The Catholepistemiad  

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Much of the territory was still wilderness and clearly not the ideal environment for an educational institution.  Still, there were government officials who had a very ambitious plan in mind.  One of them was Judge Augustus B. Woodward, who was appointed by the Governor of the Michigan Territory to set up its first public education system (Sagendorph, 36).  Judge Woodward drew up a plan for a college which he dubbed “Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania” (Shaw, 7).

 

Much of the territory was still wilderness and clearly not the ideal environment for an educational institution.  Still, there were government officials who had a very ambitious plan in mind.  One of them was Judge Augustus B. Woodward, who was appointed by the Governor of the Michigan Territory to set up its first public education system (Sagendorph, 36).  Judge Woodward drew up a plan for a college which he dubbed “Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania” (Shaw, 7).

 

Woodward proved to be very effective in accomplishing this enormous task.  The Judge was an eccentric man, said to be unpredictable, misunderstood, as well as an “uncouth bachelor” (Bordin, 2).  As bad as his behavior was, he had numerous powerful friends in government.  The most important of these, with whom he frequently consulted, was Thomas Jefferson, then President of the United States (Sagendorph, 36).  Woodward’s superior skills as a statesman and educator were among his redeeming qualities which would help him establish the Catholepistemiad.  He had the political muscle to keep the project moving forward and the experience in education to keep it well planned.

Judge Augustus B. Woodward

   

The plan for a public education system was far beyond the territory’s resources at that time.  Yet, in 1817 the first building was erected on Bates Street near Congress Street in Detroit (Bordin, 3).  Within two years an orthodox classical academy was in operation featuring Latin, Greek, French, and English among other subjects (3). The University of Michigan was seeded and growing rapidly.  What contributed to this growth was that the university was one of the first educational institutions in America supported by the citizens of the state (Shaw, 9).  Many of the other colleges and universities of the day were private and maintained by religious denominations.  Here however, the governor and territorial judges levied a 15 percent tax for the support of the college.  This was a new concept in collegiate structuring, but it would prove successful.

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