University of Michigan. Department of Biology

For background of this unit, please consult the history found in the University of Michigan Department of Biology manuscript finding aid immediately preceding the publications finding aid.

The beginnings of the Department of Biology can be traced to 1875, when separate lectures in biology evolved from the Departments of Botany and Zoology. Instruction in botany and zoology at the University of Michigan began in the 1840s, several years after the appointment of the university's first professor of botany and zoology in 1838. Botany and zoology were initially taught by the same professors, but separate departments were established in 1879. In order to promote closer communication between members of the biology faculty and the administration of the University, an informal group called the Division of the Biological Sciences was formed in 1948. The division helped to coordinate research and other activities of related departments, schools, and colleges. In 1975, the Regents authorized the formal creation of the Division of Biological Sciences, as an administrative unit within the College of Literature, Sciences, and the Arts. The new division was responsible for the coordination of curricula and research in the various disciplines of the biological sciences. On July 1, 1986, the Division of Biological Sciences became the Department of Biology.

Department of Biology (established 1986) of the University of Michigan, and of its predecessor unit, the Division of Biological Sciences, and the departments (Botany and Zoology) that comprised the division.

Department of Biology (established 1986) of the University of Michigan, and of its predecessor unit, the Division of Biological Sciences, and the departments (Botany and Zoology) that comprised the division.