Notable Events
- 1868 The Detroit Medical College, foreruner of the School of Medicine, was established.
- 1881 The Detroit Normal Training School, forerunner of the College of Education, was established.
- 1917 The Detroit Junior College, offering a two-year program in general education, was established in Old Main and later developed into the College of Liberal Arts.
- 1923 The Detroit Normal Training School became a four-year degree-granting institution under the name of the Detroit Teachers College. The first degrees were granted in 1924. The Detroit Junior College became the College of the City of Detroit with four-year degree programs. The first degrees were conferred in 1925.
- 1924 The College of Pharmacy was organized.
- 1930 The first regular graduate courses were offered in liberal arts and education. The first master’s degrees were conferred in 1932.
- 1933 The colleges of liberal arts, education, engineering, medicine and the graduate school were united into a university organization, temporarily called the College of the City of Detroit.
- 1933 Frank Cody becomes the first president.
- 1934 The name Wayne University was adopted, taken from Wayne County and ultimately from General Anthony Wayne.
- 1935 The School of Public Affairs and Social Work was organized. In 1950 it became the School of Social Work.
- 1937 The Law School, established in 1927 as Detroit City Law School, became part of the university.
- 1942 Warren E. Bow becomes the second president.
- 1945 The first doctoral programs were authorized in chemistry, physiological chemistry, and education. The College of Nursing, which began as a program in the College of the City of Detroit, became a separate college.
- 1945 David D. Henry becomes the third president.
- 1946 The School of Business Administration became the 10th academic unit in the university.
- 1952 Clarence B. Hilberry becomes the fourth president.
- 1956 Wayne University became Wayne State University by Act 183 of Michigan Public Acts of 1956.
- 1959 Wayne State University Board of Governors was established.
- 1963 Wayne State was designated one of Michigan's three constitutionally established.
- 1964 The Division of Urban Extension was established.
- 1965 William R. Keast becomes the fifth president.
- 1971 George E. Gullen, Jr. becomes the sixth president.
- 1973 The College of Lifelong Learning was established as a successor to the Division of Urban Extension.
- 1974 The College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions was formed.
- 1978 Thomas Bonner becomes the seventh president.
- 1982 David Adamany becomes the eighth president.
- 1986 The College of Fine and Performing Arts (later changed to Fine, Performing, and Communication Arts) and the College of Urban, LAbor and Metropolitan Affairs were established.
- 1993 The College of Science was established.
- 1997 Irvin D. Reid becomes the ninth president.
- 2000 The name of the College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions changed to the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.
- 2004 The College of Science and the College of Liberal Arts merged to form The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
- 2005 The College of Urban, Labor and Metropolitan Affairs joins the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
- 2008 The Irvin D. Reid Honors College was created.
- 2008 Jay Noren becomes the 10th president.
- 2009 The School of Library and Information Science was created.
- 2011 Allan Gilmour becomes the 11th president.
- 2011 Warrior football team made its first appearance in NCAA Division II championship game.
