University of Michigan–Dearborn

History

Dearborn Center of the University of Michigan

In the mid-1950s, Archie Pearson, the director of training at Ford Motor Company, conducted studies that revealed a looming shortage of college-educated engineers and junior administrators within the company's future workforce. As a result, Pearson discreetly reached out to higher education institutions in Metro Detroit, inquiring about their willingness to adapt their programs to align with the anticipated requirements of the automotive industry.

On December 17, 1956, the Ford Motor Company gifted both land and capital development funds to the Regents for the creation of a remote branch of the university offering upper-division undergraduate and master's level programs. In February 1957, the Regents of the University of Michigan officially accepted the gifts and committed to establishing a branch in Dearborn known as the Dearborn Center of the University of Michigan.

The Dearborn Center would also have a cooperative work-study requirement for its programs in business administration and engineering, which were intended to provide students with real-world experience that would increase their employment prospects. The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor would provide the necessary liberal arts and professional courses to complete a University of Michigan bachelor's or master's degree. Construction on the Dearborn Center began on May 22, 1958, and on October 1 of that year, William E. Stirton was appointed its first director.

The branch opened with an enrollment of 34 students on September 28, 1959. A liberal arts division and programs in electrical engineering and teacher education were added in fall 1960. The first 12 graduates on January 20, 1962. In 1963, the branch was renamed the Dearborn Campus of the University of Michigan, to emphasize that it was a free-standing unit of the university.

In May 1969, the Dearborn Campus Planning Study Committee released their report on the future of the institution, which recommended the addition of lower-division undergraduate courses and the expansion of non-cooperative programs. In November 1969, the regents formally approved the committee's recommendations.

Proposal for an independent "Fairlane University"

In February 1970, the Committee on Colleges and Universities of the Michigan House of Representatives discussed a bill to separate the Dearborn campus from the University of Michigan, proposing its establishment as an independent institution named "Fairlane University." This initiative, reflecting a national trend toward expanding higher education, faced strong opposition from faculty and students in Dearborn, leading to its eventual failure.

That year, Oakland University gained institutional independence from Michigan State University, evolving into an autonomous research university. Meanwhile, the Dearborn campus continued to grow under the policies of the Board of Regents of the University of Michigan, receiving independent accreditation in August 1970 and officially being renamed in April 1971. However, this continued affiliation with the University of Michigan would prevent this newly fledged university from having its own governing board.

This period of proposed restructuring was not unique to Michigan. In 1972, a similar process occurred in Virginia, where George Mason College was separated from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville and renamed George Mason University.

University of Michigan–Dearborn

In August 1970, the Dearborn campus received its first accreditation independent from the Ann Arbor campus, from the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. In April 1971, it was officially renamed the University of Michigan–Dearborn (UM–Dearborn). In July of that year, Leonard E. Goodall, the vice-chancellor of the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle, was appointed UM–Dearborn's first chancellor. In the fall of 1971, the university officially became a four-year institution as it welcomed its first freshman class. There were 313 freshmen in that first class and overall enrollment grew by 50% to 1,369. University enrollment grew rapidly during the course of the decade, exceeding 6,000 in 1979. UM–Dearborn announced both a $19 million campus development plan and the creation of its Alumni Society in November 1973.

Between 1978 and 1980, three major new buildings were opened on campus: the Fieldhouse and Ice Arena, the University Library, and the University Mall. These additions caused the center of campus to shift south of UM–Dearborn's original four buildings.

In July 1980, University of Colorado Denver acting chancellor William A. Jenkins was named the second chancellor of UM–Dearborn. He soon faced a major financial crisis on campus that stemmed from a recession in the state, which resulted in a $500,000 cut from the university's base budget in April 1981. Also in 1981, history professor Sidney Bolkosky established the Holocaust Survivor Oral History Project at UM–Dearborn. In the fall of 1983, minority enrollment on campus reached a record high of 9.6%. The university received a 13.2% increase in its annual appropriation from the state legislature in 1984–85, which enabled it to restore the 3% salary raises that it had cut in 1981–82. In May 1986, UM–Dearborn opened its Armenian Research Center, the first university-affiliated institution of its kind.

In November 1988, Blenda Wilson was inaugurated as the third chancellor of UM–Dearborn. In September 1989, the university began its $11.6 million General Campus Renovation Project, entirely funded by the State of Michigan. In summer 1990, the university terminated its varsity ice hockey program, resulting in head coach Tom Anastos and athletic director Sid Fox announcing their departures from Dearborn. In October, Wilson announced that hockey would become a club sport and the university's basketball and women's volleyball teams would compete in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). In April 1991, graduate enrollment at UM–Dearborn exceeded 1,000 for the first time, and in July of that year revenue from tuition surpassed state appropriations. In May 1992, Wilson announced her resignation to take a position at California State University.

Campus

The UM–Dearborn campus is located on the former estate of Henry Ford. It is divided into several sections: The Henry Ford Estate, known as Fair Lane, The Fairlane Center, Main Campus, and the Early Childhood Education Center just south of campus. In addition, the university has over 70 acres (283,000 m2) of nature preserve and a bird observatory, the Rouge River Bird Observatory, which has operated on campus since its founding in 1992, and is the longest-running, full-time urban bird research station in North America.

Main Campus includes the facilities for the College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters (CASL), the College of Engineering and Computer Science (CECS), the Environmental Interpretive Center, Administration, the Mardigian Library, the Institute for Advanced Vehicle Studies, the University Center, the Computing Building, and the Fieldhouse. Within both CASL and CECS, many different buildings house different programs, departments, research centers, student life centers, and academic resources.

Fair Lane and the nature preserve west of campus are along the Rouge River. There is a small waterfall, rose garden, meadow, a lake, and reflecting pond surrounded by acres of forest. The forest has many walking paths which connect the Environmental Interpretive Center, Henry Ford Community College, Downtown West Dearborn, Hines Drive, the university's Main Campus, and Fair Lane together. Fair Lane recently has been handed over to Edsel and Eleanor Ford House. The Edsel Ford Estate will put forth restoration efforts which will cost 50 million dollars or more. The majority of the funding will go towards full home restoration and grounds preservation. The project will open up rooms which had been unavailable to public tours before.

Organization

Administration

UM-Dearborn, historically a branch of the University of Michigan, has operated under the policies of the Board of Regents of the University of Michigan since its accreditation in 1970. The Board of Regents, as the governing body, is responsible for the appointment of the university president, who presides over the Board's meetings but does not have voting rights. Instead of directly managing the university's operations, the university president recommends the appointment of a chancellor, who is subject to approval by the Board of Regents and is tasked with overseeing the day-to-day administrative duties of the university as its chief executive officer.

Leonard E. Goodall (August 1971 – June 1979)

William A. Jenkins (July 1980 – June 1988)

Blenda J. Wilson (July 1988 – August 1992)

James C. Renick (January 1993 – July 1999)

Bernard W. Klein (July 1979 – June 1980 (acting), September – December 1992 (interim), July 1999 – June 2000 (interim))

Daniel E. Little (July 2000 – July 2018)

Domenico Grasso (August 2018 - May 2025)

Gabriella Scarlatta (May 2025 - present (interim))

The UM-Dearborn faculty governance comprises three bodies: the Faculty Congress, Faculty Senate, and Faculty Senate Council. The Faculty Senate's actions are effective unless revoked by the Faculty Congress. The campus has four representatives to the Senate Assembly, which has 77 members representing all three campuses.

Finances

The university's current (FY 2022–23) operating budget of $192 million has four major sources of funding: the General Fund ($165.41 million), the Expendable Restricted Funds ($24.91 million), the Auxiliary Funds ($1.25 million), and the Designated Funds ($500,000). The Office of Budget and Planning reports that student tuition and fees are the largest funding source, contributing $135.3 million to the General Fund, which accounts for 70.46% of the total operating budget. In the fiscal year 2022–23, the State of Michigan provided $28.18 million to the university, which represents 14.67% of its total operating budget. Revenue from government sponsored programs contributed $20.5 million to the Expendable Restricted Funds, accounting for 10.67% of the total operating budget.

Colleges

There are four colleges at UM-Dearborn: the College of Arts, Sciences, & Letters (CASL), the College of Engineering & Computer Science (CECS), the College of Business (COB), and the College of Education, Health, & Human Services (CEHHS).

The College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters (CASL), pronounced "castle," is home to five graduate programs, 32 undergraduate majors, and programs in environmental sciences, mathematics, applied statistics, physical sciences, religious diversity, cultural studies, health policy studies, health psychology, civic engagement, and leadership. CASL traces its origins to the establishment of the Literature, Science, and the Arts division in fall of 1960, which assumed its current name and college-level status in June 1973.

The main building houses the college's administrative offices and the departments of Behavioral Sciences, Mathematics and Statistics, Literature Philosophy Arts (LPA) and Language Culture and Communication (LCC). General purpose classrooms occupy the majority of the first level, along with the campus television studio. Several other programs, such as urban studies and criminal justice, are housed in different buildings spread across campus.

Engineering at UM–Dearborn dates to its first academic year, it was reorganized as the School of Engineering in June 1973, and it was renamed the College of Engineering and Computer Science in March 1998. The College of Engineering and Computer Science is home to eleven undergraduate degree programs and twelve graduate degree programs, including six doctoral programs (four Ph.D. and two D.Eng.), housed in CIS, ECE, ME, IMSE departments and college Interdisciplinary Programs. The College of Engineering and Computer Science offers four Ph.D. programs in collaboration with the Rackham Graduate School in Ann Arbor. These programs include:

Ph.D. in Computer and Information Science

Ph.D. in Electrical, Electronics, and Computer Engineering

Ph.D. in Industrial and Systems Engineering

Ph.D. in Mechanical Sciences and Engineering

Academics

Undergraduate admissions

The 2022 annual ranking of U.S. News & World Report categorizes UM-Dearborn as "selective". For the Class of 2025 (enrolled fall 2021), UM-Dearborn received 8,065 applications and accepted 5,546 (68.8%). Of those accepted, 1,084 enrolled, a yield of 19.5%.

The enrolled first-year class of 2025 had the following standardized test scores: the middle 50% range (25th percentile-75th percentile) of SAT scores was 1050-1300, while the middle 50% range of ACT scores was 22-28.

Undergraduate graduation and retention

UM-Dearborn's freshman retention rate is 83.52%, with 54.6% going on to graduate within six years. The eight-year graduation rate at UM-Dearborn is 58%, with a withdrawal rate of 15%. For Pell Grant recipients, who make up nearly half of the undergraduate population, the graduation and withdrawal rates are 56% and 18%, respectively.

Programs and employment outcomes

The university offers nine ABET-accredited engineering bachelor degree programs. These programs cover the following areas of study: bioengineering, computer and information science, computer engineering, electrical engineering, industrial and systems engineering, manufacturing engineering, mechanical engineering, robotics engineering, and software engineering.

Its most popular undergraduate majors, by 2021 graduates, were psychology (151), electrical and electronics engineering (136), mechanical engineering (117), biology/biological sciences (109), computer and information science (69), and public health education and promotion (68).

The U.S. Department of Education reports that as of 2024, federally aided students attending UM-Dearborn 10 years after they began their studies had a median annual income of $59,649 (based on 2020-2021 earnings adjusted to 2022 dollars), which exceeds both the midpoint for 4-year schools of $53,617 and U.S. real median personal income of $40,460 for the year 2021 adjusted to 2022 dollars.

The highest-earning (median) fields of study for federally aided students include:

Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering - Master's Degree ($142,830/yr)

Business Administration, Management and Operations - Master's Degree ($128,921/yr)

The five highest-earning (median) undergraduate fields of study for federally aided students at UM-Dearborn are:

Computer Programming - Bachelor's Degree ($117,020/yr)

Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering - Bachelor's Degree ($106,893/yr)

Mechanical Engineering - Bachelor's Degree ($99,846/yr)

Athletics

The university's athletic teams are called the Wolverines (or Michigan-Dearborn Wolverines). Its colors are maize and blue. The teams share the nickname "Wolverines" with several other collegiate athletic teams, such as the Michigan Wolverines, the Michigan–Flint Wolverines, the Utah Valley Wolverines, the Morris Brown Wolverines, and the Grove City Wolverines.

The university is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) since the 2004–05 academic year.

UM–Dearborn competes in 16 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, bowling, cross country, golf, ice hockey, lacrosse and soccer; while women's sports include basketball, bowling, cross country, golf, ice hockey, soccer, softball and volleyball. Men's and women's bowling, along with women's ice hockey were added during the 2018–19 academic year.

Accomplishments

The softball team and men's ice hockey team were named WHAC champions respectively in 2017 and 2019. The men's basketball team was named WHAC tournament champions in 2018.

History

UM–Dearborn began varsity athletic competition in fall of 1974, with its soccer program. Beginning in 1977, the athletics teams were known as the Wolves. Its athletics program was substantially reformed in October 1990, with basketball and women's volleyball becoming NAIA sports and hockey being downgraded to club sport status.

Facilities

The University of Michigan-Dearborn Fieldhouse serves as the home to many of the athletic and recreational activities on campus. It was opened in fall of 1978. The venue hosts home contests for men's and women's basketball, ice hockey, and volleyball. A new hardwood floor was installed in the gymnasium during the summer of 2016.

Championships

1980 – Men's Ice Hockey (runner-up) – NAIA

1983 – Men's Ice Hockey (runner-up) – NAIA

1984 – Men's Ice Hockey (runner-up) – NAIA

1992 - Men's Ice Hockey Conference Champions - CSCHL

1992 – Men's Ice Hockey (runner-up) – ACHA Division I

1993 - Men's Ice Hockey Conference Champions - CSCHL

1998 - Men's Ice Hockey Conference Champions - CSCHL

1998 - Men's Ice Hockey Conference Tournament Champions - CSCHL

1999 - Men's Ice Hockey Conference Champions - CSCHL

2008 - Men's Rugby State Champions Div II Tier II

2016 - Men's Ice Hockey Conference Tournament Champions - GLCHL

2017 - Men's Ice Hockey Conference Tournament Champions - GLCHL

2017 - Softball Conference Champions - WHAC

2018 - Men's Basketball Conference Tournament Champions - WHAC

2018 - Men's Basketball - NAIA Division 2 National Tournament Appearance

2019 - Men's Ice Hockey Conference Champions - WHAC

Student life

There are over 125 recognized student organizations (RSOs) and 9 university sponsored organizations (USOs). Both the RSO and USO communities consist of interests such as: Greek Life, Academic/Professional Organizations, Cultural and Ethnic Organizations, Honor Societies, Political and Social Activist Organizations, Recreational Organizations, and Religious and Spiritual Organizations.

University-sponsored organizations include:

The Michigan Journal, the student newspaper of the University of Michigan–Dearborn since 1971.

WUMD, the student radio station of the University of Michigan–Dearborn since 1979.

Campus Video Network

Greek Leadership Council

The Lyceum

Student Activities Board

Student Government

Student Organization Advisory Council (SOAC)

The Wolf Pack

WUMD College Radio is a student-run, free-format radio station that features diversity in music from punk rock to bluegrass, jazz to electronica, and everything in between. Starting in 2007, the station began live broadcasts of UM-Dearborn sporting events.

Student body

As of 2022, the university has an enrollment of 8,224 students. 94% of students are from Michigan. Nearly half of its student body are first-generation college students. The average grade point averages for incoming high school students was a 3.68.

About half of UM-Dearborn's students enter directly from high school; the remainder are students who have prior college experience either immediately before entering UM-Dearborn or at some earlier point in their lives and careers.

Notable people

Faculty

Anthony W. England - former dean

Alumni

Ismael Ahmed – director of the Michigan Department of Human Services

Saul Anuzis – chairman of the Michigan Republican Party

Mark Atkinson – one of the world's top diabetes researchers

Susy Avery – former chair of the Michigan Republican Party

Claire-Marie Brisson – academic, podcaster, and Harvard University faculty

Ted Casteel – owner of Bethel Heights Vineyard in the Willamette Valley of Oregon

George Darany – former member of the Michigan House of Representatives

James R. Downing - President and CEO of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Rima Fakih – model, actress, and Miss USA 2010 winner

Kimberly Frost – novelist

Kumar Galhotra – president of Ford North America

Pamela Good - Co-founder and CEO of "Beyond Basics, a nonprofit organization that provides literacy interventions to students across the state of Michigan.

Rudy Hatfield – professional basketball player of Barangay Ginebra Kings in the PBA

Fadwa Hammoud – Solicitor General of Michigan

Ian Hornak (1944–2002) – founding artist of the hyperrealist and photorealist fine art movements