The American Cyclopædia (1879)/Michigan, University of

MICHIGAN, University of, an institution of learning at Ann Arbor, which owes its foundation to a grant of lands by congress in 1826 to the territory of Michigan, including two townships containing 72 entire sections, which on the admission of the state were conveyed to it for the support of the university. The present institution was established by a legislative act of March 18, 1837. It was first opened for students on Sept. 20, 1842. The university consists of three departments: the department of literature, science, and the arts; the department of medicine and surgery, organized in 1850; and the department of law, 1859. Each has its own faculty of instruction, while the university senate is composed of all the faculties. The department of literature, science, and the arts embraces six regular courses of four years each, and two shorter special courses. The regular courses, with the degrees that are conferred upon their completion, are as follows: classical (bachelor of arts), scientific (bachelor of science), Latin and scientific (bachelor of philosophy), Greek and scientific (bachelor of philosophy), civil engineering (civil engineer), mining engineering (mining engineer). The special courses are one in analytical chemistry and one in pharmacy. On the completion of a two years' course in pharmacy the degree of pharmaceutical chemist is conferred. Students may also pursue selected studies for any period not less than one term. Post-graduate courses are provided for graduates of the university or of any other collegiate institution who may desire to pursue advanced studies, whether for a second degree or not. The regular course in the medical department is two years. Students have the advantages of clinical instruction in a well arranged hospital on the university grounds, under the charge of the faculty. In the law department the degree of bachelor of law is conferred upon candidates 21 years old and upward, who have completed the course of two years and have passed a satisfactory examination. A year's course in another law school, or one term's practice of law under a license from the highest court of general jurisdiction in any state, is accepted as an equivalent for the first year in this institution. The degree entitles the holder to an immediate license to practise in all the courts of Michigan. Candidates for admission to the academic department must be at least 16 years of age, and to the law department 18. Both sexes are admitted to all departments, but the courses of lectures for women in the medical department are distinct from those for men. Students before entering any department are required to pay a matriculation fee of $10 if residents of Michigan, and of $25 if resident elsewhere. There is also an annual payment of $15 for residents of Michigan, and of $20 for students from other states or countries. The members of faculties and other officers of the university in 1873-'4 numbered 44, viz.: president, 1; professors, 23; librarian, 1; assistant professors, 6; lecturers, 2; instructors, 8; assistants, 3. The faculty of the department of literature, science, and the arts embraced 14 professors, 6 assistant professors, and 9 other instructors; medical faculty, 8 professors, 2 lecturers, and 1 other instructor; law faculty, 4 professors. The number of students in the department of literature, science, and the arts was 484, of whom 52 were females, viz.: resident graduates, 9; seniors, 70; juniors, 96; sophomores, 90; freshmen, 118; in selected studies, 33; in pharmacy, 68. Of those in the regular courses, 175 were pursuing the classical, 76 the Latin and scientific, 90 the scientific, and 33 the engineering course. The number of students in the medical department was 314, of whom 34 were females; in the law department, 314 (124 seniors and 190 juniors), of whom 5 were females; whole number in the university, deducting repetitions, 1,105. The number of degrees conferred at commencement in 1873 was 329, viz.: pharmaceutical chemist, 9; civil engineer, 11; bachelor of science, 12; bachelor of philosophy, 15; bachelor of arts, 40; doctor of medicine, 91; bachelor of law, 123; master of science in course, 8; master of arts in course, 19; master of arts on examination, 1. According to the last triennial catalogue, published in 1871, the whole number of alumni was 2,900, of whom 2,798 were living. The libraries accessible to the students contain about 30,000 volumes. These are the university library, 22,000; medical library, 1,500; law library, 3,000; and the libraries of two literary societies in the department of literature, science, and the arts, and of the Christian association connected with the university. The university museum contains valuable and constantly increasing collections, illustrative of natural science, ethnology, art, history, agriculture, anatomy, and materia medica. The geological cabinet contains about 14,000 distinct entries and 41,000 specimens, including a large and complete series of lithological and palæontological specimens obtained through the state geological surveys; the zoological cabinet, 11,500 entries and more than 45,000 specimens, including a complete series of the birds that visit Michigan, with most of the mammals of the state, a nearly complete series of the reptiles found E. of the Rocky mountains, 2,000 species of mollusca, and a considerable collection of fishes and radiata; the botanical cabinet, 9,000 entries, 5,000 species, and 45,000 specimens, including a collection of Alaskan plants, and 1,500 entries, 1,175 species, and 9,000 specimens of the plants of Michigan. The mineralogical cabinet embraces a valuable collection of the minerals of the state, and a collection of more than 6,000 specimens, chiefly European, purchased of the late Baron Lederer. The collections in the department of fine arts and history embrace a gallery of casts of the most valuable ancient statues and busts, a gallery of engravings and photographic views executed in Italy and Greece, a collection of historical medallions, &c. In the department of archaeology and relics the collections embrace among other specimens various articles of domestic and warlike use among the American Indians and the islanders of the South Pacific. The astronomical observatory, erected by citizens of Detroit, was opened in 1854. The building consists of a main part, with a movable dome and two wings. It contains a fine large meridian circle, a sidereal clock, two collimators; a chronograph, with Bond's new isodynamic escapement, for recording observations by the electro-magnetic method; and a refracting telescope, with an object glass 13 inches in diameter. The university grounds embrace 44½ acres. Besides the observatory, there are a central building, called University hall, for the department of literature, science, and the arts; buildings for the departments of law and medicine; a chemical laboratory, and residences for the president and professors. The entire cost of the buildings was about $230,000. University hall has a front of 347 ft., with a depth in the centre of 140 ft. and on the wings of 40 ft.; height from the basement to the summit of the dome, 140 ft. In the front of the second story there is a well arranged auditorium, with sittings for 3,000 persons. The receipts into the treasury for the year ending June 30, 1873, including $20,225 46 on hand at the beginning of the period, amounted to $124,468 52, of which $38,667 was received from the state on account of the university interest fund, $28,000 from special state appropriations, $23,005 from students' fees, and the rest from miscellaneous sources. The expenditures were $107,416 81, of which $73,392 16 was for salaries and janitors' wages, $2,250 for libraries, the rest for various purposes; balance, $17,051 71. The university fund, being the proceeds of the sale of the university lands, amounts to $543,010 24. It is held in trust by the state, which pays interest thereon at the rate of 7 per cent. per annum. The university is under the control of a board of eight regents, who are elected by the qualified voters of the state for a period of eight years, two retiring every two years. They choose the president of the university, who is ex officio a member and president of the board. Previous to 1852, under the regulations then in force, there was no president of the university. Since that time the office has been filled as follows: Henry P. Tappan, D. D., 1852-'63; Erastus O. Haven, D. D., 1863-'9; Henry S. Frieze, LL. D. (acting), 1869-'71; James B. Angell, LL. D., appointed in 1871 and still in office.

University Hall, Michigan University.