University of Michigan. College of Literature, Science, and the Arts

Consult the finding aid for College of Literature, Science and the Arts (University of Michigan) Records.

The College of Literature, Science and the Arts (LS&A) commenced classes at the University of Michigan in 1841 as the Department of LS&A. The faculty consisted of two professors, the Reverend George P. Williams, and the Reverend Joseph Whiting. Together they offered study in rhetoric, grammar, Latin and Greek literature and antiquities, algebra, geometry, surveying, natural science, ancient history, and Greek philosophy. Enrollment was seven; a decade later it stood at 57 and the faculty at six.

University President Henry Tappan (1852-1863) endeavored to create a university based on the Prussian model, with the sciences and humanities combined in one school. Innovations undertaken by Tappan included introducing a bachelor of science degree as an alternative to the traditional bachelor of arts degree and providing the opportunity for students to elect courses during their senior year. Professorships in zoology, moral and intellectual philosophy, chemistry and logic, rhetoric, and history were added in the 1850s.

The 1860s continued to see a rise in enrollment. In 1870 women enrolled in the University of Michigan for the first time. By June of 1871, 14 women had entered LS&A. President James B. Angell, who served as president from 1871 to 1909, continued to refine the curriculum based on the Prussian model as originally introduced by Tappan. By the 1878/79 academic year, LS&A seniors could elect half their courses. In addition Angell introduced graduation requirements based on credits: 24 courses were required to earn a bachelor of arts, and 26 were required to earn a bachelor of philosophy, bachelor of science, or a bachelor of letters. The bachelor of letters degree was introduced in 1878.

Graduate work was introduced in LS&A by President Tappan, under the title "university courses." Students were able to receive a masters degree or doctorate by engaging in two or three years of post graduate work and completing exams. In 1912 the graduate school at the University of Michigan was created as an administrative unit separate from LS&A.

An education curriculum was added to LS&A in 1879, when a chair in the science and art of teaching was established. Speech and oratory were introduced to the curriculum in 1884 and LS&A established the first department of speech in the United States in 1892.

From 1841 to 1874 the LS&A faculty elected a president to oversee the department. Henry S. Frieze was elected the first dean of LS&A in 1875, a post in which he served until 1889, excluding the two years he spent as acting president of the university. Martin L. D'Ooge was the first officially appointed dean of LS&A; he was elected by the faculty and his appointment was also approved by the Regents. In the very early years of the school, administrative functions were handled by the university president's office. Even after the official appointment of D'Ooge, the dean was, in effect, an assistant to the president in matters pertaining to LS&A, and mostly concentrated on admissions.

Richard Hudson succeeded D'Ooge as dean in 1897. Hudson was the first dean appointed by the Board of Regents without requiring faculty approval. As LS&A grew, President Angell gave up his active participation in its affairs, retaining only his position as presiding officer at faculty meetings. When John O. Reed became dean in 1907 the administration of LS&A rested completely with the dean. By 1921, an assistant dean was appointed to help in administrative functions.

Graduation requirements were modified in 1912. These new requirements, like those of the 1878/79 academic year, pointed the way toward the present college curriculum. Students were required to take 12 credits in three different academic groupings (later known as distribution requirements) for a complete undergraduate education. For the first time, 120 credit hours were required to graduate and letter grades were established.

The Department of LS&A became the College of LS&A on January 1, 1916. In the twentieth century, many departments that originated in the College of LS&A became autonomous schools, including the School of Forestry in 1902, the School of Business Administration in 1924, and the School of Education in 1921. In 1923, the Department of Geology divided into the Geology and Geography Departments. In 1924/25, a Department of Library Science was added. A Department of Anthropology was initiated in 1928. One year later the Department of Philosophy separated into two departments, Philosophy and Psychology. The Department of Economics and Sociology also divided, and a Department of Journalism was added. Honors courses were first introduced in 1925 providing qualified students with concentrated study in English and history.

Significant changes in LS&A occurred during 1931 with the introduction of a program of concentrated study. The first two years of study were to focus on a liberal arts education, while the last two years were to be spent in concentrated study for the specific degree program chosen. These changes resulted in a need for academic counseling, given the continued expansion in courses and fields of study. Under the administration of the dean, the college created counseling services for underclassmen and departments took on counseling of students in their upperclass specialization.

Upon the death of Dean John R. Effinger in 1933, who had served since 1912, the administration of LS&A was restructured. A temporary executive committee of five faculty members was appointed to perform administrative functions. In September 1933 the regents approved a college reorganization which allowed for the dean to be assisted by an executive committee of six members appointed by the president from a panel selected by the LS&A faculty. The executive committee was charged with investigating and formulating educational and instructional policies for consideration by the faculty and acting for the college in matters of budget, promotion, and appointment.

During Dean Edward Kraus' tenure (1933-1945) a system of faculty evaluations proposed by the local chapter of the American Association of University Professors was adopted. The evaluations included an annual record of each faculty member's publications, student comments on the professor's teaching, and a report on each individual faculty member's professional competence by departmental committees.

In 1940 LS&A boasted 4,895 students and over 300 faculty members, a far cry from the original seven students and two instructors of a century earlier. LS&A also taught 60% of the total educational load at the University of Michigan in 1940.

With the appointment of Dean Hayward Keniston in 1945, an attempt was made to improve faculty morale, to continue to maintain an outstanding faculty, and to create higher standards for both teaching and research. An increase in faculty salaries of 20% to 25% was approved by the regents. Other matters of concern to LS&A administrators were obtaining more research space and better equipment. Dean Keniston also undertook the job of accommodating the returning veterans from World War II. A committee examined curriculum revisions to meet the needs of the more mature students and consulted with experts and other academic institutions to help in planning for their enrollment. Recommendations included reorganizing the art and archeology departments, combining the Greek and Latin departments into a classics department, and developing five year plans for each department. Administratively, two associate deans were appointed to handle problems of counseling, curriculum, and personnel.

In 1948 the faculty adopted guidelines on evaluation for promotion. The three criteria adopted were teaching, scholarship, and service, especially student counseling. 1949 saw greater cooperation between departments to encourage interdisciplinary work. Department loyalty had sometimes mitigated against the success of some of the innovative interdisciplinary programs introduced after the war, including great books, linguistics, and several five year plans of study such as chemistry and civil engineering. Departments were also opened up administratively with the elimination of department heads and the introduction of chairmen, who were appointed for specified terms.

During Dean Odegaard's tenure (1952-1958), enrollment increased by 34% as LS&A generated 53% of the credit hours on the Ann Arbor campus. Research was fostered by integrating museums and the Institute for Social Research into the college departments that best suited their disciplines. The undergraduate library was also established, enhancing the undergraduate learning experience.

In 1964 a long range planning committee was formed to study the future of the college. LS&A continued to grow faster than the university at large. In 1965 a computer and communications science department was established. In 1968 the Department of Statistics was created and the Department of Library Science became a professional school separate from LS&A.

In the 1970s many new educational concepts were introduced to meet student demands to control their own education. The Residential College (RC), originally established in 1967, took on a larger role in LS&A. The RC is a four-year degree-granting college within the College of LS&A, devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was conceived as a small college with enrollment not to exceed 1,200 students to help combat the impersonality of a college as large as LS&A. The original concept called for educational innovation and interdisciplinary studies to be taught in a mixture of small seminars, large lectures, independent study, and frequent meetings with faculty.

Another innovation was the creation of a bachelor of general studies program in which students could tailor their own educational program. Undergraduate education was also enhanced by the introduction of the Course Mart curriculum, designed to overcome the rigidity of the traditional departmental curriculum by creating courses not available elsewhere in the university. Other innovations included peer counseling, more interdisciplinary courses, and mini courses offered for one credit. While some of these innovations continue to be active, Course Mart and mini-courses have slowly lost the interest of students over the years. Much of the decline in interest was attributed to greater flexibility within academic departments to offer different courses and to an increase in interdisciplinary studies. New interdisciplinary programs created included the Women's Studies Program (1973), the Program in Film and Video Studies (1975), and the American Institutes Program (1983), which later became the Program in American Culture.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s an emphasis was placed on recruitment and retention of minority students and faculty. Minority enrollment stood at ten percent in 1971, an increase over previous years. One program to increase minority enrollments was the Opportunity Program, organized in 1963 to provide scholarships and support services for disadvantaged students. The Center for Afro-American and African studies was established in 1970, in response to student demands.

Two issues of concern to LS&A administration in the 1970s were increasing class size caused by budget constraints and the increasing use of graduate student teaching assistants. At times up to 40% of underclass instruction was provided by teaching assistants. Freshman seminars, small courses taught by faculty members, were introduced in 1976. Unfortunately they were unable to reach a majority of new students.

A major area of concern to faculty within LS&A is the tension between research and teaching. Incentives have been added to improve the quality of teaching, such as university wide teaching awards.

From the mid 1970s and into the 1980s the college faced budget difficulties. At times freezes were put on faculty hiring, and both long term and short term planning became critical in order to prioritize allocation of available resources. A main concern for the LS&A administration was keeping pace with faculty salaries at peer institutions in order to retain and strengthen the faculty. Due to resource reallocation the Department of Geography was discontinued in 1980/81. An LS&A Office of College Development was established to coordinate fundraising in 1978. Also, a greater emphasis was placed on obtaining funds through research grants. Between 1979/80 and 1983/84, sponsored research in the social and natural sciences increased 56%.

Undergraduate education in LS&A underwent a transformation in the early 1990s. The Undergraduate Initiative was developed and designed with the goal of improving and advancing the quality of the undergraduate experience. Class sizes were reduced, residential learning communities were developed, and introductory courses were revamped. New initiatives included Theme Semesters, which brought together faculty and students from a variety of disciplines around a significant topic, and the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP), which enabled students to work with professors on original research projects.

The residential learning communities became known as Michigan Learning Communities. The first ones established were the Pilot Program and the Residential College in the 1960's. However, during the 1990's additional Living-Learning Communities were developed to foster learning in the context of smaller communities within a growing university. Some of the programs included the Invention and Creativity Program in Bursley Hall, the 21st Century Program at Mary Markley Hall, the Society and Health Program in Couzens Hall, the Lloyd hall Scholars Program in Alice Lloyd Hall. Also included among the programs are the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP), Science and Mathematics, Women in Science and Engineering (WISE), Gender and Leadership, Democracy and Diversity, Residential College, and the Honors Program at Mosher-Jordan Hall, Barbour-Newberry, Stockwell Hall, South and East Quadrangle.

In the year 2001, the College of Literature, Science and the Arts, one of the largest liberal arts colleges in the United States, was comprised of more than 104 academic programs and six museums.