University of Michigan Bicentennial: 1817-2017

In 2017, the University of Michigan (U-M) will celebrate its bicentennial--200 years of teaching, scholarship, and service. Established in 1817 in Detroit as the Catholepistemiad or University of Michigania, U-M is the state's oldest university. In 1837, the school moved from Detroit to its present-day location, Ann Arbor. Since its founding, U-M has become one of the premier research universities in the world and boasts the largest living alumni in the world (over 500,000). As of 2016, the university has 19 schools and colleges, 260 degree programs, and 103 of its graduate programs ranked in the top 10. Its official colors are maize and blue, and its motto is "Go Blue!".

The university is historically known for its student activism, popular stop for U.S. presidents and important figures, and its role in defending affirmative action at the U.S. Supreme Court in 2003 (though Michigan voters in 2006 approved restrictions on the use of race in college admissions in Proposal 2). As a proud U-M alumna, U-M also boasts the best graduate programs in my fields: higher education administration and social work. To my delight, the current U-M president, Mark S. Schlissel, has picked diversity, equity and inclusion as well as poverty solutions as two of his five areas of focus in his administration.

Browse the links below for more information about the U-M Bicentennial:

• PSA kicks off U-M bicentennial with a historic look back
• Welcome to the University of Michigan's Bicentennial (Office of the President)
• Office of the President's Message on the U-M Bicentennial
• Official Planned Celebrations in 2017 (University Record)
• News Coverage regarding the U-M Bicentennial (University Record)
• 200 Years and Counting (Michigan Today)
• U-M Bicentennial YouTube Channel
• The University of Michigan, 1817-2017 (Millennium Project)
• The University of Michigan Teach-Out Series

Five Bicentennial Symposia

• 1817: Nation Building in the Old Northwest and the Making of the University of Michigan
• 1877: Reconstructing the University of Michigan
• 1917: Michigan's Great War and Its Aftermath
• World War II: Consequences of Mobilization
• 1967: Shock Waves — The Detroit Rebellion and its Reverberations