Perspective Chapter: Organizational Ecology – Evolving Realities in Higher Education from Cholera to Covid – A Michigan State University Planning and Design Case Study

Abstract

This manuscript is a narrative concerning the evolution of Michigan State University (MSU), the first American Land-grant school and the development of planning and design instruction and research at MSU from the 1860s until the present time, including adaptations in the post-Covid era. Covid is not the first epidemic to influence higher education at MSU, as the school had to adapt to Cholera (1832–1866), Scarlet Fever (1858), Typhoid Fever (1906–1907), H1N1 Flu (1918), Diphtheria (1921–1925), Polio (1916–1955), H2N2 Flu (1957), Second Measles Outbreak (1981–1991), H1M1 Flu (1991), Meningitis (1997 to present), Whooping Cough (2010, 2014), HIV and Aids (1980 to present), and Covid (2020 to present). The narrative presents a depiction of the changing organizational structure/network over time, illustrating the transformations in the sciences, arts, funding, and publication demands with comments, observations, and insights offered by Dr. Burley, FASLA, a now retired MSU landscape architecture faculty member with questions posed by the coauthors. The paper is in the form of traditional historic criticism essays meant to interpret events and activities. To critique does not have negative intent, but rather to bring understanding. The paper illustrates the transition from a German academic model to a diversified free-form education model.