The Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, 1879-1992, measure 5 linear feet and include minutes, correspondence, course materials, and various subject files. The records are organized into ten series: Departmental and Divisional Records, Printed Material, Divisional Administration, Staff, Academics, Students, Logistics, Biological Units, Outside Relations, and Promotions.
The beginnings of the Department of Biology can be traced to 1875, when separate lectures in biology evolved from the Departments of Botany and Zoology. Instruction in botany and zoology at the University of Michigan began in the 1840s, several years after the appointment of the university's first professor of botany and zoology in 1838. Botany and zoology were initially taught by the same professors, but separate departments were established in 1879. In order to promote closer communication between members of the biology faculty and the administration of the University, an informal group called the Division of the Biological Sciences was formed in 1948. The division helped to coordinate research and other activities of related departments, schools, and colleges. In 1975, the Regents authorized the formal creation of the Division of Biological Sciences, as an administrative unit within the College of Literature, Sciences, and the Arts. The new division was responsible for the coordination of curricula and research in the various disciplines of the biological sciences. On July 1, 1986, the Division of Biological Sciences became the Department of Biology. In 2001, the Department of Biology was succeeded by the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and the department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.
Chairs of the Department of Botany
| Date |
Event |
| 1855-1873 | Alexander Winchell |
| 1874-1879 | Mark W. Harrington |
| 1879-1905 | Volney M. Spalding |
| 1905-1923 | Frederick C. Newcombe |
| 1923-1947 | Harley Harris Bartlett |
| 1947-1950 | William Campbell Steere |
| 1950-1963 | Kenneth Jones |
| 1963-1968 | Alfred Sussman |
| 1968-1971 | Erich Steiner |
| 1971-1974 | Charles Beck |
Chairs of the Department of Zoology
| Date |
Event |
| 1894-1925 | Jacob Ellsworth Reighard |
| 1925-1927 | A. Franklin Shull |
| 1927-1929 | Alexander G. Ruthven |
| 1929-1933 | Peter O. Okkelberg |
| 1937-1949 | George R. La Rue |
| 1949-1965 | Dugald Brown |
| 1965-1971 | John Allen |
| 1971-1974 | Carl Gans |
Chairs of the Division of Biological Sciences
| Date |
Event |
| 1975-1982 | William Dawson |
| 1982-1985 | Michael Martin |
| 1985 | Charles Yocum |
Chairs of the Department of Biology
| Date |
Event |
| 1986-1991 | Charles Yocum |
| 1991-1996 | Wesley Brown |
| 1996-2001 | Julia Adams |
Chairs of the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
| Date |
Event |
| 2001-2003 | Eran Pichersky |
| 2003-2008 | Richard Hume |
| 2008-2014 | Pamela Raymond |
| 2014-2019 | Robert Denver |
| 2019- | Kenneth M. Cadigan |
