Sustainable LSA History
What has LSA done through the years to expand knowledge on sustainability? What actions have we taken to pursue carbon neutrality? Explore from the late 19th century to present day to see what LSA has been up to. Please note this is a growing list of actions. If you have an achievement you would like to see on this list, please contact us.
1841
The Literary Department at the University of Michigan is established and later becomes the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts.
1854
The Judy and Stanley Frankel Detroit Observatory is built and is a hub for leading American astronomers.
1881
The University of Michigan becomes the first university in the United States to offer courses in forestry.
The first museum building is opened and is home to a “cabinet” of specimens purchased by the Board of Regents in 1847, creating the University Museum.
1907
Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum is established by the Board of Regents after receiving a gift of land from Walter and Esther Nichols, Professor George Burns, the Detroit Edison Company, and the city of Ann Arbor.
1909
The University of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS) is established after obtaining nearly 10,000 acres from lumber barons. Today, the land is reforested, a haven for numerous species, and is a hub for cross-disciplinary natural research.
1913
The Museum of Zoology is established but dates back to 1837 when the State of Michigan created the State Geological Survey which took an inventory of flora, fauna, and fossils.
1922
The Museum of Anthropological Archaeology is established with origins dating back to 1837.
1926
The Museum of Paleontology is established but dates back to 1838 when Douglass Houghton (the first state geologist of Michigan) collected fossils from Isle Royale in the Upper Peninsula.
1928
The Kelsey Museum of Archeology is established, originally called the Museum of Classical Archaeology but renamed in honors of professor Francis W. Kelsey who started archeological excavations in the Mediterranean and Middle East for university collections.
1956
The Museum of Natural History is officially created but collections date back to 1837. A larger collection began when alumnus Joseph Beal Steere sent tens of thousands of specimens to the university from world voyage between 1870 and 1875.
2002
Program in the Environment (PitE) is formed.
2019
The Biological Science Building receives LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold.
2021
The University of Michigan makes a carbon commitment to reduce Scope 1 emissions to net zero by 2040, Scope 2 emissions to net zero by 2025, and set Scope 3 goals by 2025.
LSA Building Addition receives LEED Gold.
2023
The University of Michigan Board of Regents approved a land purchase, expanding the University of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS) 40 acres.
2024
The College of Literature, Science, and the Arts announces the 2024 theme year as the Year of Sustainability.