Privately organized by citizens of Mt. Pleasant in 1892, Central became Michigan's second state-supported normal school in 1895, meeting a long-felt need for a state school in this region. At first the college was designed to prepare rural and grade school teachers. In the next three decades, however, the school grew into a four-year teachers college. Progress and growth since then have been even more notable in terms of standards, enrollment, facilities, and educational goals. Central had become a multi-purpose institution by the 1940's, and in 1959, by legislative act, it achieved university status.