The Catholepistemiad

[continued from previous page]

With the statehood of Michigan taking effect on January 26, 1837 came other changes that would affect the Catholepistemiad (Shaw, 13). The Michigan State Legislature agreed upon a previously unsuccessful site for the state capitol as the home of the successor to the Catholepistemiad -- the University on a grander scale (Shaw, 23). This site was the young town of Ann Arbor, which was then just 14 years old (23).

[More about early Ann Arbor]

The move would permanently root the University in Ann Arbor where it would eventually flourish. Though it was a somewhat small town, its inhabitants were eager for change. They wanted the University so the town would prosper. Almost everyone would benefit from a large state funded institution. Merchants would get more business and townspeople would benefit from the scholarly reputation Ann Arbor would gain. No longer would it be just another small town cut out of the wilderness; It would have the distinction of housing a great institution of higher learning like the cities of the east.

The plan of the new University at Ann Arbor was greatly influenced by a report from overseas on school systems. The Report on the State of Public Instruction in Prussia by a Mr. M. Victor Cousins told of the ideas of a primary, secondary, and university hierarchy supervised by the state and financed by public taxation (Hinsdale, 16). The University was in need of a better structure than originally conceived in the Catholepistemiad. The Prussian system would serve as an excellent model on which to build.

 

The Catholepistimiad Logo

In 1841, the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor opened its doors for the first time to a freshmen class of seven students (Bordin, 10). Student life was closely supervised during the first years by a faculty who saw themselves as parents or guardians, ensuring that the students were properly advised and admonished if necessary (Hinsdale, 35). The University was officially non-sectarian. However, one of the requirements of enrollment was that students were to attend one of the village churches, to be chosen by their parents (35).

[More about early Ann Arbor Religion]

Additionally, department Chairs were chosen in equal number from among Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist, and Episcopal ministers (Hinsdale, 45). Thus the college had the definite atmosphere of a religious institution. This may have detracted from the quality of education, and teetered on violating the Constitutional provision of separation of church and State. More qualified candidates for the positions may have been turned away so that a Chair might be filled by a particular denomination minister. Furthermore, the State Legislature was prohibited from funding religious institutions which the college came close to qualifying as.

Despite this, Michigan was on its way to becoming a widely respected place of higher education. The daunting tasks of finding the funds to build it, the location in which to place it, and a proven model on which to structure it were all finally realized. It had come a long way since Woodward’s original plan and survived often unpredictable circumstances.

4

[Previous Chapter]	[Next Chapter]

[Search]