Editing University of Michigan (section)

===Early years (1837–1851)===

[[File:Library and Chapel, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (front elevation) MET DT369502.jpg|thumb|[[Alexander J. Davis]]'s original University of Michigan designs featured the Gothic Revival style. Davis himself is generally credited with coining the term "[[Collegiate Gothic]]".]]

In 1837, following Michigan's admission to the Union, its constitution enabled the appointive regents to oversee university operations directly alongside professors, without the need for a president.<ref name="um2017.org" /> The regents met in [[Ann Arbor]] and accepted the town's proposal for the university to relocate,<ref name=Founding/><ref>{{Cite web |title = 002 1817-1871 PH.indd |url = http://umhistory.dc.umich.edu/history/publications/photo_saga/media/PDFs/2%201817-1871.pdf |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211031220923/http://umhistory.dc.umich.edu/history/publications/photo_saga/media/PDFs/2%201817-1871.pdf |archive-date = October 31, 2021 |access-date = October 14, 2021 |website = www.umhistory.dc.umich.edu }}</ref> based on a {{convert|40|acre|ha}} grant from the [[Treaty of Fort Meigs]]<ref>{{Cite web |title = AIUM: About |url = http://www.umich.edu/~aium/about.html |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180817172231/http://www.umich.edu/~aium/about.html |archive-date = August 17, 2018 |access-date = March 7, 2018 |website = www.umich.edu }}</ref><ref name="Central Campus History">{{Cite web |title = The Central Forty and The Diag (1837) |url = http://www.umich.edu/pres/history/markers/diag.html |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130901090004/http://president.umich.edu/history/markers/diag.html |archive-date = September 1, 2013 |access-date = April 29, 2007 |publisher = University of Michigan History and Traditions Committee }}</ref> on [[Henry Rumsey]]'s farmland.<ref name=":11">{{cite book |last1=Shaw |first1=Wilfred B. |date=1942 |title=The University of Michigan, an encyclopedic survey |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015042059132 |location=University of Michigan |publisher=Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press |page=117 |hdl=2027/mdp.39015042059132 |isbn=}}</ref>{{rp|32}} [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] devised the original campus plan in [[Gothic Revival style]],<ref>{{Cite book |last = Truettner |first = Julia M. |url = https://www.press.umich.edu/17028/aspirations_for_excellence |title = Aspirations for Excellence |date = 2003 |publisher = University of Michigan Press |isbn = 9780472112777 |access-date = December 24, 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211224202852/https://www.press.umich.edu/17028/aspirations_for_excellence |archive-date = December 24, 2021 |url-status = live }}</ref> and the regents unanimously approved his proposal;<ref name=":702">{{cite web |last=Tobin |first=James |title=The Campus that Never Was |website=heritage.umich.edu |url=https://heritage.umich.edu/stories/the-campus-that-never-was/ |access-date=September 29, 2024}}</ref> however, the plan was abandoned due to financial constraints resulting from the [[Panic of 1837]].<ref name="Hinsdale 1906" />{{rp|31}}<ref>{{Cite web |last1 = Donnelly |first1 = Walter A. |last2 = Shaw |first2 = Wilfred B. |last3 = Gjelsness |first3 = Ruth W. |date = 1958 |title = President's House |url = https://bentley.umich.edu/legacy-support/campus_tour/preshouse.php |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211224202852/https://bentley.umich.edu/legacy-support/campus_tour/preshouse.php |archive-date = December 24, 2021 |access-date = December 24, 2021 |website = bentley.umich.edu/ |publisher = University of Michigan Press }}</ref> In 1841, Mason Hall, the first campus building, was completed, followed by the construction of South College, an identical building to the south, in 1849, leaving a gap for a future grand centerpiece.<ref name=":702" />

[[File:Colored elevation of Mason Hall.jpg|thumb|Colored elevation of Mason Hall (built in 1841; demolished in 1950), the first building devoted to instruction on the Ann Arbor campus. The design was used as a reference by [[John F. Rague]] to build the [[North Hall (University of Wisconsin)|North Hall]] (built in 1851) in [[Madison, Wisconsin]], which is a [[National Historic Landmark]].<ref name="nrhp">{{cite web|first=Jeffrey M. |last= Dean |title=National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Bascom Hill Historic District |date=June 1974 |url={{NRHP url |id=74000065}} |access-date=February 17, 2024 |publisher=[[National Park Service]]}} With {{NRHP url|id=74000065|photos=y|title=13 photos}}.</ref>]]

[[Asa Gray]] was appointed the first professor following the university's move to Ann Arbor in 1837,<ref>{{Cite web |title = New General Library |url = http://umhistory.dc.umich.edu/mort/original/1900/13%20University%20Library%201883/index.html |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200123141029/http://umhistory.dc.umich.edu/mort/original/1900/13%20University%20Library%201883/index.html |archive-date = January 23, 2020 |access-date = October 14, 2021 |publisher = UMHistory }}</ref>{{sfn|University of Michigan|2015}}{{sfn|Pitcher|1856|p=79}}{{sfn|Dupree|1988|pp=67–68}}<ref name="B0017XZGIK">{{cite book |last = Duderstadt |first = Anne. |author-link =  |date = January 1, 2006 |title = The University of Michigan: A Photographic Saga (Millenium Project) |url =  |location =  |publisher = University of Michigan Press |page =  |asin = B0017XZGIK }}</ref> alongside early faculty members [[Douglass Houghton]] and [[Andrew Ten Brook]].<ref name="B0017XZGIK" /><ref>{{Cite web |title = Professor White's trees |url = http://michigantoday.umich.edu/2008/04/trees.php |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100606173105/http://michigantoday.umich.edu/2008/04/trees.php |archive-date = June 6, 2010 |access-date = July 31, 2010 |website = Michigan Today }}</ref> The first classes in Ann Arbor were held in 1841, with six freshmen and a sophomore taught by two professors, Joseph Whiting and George Palmer Williams.<ref>{{Cite web |date = July 5, 2007 |title = University of Michigan Timelines: General University Timeline |url = https://bentley.umich.edu/exhibits/umtimeline/general.php |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090421020242/http://bentley.umich.edu/exhibits/umtimeline/general.php |archive-date = April 21, 2009 |access-date = December 26, 2008 |publisher = Bentley Historical Library }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The beloved professors of U-M |date=May 1, 2017 |url=https://record.umich.edu/articles/beloved-professors-u-m/ |website=record.umich.edu }}</ref> In the first commencement of 1845, eleven graduates, including [[Judson Dwight Collins]], were awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree.<ref>{{cite web |last=Clarke |first=Kim |title=The First Freshmen |url=https://heritage.umich.edu/stories/the-first-freshmen/ |website=heritage.umich.edu |access-date=August 29, 2024 |publisher=Regents of the University of Michigan }}</ref> In subsequent years, the regents established branches across the state as preparatory schools for the university,<ref name="Kalamazoo Branch">{{Cite web |date = May 2023 |title = University of Michigan Branch 1838–1843 |url = https://www.kpl.gov/local-history/kalamazoo-history/education/university-of-michigan-branch/ |access-date = January 7, 2024 |publisher = Kalamazoo Public Library }}</ref> starting with [[Pontiac, Michigan|Pontiac]] and followed by [[Kalamazoo, Michigan|Kalamazoo]], [[Detroit]], [[Niles, Michigan|Niles]], [[Tecumseh, Michigan|Tecumseh]], [[White Pigeon, Michigan|White Pigeon]], and [[Romeo, Michigan|Romeo]].<ref name="Kalamazoo Branch" /> However, they struggled to enroll students and some merged with local colleges.<ref name="Kalamazoo Branch" /> [[Kalamazoo College]] was the Kalamazoo Branch of the University of Michigan from 1840 to 1850.<ref name="Kalamazoo Branch" /> Furthermore, the university struggled with issues due to its regents' dependence on the legislature from 1837 to 1850.<ref name="Hinsdale 1906" />{{rp|40}} Despite several attempts to gain independence, progress was slow until the late 1840s, when regents gained leverage, supported by Michigan citizens.<ref name="Hinsdale 1906" />{{rp|40}} This led to a revision of the organic act on April 8, 1851, which freed the university from legislative control, changed the regent position from appointed to elected, and established a president selected by the regents.<ref name="Hinsdale 1906" />{{rp|40}}