A timeline of social and political events that occurred during President Mary Sue Coleman’s tenure:
Nov. 25, 2002 – Homeland Security Act becomes law
Jan. 1, 2003 – Gov. Jennifer Granholm takes office
Feb. 1, 2003 – Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates, killing seven astronauts
March 19, 2003 – Iraq War begins with U.S. invasion
Feb. 4, 2004 – Facebook launches
Nov. 2, 2004 – President George W. Bush re-elected
Dec. 26, 2004 – Earthquake and tsunami devastate Indonesia and South Asia
Feb. 10, 2005 – Playwright and alumnus Arthur Miller dies
April 23, 2005 – YouTube launches
Aug. 29, 2005 – Hurricane Katrina and subsequent flooding wreak havoc in New Orleans
July 1, 2005 – Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor retires
July 15, 2006 – Twitter launches
Dec. 26, 2006 – President Gerald R. Ford, Class of ’35, dies
April 16, 2007 – Gunman kills 32 people at Virginia Tech
June 10, 2007 – Final episode of “The Sopranos” airs
June 29, 2007 – iPhone debuts
July 21, 2007 – “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” final novel in the series, is released
Feb. 24, 2008 – Fidel Castro resigns as president of Cuba
Aug. 17, 2008 – Michael Phelps wins eighth Olympic gold medal
Sept. 15, 2008 – Lehman Brothers files for bankruptcy
Nov. 4, 2008 – Barack Obama elected president
Dec. 11, 2008 – Bernard Madoff arrested in massive Ponzi scheme
Jan. 15, 2009 – Pilot safely lands crippled airplane in Hudson River
April 30, 2009 – Chrysler files for bankruptcy
June 1, 2009 – General Motors files for bankruptcy
June 25, 2009 – Michael Jackson dies
Oct. 15, 2009 – “Balloon Boy” hoax unravels in Colorado
April 20, 2010 – Explosion unleashes massive oil spill in Gulf of Mexico
Oct. 13, 2010 – 33 Chileans rescued after 69 days trapped in mine
Dec. 17, 2010 – Arab Spring begins
Jan. 1, 2011 – Gov. Rick Snyder takes office
March 11, 2011 – Earthquake and tsunami devastate Japan
May 2, 2011 – Navy Seals kill Osama bin Laden
July 21, 2011 – U.S. space shuttle program ends
Oct. 5, 2011 – Steve Jobs dies
Sept. 18, 2011 – Borders closes
Nov. 4, 2011 – Jerry Sandusky indicted in Penn State child sex abuse crimes
Dec. 15, 2011 – U.S. declares end to Iraq War
July 4, 2012 – Higgs boson discovery announced
Oct. 29, 2012 – Hurricane Sandy makes landfall in New Jersey
Nov. 6, 2012 – President Barack Obama re-elected
Dec. 14, 2012 – Gunman kills 26 at Sandy Hook Elementary School
Feb. 28, 2013 – Pope Benedict XVI resigns
April 15, 2013 – Boston Marathon bombing kills three, injures 264
July 18, 2013 – City of Detroit files for bankruptcy
Sept. 29, 2013 – Final episode of “Breaking Bad” airs
Dec. 5, 2013 – Nelson Mandela dies
Jan. 15, 2014 – GM appoints Mary Barra as CEO
