Over the past 100 years Western Michigan University
has dealt with many growth and planning issues.
 Some
planning problems resulted from the original site selection. Placing
the campus on an impressive but steep hill, very near the intersection
of major roads and railways, automatically limited physical expansion.
Other
growth challenges over the years included building materials shortages
during the World Wars, "baby
boom" enrollment growth, a major recession in the 70's, and the
inevitable ups and downs, both "political"
and financial, that come with being a state-funded institution.
The
creation of the Normal School affected the city of Kalamazoo as well. In
retrospect many changes seemed commonplace or insignificant, but had
a role in growing the city and the university.
Prospect Hill, the
site donated by the city of Kalamazoo, was very quickly nicknamed "Normal
Hill" after the Normal School was built.* Today, most refer
to it as simply "East Campus".
The main road connecting the hilltop with downtown
was originally named "Asylum
Avenue" after the Michigan
Asylum for the Insane (now the Kalamazoo Regional Psychiatric Hospital).
Within a few years of the Normal School's opening, the road was renamed
a more flattering "Oakland Drive".
*To modern
ears "normal"
is very quaint - it has been years since the term was used to refer to
the teacher education system where Training Schools were affiliated with
Normal Schools to provide on-site experience. Under current practice, College of Education majors "intern"
at a local school following completion of all required coursework. WMU's
Campus Training School was phased out in 1966. |
