The University of Michigan, an encyclopedic survey ... Wilfred B. Shaw, editor.

1971 — : The University of Michigan — Dearborn

The first of the Committee's recommendations was put into effect in April 1971 with the renaming of the campus — The University of Michigan — Dearborn. This was done concurrently with the renaming of the Flint Campus as The University of Michigan — Flint.

To implement another of the recommendations, a 12-member committee of faculty, students, alumni, and community residents were appointed by Dean Scott to screen and recommend candidates to the President and Board of Regents for the position of Chancellor at The University of Michigan — Dearborn. After a lengthy search procedure, Dr. Robert Maier, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay, was appointed by the Board of Regents. Dr. Maier, a specialist in earth sciences, had been instrumental in formulating University of Wisconsin — Green Bay's unique academic program stressing environmental and ecological studies. In May, however, Dr. Maier informed President Fleming that, because of problems of health, he would be unable to accept the position at The University of Michigan — Dearborn. A second recommended candidate, Dr. Leonard Goodall, was subsequently approved

by the Regents. Dr. Goodall, who had been Vice-Chancellor at the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle, was a specialist in urban politics and public administration. The new chancellor-designate assumed his position on July 1, 1971.

In the fall of 1971, The University of Michigan — Dearborn took an initial step in reorienting its academic programming as it accepted its first freshman class of 250 students. The break with the "senior college" concept resulted after numerous discussions between various faculty and administrative groups. In the Balzhiser Report, it was noted that "… although the upper division campus is turned naturally toward the community college for its enrollment, the community college is not oriented toward the upper division college. Thus the upper division college has no substantial and natural base of students from which to draw." Planning for the freshman-sophomore program began in 1969 and continued at a vigorous pace for over two years. A curriculum planning committee, composed of faculty representatives from The University of Michigan — Dearborn's three academic units, developed an interdisciplinary Core Curriculum for lower division students.

Within the next three years the campus was to recognize a 500 percent enrollment growth, as increasing numbers of freshmen transfers, and graduate students enrolled. Conscious of its physical location near the heart of a large metropolitan area, The University of Michigan — Dearborn developed a broad student constituency which included the "traditional" eighteen to twenty-one year-old undergraduate and larger numbers of graduate students. Essentially a commuter-type campus, The University of Michigan — Dearborn also began to attract "non-traditional" students: minorities, returning women, mid-career professionals, the handicapped, and retirees. A developing late afternoon and evening program, expansion of liberal arts offerings, new graduate and professional programs in management and engineering, a joint nursing program with Henry Ford Hospital, and individualized learning programs began to gain broad acceptance within the metropolitan Detroit area. The development of a strong "urban-oriented" campus of a major state university in Michigan was consistent with national trends in the late 1960s and early 1970s as universities developed "where the people were."

Campus governance at The University of Michigan — Dearborn had historically been in the hands of a Faculty

Congress, with specific academic and administrative duties delegated to an Executive Committee, comprised of faculty members from each of the three academic units. Similar in nature to the executive committees of the schools and colleges on the Ann Arbor campus, the Dearborn Executive Committee was recognized in the Regents' By laws as the governing unit for the campus. As enrollments at Dearborn grew, and as the number and interests of faculty also increased, it became evident that a new system of governance was necessary. A Bylaws Revision Committee, chaired by Dr. Paul Carter, professor of education, developed a series of alternative structures for organizing the faculties. After considerable discussion, the Faculty Congress approved a revised set of bylaws calling for five academic units: the School of Management (replacing the Division of Business Administration); the School of Engineering (replacing the Division of Engineering); the College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters (replacing the Division of Literature, Science, and the Arts); the Division of Urban Education (incorporating the former Department of Education within the L. S. and A. division); and a new Division of Interdisciplinary Studies. The new bylaws were approved by the Regents in 1973. In addition to the structural reorganization into schools and colleges, the new bylaws dissolved the former campus executive committee and replaced it with two campus-wide committees — the Academic Affairs Advisory Committee, to advise the dean of academic affairs on academic matters; and the Faculty Advisory Committee, to advise the Chancellor on campus-wide matters.

Expansion in enrollment also necessitated the development of additional buildings and facilities to accommodate the larger student body. A campus master plan, developed by an independent planning firm, presented its proposals to the campus in 1973. The plan called for the construction of several new buildings, including a Library and Learning Resources Building, a General Instructional and Laboratory Building, a University Center, a Physical Education facility, and a Performing Arts Center. It was accepted by the Regents with implementation beginning in 1974.

In late 1971 the Michigan Board of Education requested from the Chancellor a statement on the role and mission of The University of Michigan — Dearborn. The statement, which continues to serve as the Campus' goals, notes:

It is the special role of The University of Michigan — Dearborn to make available higher education from The

University of Michigan to the population of the Detroit metropolitan region in Southeastern Michigan, and to provide those programs in which it has traditionally been strong, e.g., cooperative education, to students from throughout the state. The excellence of the educational programs of The University of Michigan is widely recognized and sought after, and the University has attempted to make itself accessible to more students, particularly those who must or prefer to live at home, by developing campuses in Dearborn and in Flint. The major purposes of UM-Dearborn are the offering of educational programs that provide both a broad liberal education and preparation for one's life work, the encouragement of research, and the provision of appropriate public service. Recognizing the great economic, ethnic and racial diversity of an urban population, and the strong vocational interests of the UM-D student body, the University recognizes a responsibility to provide an educational experience that will offer opportunity for upward social and economic mobility to its students. The Campus, as an urban institution and as a part of The University of Michigan, is also committed to increasing the number of minority students enrolled at The University of Michigan — Dearborn."

Richard G. Reynolds