University of Michigan–Flint

History

Flint Senior College (1956–1964)

Former Flint mayor C.S. Mott first suggested bringing a full university to Flint in a meeting with then-President Alexander Ruthven in 1946. Mott pledged to give $1 million to the project if the voters would pass a $7 million bond issue. The University of Michigan initially opposed Mott's idea but, ultimately, agreed to create the Flint Senior College of the University of Michigan as an extension of the existing Flint Junior College (now Mott Community College), while the colleges remained separate institutions.

Although it was founded in 1956, three years before the establishment of the Dearborn Center (now University of Michigan–Dearborn), the Flint Senior College was not the first branch of the University of Michigan ever established. The University of Michigan, established in 1817, historically held central authority and was granted the power to establish schools, colleges, and branches throughout the Territory of Michigan. The initial branch was established in Pontiac in the 1830s, and additional branches were subsequently opened in Kalamazoo, Detroit, Niles, Tecumseh, White Pigeon, and Romeo. The University of Michigan anticipated that these branches would eventually transition into independent colleges and universities once they had matured enough to operate as standalone entities.

For a number of years, the college shared the Court Street campus with Flint Junior College. This campus was part of the Flint Cultural Center with major donations from many Flint business leaders. Original donors included the Sponsors Fund of Flint and William Ballenger. The first building constructed in 1954 was The Ballenger Field House.

In February 1956, David M. French was named the first dean of the Flint Senior College. The college began classes in 1956 with 118 full-time and 49 part-time students. Degrees were offered in liberal arts and sciences and in the professional fields of education and business administration. The college's first class graduated in 1958.

Flint College (1964–1971)

The college became a four-year institution in 1964 and added its first freshman class the following year. The name was changed to Flint College of the University of Michigan.

University of Michigan–Flint (1971–present)

In 1970, Flint College received its own accreditation independent from the main campus in Ann Arbor, from the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. In 1971, the Regents officially changed the name of the institution to the University of Michigan-Flint. The Regents later named William E. Moran as the first chancellor of the university. Two schools were formed at Flint in 1975, the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Management.

The community and city assisted UM–Flint in acquiring 42 acres along the Flint River. $5 million over five years was pledged towards a new campus in 1972 by the C.S. Mott Foundation. During September 1972, sixteen temporary buildings were erected to ease campus overcrowding, pressuring the Regents to move UM-Flint to its current location along the Flint River.

Willson Park at University of Michigan–Flint]]

On September 1, 1973, the Regents passed the plans for the first building by Sedgewick-Sellers & Associates, originally planned for a site at Lapeer Road and Court Street. Instead, the first building was moved to a site on the Flint River, the current campus location. The university acquired the Ross House and the Hubbard Building. Its ground breaking ceremony was held on May 9, 1974, at the Willson Park bandstand. While, the Harding Mott University Center (UCen) was finished that same year and the Recreation Center in 1982.

William S. Murchie Science Building was completed in 1988.

University Pavilion

Early 1990s (as University Pavilion) Mixed-use (Early 1990s–present) University of Michigan-Flint (University Pavilion conversion)

The Water Street Pavilion was a festival marketplace in Flint, Michigan, that has failed and closed after only five years in operation. It was developed by the Enterprise Development Company, a subsidiary of the Enterprise Foundation, founded by James Rouse after he retired from The Rouse Company in 1979. The Enterprise Development Company was founded specifically to bring The Rouse Company's festival marketplace concept to smaller cities like Flint, Michigan. Despite the name Water Street Pavilion, it is not on Water Street, but rather named after it. Its name is also a reference to the Harborplace pavilions in Baltimore, Maryland with similar names, specifically the Pratt and Light Street Pavilions.

It once housed over 60 local tenants, but the majority of them closed in the late 1980s. It was famously featured in Roger & Me in 1989 as a symbol of failed development. The pavilion closed permanently as a festival marketplace in September 1990.

In 1991, UM-Flint took over ownership of the Water Street Pavilion as the University Pavilion keeping restaurants there while moving in administrative offices. The library moved to its own building in 1994 with the completion of the Frances Willson Thompson Library. The 25 acre site across the river on the north side was acquired in 1997. Northbank Center was acquired in 1998.

While University Pavilion is no longer a festival marketplace, some of its current shopping and dining tenants include a Barnes & Noble bookstore, Subway, Jilly's Pizza, Sportlite Grill, Shawarma Bite, and O'Blendz.

The University Pavilion was renovated in September 2018, which involved removing the escalators due to costly maintenance, and it creates more open space for the dining area. The roof of the pavilion has also been refurbished to add new walking paths for workers and others in the area. Signs were also added to navigate people to the stairwells.

In 1989, the School of Health Professions and Studies was formed and later renamed the College of Health Sciences in 2018. The School of Education and Human Services was formed in 1997.

Juan E. Mestas (1999–2007)

In September 1999, Juan E. Mestas began his tenure as the fifth chancellor of UM-Flint. Halo Burger returned to the campus in September 2002 only to be forced out due to on-campus housing food regulations in 2008.

Ruth Person (2008–2014)

Ruth Person became chancellor in 2008. The first on-campus dorms, First Street Residence Hall, were completed in 2008. The School of Management moved to a leased floor of the Riverfront Residence Hall in early 2013 from the White Building at renovation cost of $5.3 million. In 2013, Person's five-year term was up and was extended for a year to 2014.

Susan E. Borrego (2014–2019)

In August 2014, Susan E. Borrego began as chancellor. On October 15, 2015, University Board of Regents approved the purchase of the 160,000-square-foot, 10-story north tower building of the Citizens Banking Buildings from FirstMerit Bank for $6 million expected to close in March 2016. In mid-December 2015, the Uptown Reinvestment Corporation donated the Riverfront Residence Hall and Banquet Center to the university with the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation forgiving the remaining redevelopment loan for the center. On October 20, 2016, the Regents formed the School of Nursing from the Department of Nursing in the School of Health Professions and Studies. The Harrison Street Annex, at Kearsley and Harrison Streets in the Harrison Street parking structure, has been remodeled to be the university's engineering design studio.

Debasish Dutta (2019–2023)

In 2019, Susan E. Borrego resigned as chancellor after 5 years, and was succeeded by Debasish Dutta in July. Dutta was formally installed as the university's ninth chancellor in August 2019.

Organization

Administration

UM–Flint, historically a branch of the University of Michigan, has operated under the policies of the Board of Regents of the University of Michigan since its accreditation in 1970. The Board of Regents, as the governing body, is responsible for the appointment of the university president, who presides over the Board's meetings but does not have voting rights. Instead of directly managing the university's operations, the university president recommends the appointment of a chancellor, who is subject to approval by the Board of Regents and is tasked with overseeing the day-to-day administrative duties of the university as its chief executive officer.

List of chancellors

• William E. Moran (1971 – 1979)
• Conny E. Nelson (1980-1984)
• Clinton B. Jones (1984-1994)
• Charlie Nelms (1994-1999)
• Juan E. Mestas (September 1999 – July 2007)
• Ruth Person (August 2008 – July 2014)
• Susan E. Borrego (August 2014 – July 2019)
• Debasish Dutta (August 2019 – September 2023)
• Donna Fry (Interim) (August 2023 – June 2024)
• Laurence B. Alexander (July 2024 - present)

Faculty governance

The UM-Flint faculty governance comprises three bodies: the Faculty Congress, Faculty Senate, and Faculty Senate Council. The Faculty Senate's actions are effective unless revoked by the Faculty Congress. The campus has three representatives to the Senate Assembly, which has 77 members represtentign all three campuses.

Finances

The university's FY 2022–23 operating budget of $141.7 million has four major sources of funding: the General Fund ($116.5 million), the Expendable Restricted Funds ($20.7 million), the Auxiliary Funds ($4 million), and the Designated Funds ($480,000). The Office of Budget and Planning reports that student tuition and fees are the largest funding source, contributing $90.8 million to the General Fund, which accounts for 64.07% of the total operating budget. In the fiscal year 2022–23, the State of Michigan provided $25.2 million to the university, which represents 17.79% of its total operating budget. Revenue from government sponsored programs contributed $14.5 million to the Expendable Restricted Funds, accounting for 10.23% of the total operating budget.

Schools and colleges

The university's schools and colleges include the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), College of Health Sciences (CHS), School of Education & Human Services (SEHS), School of Management (SOM), School of Nursing (SON) and College of Innovation and Technology (CIT).

Academics

Undergraduate admissions

The 2022 annual ranking of U.S. News & World Report categorizes UM-Flint as "more selective". For the Class of 2025 (enrolled fall 2021), UM-Flint received 4,021 applications and accepted 2,970 (73.9%). Of those accepted, 495 enrolled, a yield rate (the percentage of accepted students who choose to attend the university) of 16.7%.{{cite web |url=https://www.umflint.edu/ia/campus-statistics/common-data-set/ |title=UMF Common Data Set

The enrolled first-year class of 2025 had the following standardized test scores: the middle 50% range (25th percentile-75th percentile) of SAT scores was 1020-1250, while the middle 50% range of ACT scores was 21-29.

Undergraduate graduation and retention

UM-Flint's freshman retention rate is 70.19%, with 35% going on to graduate within six years. The eight-year graduation rate at UM-Flint is 49%, with a withdrawal rate of 46%. For Pell Grant recipients, who make up nearly half of the undergraduate population, the graduation and withdrawal rates are 52% and 43%, respectively.

Programs

There are 138 majors/concentrations that apply to 12 Bachelor's degrees and 43 graduate majors/concentrations. UM-Flint also offers graduate degrees including master's degrees, Professional Doctorals, and Ph.D. degrees. Its most popular undergraduate majors, in terms of 2021 graduates, were registered nursing/registered Nurse (319), psychology (98), health/health care administration/Management (52), accounting (41), biology/biological Sciences (36), business administration & management (33), computer science (32), mechanical engineering (31).

The university offers an ABET-accredited mechanical engineering undergraduate degree through the College of Innovation and Technology.

Rankings and accreditation

UM-Flint is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) of Colleges and Schools. Program-level accreditation is maintained by many programs in affiliation with: the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, the American Chemical Society, Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs, the Association to Advance Collegiate School of Business – International, Association of University Programs in Health Administration, the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education, Commission on Accreditation in Respiratory Care, the Commission of Collegiate Nursing Education, the Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, the Council on Accreditation for Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs, the Council on Social Work Education, the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology, Michigan Department of Education, the National Association for the Education of Young Children and the National Association of Schools of Music.

The Princeton Review included UM-Flint in the "Best Midwestern" category in their publication 2020 Best Colleges: Region by Region. They also included UM-Flint's School of Management as one of the Best Business Schools in their 2017 publication. The Part-Time MBA Program was ranked 41st in the United States (overall) and ninth in the Midwest (by region) in 2010 by BusinessWeek.

Employment outcomes

The U.S. Department of Education reports that as of 2024, federally aided students attending UM-Flint 10 years after they began their studies had a median annual income of $53,230 (based on 2020-2021 earnings adjusted to 2022 dollars), exceeding U.S. real median personal income ($40,460) for 2021 adjusted to 2022 dollars.

The highest-earning (median) fields of study for federally aided students include:

• Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing - Master's Degree ($146,740/yr)
• Business Administration, Management and Operations - Master's Degree ($105,079/yr) The five highest earning undergraduate fields of study for federally aided students at UM-Flint are:
• Computer Science - Bachelor's Degree ($90,852/yr)
• Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing - Bachelor's Degree ($85,657/yr)
• Mechanical Engineering - Bachelor's Degree ($83,494/yr)
• Finance and Financial Management Services - Bachelor's Degree ($76,488/yr)
• Accounting and Related Services - Bachelor's Degree ($65,566/yr)

Student life

On-campus housing

In November 2004, the Board of Regents of the University of Michigan approved the request of the Flint Campus to explore the feasibility of student housing. After several assessments, studies, and surveys showing the probable progression of growth of the campus, student housing was approved. The first-ever student dormitory, the First Street Residence Hall, opened to students in fall 2008.

In December 2015, Uptown Reinvestment Corporation donated the Riverfront Residence Hall, a privately owned high-rise building that houses both UM-Flint and Baker College students, to the university. The 16-story Residence Hall can house up to 500 students.

Student organizations

There are over 100 recognized student organizations and 8 Sponsored Student Organizations (SSOs). They are organizations for various academic departments, religions, and cultural backgrounds, as well as organizations for honors, club sports, social fraternities and sororities, service groups, and special interests.

University sponsored organizations include:

• The Michigan Times, the student newspaper of the University of Michigan–Flint.
• Black Student Union
• Campus Activities Board
• College Panhellenic Association
• Interfraternity Council
• National Pan-Hellenic Council
• Qua Literary and Fine Arts Magazine
• Student Government

Greek life

The university is home to several fraternities and sororities:

Sororities:

• Delta Sigma Theta
• Sigma Gamma Rho
• Zeta Phi Beta
• Phi Sigma Sigma
• Sigma Sigma Sigma
• Theta Phi Alpha Fraternities:
• Alpha Phi Alpha
• Kappa Alpha Psi
• Phi Beta Sigma
• Alpha Sigma Phi
• Kappa Sigma
• Theta Chi

Radio station

The school owns WFUM (91.1 FM), a public radio station affiliated with the Michigan Radio network.

Student newspaper

The Michigan Times was a student-run campus newspaper at University of Michigan–Flint. It was founded in 1959 and casually referred to on and around campus as "The M-Times." Notable alumni staff members include filmmaker Michael Moore and American Idol finalist LaKisha Jones. The newspaper was printed weekly and available free-of-cost on campus, at other area colleges, in the surrounding downtown area and elsewhere in the Greater Flint area. In March 2024, the Flint Expatriates blog reported The Michigan Times was "sunsetting" and will cease operations. It lost funding from student activity fees at the end of the 2023-2024 academic year due to lack of student interest. If students want to relaunch the publication in the future, it will have to be a volunteer-only organization responsible for its own fundraising.

Student government

The University of Michigan–Flint Student Government represents the students and manages student funds on the campus. Student Government is a member of the statewide Association of Michigan Universities.

Athletics

The university's athletic teams have competed as Wolverines, while an unofficial student vote in 2009 selected The Victors to avoid confusion with the Michigan Wolverines. The teams share the nickname "Wolverines" with several other collegiate athletic teams, such as the Michigan Wolverines, the Michigan–Dearborn Wolverines, the Utah Valley Wolverines, the Morris Brown Wolverines, and the Grove City Wolverines.

While the university does not offer any varsity intercollegiate athletics, there are a number of club sport teams and intramural sports leagues available to students. Current Club Sports include:

• Men's & Women's Basketball
• Cheer
• Men's Ice Hockey
• Men's & Women's Soccer
• Women's Volleyball
• Softball
• Baseball

In 2013, the men's ice hockey team earned a spot in the ACHA Division III National Tournament for the first time, eventually advancing to the National Championship Game against fellow Michigan Collegiate Hockey Conference foe Adrian Bulldogs. In 2015, the women's hockey team went 18–0 in conference play.

Football was previously offered as a club sport, before financial shortfalls led to the discontinuation of the NCFA club in 2015.

Notable faculty and alumni

• Jim Ananich – Michigan Senate minority leader
• Deborah Cherry – former Michigan state senator
• John D. Cherry – 62nd lieutenant governor of Michigan
• Bobby Crim – former Michigan Speaker of the House and state representative and founder of the Crim Festival of Races
• Christopher Paul Curtis (2000) – writer and Newbery Medal winner
• Erin Darke – actress
• Mona Haydar – rapper, poet, activist and chaplain
• LaKisha Jones – singer, American Idol contestant
• Michael Moore – documentary film director, author
• Don Riegle (1960) – United States Senator from Michigan
• Marietta S. Robinson – former commissioner of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
• John Sinclair (1964) – poet, political activist
• Tim Sneller – member of the Michigan House of Representatives from the 50th district
• Woodrow Stanley – former Michigan state representative, Mayor of Flint
• Phil Phelps - former Michigan state representative
• Rob Paulsen - voice-over artist

References

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