Saginaw Valley State University

Saginaw Valley State University, commonly known as SVSU, is a state university in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located in the middle of Michigan's lower peninsula in the Saginaw Valley region and serves the cities of Bay City, Midland, and Saginaw.

The university was chartered in 1963 as a private four-year liberal arts college known as Saginaw Valley College (SVC). SVC became part of the state-supported system f colleges in 1965. It was renamed Saginaw Valley State College in 1975 and became Saginaw Valley State University in 1987. It is the newest of Michigan's 15 state univerisities.

However, its roots go back earlier in the area. In the early 1950s, leaders of Bay County, Midland County, and Saginaw County began pushing the state legislature to establish a college in the area. The legislature suggested first created a two-year community college, which lead to establishing nearby Delta College in 1957. Community leaders continued to push for a four-year school, leading to the founding of SVC, which held its first classes in fall 1964 at Delta College (where they had attended for the first two years and were then enrolled as juniors and seniors at SVC.

A huge fundraiser was held in 1965 to help lay the groundwork for a four-year university in the Tri-City area (Saginaw, Midland, Bay City). Corporations, private citizens and other donors contributed millions of dollars to purchase the vast stretch of land that SVSU sits on today. Originally called Saginaw Valley College, SVSU flourished in the 70s, 80s, 90s and currently employs hundreds of academic professionals and has an enrollment nearing 10,000 students. Its teaching program is popular and considered one of the best in the state.