conduit between laboratory research and corporate commercialization interests.
UM helped develop one of the first university computer networks (the Merit Network) and has made major contributions to the mathematics of information theory. Other major contributions included the precursor to the
National Science Foundation computer networking backbone, the virtual memory model, and computer databases. The university is also a major contributor to the medical field with the Electrocardiogram,
gastroscope, the announcement of
Jonas Salk's polio vaccine, and the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation system or ECMO. The university's 13,000-acre (53 km²)
University of Michigan Biological Station in the Northern Michigan is one of only 47 Biosphere reserves in the United States.
UM is home to the
National Election Studies and the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index. Political scientists and policy analysts use UM's Correlates of War project as a gauge of nations' relative global power and a barometer for the outbreak of war. The university is also home to major research centers in optics, reconfigurable manufacturing systems,
wireless integrated microsystems, and social sciences. The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute is located at the university, and support was recently given to the life sciences with the establishment of the Life Sciences Institute and the construction of associated facilities. Undergraduate students are able to participate in various research projects through the
Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) as well as the UROP/Creative-Programs.
UM's
financial endowment (the "University Endowment Fund") was valued at $5.65 billion in NACUBO's 2006 ranking. It is the
List of U.S. colleges and universities by endowment endowment in the U.S. and the third-largest among U.S public universities, as well as the fastest growing endowment over the last 20 years. The endowment is primarily used according to the donors' wishes, which include the support of teaching and research. In mid-2000, UM embarked on a massive fund-raising campaign called "The Michigan Difference," which aimed to raise $2.5 billion, with $800 million dollars designated for the permanent endowment. Slated to run through December 2008, the university announced that the campaign had reached its target 19 months early in May 2007.
Libraries and museums
The
University of Michigan Library comprises 19 individual libraries with 24 separate collections—roughly 8.27 million volumes, growing at the rate of 177,000 volumes a year. University of Michigan Libraries (1-11-2005).
U of M News Service. Accessed September 19, 2005. In the most recent academic year for which such figures are released (2005), the
Association of Research Libraries — using a variety of metrics — ranked UM's library system as one of the top academic library systems in the U.S.
UM was the original home of the JSTOR database, which contains about 750,000 digitized pages from the entire pre-1990 backfile of ten journals of history and economics. The University recently initiated a book digitization program in collaboration with
Google. As of August 31, 2006, UM has rolled out the first phase of the Google archive retrieval.
Two prominent libraries, the University of Michigan Library#The Nineteen Libraries and the Shapiro Undergraduate Library (also called the UGLi, which is officially an acronym but was used by students as a reference to the building's uninspired appearance prior to its recent renovation), are on Central Campus and are connected by a
skyway. The Duderstadt Center on North Campus houses books on art, architecture, and engineering. The Duderstadt Center also contains multiple
computer labs,
non-linear editing system studios, and a
3D computer graphics virtual reality room. North Campus is also home to the
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and the Bentley Historical Library.
The University of Michigan is home to a number of museums, whose focuses include
archeology, anthropology, paleontology,
zoology, dentistry, and art. The natural history public collections are housed at the University of Michigan Exhibit Museum of Natural History, which displays items from the collections of the paleontology, zoology, and anthropology museums. The Exhibit Museum also holds the largest display of dinosaur specimens in Michigan, as well a specimen of the
state fossil, the mastodon (the only such display in the world containing adult male and female specimens: the Buesching and Owosso mastodons). Another major university museum is the University of Michigan Museum of Art, with a permanent collection of European, American, Middle Eastern, Asian, and African items, and temporary exhibits on a wide variety of subjects.
Campus
The Ann Arbor campus is divided into four main areas: the North, Central, Medical, and South Campuses. The physical infrastructure includes more than 500 major buildings, with a combined area of more than 29 million square feet (664 acres or 2.69 km²). The campus also consists of leased space in buildings scattered throughout the city, many occupied by organizations affiliated with the University of Michigan Health System. An East Medical Campus has recently been developed on Plymouth Road, with several university-owned buildings for outpatient care, diagnostics, and outpatient surgery.
In addition to the UM Golf Course on South Campus, the university operates a second golf course called "Radrick Farms Golf Course" on Geddes Road. The golf course is only open to faculty, staff, and alumni. Another off-campus facility is the Inglis House, which the university has owned since the 1950s. The Inglis House is a 10,000 square foot (930 m²) mansion used to hold various social events, including meetings of the board of regents, and to host visiting dignitaries. The university also operates a large office building called Wolverine Tower in southern Ann Arbor near Briarwood Mall. Another major facility is the Matthaei Botanical Gardens, which is located on the eastern outskirts of Ann Arbor.
All four campus areas are connected by bus services, the majority of which connect the North and Central Campuses. There is a shuttle service connecting the University Hospital, which lies between North and Central Campuses, with other medical facilities throughout northeastern Ann Arbor. The Central and South Campus areas are contiguous, while the North Campus area is separated from them, primarily by the Huron River (Michigan).
Central Campus
Central Campus was the original location of UM when it moved to Ann Arbor in 1837. It originally had a school and dormitory building (where Mason Hall now stands) and several houses for professors on land bounded by North University Avenue, South University Avenue, East University Avenue, and State Street. Because Ann Arbor and Central Campus developed simultaneously, there is no distinct boundary between the city and university, and some areas contain a mixture of private and university buildings. Central Campus is the location of the University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, and is immediately adjacent to the medical campus. Most of the graduate and professional schools, including the
Ross School of Business and the University of Michigan Law School, are on Central Campus. Ten of the buildings on Central Campus were designed by Detroit-based architect
Albert Kahn (architect) between 1904 and 1936. The most notable of the Kahn-designed buildings are the
Burton Tower and nearby Hill Auditorium.
North Campus
North Campus is the most contiguous campus, built independently from the city on a large plot of farm land — approximately 800 acres (3.25 km²) — that the university bought in 1952. It is newer than Central Campus, and thus has more modern architecture, whereas most Central Campus buildings are classical or gothic in style. The architect
Eero Saarinen, based in
Birmingham, Michigan, created one of the early master plans for North Campus and designed several of its buildings in the 1950s, including the Earl V. Moore School of Music Building. North and Central Campuses each have unique bell towers that reflect the predominant architectural styles of their surroundings. Each of the bell towers houses a grand carillon. North Campus houses the University of Michigan College of Engineering, the Schools of
University of Michigan School of Music, and Art and Design, the
Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, and an annex of the School of Information.
South Campus
South Campus is the site for the athletic programs, including major sports facilities, such as Michigan Stadium, Crisler Arena, and
Yost Ice Arena. South Campus is also the site of the Buhr library storage facility (the collections of which are undergoing digitization by Google), the Institute for Continuing Legal Education, and the Student Theatre Arts Complex, which provides shop and rehearsal space for student theatre groups. The university's departments of public safety and transportation services offices are located on South Campus.
UM's golf course is located south of Michigan Stadium and Crisler Arena. It was designed in the late 1920s by Alister MacKenzie, the designer of Augusta National Golf Club in
Augusta, Georgia (home of The Masters Tournament). The course opened to the public in the spring of 1931. The University of Michigan Golf Course was included in a listing of top holes designed by what
Sports Illustrated calls “golf’s greatest course architect.” The UM Golf Course’s signature No. 6 hole — a 310-yard par 4, which plays from an elevated tee to a two-tiered, kidney-shaped green protected by four bunkers — is the second hole on the Alister MacKenzie Dream 18 as selected by a five-person panel that includes three-time Masters champion
Nick Faldo and golf course architect Tom Doak. The listing of “the best holes ever designed by Augusta National architect Alister MacKenzie” is featured in SI’s Golf Plus special edition previewing the Masters in
April 4,
2006.
Athletics
The University of Michigan's sports teams are called the
Wolverines. They participate in the
National Collegiate Athletic Association's Football Bowl Subdivision (formally Division I-A) and in the
Big Ten Conference in all sports except men's
ice hockey, which competes in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. In seven of the past ten years, UM has finished in the top five of the NACDA Director's Cup, a ranking compiled by the
National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics to tabulate the success of universities in competitive sports. UM has finished in the top eleven of the Directors' Cup standings in each of the award's twelve seasons and has placed in the top six in each of the last eight seasons.
The
Michigan Wolverines football program ranks first in NCAA history in both total wins (860) and winning percentage (.745). The team won the first
Rose Bowl Game game in 1902, and has the longest current streak of consecutive
bowl game appearances. The last year in which UM did not appear in a bowl was 1974, which was also the last season in which Big Ten teams other than the champion were not eligible for bowls; UM's last losing season was in 1967. The Wolverines have won a record 42 Big Ten championships, including five in the past decade. The program has eleven
NCAA Division I-A national football championship, most recently in 1997, and has produced three Heisman Trophy winners: Tom Harmon,
Desmond Howard and Charles Woodson.
Michigan Stadium is the largest college football-only stadium in the world, with an official capacity of more than 107,501 (the extra seat is said to be "reserved" for Fritz Crisler) though attendance—frequently over 111,000 spectators—regularly exceeds the official capacity. The NCAA's record-breaking attendance has become commonplace at Michigan Stadium, especially since the arrival of head coach
Bo Schembechler. UM has fierce rivalries with many teams, including
Michigan State University, University of Notre Dame, and Ohio State University, the latter of which has been referred to by
ESPN as the greatest Michigan-Ohio State Rivalry in American sports. UM has all-time winning records against Ohio State University (57-40-6), University of Notre Dame (20-14-1), and Michigan State University (66-28-5).
The men's ice hockey team, which plays at
Yost Ice Arena, has won nine
NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship, while the college basketball team, which plays at
Crisler Arena, has appeared in four
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championships and won a NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship in 1989. However, the program became involved in a scandal involving payments from a booster during the 1990s. This led to the program being placed on probation for a four-year period. The program also voluntarily vacated victories from its 1992–1993 and 1995–1999 seasons in which the payments took place, as well as its 1992 and 1993 Final Four appearances.
Through the 2004 Summer Olympic Games, 178 UM students and coaches had participated in the Olympics, winning medals in every Summer Olympic Games except 1896, and winning gold medals in all but four Olympiads. UM students have won a total of Michigan Wolverines#Michigan Olympians: 54 gold, 27 silver, and 35 bronze.
Student life
Residential life
The University of Michigan has the sixth-largest campus housing system in the U.S. and the third-largest family housing operation, accommodating up to 12,562 people. The residence halls are organized into three distinct groups: Central Campus, Hill Area (between Central Campus and the University of Michigan Medical Center) and North Campus. Family housing is located on North Campus and mainly serves graduate students. The largest residence hall has a capacity of 1,277 students, while the smallest accommodates 31 residents. A majority of upper-class and graduate students live in off-campus apartments, houses, and Housing cooperatives, with the largest concentrations in the Central and South Campus areas. The higher cost of living in Ann Arbor has prompted some students to live in nearby communities such as
Ypsilanti, Michigan or
Plymouth, Michigan.
The residential system has a number of "living-learning communities" where academic activities and residential life are combined. These communities focus on areas such as research through the Michigan Research Community, medical sciences,
community service and the German language. The Michigan Research Community, usually housed in Mosher-Jordan Hall, is currently located in East Quadrangle (East Quad) due to renovations in its former building. The Residential College, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (RC), a living-learning community that is a division of the College of Literature, Science and the Arts, also has its principal instructional space in East Quad. In 2006, the university approved plans for a new residence complex for 550 students on the northern corner of Central Campus. When completed, this residence complex will comprise a second living-learning community.
Groups and activities
There are more than 1150 student clubs and organizations at the university. With a history of student activism, some of the most visible groups include those dedicated to causes such as civil rights and labor rights. Two of the most notable of these groups were
Students for a Democratic Society, which recently reformed with a new chapter on campus as of February of 2007, and the
Weatherman (organization). Though the student body generally leans toward
left-wing politics, there are also conservative groups, such as Young Americans for Freedom, non-partisan groups such as the Roosevelt Institution, and religious groups like "JAAM" (Jewish Awareness America).
Fraternities and sororities, many of which are located east of Central Campus, play a role in the university's social life.
Intramural sports are popular, and there are recreation facilities for each of the three campuses. There are also several engineering projects teams, including the
University of Michigan Solar Car Team, which placed first in the American Solar Challenge four times and third in the World Solar Challenge three times.
Michigan Interactive Investments, an investing and finance organization, is also affiliated with the university. The university also showcases many community service organizations and charitable projects, including SERVE, PROVIDES, Circle K, The Detroit Project,
Habitat for Humanity, and
Ann Arbor Reaching Out.
The Michigan Union and Michigan League are student activity centers located on Central Campus; Pierpont Commons is on North Campus. The Michigan Union houses a majority of student groups, including the student government. The William Monroe Trotter House, located east of Central Campus, is a multicultural student center operated by the university's Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs. The University Activities Center (UAC) is a student-run programming organization and is composed of 15 committees. Each group involves students in the planning and execution of a variety of events both on and off campus.
The
Michigan Marching Band, composed of over 350 students from almost all of UM's schools, is the university's
marching band. Being over 100 years old, the band performs at every home game and travel to at least one away game a year. The student-run and led
University of Michigan Pops Orchestra is another musical ensemble that attracts students from all academic backgrounds. It performs regularly in the
Michigan Theater (Ann Arbor). The University of Michigan Men's Glee Club, founded in 1859, is a men's chorus comprised of over 100 members. Its eight member subset
a cappella group, the University of Michigan Friars, which was founded in 1955, is the oldest currently running a cappella group on campus.
The Michigan Daily is the student-run daily newspaper. Founded in 1890,
The Daily is published five days a week during the normal academic year, and weekly during the spring and summer terms. Other student publications at the university include the conservative
The Michigan Review, the progressive
Michigan Independent, the
Michigan Journal of Political Science, and the humor publications
The Michigan Every Three Weekly and the
Gargoyle Humor Magazine.
WCBN (88.3 FM) is a freeform radio station; WOLV (TV) is a student-run television station that is primarily shown on the university's cable television system.
Student government
Housed in the Michigan Union, the
Student Assembly#University of Michigan (MSA) is the central student government of the University. With representatives from each of the University's colleges and schools, the MSA represents students and manages student funds on the campus. The Michigan Student Assembly is a member of the statewide
Association of Michigan Universities. In recent years MSA has organized airBus, a transportation service between campus and the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, and has led the university's efforts to register its student population to vote, with its Voice Your Vote Commission (VYV) registering 10,000 students in 2004. VYV also works to improve access to non-partisan voting-related information and increase student voter turnout.
There are student governance bodies in each college and school. The two largest colleges at the University of Michigan are the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LS&A) and the College of Engineering. Students in the LS&A are represented by the LS&A Student Government (LSA SG). The University of Michigan Engineering Council (UMEC) manages student government affairs for the College of Engineering. In addition, the students that live in the residence halls are represented by the University of Michigan Residence Halls Association
A longstanding goal of some members of the student government is to create a student designated seat on the Board of Regents, the university's governing body. Such a designation would achieve parity with other Big Ten schools that have student regents. In 2000, students Nick Waun and Scott Trudeau ran for the board on the state-wide ballot as third-party nominees. Waun ran for a second time in 2002, along with Matt Petering and Susan Fawcett. Although none of these campaigns has so far been successful, a recent poll shows that most students consider student activity fees to be taxation without representation on the board. Another poll conducted by the State of Michigan in 1998 concluded that a majority of Michigan voters would approve of such a position if the measure were put before them. A change to the board's makeup would require amending the
Michigan Constitution.
Fight song
The University of Michigan's fight song,
The Victors, was written by student
Louis Elbel in 1898 following the last-minute football victory over the University of Chicago that clinched a league championship. The song was declared by
John Philip Sousa as "the greatest college fight song ever written." The song refers to the university as being the "Champions of the West". At the time, UM was part of the "Western Conference", which would later become the
Big Ten Conference. Although mainly used at sporting events, the fight song can be heard at other events that UM competes in. President Gerald Ford had it played as his entrance anthem in preference over the more traditional
Hail to the Chief during his term from 1974 to 1977.. The fight song is also sung during graduation commencement ceremonies. The university's
alma mater song is
The Yellow and Blue. A common rally cry is "Let's Go Blue!", written by former students Joseph Carl, a tuba player, and Albert Ahronheim, a
drum major.
Notable people and alumni
UM has more than 420,000 living graduates. Several astronauts are alumni, including the all-UM crews of
Gemini 4 and Apollo 15. UM's contribution to aeronautics also include aircraft designer Clarence "Kelly" Johnson of
Skunk Works fame. In addition to the late President of the United States Gerald Ford, the university has produced twenty-five Rhodes Scholarship and 116 Olympic medalists, seven Nobel Prize winners, and Fields medal winner Stephen Smale. UM numbers among its matriculants List of University of Michigan business alumni#Billionaires, as well as a number of alumni who have founded or co-founded many companies and organizations (
see also: List of Entities Founded by University of Michigan alumni).
Notable writers who attended UM include playwright Arthur Miller, novelist Betty Smith, screenwriter Judith Guest, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Theodore Roethke, authors
Charles Major and Sandra Steingraber, Japanese literature translator Juliet Winters Carpenter and composer/author/puppeteer Forman Brown. In Cinema of the United States, famous alumni include actor
James Earl Jones; actresses Lucy Liu, Selma Blair, and
Ruth Hussey; and filmmaker Lawrence Kasdan.
Other UM graduates include TV journalist
Mike Wallace (journalist),
Dana Jacobson and
Steve Phillips of
ESPN, Rich Eisen of the NFL Network, entrepreneur Eric Sadek, singer Joe Dassin, former House Minority Leader
Dick Gephardt, Super Bowl MVPs Tom Brady and Desmond Howard, 1997 Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson, Google co-founder Larry Page, conservative pundit Ann Coulter, acclaimed taxation and professional responsibility scholar Katherine Lee Johnson, assisted suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian, Spirit of Troy director
Spirit of Troy#Directors, Weather Underground radical activist
Bill Ayers,Bill Ayers, Fugitive Days: A Memoir, (New York: Penguin Books, 2003) activist Tom Hayden, Unabomber
Theodore Kaczynski, architect
Charles Willard Moore, famous avant-garde painter
Aethelred Eldridge, Mannheim Steamroller founder
Chip Davis, the Swedish Holocaust hero
Raoul Wallenberg, and
Benjamin D. Pritchard, the Civil War general who captured Jefferson Davis.James J. Green,
The Life and Times of General B. D. Pritchard (Allegan: Allegan County Historical Society, 1979), p. 2. Pop singer
Madonna (entertainer), professional baseball player Derek Jeter, and rock legend Iggy Pop attended but did not graduate.
Clarence Darrow, one of the leading attorneys in the U.S., attended the Law School at a time when many lawyers did not receive any formal education.
Sanjay Gupta, a neurosurgeon and CNN medical correspondent, attended the UM School of Medicine.
The university claims the only alumni association with a chapter on the
moon, established in 1971 when the all-UM crew of Apollo 15 placed a charter plaque for a new UM Alumni Association on the lunar surface. According to the Apollo 15 astronauts, several small UM flags were brought on the mission. However, no flag made it to the surface or was left there. The presence of a UM flag on the moon is a long-held campus myth.
See also
Notes
References
- Facts & Figures (2005). University of Michigan Office of Budget & Planning at sitemaker.umich.edu/obpinfo/facts___figures.
External links
- University of Michigan - Official website
- Español (Spanish) University of Michigan portal
- Official athletics website
{{infobox University|name= The University of Michigan|image_name= Umichigan color seal.gif|motto=
Artes, Scientia, Veritas ("Arts, Knowledge, Truth")|endowment=
United States dollar5.65
1000000000 (number)|president= Mary Sue Coleman
[Sea Grant Colleges
Space grant colleges|calendar = Trimester|staff=|faculty= 6,238|students= 40,025|undergrad= 25,555|postgrad= 14,470|colors= Maize (color) and
Blue (color) |city= Ann Arbor, Michigan|campus= 3,176 [acres (12.86 kilometre)Summation: 20,965 acres (84.84 km²), including arboretum|free_label= Sports|free=
Michigan Wolverines|website= www.umich.edu|logo= -->The
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (
U of M,
UM or simply
Michigan) is a
coeducational public university research university in the state of
Michigan. The university was founded in 1817 in
Detroit, Michigan, about 20 years before the territory of Michigan officially became a state, and moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1837. Today, it is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan system, which now has two satellite campuses, the University of Michigan, Flint and the
University of Michigan, Dearborn.
In its last published survey in 1995, the United States National Research Council Rankings ranked UM third in the United States in a study that aggregated evaluations of 41 graduate disciplines. The university has one of the largest research expenditures of any American university and one of the largest number of living alumni at 420,000. The university owns one of the most well-regarded academic medical centers in the United States, the
University of Michigan Health System. UM is recognized for its history of
student activism and its athletic teams, notably in
American football, college basketball, and
ice hockey. It is considered as one of the original eight Public Ivys.
Despite being a public institution, the University of Michigan is known for its high student fees; in 2007, tuition for out-of-state students was the most expensive in the country. The university has also been at the center of a national controversy involving the use of
Affirmative action in the United States in admissions. Though the university successfully affirmed before the Supreme Court of the United States that consideration of
race as a factor in admissions to universities was constitutionality for the holistic law school admissions process in 2003, the Supreme Court also expressed an opinion on the degree to which race could be used by striking down the policy for undergraduate admissions in a separate court case. The former policy automatically awarded 20 points to all minority applicants in its points-based system. Michigan voters responded by Michigan Civil Rights Initiative on affirmative action in public universities and governmental hiring in November 2006. This meant that the university had to cease using race and gender as criteria for admissions.
History
The University of Michigan was established in Detroit in 1817 as the Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania, by the governor and judges of
Michigan Territory. Ann Arbor had set aside 40 acres (16 ha) that it hoped would become the site for a new state capitol, but it offered this land to the university when Lansing, Michigan was chosen as the state capital. The university moved to Ann Arbor in 1837. The original 40 acres became part of the current Central Campus. The first classes in Ann Arbor were held in 1841, with six freshmen and a sophomore, taught by two professors. Eleven students graduated in the first commencement in 1845. By 1866, enrollment increased to 1,205 students, many of whom were
American Civil War veterans. Women were first admitted in 1870, making UM the first major university to do so (and the third college overall, after
Oberlin College in 1833 and
Lawrence University in 1847). James B. Angell, who served as the university's president from 1871 to 1909, aggressively expanded UM's curriculum to include professional studies in
dentistry,
architecture,
engineering, government, and
medicine. UM also became the first American university to use the
seminar method of study.
From 1900 to 1920 many new facilities were constructed on campus, including facilities for the dental and pharmacy programs, a chemistry building, a building for the natural sciences,
Hill Auditorium, large hospital and library complexes, and two residential halls. The university fortified its reputation for research in 1920 by reorganizing the College of Engineering and forming an advisory committee of 100 industrialists to guide academic research initiatives. During World War II, UM's research grew to include United States Navy projects such as proximity fuzes,
PT boats, and radar jamming. By 1950, enrollment had reached 21,000, of whom 7,700 were veterans supported by the
G.I. Bill. As the
Cold War and the
Space Race took hold, UM became a major recipient of government grants for strategic research and helped to develop peacetime uses for nuclear energy. At present, much of that work, as well as research into alternative energy sources, is pursued via the Memorial Phoenix Project.
On October 14, 1960,
President of the United States candidate
John F. Kennedy proposed the concept of what became the
Peace Corps on the steps of Michigan Union. Lyndon B. Johnson's speech outlining his Great Society program also occurred at UM. Also during the 1960s, UM saw many protests by student groups. On
March 24,
1965, a group of UM faculty members and 3,000 students held the nation's first ever faculty-led "teach-in" to protest against American policy in Southeast Asia. In response to a series of sit-ins in 1966 by
Voice–the campus political party of Students for a Democratic Society–UM's administration banned sit-ins. This stimulated 1,500 students to conduct a further one-hour sit-in in the administration building.
During the 1970s, severe budget constraints challenged the university's physical development; however, the 1980s saw a surge in funds devoted to research in the social and physical sciences. Meanwhile, the university's involvement in the anti-missile
Strategic Defense Initiative and investments in
South Africa caused controversy on campus. During the 1980s and 1990s, the university devoted substantial resources to renovating its massive hospital complex and improving the academic facilities on the North Campus. The university also emphasized the development of computer and information technology throughout the campus.
In the early 2000s, UM also faced declining state funding due to state budget shortfalls. At the same time, the university attempted to maintain its high academic standing while keeping tuition costs affordable. There were also disputes between UM's administration and labor unions, notably with the Lecturers' Employees Organization (LEO) and the Graduate Employees Organization (GEO), the union representing graduate student employees. These conflicts led to a series of one-day walkouts by the unions and their supporters.
In 2003, two lawsuits involving UM's
affirmative action in the United States admissions policy reached the
Supreme Court of the United States (
Grutter v. Bollinger and
Gratz v. Bollinger). President
George W. Bush took the unusual step of publicly opposing the policy before the court issued a ruling. The court found that race may be considered as a factor in university admissions in all public universities and private universities that accept federal funding. However, a point system was ruled as being unconstitutional. In the first case, the court upheld the University of Michigan Law School admissions policy, while in the second it ruled against the university's undergraduate admissions policy. The debate still continues, however, because in November of 2006 Michigan voters passed MCRI, banning most affirmative action in university admissions. Under that law race, gender, and national origin can no longer be considered in admissions. UM and other organizations were granted a stay from implementation of the passed proposal soon after that election, and this has allowed time for proponents of affirmative action to decide legal and constitutional options in response to the election results. The university has stated it plans to continue to challenge the ruling; in the meantime, the admissions office states that it will attempt to achieve a diverse student body by looking at other factors such as whether the student attended a disadvantaged school, and the level of education of the student's parents.
The
August 1,
2006, publication of
The Advocate College Guide for LGBT Students highlighted the University of Michigan as one of the 20 best campuses for
LGBT students. The guide acknowledged colleges and universities across the United States for making strides toward the advancement and integration of the LGBT community via a wide variety of student support groups, resources, events, policies, and other efforts to create an overall exceptional educational climate for these individuals.
Academic profile
The university has 25,555
undergraduate and 14,470 graduate students in 600 academic programs, and each year about 5,400 new students are enrolled. Students come from all 50 U.S. states and more than 100 countries. 98% of the university's incoming class of 2006 earned a high school GPA of 3.0 and higher, while the middle 50% of the incoming class earned a high school GPA of 3.60 to 3.90. The middle 50% of applicants reported an
SAT score of about 1900–2160 and an
ACT (examination) score of 27–31, with
Advanced Placement Program credit granted to over 3000 freshmen students. About 22% of newly-enrolled undergraduates and 25% of all undergraduates are members of ethnic minorities.
About 65% of undergraduate students are enrolled in the University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LS&A), while the University of Michigan College of Engineering has about 20%. Fewer than 3% of undergraduate students are enrolled in the
Ross School of Business. The rest of the undergraduate students are enrolled in the smaller schools, including the University of Michigan School of Nursing, the
SNRE, and the
University of Michigan School of Art and Design. Most graduate students are enrolled in the
Rackham Graduate School, the College of Engineering, the Law School, the
Ross School of Business, and the University of Michigan Medical School. The Medical School is partnered with the
University of Michigan Health System, which comprises the University's three hospitals, dozens of outpatient clinics, and many centers for medical care, research, and education. Other academic units include the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning and the Schools of University of Michigan School of Dentistry,
University of Michigan School of Education,
University of Michigan School of Information, University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance,
SNRE,
University of Michigan School of Public Health, and University of Michigan School of Social Work, of which Social Work has been ranked first by the
U.S. News and World Report every year since 1994.
There are over 6,200 faculty members, 73 of whom are members of the
United States National Academies, and 435 of whom hold an endowed chair in their discipline. The Top American Research Universities (December 2004).
The Center. Accessed October 2, 2005. The university has also matriculated 24 Rhodes Scholarship.
In one recent rankings summary, more than 70% of UM's 200 major programs, departments, and schools were very highly. The 2008
U.S. News and World Report ranks UM 25th among all American universities and 3rd (tied with UCLA) among
public universities. In its 2007 annual college rankings,
The Washington Monthly ranks UM sixth nationally with criteria based on research, community service, and social mobility.
Newsweek International rates UM 11th globally based on "openness and diversity" as well as "distinction in research". Similarly, the 2007 edition of the
Fiske Rankings rates UM with "5 Stars"—reserved for only those universities of the highest academic quality. Furthermore, UM's academic reputation has led to its inclusion on Richard Moll's list of Public Ivies.
A concern about academics at UM is the high level of educational expenses for a public institution, especially for out-of-state undergraduate students, who pay about
United States dollar30,000 annually for tuition alone. In 2005, out-of-state tuition at UM was the most expensive in the United States for a public college or university.Sahadi, Jeanne (October 28, 2005). The 10 most expensive colleges.
CNN/Money. Accessed February 21, 2005. Conversely, in-state undergraduate students paid about US $10,000 annually. Academic Year Tuition and Fees for Full-Time Students for the last 10 years.
University of Michigan Office of Budget & Planning. Accessed October 7, 2006. Notwithstanding the quoted tuition levels, the university is attempting to lower the cost of attendance. To that end, the university is building a US $400 million endowment in order to replace loans with out-right grants to students.
Research and endowment
The university is one of the founding members (1900) of the Association of American Universities, the nation's most significant consortium of research universities.The university has one of the largest annual research expenditures of any university in the United States, totaling about US $775 million per annum from 2004 to 2005, and US $797 million in 2006. The Medical School spent the most at over US $333 million, while the College of Engineering was second at more than $131 million. UM also has a
technology transfer office, which is the university conduit between laboratory research and corporate commercialization interests.
UM helped develop one of the first university computer networks (the Merit Network) and has made major contributions to the mathematics of
information theory. Other major contributions included the precursor to the National Science Foundation computer networking backbone, the virtual memory model, and computer databases. The university is also a major contributor to the medical field with the
Electrocardiogram,
gastroscope, the announcement of
Jonas Salk's polio vaccine, and the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation system or ECMO. The university's 13,000-acre (53 km²) University of Michigan Biological Station in the Northern Michigan is one of only 47
Biosphere reserves in the United States.
UM is home to the National Election Studies and the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index. Political scientists and policy analysts use UM's
Correlates of War project as a gauge of nations' relative
global power and a barometer for the outbreak of war. The university is also home to major research centers in optics, reconfigurable manufacturing systems, wireless integrated microsystems, and social sciences. The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute is located at the university, and support was recently given to the
life sciences with the establishment of the Life Sciences Institute and the construction of associated facilities. Undergraduate students are able to participate in various research projects through the
Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) as well as the UROP/Creative-Programs.
UM's financial endowment (the "University Endowment Fund") was valued at $5.65 billion in NACUBO's 2006 ranking. It is the
List of U.S. colleges and universities by endowment endowment in the U.S. and the third-largest among U.S public universities, as well as the fastest growing endowment over the last 20 years. The endowment is primarily used according to the donors' wishes, which include the support of teaching and research. In mid-2000, UM embarked on a massive fund-raising campaign called "The Michigan Difference," which aimed to raise $2.5 billion, with $800 million dollars designated for the permanent endowment. Slated to run through December 2008, the university announced that the campaign had reached its target 19 months early in May 2007.
Libraries and museums
The
University of Michigan Library comprises 19 individual libraries with 24 separate collections—roughly 8.27 million volumes, growing at the rate of 177,000 volumes a year. University of Michigan Libraries (1-11-2005).
U of M News Service. Accessed September 19, 2005. In the most recent academic year for which such figures are released (2005), the Association of Research Libraries — using a variety of metrics — ranked UM's library system as one of the top academic library systems in the U.S.
UM was the original home of the
JSTOR database, which contains about 750,000 digitized pages from the entire pre-1990 backfile of ten journals of
history and economics. The University recently initiated a book digitization program in collaboration with Google. As of August 31,
2006, UM has rolled out the first phase of the Google archive retrieval.
Two prominent libraries, the University of Michigan Library#The Nineteen Libraries and the Shapiro Undergraduate Library (also called the UGLi, which is officially an acronym but was used by students as a reference to the building's uninspired appearance prior to its recent renovation), are on Central Campus and are connected by a
skyway. The Duderstadt Center on North Campus houses books on art,
architecture, and
engineering. The Duderstadt Center also contains multiple computer labs, non-linear editing system studios, and a
3D computer graphics virtual reality room. North Campus is also home to the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and the Bentley Historical Library.
The University of Michigan is home to a number of museums, whose focuses include
archeology, anthropology,
paleontology,
zoology, dentistry, and art. The natural history public collections are housed at the University of Michigan Exhibit Museum of Natural History, which displays items from the collections of the paleontology, zoology, and anthropology museums. The Exhibit Museum also holds the largest display of dinosaur specimens in Michigan, as well a specimen of the
state fossil, the mastodon (the only such display in the world containing adult male and female specimens: the Buesching and Owosso mastodons). Another major university museum is the University of Michigan Museum of Art, with a permanent collection of European, American, Middle Eastern, Asian, and African items, and temporary exhibits on a wide variety of subjects.
Campus
The Ann Arbor campus is divided into four main areas: the North, Central, Medical, and South Campuses. The physical infrastructure includes more than 500 major buildings, with a combined area of more than 29 million square feet (664 acres or 2.69 km²). The campus also consists of leased space in buildings scattered throughout the city, many occupied by organizations affiliated with the University of Michigan Health System. An East Medical Campus has recently been developed on Plymouth Road, with several university-owned buildings for outpatient care, diagnostics, and outpatient surgery.
In addition to the UM Golf Course on South Campus, the university operates a second golf course called "Radrick Farms Golf Course" on Geddes Road. The golf course is only open to faculty, staff, and alumni. Another off-campus facility is the Inglis House, which the university has owned since the 1950s. The Inglis House is a 10,000 square foot (930 m²) mansion used to hold various social events, including meetings of the board of regents, and to host visiting dignitaries. The university also operates a large office building called Wolverine Tower in southern Ann Arbor near Briarwood Mall. Another major facility is the Matthaei Botanical Gardens, which is located on the eastern outskirts of Ann Arbor.
All four campus areas are connected by bus services, the majority of which connect the North and Central Campuses. There is a shuttle service connecting the University Hospital, which lies between North and Central Campuses, with other medical facilities throughout northeastern Ann Arbor. The Central and South Campus areas are contiguous, while the North Campus area is separated from them, primarily by the Huron River (Michigan).
Central Campus
Central Campus was the original location of UM when it moved to Ann Arbor in 1837. It originally had a school and dormitory building (where Mason Hall now stands) and several houses for professors on land bounded by North University Avenue, South University Avenue, East University Avenue, and State Street. Because Ann Arbor and Central Campus developed simultaneously, there is no distinct boundary between the city and university, and some areas contain a mixture of private and university buildings. Central Campus is the location of the University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, and is immediately adjacent to the medical campus. Most of the graduate and professional schools, including the
Ross School of Business and the University of Michigan Law School, are on Central Campus. Ten of the buildings on Central Campus were designed by Detroit-based architect
Albert Kahn (architect) between 1904 and 1936. The most notable of the Kahn-designed buildings are the
Burton Tower and nearby
Hill Auditorium.
North Campus
North Campus is the most contiguous campus, built independently from the city on a large plot of farm land — approximately 800 acres (3.25 km²) — that the university bought in 1952. It is newer than Central Campus, and thus has more
modern architecture, whereas most Central Campus buildings are classical or gothic in style. The architect
Eero Saarinen, based in Birmingham, Michigan, created one of the early master plans for North Campus and designed several of its buildings in the 1950s, including the Earl V. Moore School of Music Building. North and Central Campuses each have unique bell towers that reflect the predominant architectural styles of their surroundings. Each of the bell towers houses a grand
carillon. North Campus houses the
University of Michigan College of Engineering, the Schools of University of Michigan School of Music, and Art and Design, the
Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, and an annex of the School of Information.
South Campus
South Campus is the site for the athletic programs, including major sports facilities, such as Michigan Stadium, Crisler Arena, and Yost Ice Arena. South Campus is also the site of the Buhr library storage facility (the collections of which are undergoing digitization by Google), the Institute for Continuing Legal Education, and the Student Theatre Arts Complex, which provides shop and rehearsal space for student theatre groups. The university's departments of public safety and transportation services offices are located on South Campus.
UM's golf course is located south of Michigan Stadium and Crisler Arena. It was designed in the late 1920s by
Alister MacKenzie, the designer of
Augusta National Golf Club in
Augusta, Georgia (home of
The Masters Tournament). The course opened to the public in the spring of 1931. The University of Michigan Golf Course was included in a listing of top holes designed by what
Sports Illustrated calls “golf’s greatest course architect.” The UM Golf Course’s signature No. 6 hole — a 310-yard par 4, which plays from an elevated tee to a two-tiered, kidney-shaped green protected by four bunkers — is the second hole on the Alister MacKenzie Dream 18 as selected by a five-person panel that includes three-time Masters champion Nick Faldo and golf course architect
Tom Doak. The listing of “the best holes ever designed by Augusta National architect Alister MacKenzie” is featured in SI’s Golf Plus special edition previewing the Masters in
April 4, 2006.
Athletics
The University of Michigan's sports teams are called the Wolverines. They participate in the
National Collegiate Athletic Association's Football Bowl Subdivision (formally
Division I-A) and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except men's ice hockey, which competes in the
Central Collegiate Hockey Association. In seven of the past ten years, UM has finished in the top five of the
NACDA Director's Cup, a ranking compiled by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics to tabulate the success of universities in competitive sports. UM has finished in the top eleven of the Directors' Cup standings in each of the award's twelve seasons and has placed in the top six in each of the last eight seasons.
The
Michigan Wolverines football program ranks first in NCAA history in both total wins (860) and winning percentage (.745). The team won the first Rose Bowl Game game in 1902, and has the longest current streak of consecutive
bowl game appearances. The last year in which UM did not appear in a bowl was 1974, which was also the last season in which Big Ten teams other than the champion were not eligible for bowls; UM's last losing season was in 1967. The Wolverines have won a record 42 Big Ten championships, including five in the past decade. The program has eleven
NCAA Division I-A national football championship, most recently in 1997, and has produced three Heisman Trophy winners:
Tom Harmon,
Desmond Howard and Charles Woodson.
Michigan Stadium is the largest college football-only stadium in the world, with an official capacity of more than 107,501 (the extra seat is said to be "reserved" for
Fritz Crisler) though attendance—frequently over 111,000 spectators—regularly exceeds the official capacity. The NCAA's record-breaking attendance has become commonplace at Michigan Stadium, especially since the arrival of head coach
Bo Schembechler. UM has fierce rivalries with many teams, including
Michigan State University,
University of Notre Dame, and Ohio State University, the latter of which has been referred to by
ESPN as the greatest
Michigan-Ohio State Rivalry in American sports. UM has all-time winning records against Ohio State University (57-40-6), University of Notre Dame (20-14-1), and Michigan State University (66-28-5).
The men's ice hockey team, which plays at Yost Ice Arena, has won nine
NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship, while the
college basketball team, which plays at Crisler Arena, has appeared in four
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championships and won a
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship in 1989. However, the program became involved in a scandal involving payments from a booster during the 1990s. This led to the program being placed on probation for a four-year period. The program also voluntarily vacated victories from its 1992–1993 and 1995–1999 seasons in which the payments took place, as well as its 1992 and 1993 Final Four appearances.
Through the 2004 Summer Olympic Games, 178 UM students and coaches had participated in the Olympics, winning medals in every
Summer Olympic Games except 1896, and winning gold medals in all but four Olympiads. UM students have won a total of Michigan Wolverines#Michigan Olympians: 54 gold, 27 silver, and 35 bronze.
Student life
Residential life
The University of Michigan has the sixth-largest campus housing system in the U.S. and the third-largest family housing operation, accommodating up to 12,562 people. The residence halls are organized into three distinct groups: Central Campus, Hill Area (between Central Campus and the University of Michigan Medical Center) and North Campus. Family housing is located on North Campus and mainly serves graduate students. The largest residence hall has a capacity of 1,277 students, while the smallest accommodates 31 residents. A majority of upper-class and graduate students live in off-campus apartments, houses, and
Housing cooperatives, with the largest concentrations in the Central and South Campus areas. The higher cost of living in Ann Arbor has prompted some students to live in nearby communities such as
Ypsilanti, Michigan or
Plymouth, Michigan.
The residential system has a number of "living-learning communities" where academic activities and residential life are combined. These communities focus on areas such as research through the Michigan Research Community, medical sciences,
community service and the
German language. The
Michigan Research Community, usually housed in Mosher-Jordan Hall, is currently located in East Quadrangle (East Quad) due to renovations in its former building. The
Residential College, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (RC), a living-learning community that is a division of the College of Literature, Science and the Arts, also has its principal instructional space in East Quad. In 2006, the university approved plans for a new residence complex for 550 students on the northern corner of Central Campus. When completed, this residence complex will comprise a second living-learning community.
Groups and activities
There are more than 1150 student clubs and organizations at the university. With a history of student activism, some of the most visible groups include those dedicated to causes such as civil rights and
labor rights. Two of the most notable of these groups were Students for a Democratic Society, which recently reformed with a new chapter on campus as of February of 2007, and the
Weatherman (organization). Though the student body generally leans toward
left-wing politics, there are also conservative groups, such as
Young Americans for Freedom, non-partisan groups such as the Roosevelt Institution, and religious groups like "JAAM" (Jewish Awareness America). Fraternities and sororities, many of which are located east of Central Campus, play a role in the university's social life.
Intramural sports are popular, and there are recreation facilities for each of the three campuses. There are also several engineering projects teams, including the
University of Michigan Solar Car Team, which placed first in the American Solar Challenge four times and third in the World Solar Challenge three times. Michigan Interactive Investments, an investing and finance organization, is also affiliated with the university. The university also showcases many community service organizations and charitable projects, including SERVE, PROVIDES, Circle K,
The Detroit Project,
Habitat for Humanity, and Ann Arbor Reaching Out.
The
Michigan Union and Michigan League are student activity centers located on Central Campus; Pierpont Commons is on North Campus. The Michigan Union houses a majority of student groups, including the student government. The William Monroe Trotter House, located east of Central Campus, is a multicultural student center operated by the university's Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs. The University Activities Center (UAC) is a student-run programming organization and is composed of 15 committees. Each group involves students in the planning and execution of a variety of events both on and off campus.
The Michigan Marching Band, composed of over 350 students from almost all of UM's schools, is the university's
marching band. Being over 100 years old, the band performs at every home game and travel to at least one away game a year. The student-run and led University of Michigan Pops Orchestra is another musical ensemble that attracts students from all academic backgrounds. It performs regularly in the Michigan Theater (Ann Arbor). The
University of Michigan Men's Glee Club, founded in 1859, is a men's chorus comprised of over 100 members. Its eight member subset
a cappella group, the University of Michigan Friars, which was founded in 1955, is the oldest currently running a cappella group on campus.
The Michigan Daily is the student-run daily newspaper. Founded in 1890,
The Daily is published five days a week during the normal academic year, and weekly during the spring and summer terms. Other student publications at the university include the conservative
The Michigan Review, the progressive
Michigan Independent, the
Michigan Journal of Political Science, and the humor publications
The Michigan Every Three Weekly and the
Gargoyle Humor Magazine.
WCBN (88.3 FM) is a freeform radio station;
WOLV (TV) is a student-run television station that is primarily shown on the university's cable television system.
Student government
Housed in the Michigan Union, the Student Assembly#University of Michigan (MSA) is the central student government of the University. With representatives from each of the University's colleges and schools, the MSA represents students and manages student funds on the campus. The Michigan Student Assembly is a member of the statewide Association of Michigan Universities. In recent years MSA has organized airBus, a transportation service between campus and the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, and has led the university's efforts to register its student population to vote, with its Voice Your Vote Commission (VYV) registering 10,000 students in 2004. VYV also works to improve access to non-partisan voting-related information and increase student voter turnout.
There are student governance bodies in each college and school. The two largest colleges at the University of Michigan are the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LS&A) and the College of Engineering. Students in the LS&A are represented by the LS&A Student Government (LSA SG). The University of Michigan Engineering Council (UMEC) manages student government affairs for the College of Engineering. In addition, the students that live in the residence halls are represented by the University of Michigan Residence Halls Association
A longstanding goal of some members of the student government is to create a student designated seat on the Board of Regents, the university's governing body. Such a designation would achieve parity with other Big Ten schools that have student regents. In 2000, students Nick Waun and Scott Trudeau ran for the board on the state-wide ballot as third-party nominees. Waun ran for a second time in 2002, along with Matt Petering and Susan Fawcett. Although none of these campaigns has so far been successful, a recent poll shows that most students consider student activity fees to be taxation without representation on the board. Another poll conducted by the State of Michigan in 1998 concluded that a majority of Michigan voters would approve of such a position if the measure were put before them. A change to the board's makeup would require amending the Michigan Constitution.
Fight song
The University of Michigan's
fight song,
The Victors, was written by student Louis Elbel in 1898 following the last-minute football victory over the University of Chicago that clinched a league championship. The song was declared by John Philip Sousa as "the greatest college fight song ever written." The song refers to the university as being the "Champions of the West". At the time, UM was part of the "Western Conference", which would later become the
Big Ten Conference. Although mainly used at sporting events, the fight song can be heard at other events that UM competes in. President Gerald Ford had it played as his entrance anthem in preference over the more traditional
Hail to the Chief during his term from 1974 to 1977.. The fight song is also sung during graduation commencement ceremonies. The university's
alma mater song is
The Yellow and Blue. A common rally cry is "Let's Go Blue!", written by former students Joseph Carl, a tuba player, and Albert Ahronheim, a
drum major.
Notable people and alumni
UM has more than 420,000 living graduates. Several astronauts are alumni, including the all-UM crews of
Gemini 4 and Apollo 15. UM's contribution to aeronautics also include aircraft designer Clarence "Kelly" Johnson of Skunk Works fame. In addition to the late President of the United States
Gerald Ford, the university has produced twenty-five
Rhodes Scholarship and 116
Olympic medalists, seven Nobel Prize winners, and
Fields medal winner
Stephen Smale. UM numbers among its matriculants
List of University of Michigan business alumni#Billionaires, as well as a number of alumni who have founded or co-founded many companies and organizations (
see also: List of Entities Founded by University of Michigan alumni).
Notable writers who attended UM include playwright Arthur Miller, novelist Betty Smith, screenwriter
Judith Guest, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Theodore Roethke, authors
Charles Major and Sandra Steingraber, Japanese literature translator Juliet Winters Carpenter and composer/author/puppeteer
Forman Brown. In
Cinema of the United States, famous alumni include actor James Earl Jones; actresses
Lucy Liu,
Selma Blair, and Ruth Hussey; and filmmaker
Lawrence Kasdan.
Other UM graduates include TV journalist Mike Wallace (journalist), Dana Jacobson and
Steve Phillips of
ESPN, Rich Eisen of the
NFL Network, entrepreneur Eric Sadek, singer Joe Dassin, former House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, Super Bowl MVPs Tom Brady and
Desmond Howard, 1997 Heisman Trophy winner
Charles Woodson, Google co-founder Larry Page, conservative pundit
Ann Coulter, acclaimed taxation and professional responsibility scholar Katherine Lee Johnson, assisted suicide advocate
Jack Kevorkian,
Spirit of Troy director Spirit of Troy#Directors, Weather Underground radical activist Bill Ayers,Bill Ayers, Fugitive Days: A Memoir, (New York: Penguin Books, 2003) activist Tom Hayden, Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski, architect
Charles Willard Moore, famous avant-garde painter Aethelred Eldridge,
Mannheim Steamroller founder Chip Davis, the Swedish Holocaust hero
Raoul Wallenberg, and
Benjamin D. Pritchard, the Civil War general who captured Jefferson Davis.James J. Green,
The Life and Times of General B. D. Pritchard (Allegan: Allegan County Historical Society, 1979), p. 2. Pop singer Madonna (entertainer), professional baseball player
Derek Jeter, and rock legend Iggy Pop attended but did not graduate.
Clarence Darrow, one of the leading attorneys in the U.S., attended the Law School at a time when many lawyers did not receive any formal education.
Sanjay Gupta, a neurosurgeon and CNN medical correspondent, attended the UM School of Medicine.
The university claims the only alumni association with a chapter on the
moon, established in 1971 when the all-UM crew of Apollo 15 placed a charter plaque for a new UM Alumni Association on the lunar surface. According to the Apollo 15 astronauts, several small UM flags were brought on the mission. However, no flag made it to the surface or was left there. The presence of a UM flag on the moon is a long-held campus myth.
See also
Notes
References
- Facts & Figures (2005). University of Michigan Office of Budget & Planning at sitemaker.umich.edu/obpinfo/facts___figures.
External links
- University of Michigan - Official website
- Español (Spanish) University of Michigan portal
- Official athletics website
University of Michigan
The official home page for the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
University of Michigan
media relations office of the University of Michigan, communicating to internal and external audiences information about University programs, research, and activities of faculty ...
University of Michigan from FOLDOC
University of Michigan < body, education > A large cosmopolitan university in the Midwest USA. Over 50000 students are enrolled at the University of Michigan's three campuses.
University of Michigan University Library
Ann Arbor campus. Library services, research resources, and on-line catalog.
University of Michigan : Aerospace Engineering
Find out about admissions and financial aid, career information, facilities and labs, and extracurricular activities.
Department of Statistics - University of Michigan
439 West Hall 1085 South University Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1107 phone: (734) 763-3519 & (734) 763-3520 fax: (734) 763-4676
Physics at University of Michigan
Video Archive Project Can Record Lectures for Posterity A new video service on University of Michigan's campus can capture presentations, classes and training workshops, post them ...
The University of Michigan-Flint • Home
UM-Flint’s Center for Applied Environmental Research pulled data together and provided the township board with maps that vividly showed us a big picture view." DISCOVER ...
University of Michigan Health System
Ann Arbor. One of the 10 best hospitals in America in national list.
Department of Economics, University of Michigan
We are delighted to announce that three Assistant Professors of Economics will be joining the Department of Economics this fall: Assistant Professors