An eye for science
The University of Michigan’s first president, Henry Tappan, believed that science and research were the key components to building a successful university.
This video is the second installment in Detroit Public Television’s series “An Uncommon Education: Celebrating 200 Years of the University of Michigan.”
In “An Eye for Science,” we see how Tappan’s drive to build the Detroit Observatory on the Ann Arbor campus a century ago is reflected in the visionary work being done by U-M students and faculty today.
Tune in every month!
This short-form documentary series airs on DPTV throughout 2017 as part of a multimedia effort to recognize 200 years of the University’s role as an educator and institution in the state, nation, and world.
Spread over 10 broadcast and web vignettes, the series tracks the evolution of how the institution ignited the sparks necessary for world-changing minds, attitudes, and accomplishments from the 19th century through the new millennium. Even the earliest stories of the University’s origins will not just deal with sepia-toned recollections, but will trace the repercussions of those events into our contemporary times and the future.
A new vignette will air every month, culminating with a broadcast special to air in December 2017. (See episode 1, “A True University.”)
Guests include President Mark Schlissel, former President Mary Sue Coleman, Athletic Director Warde Manuel, author and Michigan Today contributor James Tobin, Spectrum Center co-founder Jim Toy, and Angela Dillard, Earl Lewis Collegiate Professor of Afroamerican and African Studies in the Residential College, and associate dean of undergraduate education, LSA.Series topics run the gamut, including the role of science at U-M, the University’s musical legacy, global outreach, social justice on campus, innovation, and the work of Michigan Medicine, U-M’s academic medical center.
Vignettes will be aired in one-minute broadcasts on DPTV during prime-time and weekend station breaks. Viewers can watch the full-length, 7-8 minute versions on DPTV’s “An Uncommon Education” On Demand website.
The videos also will appear on the U-M YouTube channel.
“An Uncommon Education: Celebrating 200 Years of the University of Michigan” is made possible by a grant from the Stanley & Judith Frankel Family Foundation.
David Krause - 1962 BS, 1986 PhD
Interesting. As an undergrad astronomy major, I used both the telescopes at the Detroit Observatory as part of our classwork. I also noted the mention of John Dewey, who was a member of Ann Arbor’s First Congregational Church (where I am still a member) before being radicalized by his wife Harriet Alice Chipman, one of his early students from Fenton, MI who was known as the “Fenton Freethinker.”
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