University Liggett School, also known as Liggett, is a private, independent, secular school in Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan, United States.

The school teaches grades PreK3 through twelve on one campus, consolidating its two campuses to one in the fall of 2012. According to the school, over 50 zip codes in Southeastern Michigan are represented by its student population.

History

The Liggett School

In the spring of 1878, seven members of the Liggett family, headed by the Reverend James D. Liggett, settled in Detroit to establish a small, independent school for girls originally named The Detroit Home and Day School. In 1883, the school moved to a three-story brick building at the corner of Cass Avenue and Stimson Place. In 1914, the Albert Kahn-designed "Eastern Liggett" branch, on Burns Avenue at Charlevoix, was built and soon fully occupied. It would remain so until 1964, when classes would be held in a new building constructed on Briarcliff Drive in Grosse Pointe Woods. The robotics team won the FIRST Robotics World Championship in 2022.

Midwest Premier League side Liquid Football used the stadium for their home games during the 2023 season.

Arts

University Liggett Schools students produce films and workshops made throughout the year, and the performing arts department launches two major theatrical productions annually: a drama each fall and a musical each winter. The school is active in the International Thespian Society and the Educational Theatre Association as Troupe 5253. The school's Manoogian Arts Wing was added in 1981,

Notable faculty and alumni

  • Nolan Allaer (born 2002), racing driver (2020)
  • Mira Edgerly-Korzybska (born 1872), American miniature painter
  • Jeffrey Eugenides (born 1960), Pulitzer Prize-winning author (1978)
  • Edsel Ford II (born 1948), auto executive and philanthropist (GPUS, 1966)
  • Max Gail (born 1943), comedian, former teacher
  • Edgar Gott (born 1887), first president of the Boeing Company (DUS, 1904)
  • Julie Harris (1925-2013), actress, National Medal of Arts honoree (GPCDS, 1944)
  • G. Mennen Williams (1911-1987), governor of Michigan
  • Aaron Krickstein (born 1967), professional tennis player
  • Frank Nelson (1887–1970), Olympic athlete (DUS)
  • Miles O'Brien (born 1959), CNN news anchor (1977)
  • Walter Olson, legal analyst and blogger
  • Gilda Radner (1946-1989), comedian, Saturday Night Live (Class of 1964)
  • Keith Richburg, journalist
  • Isabel Dodge Sloane (1896-1962), automobile heiress and thoroughbred owner/breeder
  • Olivia Thomas, soccer player
  • Elizebeth Thomas Werlein (1883 – 1946), conservationist of the French Quarter of New Orleans.
  • Andre Rison, current football coach at Liggett, former NFL wide receiver.
  • Antonio Cipriano, American actor and singer

Publications

University Liggett School's Office of Marketing and Communications publishes Perspective magazine twice a year. The magazine has been recognized since 2015 with many journalism awards, including five in 2016 from the Society of Professional Journalists Detroit chapter The school's marketing and communications efforts received an international award for Communications Program Improvement in 2015 from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education.

References

  • University Liggett School's official Web site