The University of Michigan (UMich, U-M, or Michigan) is a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1817 and is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. It is also one of the earliest American research universities and is a founding member of the Association of American Universities.
The university has the largest student population in Michigan, enrolling more than 53,000 students, including more than 35,000 undergraduates and 18,000 postgraduates. It is classified as an "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" by the Carnegie Classification.[6] It consists of 19 schools and colleges, offering more than 280 degree programs.[7] The university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2021, it ranked third among American universities in research expenditures according to the National Science Foundation.
The campus spans 3,177 acres (12.86 km2). It encompasses Michigan Stadium, which is the largest stadium in the United States, as well as the Western Hemisphere, and ranks third globally. The University of Michigan's athletic teams, including 13 men's teams and 14 women's teams competing in intercollegiate sports, are collectively known as the Wolverines. They compete in NCAA Division I (FBS) as a member of the Big Ten Conference. Between 1900 and 2022, athletes from the university earned a total of 185 medals at the Olympic Games, including 86 gold.
The proposal for establishing an institution of higher education in Michigan dates back to 1703, during the colonial period of New France.[8][9][a] Just two years after founding Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit on the strait between Lakes Saint Clair and Erie in 1701, the French explorer and later colonial governor of Louisiana, Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, wrote to King Louis XIV's minister, Louis Phélypeaux de Pontchartrain, from the settlement under the date of August 31, 1703.[9] He urged the establishment of a seminary in the newly formed parish of Sainte-Anne-de-Détroit for the education of both Indigenous and French children in piety and the French language.[9][8][11] It remains uncertain whether a seminary was ever established;[12] the surviving registres make no mention of a seminary being created from the proposal.[13] Jesuit superiors in Quebec probably opposed the idea of creating a seminary in the Pays d'en Haut, due to disputes with Cadillac and fears of rivalry with their own institutions.[14] Parish records from 1
Sources:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Michigan
- Official site not on record
