Introduction
to Central Michigan University
A Brief History
CMU Today
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The
University Setting
Central Michigan University is located in the heart of
Michigan’s lower peninsula. Set in a region of rolling
farmland and woodland, CMU’s location offers easy access to
Michigan’s cultural and scenic attractions: diverse urban
centers, prime recreational shoreline along Lakes Michigan and
Huron, Alpine and Nordic ski areas, and the north woods
country of northern Michigan.
CMU’s home community is Mount Pleasant, a city of 25,000.
Together, CMU and Mount Pleasant serve as the cultural center
for much of central and northern Michigan. CMU hosts a variety
of cultural and sporting events throughout the year, and the
university sponsors the CMU Public Television Network and
National Public Radio affiliate stations.
The campus and buildings of Central Michigan University
provide a physical environment for learning that is
attractive, orderly, and convenient. Campus beauty is
cultivated in the belief that the quality of the physical
surroundings affects the quality of learning. The academic
buildings form the core of the campus, with ready access to
administrative services and residence units. Campus residence
halls and apartments are located conveniently with respect to
classroom buildings, the library, and recreational facilities.
The outdoor campus setting features trees and lawns, ponds,
walkways, and natural conservation areas. Automobile traffic
is routed toward the campus perimeter, where parking areas are
located. Bicycle pathways link major campus buildings, and
bicycle racks are provided.
The Neithercut Woodland, a 255 acre natural woodland four
miles northwest of Farwell, serves as a center for
environmental education.
The resources provided by libraries, art galleries, studios,
auditoriums, parks, theaters, gyms, and playing fields are
easily available within the campus boundaries.
In addition to the main campus in Mount Pleasant, CMU has
off-campus centers in a number of Michigan communities, and
the university also operates outdoor teaching facilities. CMU
has an extensive biological research station on Beaver Island,
in Lake Michigan.
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A Brief History
Central opened its doors in 1892 as the Central Michigan
Normal School and Business Institute. At that time, few of
the state’s teachers received any formal training in
teaching. School founders, deeply conscious of the poorly
prepared teacher applicants seeking positions in Mt.
Pleasant’s schools, made teacher training their mission in
founding the state’s second normal school.
Thirty-one students attended classes in second-floor rooms
over an office on the corner of Main and Michigan Streets in
downtown Mt. Pleasant. Most students at the time were eighth
grade graduates, attending the “Normal” for a few weeks or
months prior to beginning their own careers as teachers.
Within the first two years, land was acquired following the
sale of bonds, and a $10,000 Normal School Building was
constructed where Warriner Hall now stands.
In 1895, the Michigan State Board of Education assumed
control of the school, which had grown to 135 students,
renaming it Central Michigan Normal School. The school
assembled its first football squad of 15 men in 1896, only
to be defeated by Alma High School in the season’s sole
game. In the same year, Central became state supported.
Within a few years, Central’s women were competing in
inter-school basketball.
By 1918, the campus consisted of 25 acres with five
buildings, one of which—Grawn Hall—is still in use, though
substantially remodeled. Enrollment had more than tripled in
10 years to 450 students.
Central’s educational offerings had also been growing more
comprehensive. Students completing two years of schooling
beyond high school began receiving their Life [teaching]
Certificates in 1903. The school was accredited by the North
Central Association for the first time in 1915. In 1918, the
Bachelor of Arts degree was first awarded, and in 1927, the
Bachelor of Science. Central’s first graduate courses,
supervised by the University of Michigan, were offered in
1938.
Fire destroyed the school’s main building in 1925, and
Warriner Hall was built to replace it. Prior to World War
II, the school’s name changed again—first to Central State
Teacher’s College, then to Central Michigan College of
Education. Enrollment rose to more than 1,800 students.
In the post-war years of 1949-59, the first large student
residence halls were built and Central’s first Master’s
degree was accredited by the North Central Association.
On June 1, 1959, with 40 buildings standing on a 235-acre
campus and an enrollment of 4,500 students, Central was
renamed Central Michigan University, a designation that
reflected growth in the complexity of the school’s academic
offerings as well as its physical growth in the post-war
period.
Through the sixties, enrollment grew from 4,500 to more than
14,000 students. The enormous rate of growth caused
significant change in the character of the university.
Buildings constructed on the land south of Preston Road more
than doubled the physical size of the campus.
The gift of Neithercut Woodland near Farwell and the
establishment of CMU’s Biological Station on Beaver Island
gave the university valuable facilities for specialized
studies.
The number and variety of programs also grew. Programs in
business and in communications were developed and expanded.
In 1971, the Institute for Personal and Career Development
was established to provide academic programs for students
with limited access to traditional forms of education. The
Specialist in Education degree marked CMU’s entry into
training beyond the Master’s degree level, which now
includes specialist degrees in several disciplines and eight
doctoral degrees.
It was also during this time that the university began to
recruit a national faculty representing a diversity of
geographic and institutional backgrounds and areas of
expertise. The standards set for teaching credentials and
research capabilities in this 15-year period continue to
shape the university today.
CMU
Today
Shaping the Future
Central Michigan University is a nationally distinguished
institution of higher education that enrolls more than 28,000
students and offers more than 200 programs at the bachelor's,
master's, specialist's, and doctoral levels.
CMU's Mount Pleasant campus is home to close to 20,000
students, including a freshman class with a cumulative 3.36
grade point average. Off campus, CMU operates one of the
largest off-campus programs in North America, educating
more than 8,600 students at 60 centers in Michigan and across
the continent. CMU ranks among the top universities in the
nation in the number of degrees awarded to underrepresented
groups.
The Carnegie Foundation recognizes CMU as a
doctoral/research-intensive university that offers a wide
range of baccalaureate and graduate programs and supports
significant faculty and student research, scholarship, and
creative work. The university's dedicated faculty directly
involves students in real-world learning, performance, and
career preparation.
The quality and variety of CMU's academic and extracurricular
activities reflect the university's responsiveness to the
educational, social, and ethical needs of its students and the
society they will serve upon graduation. Many of the
university's academic programs emphasize an interdisciplinary
approach to learning that provides students with broad
experiences and career flexibility.
CMU offers students their choice of 27 degrees through eight
academic divisions:
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College of Business Administration
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College of Communication and Fine Arts
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College of Education and Human Services
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College of Graduate Studies
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College of Humanities and Social and Behavioral Sciences
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College of Science and Technology
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The
Herbert H. And Grace A. Dow College of Health Professions
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CMU Off-Campus Programs
Dedicated Faculty Provide Opportunities for Active Learning
At the heart of CMU's success is its outstanding faculty. CMU
professors bring an excitement to the classroom that is
complemented by scientific research, scholarship, and artistic
endeavors of national and international significance.
CMU students prepare for careers through applied learning and
career experiences. Among respondents to the annual Career
Services survey of graduates, 54 percent said they completed
internships and cooperative work experiences. Eighty-two
percent of students reported they found jobs in their fields
or were accepted into graduate or professional programs,
despite an unfavorable labor market.
Many CMU students also become involved through leadership
training, community service, international study, and
membership in more than 200 on-campus professional clubs and
student organizations.
Programs and Partnerships in Emerging Fields
CMU's commitment to educate students for success in a
competitive and evolving job market involves progressively
developing and fine-tuning interdisciplinary and niche-area
programs. The university recently added new programs in
mechanical and electrical engineering, entrepreneurship,
environmental studies, physician assistant, social work, and
middle-level education. At the doctoral level, CMU expanded
offerings to include online programs in health administration and audiology.
CMU's many innovative educational and research partnerships
provide students with real-world career experiences and
opportunities to help serve emerging needs in society. A few
of many examples:
-
The
university's Center for Applied Research and Technology
provides an environment for students to work alongside
world-renowned researchers and prospective employers on
groundbreaking biotechnology research.
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The
SAP University Alliance trains business students in
the most sophisticated business software in the world.
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The
Software Engineering and Information Technology Institute
provides an environment for students to collaborate with
faculty and global leaders in component-based software
development.
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The
Michigan Water Research Center involves biology
students in assisting public and private organizations with
advanced laboratory and water research services.
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The
Center for Supply Chain Management supports
Michigan's manufacturing community by offering the services
of CMU's faculty and students in the areas of supply chain
management research, consulting, and training.
Diversity Opportunities
CMU's programs prepare students for full participation in a
changing democratic society and for careers in an increasingly
global marketplace. The Office of International Education
offers strong and expanding international programs, and many
on-campus offices and groups support a diversity of ethnic and
cultural events and displays. CMU's Native American Gallery
exhibits the colorful and inspired works of Native Americans
in the Great Lakes area.
New Support for Research, Scholarships, Facilities
The $50 million New Vision of Excellence Campaign for Central
Michigan University is a broadly focused initiative to raise
academic standards, strengthen discovery and creative activity
among faculty and students, and enhance learning environment
facilities and technology. To achieve this New Vision of
Excellence, CMU is reaching out to its many friends, partners,
and 160,000 alumni around the world for private funding
support for student scholarships, faculty and program
endowments, an enhanced campus environment, and ongoing and
special programs.
With increasing funding support, CMU offers many scholarship
programs for top achievers and students with potential in
areas of multicultural advancement and leadership. Two
scholarships - The Centralis Scholar Award and the
Multicultural Advancement Award of Distinction - cover most of
the cost of tuition, room, board, fees, and general expenses.
CMU also awards $1,500 scholarships to all high school seniors
with grade point averages of 3.5 and ACT scores of 20 or
higher. Community college students with as few as 30 credits
and grade point averages of 3.3 or higher receive transfer
scholarships. Top international and Midwestern students
qualify for in-state tuition rates.
CMU offers students exceptional facilities in which to learn.
Recently completed projects include:
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Health Professions Building. The new health professions
building unites CMU's respected health care programs in one
technologically advanced environment that is conducive to
learning, treatment, collaboration and discovery.
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Charles V. Park Library. Central Michigan's newly
remodeled and expanded library is a highly technological
information center with more than 1 million volumes and more
than 400 public computer workstations and 300 available
high-speed network connections for laptops. The Clarke
Historical Library, located along the main corridor of the
library, contains many of Michigan's prized historical
holdings.
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Residence halls. Three new residence halls - Campbell,
Kesseler, and Kulhavi - provide 714 students with
apartment-style living.
Other
construction has included Theunissen Stadium, 2002;
Indoor Athletic Complex, 1999; Kelly/Shorts Stadium
remodeling, 1999; The School of Music Building, 1997.
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