The Center for Human Growth and Development (CHGD) was established by the Regents of the University of Michigan in 1964 to further the understanding of the complex processes by which human beings grow and develop.   Reporting to the Vice President for Research, the Center currently has 26 faculty members, who also hold tenure appointments in one of the University's schools or colleges, and six faculty associates who hold research appointments at CHGD.  

The Center receives funds from both the University of Michigan and a variety of public and private external research sponsors. The Center is located in approximately 12,000 square feet of office and laboratory space on the 10th and 11th floors of the 300 North Ingalls Building.

With multidisciplinary collaborations among biomedical, behavioral, and social scientists, the long-range goal of research and training at the Center is to optimize children's physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development.

The objectives of the Center are:

• To coordinate, integrate, and conduct research on normal and abnormal human growth and development, including its biological, intellectual, behavioral, and social aspects; 
• To identify and address problems of research that remain unsolved because of the lack of a multi-disciplinary approach;
• To provide new types of training programs for developmental scientists, especially flexible programs exposing trainees from several disciplines to a broader spectrum of knowledge than traditionally possible; and 
• To provide for the constant communication of ideas among scientists within the Center and the University, and to create a means by which knowledge gained from the research activities of the Center can be disseminated rapidly for the good of the public.