University of Michigan. College of Architecture and Urban Planning

The Act of 1837, which established a state university at Ann Arbor, numbered among its provisions one for the appointment of a professor of civil engineering and architecture. However, it was not until 1876 that William LeBaron Jenney was appointed as the first professor of architecture and design. In that year, one-third of the legislature's appropriation for the School of Mines was set aside for the establishment of a Department of Architecture and Design. In its first year, the program attracted seven students, and appeared to be off to a good start. Unfortunately, the initial two-year appropriation was not renewed and Jenney's classes were not held after 1877.

During the next twenty years, much interest was expressed, both within and outside the university, in resuming an architectural studies program. Finally, in 1905, the Board of Regents approved the establishment of a chair of architecture within the Department of Engineering, and in 1906 Emil Lorch was appointed professor of architecture. Even in its earliest years, it was the strong desire of the unit to establish a separate Department of Architecture rather than remain a subdepartment of the Department of Engineering. A first step toward the achievement of this goal was made in 1913, when the unit was granted administrative control over itself. In 1915, the separate but related status of the Departments of Architecture and Engineering was formalized, with the establishment of the Colleges of Engineering and Architecture composed of those two departments. In 1931, a separate College of Architecture was set up as an autonomous unit of the university. Emil Lorch was named Director of the College. He continued in this position until his retirement in 1936. In 1937, Wells Ira Bennett assumed the directorship; his title was changed in 1938 to Dean of the College. He served in this capacity until 1957.

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