Central Michigan University
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Central Michigan University (CMU) is a
public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...
research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are "the key sites of Knowledge production modes, knowledge production", along with "intergenerational ...
in
Mount Pleasant, Michigan Mount Pleasant is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is the county seat of Isabella County, which is part of Central Michigan. The population of Mount Pleasant was 21,688 as of the 2020 census. The city is surrounded by Union Char ...
, United States. It was established in 1892 as a private normal school and became a state institution in 1895. CMU is one of the eight research universities in
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
and is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity". It has more than 15,000 students on its Mount Pleasant campus. CMU offers 200 academic programs at the undergraduate, master's, specialist, and doctoral levels. The Central Michigan Chippewas compete in the
NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...
Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...
in six men's and ten women's sports.


History

CMU opened in 1892 as the Central Michigan Normal School and Business Institute. Prof. Charles F. R. Bellows, a
University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
graduate, became the founding principal of the school in June 1892. For the first year, 31 students attended classes in the Carpenter Building in downtown Mount Pleasant. Bellows surveyed the future location of the campus and was involved in the construction of the original Main Building, which opened in September 1893. Within the first two years, land was acquired, and a $10,000 school building was constructed. During Bellows' tenure, he organized a separate Conservatory for Music through his own funds, which became incorporated into the Normal in 1900. He continued to teach as a professor and spoke to teacher groups throughout the State. Bellows also led an advertising effort for the school in order to gain more students. In 1895, the Michigan State Board of Education assumed control of the school, renaming it Central Michigan Normal School. Bellows resigned from Central in the following year. He returned to
Ypsilanti, Michigan Ypsilanti ( ), commonly shortened to Ypsi ( ), is a college town and city located on the Huron River in Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's popu ...
in 1902 to join the faculty of the Michigan State Normal College (now
Eastern Michigan University Eastern Michigan University (EMU, EMich, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern) is a public university, public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1849 as the Michigan State Normal School, it was the fourth normal ...
). By 1918, the campus consisted of 25 acres with five buildings. On June 1, 1959, with 40 buildings now standing on the 235-acre campus and an enrollment of 4,500 students, Central was renamed Central Michigan University. The designation reflected growth in the complexity of the school's academic offerings as well as its physical growth in the post-war period. Enrollment tripled over the next 10 years. In response to the need for doctors to practice in rural areas, CMU opened its medical school in 2010.


Presidents

*Charles F. R. Bellows (1892–1896) * Charles McKenny (1896–1899) *Charles Grawn (1900–1918) * E. C. Warriner (1918–1939) *Charles L. Anspach (1939–1959) *Judson Foust (1959–1968) * William Beaty Boyd (1968–1975) *Harold Abel (1975–1985) *Arthur Emmett Ellis (1985–1988) *Edward B. Jakubauskas (1988–1992) *Leonard E. Plachta (1992–2000) * Michael Rao (2000–2009) *Kathy Wilbur (2009–2010) *George Ross (2010–2018) *Robert Davies (2018–2024) *Neil J. MacKinnon (2024-present)


Organization and administration

Central Michigan University is governed by a board of trustees, whose eight members are appointed by the
Governor of Michigan The governor of Michigan is the head of government of the U.S. state of Michigan. The current governor is Gretchen Whitmer, a member of the Democratic Party, who was inaugurated on January 1, 2019, as the state's 49th governor. She was re-ele ...
with advice and consent of the Michigan Senate for terms of eight years. The board appoints and reviews the President of Central Michigan University, currently Neil J. MacKinnon. Nancy E. Mathews was appointed as Provost and Executive Vice President of Central Michigan University on August 1, 2022, by President Robert O. Davies.


Academics


Undergraduate admissions

CMU is considered "selective" by ''U.S. News & World Report''. For the Class of 2025 (enrolled fall 2021), CMU received 18,517 applications and accepted 14,273 (77.1%). Of those accepted, 1,909 enrolled, a yield rate (the percentage of accepted students who choose to attend the university) of 13.4%. CMU's freshman retention rate is 77%, with 61.7% going on to graduate within six years. Of the 57% of the incoming freshman class who submitted
SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and Test score, scoring have changed several times. For much of its history, it was called the Scholastic Aptitude Test ...
scores; the middle 50 percent Composite scores were 1010–1223. Of the 10% of enrolled freshmen in 2021 who submitted ACT scores; the middle 50 percent Composite score was between 19.25 and 26. Central Michigan University has seen a dramatic decline in enrollment in recent years. Between 2012 and 2022, CMU had a 46% drop in total enrollment.


Academic divisions

CMU has eight academic divisions: * College of Business Administration * College of the Arts and Media * College of Education and Human Services * Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow College of Health Professions * College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences * College of Medicine * College of Science and Engineering * College of Graduate Studies Academic work and research on campus are supported by the resources and services of the
Central Michigan University Libraries The Central Michigan University Libraries consists of the two libraries (the University Library and the Clarke Historical Library) which support Central Michigan University, a public university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. The CMU Libraries meets t ...
. The university also owns and operates the Brooks Astronomical Observatory. The university's neuroscience program was named undergraduate program of the year in 2013 by the Society for Neuroscience. Its most popular undergraduate majors, by 2021 graduates, were: ::Psychology (207) ::Exercise Science and Kinesiology (182) ::Community Organization and Advocacy (155) ::Marketing/Marketing Management (125) ::Cell/Cellular and Molecular Biology (104) ::Child Development (100) The Central Michigan University College of Graduate Studies provides over 70 graduate degree programs at the Master's, Specialist, or Doctoral levels. As of 2024, the university supports 69 public
charter school A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...
s serving 29,000 students across Michigan through its Governor John Engler Center for Charter Schools.


Research

According to the
National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...
, CMU spent $15.6 million on research and development in 2018.


Endowed lectureships

* The Harold Abel Endowed Lecture Series in the Study of Dictatorship, Democracy and Genocide focuses on the effects of historical events such as the Holocaust and mass murders in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Central America. It is named in honor of former CMU President Harold Abel. * The Fleming Lecture Series brings world-class mathematicians to campus. Speakers have included
Fields Medal The Fields Medal is a prize awarded to two, three, or four mathematicians under 40 years of age at the International Congress of Mathematicians, International Congress of the International Mathematical Union (IMU), a meeting that takes place e ...
winners Terence Tao, Sir
Timothy Gowers Sir William Timothy Gowers, (; born 20 November 1963) is a British mathematician. He is the holder of the Combinatorics chair at the Collège de France, a director of research at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Trinity College, Camb ...
, and Cédric Villani; and Abel Prize winners S. R. Srinivasa Varadhan and
Louis Nirenberg Louis Nirenberg (February 28, 1925 – January 26, 2020) was a Canadian-American mathematician, considered one of the most outstanding Mathematical analysis, mathematicians of the 20th century. Nearly all of his work was in the field of par ...
. It was named in honor of mathematics professor Richard Fleming. * The Philip A. Hart and William G. Milliken Endowed Speaker Series for Integrity in Politics focuses on political integrity and challenges students to approach politics in a way that embraces America's diversity of ideas and perspectives, working to supplant negativity and partisanship with creativity and innovation in shaping future public policy. It was named in honor of U.S. Senator Philip Hart and Michigan Governor William Milliken. * The William B. Nolde Lecture Series focuses on intellectual discussions for future leaders both in the military and across the campus and community. It was named in honor of U.S. Army Colonel William Nolde, the last official combat casualty of the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
.


Student life


Residence life

Central Michigan University is home to 21 on-campus residence halls, arranged in four areas throughout the campus. In 2006, the 21st and 22nd residence halls on campus opened in the East complex. In 2019, the university decommissioned and demolished Barnes Hall, which was the oldest serving residence hall and the only one not physically connected to any other. In 2022, the university closed the North Residence Halls. *North Residence Halls: Larzelere, Trout, Calkins, Robinson *South Residence Halls: Beddow, Merrill, Thorpe, Sweeney *East Residence Halls: Saxe, Herrig, Woldt, Emmons; Celani and Fabiano *The Towers: Carey, Cobb, Troutman and Wheeler ("The Original Towers"), Campbell, Kesseler and Kulhavi ("The New Towers") It was announced by the university on March 3, 2022, that Larzelere, Trout, Calkins, and Robinson would be closed during the 2022 Fall semester due to semester enrollment estimates. The majority of CMU residence hall rooms are two-bedroom suites designed for 4 or 5 people. Three of the Original Towers (Cobb, Troutman and Wheeler), nine-story high-rise residence halls designed primarily for freshmen, feature one-bedroom suites for three or four people. The fourth of the Original Towers, Carey, was renovated to double-occupancy rooms in 2020 as a means of managing decreased enrollment. The New Towers, as well as Fabiano and Celani, are designed primarily for upperclassmen, and are four-bedroom suites. Residents of Robinson, Carey, Celani, Fabiano, Campbell, Kesseler and Kulhavi pay an additional charge over the standard room and board rate. Each district is connected to one of four Residential Restaurants. The Towers features the RFoC, or Real Food on Campus, and the East Complex features the Fresh Food Company. Each area also has an after hours snack shop. Some residence halls are designated as official Living Learning Communities, associated with a particular academic department, allowing students who choose to live there opportunities for study and collaboration with other students from similar programs. *Beddow Hall – Business *Herrig Hall – Music *Emmons Hall – Health Professions *Woldt Hall – Science and Engineering *Sweeney Hall – Education and Human Services *Thorpe Hall – Honors Program *Calkins Hall – Leader Advancement Scholars & Public Service Residential Community *Troutman Hall – Multicultural Advancement/Cofer Scholars *Cobb Hall – Public Service *Kulhavi Hall – Transfer Students CMU offers only co-ed residence halls, with Sweeney Hall the last to convert, from females only, in the fall of 2010. Construction began on two more buildings, Celani and Fabiano, near the East Quad in the spring of 2005. The buildings are somewhat similar in design to the New Towers which opened in 2003. On December 1, 2005, one of the buildings was named The Ben and Marion Celani Residence hall to recognize the generosity of Detroit area businessman Thomas Celani and his wife Vicki. On April 20, 2006, the remaining building was named the Fabiano Family Residence Hall, recognizing their contribution to the school. John S. Fabiano served on the board of trustees 1999–2004, and also owns the Fabiano Brothers Inc, an alcohol distribution company. These two new halls opened for the fall semester of 2006, along with a new Residential Restaurant to serve the residents of the six East Area halls.


Greek life

CMU recognizes academic, social, and professional Greek organizations which comply with university rules and regulations such as its anti-hazing policies. Currently, in the social realm, there consists of 9 fraternities and 11 sororities. Other Greek life organizations that pertain to honoCe, degrees, and multicultural backgrounds have formed as well throughout the years. Each is unique to their own roots, and provides a great networking opportunity for students at the university.


Campus safety

On March 2, 2018, 19-year-old student James Eric Davis Jr. shot and killed his mother and father when they came to campus to take him home for spring break. After the shooting, Davis fled and the campus was placed on lockdown. Around 15 hours later, police arrested him and took him to a local hospital. The incident disrupted the travel plans of students and campus activities for several days. Davis was charged with two counts of
murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...
and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm used to commit murder, and was later determined to be not guilty by reason of insanity and committed to a psychiatric institution.


Media

The campus' student-run newspaper is ''Central Michigan Life''. The paper is published every Thursday during the academic year and www.cm-life.com, which receives 1 million page views per year, is updated daily. ''CM Life'' was named one of the top three non-daily newspapers in the nation for 2007, 2018, 2019 by the
Society of Professional Journalists The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is the oldest organization representing journalists in the United States. It was established on April 17, 1909, at DePauw University,2009 SPJ Annual Report, lette ...
. It also was named the best college newspaper in Division I in
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
eight of the past 10 years. ''CM Life'' has been named winner of the National Pacemaker Awards by Associated Collegiate Press in 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1989, 1990, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016, 2019. It also was a finalist for the first time for an online Pacemaker in 2010. CM-Life has come in first place for the Best College Media Company in the nation seven years in a row (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020) by College Media Business and Advertising Managers organization. There are also two student-run
college radio Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produced ...
stations, FM 91.5 WMHW-FM and FM 101.1, a student produced newscast, News Central 34, and a student-run college television station MHTV. In 2005, a student-operated music label called Moore Media Records (MMR) was established. In addition, the university owns and operates WCMU-TV, the region's PBS station, and WCMU-FM, the NPR affiliate. Both stations serve most of Northern Michigan, including the eastern Upper Peninsula, through a network of repeater stations. Also established in 2003 is White Pine Music, the recording label of the CMU School of Music. On February 2, 2008, Central Michigan University's online magazine, Grand Central Magazine, was launched. Currently updated weekly, the magazine is run through CMU's Department of Journalism and features magazine style features from the world of sports, entertainment, style, technology and travel. In September 2022, Central Michigan University's Department of Fashion Merchandising and Design launched Verge Magazine, a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is entirely run by Central Michigan students. The magazine is offered in a digital format through the Verge Magazine website, as well as physical copies that are available for purchase. As of December 2023, Verge magazine has released seven issues and over five hundred physical copies have sold.


Athletics

The school's athletics programs are affiliated with
NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...
. CMU was a member of the Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference from 1950 to 1970. Almost all Central Michigan teams compete in the
Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...
; the one exception until recently was the women's lacrosse team, newly elevated from club to full varsity status for the 2015–2016 school year. It competed in the
Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Southern Conference College football, football teams c ...
for a time, but joined the MAC for the 2021 season. The football program is known for producing players such as Antonio Brown and Joe Staley. Before moving up to Division I, the football team won its second
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
Division II national championship in 1974 by defeating the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens 54 to 14. Notable Division I years include 1994, 2006, 2007, and 2009 when they won the MAC Football Championship Game. In 2009, they finished the season ranked #23 in the final AP Poll and #24 in the final Coaches Poll marking the first time that a CMU football team had ever ended the season ranked in the Top 25 at the NCAA Division I-FBS level. Since 2014, the football program has made a college bowl game, and continues to see its players set MAC records yearly. Frequently defeating both the Michigan Wolverines and the Michigan State Spartans in dual meets, CMU's wrestling team won its 10th straight MAC championship and seventh straight conference tournament title in 2008. The Chippewas tied for seventh at the NCAA Championships, scoring a school-record 69 points. Four individuals earned All-America honors. The women's basketball program has excelled to new levels. In 2018, the team made its way to the Sweet Sixteen of the
NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament The NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, sometimes referred to as Women's March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 women's college basketball teams from the Div ...
. The team beat the LSU Lady Tigers and the Ohio State Buckeyes in the first two rounds, only to lose to the Oregon Ducks in the third. In 1958, the men's swimming and diving team was runner-up to the North Central at the second annual NAIA national meet, which was held in
Muncie, Indiana Muncie ( ) is a city in Delaware County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It is located in East Central Indiana about northeast of Indianapolis. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 65,195, down from 70,085 in the 2010 c ...
. In May 2020, the university discontinued its men's track and field program as part of budget cuts caused by the coronavirus pandemic. In June of the same year, CMU announced it had received a waiver from the
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
Division I Council that would allow the football program to remain in the Football Bowl Subdivision and give the school two years to bring the total number of men's programs up to FBS compliance.


Notable alumni

File:Dan Kildee official photo.jpg, U.S. representative Dan Kildee File:Brenda Lawrence official portrait.jpg, U.S. representative Brenda Lawrence File:Matt Bevin.jpg, 62nd governor of
Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
Matt Bevin File:Dan Majerle GCU (cropped).JPG, Former NBA All-Star and coach of the Grand Canyon Antelopes Dan Majerle File:William F Kernan.jpg, Four-star general William Kernan File:JimmyRoss.jpeg, Four-star general Jimmy Ross File:Anthony Zinni.jpg, Anthony Zinni, United States Marine Corps general File:LTG Lanze, CG I Corps.jpg, Stephen Lanza, United States Army lieutenant general


Notes


References


External links

* *
Central Michigan University athletics website
{{Authority control Public universities and colleges in Michigan Education in Isabella County, Michigan Medical schools in Michigan Universities and colleges established in 1892 1892 establishments in Michigan Buildings and structures in Isabella County, Michigan Tourist attractions in Isabella County, Michigan Universities and colleges accredited by the Higher Learning Commission