Detroit is the birthplace of the University of Michigan where it was founded 1817 as the Catholepistemiad or University of Michigania. At that time, Detroit was the capital of the Michigan Territory. In 1837, the Michigan Territory became the State of Michigan, and the University of Michigan moved to Ann Arbor in the original 40-acre parcel that is our current Diag. U-M has maintained connections to the City of Detroit and its residents ever since.
U-M Detroit Timeline
Regents Roundup — December 2022
The Board of Regents voted to create the new position of director for a planned world-class research and education center in Detroit. The center was renamed the University of Michigan Center for Innovation.
State budget has more U-M funding, supports EV center
Michigan lawmakers approved a 2022-23 state budget that includes $100 million for the Detroit Center for Innovation.
Detroit Center for Innovation to be built in The District Detroit
Plans for the Detroit Center for Innovation continue to take shape, with officials announcing the center will now be built in The District Detroit, situated between downtown and Midtown. The 200,000-square-foot, U-M-run center will focus on academic programs and research related to advanced technology fields. It will be seeded by a $100 million donation by alumnus Stephen M. Ross, chairman of Related Companies, and a land contribution by Olympia Development. The city of Detroit is also a partner in the project.
$40M to renovate Rackham building in Detroit gets regents’ OK
The Board of Regents approved a $40 million renovation plan for the Horace H. Rackham Educational Memorial Building in Midtown that includes classroom updates, energy efficient upgrades and major infrastructure improvements.
Sustainability Clinic in Detroit to help combat impacts of climate change
The School for Environment and Sustainability launched the SEAS Sustainability Clinic, which aims to help the city of Detroit and the nonprofits that serve it address the impacts of climate change on the environment, human health and city finances, while working to enhance sustainability policy and action.
MIDAS joins Microsoft, city of Detroit to enhance digital inclusion
The Michigan Institute for Data Science at U-M partnered with Microsoft and the city of Detroit to expand digital equality by improving broadband internet access and affordability in underserved areas across the Motor City.
U-M’s Detroit River Story Lab to amplify waterway’s narratives
The multiyear Detroit River Story Lab at U-M launched with grant-funded partnerships and multidisciplinary courses devoted to the international waterway. The project sets out to develop creative ways to leverage the resources of the university community to help research and amplify stories of the Detroit River. Link:
Curriculum committee set for Detroit Center for Innovation
A U-M faculty curriculum development committee begins meeting to work on creating new forms of degree and certificate programs that will be available at the Detroit Center for Innovation. Link:
U-M academic programs to anchor Detroit Center for Innovation
Officials announce plans for the Detroit Center for Innovation, a 14-acre center in downtown Detroit anchored by U-M that will focus on sparking entrepreneurial activity, educating students and further diversifying the local economy. Partners in the project include the state of Michigan, city of Detroit and Wayne County; Related Companies, Stephen M. Ross’ development firm; and Bedrock, Dan Gilbert’s full-service real estate firm.
School at Marygrove
U-M partners with the Detroit Public Schools Community District and others to launch the School at Marygrove, a cradle-to-career educational partnership that will include a state-of-the-art early childhood education center, a new K-12 school, and the introduction of an innovative teacher education program modeled after hospital residency programs.
Brightmoor Maker Space
The Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design partners with the Detroit Public Schools Community District to transform a vacant 3,200-square-foot building into the Brightmoor Maker Space, a place for kids and adults to build their creative skills and nurture business ideas.
Partnership on Economic Mobility
The Partnership on Economic Mobility is established between U-M’s Poverty Solutions initiative and the City of Detroit to identify and implement strategies that improve economic opportunity and reduce poverty in Detroit.
Wolverine Pathways launched
Wolverine Pathways — a college readiness program for 7th- to 12th-grade students that launched in Ypsilanti and Southfield in 2016 — expands to Detroit and awards full-tuition scholarships for four years to students who successfully complete the program and earn admission to U-M.
Horace H. Rackham Educational Memorial Building
The Board of Regents votes to acquire full ownership of the Horace H. Rackham Educational Memorial Building on Farnsworth Street, intended to become a vibrant space for U-M and community activities in Detroit.
U-M researchers work to restore Lake Sturgeon
U-M researchers are part of a multi-institution team working to restore lake sturgeon by building rock spawning reefs in two Detroit-area rivers. A set of reefs is completed in December in the Detroit River near Belle Isle.
Poverty Solutions launched
U-M launches Poverty Solutions, an initiative to explore and test models to ease the effects of poverty and broadly share that knowledge. Much of this work takes place in partnership with Detroit residents and organizations.
Lightweight Innovations for Tomorrow Consortium Opens in Detroit
The Lightweight Innovations for Tomorrow (LIFT) Consortium opens in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood, with U-M a key partner in the public-private manufacturing insitute. The institute is charged with establishing a regional manufacturing ecosystem to move cutting-edge lightweight metals out of the research lab and into tomorrow’s cars, trucks, airplanes, and ships for both the commercial and military sectors.
Mike Duggan Elected
U-M alumnus Mike Duggan is elected Detroit’s mayor.
Michigan Urban Farming Initiative founded
U-M students Tyson Gersh and Darin McLeskey found the Michigan Urban Farming Initiative in Detroit’s North End with the mission of using urban agriculture as a platform to promote education, sustainability, and community. With the help of more than 10,000 volunteers, MUFI has grown and distributed more than 50,000 pounds of produce to more than 2,000 households.
Michigan Engineering Zone Opens
The Michigan Engineering Zone (MEZ) opens as a collaboration between the College of Engineering, Detroit Public Schools, and the FIRST Robotics program to encourage young people to pursue careers in science and technology fields.
Semester in Detroit
The Semester in Detroit program begins after four undergraduate students set out to create a program that fulfills a vision of applied education, community engagement, and social justice.
Detroit Center Opens
The University of Michigan’s Detroit Center opens on Woodward Avenue to support and grow research projects and outreach initiatives while also offering space for an increasing number of university programs involving Detroit citizens and organizations.
Kym Worthy appointed Wayne County Prosecutor
U-M alumna Kym Worthy is appointed prosecutor of Wayne County, becoming the first woman and first African American to hold the position. She later successfully prosecutes ex-mayor of Detroit Kwame Kilpatrick on numerous criminal charges.
Detroit Partnership Established
A student organization called the Detroit Project — later renamed the Detroit Partnership — is established by U-M students to connect with Detroit-based community partners through service-learning opportunities and on-campus events. This organization establishes DP Day, the largest service-learning day at U-M.
Detroit Community-Academic Urban Research Center Established
The Detroit Community-Academic Urban Research Center is established as a collaboration of Detroit organizations and U-M researchers working to improve health equity in Detroit.
Dudley Randall Named Poet Laureate of Detroit
U-M alumnus Dudley Randall is named Poet Laureate of Detroit. Randall had earlier founded Broadside Press, a company that published many leading African American writers, including Audre Lorde and Gwendolyn Brooks.
Merit Network Established
The university partners with Wayne State University in Detroit and Michigan State University to establish the Merit Network. The network plays a key role in the development of the internet, enabling scale-up and enhancing the interactivity of computer networks.
University of Michigan-Dearborn opens
The University of Michigan-Dearborn opens as the Dearborn Center of the University of Michigan with a gift of just over 200 acres of land and $6.5 million from the Ford Motor Company. Early academic offerings include a cooperative education program between the company and the university for engineering and business administration students.
Dr. Remus Robinson elected to Detroit school board
Graduate of U-M Medical School and chief surgeon at Detroit’s Parkside Hospital, Dr. Remus Robinson is elected to the Detroit school board and becomes its first African American member. As school board president, he fights to end de facto segregation in Detroit classrooms.
WWJ-TV Launches Telecourses
Working with the Detroit News’ station WWJ-TV, the University of Michigan launches a series of telecourses taught by the faculty. Registered viewers pay a small fee and receive a certificate of participation. U-M offered these courses through 1954.
Bob Mann and Mel Groomes Join Detroit Lions
U-M alumnus Bob Mann joins the University of Indiana’s Mel Groomes as the first two African Americans to play football for the Detroit Lions.
Horace H. Rackham Educational Memorial Building opens Detroit
The Horace H. Rackham Educational Memorial Building opens in Midtown Detroit as a social and educational meeting place for U-M, the Engineering Society of Detroit, and various Detroit organizations.
New Deal Public Housing Project
U-M alumna Josephine Gomon is head of the Detroit Housing Commission when first lady Eleanor Roosevelt comes to town to launch a New Deal public housing project.
Murphy elected Mayor
A 1914 graduate of the Michigan Law School, Frank Murphy is elected mayor of Detroit.
Ambassador Bridge opens
The Ambassador Bridge opens, connecting Detroit to Windsor. Detroiter Cornelius Langston Henderson, the second African American to earn a U-M engineering degree, was responsible for the structural steel design of the bridge from the Canadian side, as well as the massive steel tubes of the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, which opened two years later.
Belle Isle Bridge opens
Designed by native Detroiter and U-M’s first dean of architecture Emil Lorch, the Belle Isle bridge opens.
Henry Frieze Vaughan Becomes Detroit’s Chief Public Health Official
U-M graduate Henry Frieze Vaughan becomes Detroit’s chief public health official and leads a proactive public health program known as the Detroit Plan. The strategy helps to substantially bolster a growing Detroit’s capacity to deal with diseases such as tuberculosis, typhus, smallpox, measles, and pneumonia.
Herman Keifer Hospital opens
Herman Keifer Hospital, a public hospital for Detroit’s neediest residents, opens. Kiefer was a U-M Regent and longtime Detroit physician.
Robert Toms Graduates from U-M Law School
Future Wayne County Prosecutor Robert Toms, who would later also prosecute Nazi war criminals at the Nuremberg trials, graduates from U-M Law School.
Frederick Blackburn Pelham receives his degree
Detroiter Frederick Blackburn Pelham — U-M’s first African American engineer — receives his degree.
The Wolverines Play in Detroit
Between 1879 and 1901, U-M football regularly plays its games in the city, drawing the biggest crowds of the season thanks to U-M alumni in Detroit who turn out for games. The Wolverines typically play on the grounds of the Detroit Athletic Club, then located west of Woodward Avenue between Forest and Canfield streets.
Clarence Darrow attends U-M Law School
Famed attorney Clarence Darrow attends U-M Law School. In 1925, Darrow defends Ossian and Henry Sweet, Detroit brothers charged with killing a white man. The first trial ends in a hung jury; a second trial, charging only Henry Sweet, brings an acquittal.
Sarah Gertrude Banks graduates from U-M Medical School
Sarah Gertrude Banks graduates from the U-M Medical School, where she is in the second group of women to earn a medical degree. She goes on to serve as resident physician at the Women’s Hospital and Foundlings’ Home in Detroit before opening a private practice, establishing herself as one of the city’s foremost physicians, and becoming a strong advocate for women’s suffrage.
Detroit Observatory is Built
With gifts from Detroit business leaders, the Detroit Observatory in Ann Arbor is built expressly for scientific study, helping to transform U-M into one of the first U.S. research universities.
Dr. Zina Pitcher Serves Three Terms as Mayor of Detroit
Dr. Zina Pitcher, army surgeon, botanist, teacher, and politician, serves three terms as mayor of Detroit. He is the driving force behind the city’s first public school system and an active member of U-M’s Board of Regents from 1837-52.
Michigan Establishes Statehood
Under a new state constitution, the University of Michigan relocates from Detroit to Ann Arbor.
Detroit’s First Mayor Elected
John R. Williams is elected Detroit’s first mayor and serves as one of the original trustees of U-M.
Lemuel Shattuck returns to New England
After four years in Detroit, Lemuel Shattuck returns to New England, where he becomes a leader in public health. According to a testimonial letter from the time, Detroit citizens praise him for growing the young U-M “from its infancy to that state of maturity and usefulness.”
University’s first building is completed
The “University of Michigania’s” first building is completed, paid for by citizens and standing two stories tall. It is home to teachers Lemuel Shattuck at the primary level, and Hugh M. Dickie at the more-advanced classical academy — in effect, a high school.
Bates Street Cornerstone
On September 26, a cornerstone is placed on Bates Street near Congress Street in Detroit — the territory’s capitol at the time — signaling the “University of Michigania’s” physical presence in the city.
Sources of information used to compile this timeline include The University of Michigan, An Encyclopedic Survey; The Making of the University of Michigan, 1817-1992, by Howard H. Peckham; Board of Regents proceedings; contemporary newspaper accounts; and the Lemuel Shattuck papers in the Burton Historical Collection at the Detroit Public Library.
