The University of Michigan, often called the
Harvard of the west, was established in 1817 by the
Michigan legislature by way of a land grant signed away in treaty by the
native people of the Michigan Territory. It has provided a diverse student
population with a diverse set of educational opportunities including
academic and professional programs, intermural and NCAA sports programs, and
more cultural activities than most residents of Ann Arbor can
exploit.
A condition of the treaty, which is the basis for most of the landgrant schools in the state of Michigan, was that the education of all of the native people of the state would be guarenteed for all time.
The land has been used well, and the University of Michigan is now one of the finest public universities in the world. Whether the state's obligation to the native people has been met is a topic for debate.
Famous Alumni of the University of Michigan:
- Ted Kaczynski (the unibomber) earned a Ph.D. in mathematics at the University of Michigan in 1967
- Madonna won a scholarship in high school to study dance at the University of Michigan, she left in the late 1970s
- Lawrence Kasdan studied creative writing and won four Hopwood Awards
Dick Beldin A.B.(1961), M.P.H.(1965), Ph.D.(1967)