The New International Encyclopædia/Michigan, University of

MICHIGAN, University of. A coeducational State institution at Ann Arbor, Mich., chartered in 1837. According to the terms of the charter, branches were established at various places to serve as preparatory schools of the university. These existed only a short time and were the forerunners of the State high schools, which are now in intimate relation with the university. The institution was opened in 1841, graduating its first class in 1845. It is intended primarily for the higher education of residents of the State, but receives students from all parts of the country on payment of a small tuition fee. The governing body is a board of regents, elected for terms of eight years. The university is organized in seven departments: literature, sciences, and the arts (including the graduate school); engineering (opened in 1853); medicine and surgery (1850); law (1859); pharmacy; the Homœopathic Medical College (1875); and the College of Dental Surgery (1875). Each department has its special faculty, with representation on the University Senate, which considers questions of common interest. The degrees conferred are bachelor and master of arts, science, and law; civil, mechanical, and electrical engineer; and doctor of philosophy, science, medicine, dental surgery, and dental science. The total attendance in 1902, including the summer session, was 3782, of whom 1400, including 668 women, were students in the department of literature, science, and the arts, 854 in law, and 513 in medicine. The total attendance of women was 725. The university, to 1901, had conferred 18,883 degrees, of which 1968 were given to women. The university was a pioneer in coeducation, women having first been admitted in 1870. They now constitute about one-fifth of the student body. Coeducation at the university has been uniformly successful. The libraries of the university, including a number of important collections, aggregated 165,000 volumes, with a recorded circulation of 167,949. The university museums contain collections illustrative of natural history, the industrial arts, chemistry, materia medica, anatomy, archæology, ethnology, the fine arts, and history, including a very full Chinese exhibit sent by the Chinese Government to the New Orleans Exposition and presented to the university in 1885. The Detroit Astronomical Observatory contains a meridian circle by Pistor and Martins, of Berlin, mounted clocks by Tiede and Howard, and a refracting telescope with a thirteen-inch object glass, constructed by the late Henry Fitz, of New York. A smaller observatory, used in the work of instruction, contains an equatorial telescope of six inches aperture and a transit instrument of three inches aperture. There are two hospitals connected with the university. The Waterman Gymnasium, for men, and the Barbour Gymnasium, for women, are free to all students, the general supervision of athletic sports is vested in a board of control of nine members, five chosen from the University Senate and four from the Students' Athletic Association. The university is a member of the Northern Oratorical League, which includes the universities of Chicago, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, the State University of Iowa, Northwestern, and Oberlin. It belongs to the Central Debating League, with the universities of Chicago and Minnesota, and Northwestern University, and has maintained for several years a series of debates with the University of Pennsylvania. Entrance is based upon examination or upon certificates from accredited schools. The university has no dormitories and no commons. Recent extension of the elective system has resulted in a considerable loss in the choice of Latin, Greek, and mathematics, and a marked gain in the modern languages. Among other developments, the establishment of courses in marine engineering and in the training of students for foreign consular service are noteworthy. The faculty in 1902 numbered 247. The endowment of the university was $545,964; its gross income, $741,000. The total value of the college property was $2,501,138, and that of the grounds and buildings $1,583,925. James B. Angell became president in 1871.