The University of Michigan was founded in 1817 as a public institution, a concept for which there were few models. What makes a university public? What should it look like? Whom should it serve? Who should have access to its resources, and where should those resources come from?

This exhibit explores how students, faculty, staff, politicians, and citizens have attempted to answer these questions. These stories invite us to imagine U-M's future as a public university based on what we know about its past.

Exhibit team: Jonathan Farr, Nora Krinitsky, Michelle McClellan, Gregory Parker, Emily Price, Kate Silbert

This LSA Bicentennial Theme Semester event is presented with support from the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts and the University of Michigan Bicentennial Office. Additional support provided by the Department of History and the Eisenberg Institute for Historical Studies.