1970 Campus Development Plan

Cover of 1970 report

Western Michigan University, like most academic institutions of the time, experienced extreme enrollment growth in the 1960's. In 1957, the year WMU was officially designated a University, enrollment totalled 5500 students. By 1973 enrollment had nearly quadrupled to 21,000 students.

Despite extensive construction, the demand for space on campus was exceeding the supply. In addition, predictions indicated that space allocations per student would likely increase over time, compounding the facility problems.

The 1970 Campus Development Plan addressed these growth issues. The Plan also outlines the rational for closing off the portion of West Michigan Avenue that ran through campus, and illustrates the proposed extension of Howard Street for handling crosstown traffic.

A 1998 report by WMU's Department of Campus Planning reviews the 1970 Plan and addresses its implementation. It looks at which problems or conditions were solved or improved and which still remain, plus new issues that have developed.

The OPEC oil embargo of 1973 and the ensuing national economic recession greatly affected institutional planning and growth nationwide. Michigan universities were no exception. In 1971 five major building projects were completed at Western: Rood, Friedman, Dunbar and Knauss Halls and the Everett Office Tower. In contrast, it would be ten years before the next major academic building project - the Dorothy U. Dalton Center, completed in 1982.