History of the University of Michigan

The history of the University of Michigan (UM) began with its establishment on August 26, 1817 as the Catholepistemiad or University of Michigania. The school moved from Detroit to Ann Arbor in 1837, on land offered to the university by the city. The first classes were held in 1841, and eleven men graduated in the first commencement ceremony in 1845. Although the Board of Regents of the University of Michigan was formed as a new legal entity in 1837, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled in 1856 that it was legally continuous with the Board of Trustees of the University of Michigan that was formed in 1821, and with the Catholepistemiad, or University, of Michigania that was formed in 1817.

The University of Michigan has since expanded to become one of the top universities in the United States, with one of the largest research expenditures of any American university as well as one of the largest number of living alumni at 526,000. The university is also recognized for its history of student activism and was the first American university to use the seminar method of study. It was also the location chosen by President John F. Kennedy to propose the concept of what became the Peace Corps, an intimate visit by Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1962 that was beautifully photographed, and the site of Lyndon B. Johnson's speech outlining his Great Society program. In 2003, the university successfully affirmed before the U.S. Supreme Court that consideration of race as a factor in admissions to universities was constitutional. However, Michigan voters approved restrictions on affirmative action in public universities and governmental hiring in November 2006, forcing Michigan to cease using race and gender as admissions criteria.

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