, August 2, 1881.

The Regents were not able at once to find a successor to President
Haven, so Professor Henry S. Frieze, who held the chair of Latin, was
appointed Acting President. This position he filled so successfully for
two years that he was asked informally whether he would accept the
Presidency. The choice, however, fell in turn upon Professor Julius H.
Seelye of Amherst College and President James B. Angell of the
University of Vermont, both of whom visited Ann Arbor but afterward
declined the appointment.

Meanwhile the good fortune which led to the selection of Dr. Frieze as
Acting President was shown by two important measures which were the
outstanding features of his administration. For many years there had
been a growing sentiment in favor of the admission of women to the
University, which had been steadily resisted by the students, Faculties,
and Regents. President Haven had come to see its inevitability,
particularly in a state institution, and perhaps its advisability, but
successive discussions had only postponed action from year to year. So
it was not until January 5, 1870, that the great step was taken in the
following innocuous resolution:

_Resolved_, That the Board of Regents recognize the right of every
resident of Michigan to the enjoyment of the privileges afforded by
the University, and that no rule exists in any of the University
statutes for the exclusion of any person from the University who
possesses the requisite literary and moral qualifications.

[Illustration: THE TWO MAIN BUILDINGS OF THE UNIVERSITY ABOUT 1860
(From an old photograph)]

Great was the opposition, particularly from students and Faculties. The
Medical Department was especially concerned and even organized an
elaborate duplication of courses with an increase of $500 in
professorial salaries, measures which later proved unnecessary. One
month later, on February 2, 1870, the first woman was enrolled in the
University; Miss Madelon L. Stockwell, now Mrs. Charles K. Turner of
Kalamazoo. She was the only woman student until the fall term, when
eleven others entered the Literary Department, three the Department of
Pharmacy, eighteen the Department of Medicine, and two the Department of
Law, with four graduating the following June. Tradition has it that they
had a hard time at first. They were treated with indifferent courtesy,
college journalism had its fling at them, many boarding places were no