A History of Wayne State University in Photographs

Wayne State University traces its earliest roots to the Civil War era and Detroit's Harper Hospital, where its Medical College was founded in 1868. In 1917, a junior college was formed in the building now called Old Main and along with four other schools—education, engineering, pharmacy, and a graduate school—these units would come to be called Wayne State University (WSU). The second edition of A History of Wayne State University in Photographs traces the evolution of those early schools into a modern research university with an extensive urban campus.

Following the first edition, author Evelyn Aschenbrenner uses historical photos and archival material to give readers a complete visual guide to Wayne State University’s development, including an update of the last ten years—just in time for WSU’s 150th anniversary. She charts official milestones of the university, including the organization of colleges into a university in the 1930s, the drive for state support in the 1950s, and the new buildings constructed as academic programs expanded. Aschenbrenner also surveys campus life, including disciplinary and curricular development, student life, and the university’s relations with its surrounding neighborhood, which were strained by various urban renewal programs. The second edition retains the thoughtful introduction by Charles K. Hyde and original foreword by Bill McGraw, who was a student at WSU in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In a new foreword, President M. Roy Wilson argues that anniversaries like our sesquicentennial are special because "they give us something that is hard to get during the normal work week: perspective."

The second edition of A History of Wayne State University in Photographs compiles rare and intriguing images that will be make a perfect keepsake for current and former students, faculty and staff, and anyone interested in Detroit history.