A short time after the first colonists came to the territory, which we
now call Massachusetts, the General Court of Massachusetts made the first
contribution for Harvard College. It was in 1636. This school later became
the famous Harvard University. It is the oldest university in the United
States. It was named in honor of John Harvard, who died in 1638. This man
left his library and half of his property to the university. People knew
that the future of the new country depended on education. And after the
establishment of Harvard they began to establish other schools. In 1776 the
Americans declared their independence. By this time nine other institutions
were opened. Their present names and the dates of their opening are:
College of Willian and Mary (1693).
Yale University (1701).
Princeton University (1746).
Washington and Lee University (1749).
Columbia University (1754).
University of Pensilvania (1755).
Brown University (1764).
Rutgers College (1766).
Dartmouth College (1770).
Some of the money for the educational institutions came from the
government, but most of it came from people who felt that by giving their
money they were investing in the new country. People believed that the new
country needed colleges. They voted for their state governments to organize
colleges, which would be supported by taxes. These are called state
universities and they arc playing leading roles in the world of education
in America. By 1894 all states had such universities. The University of
Michigan, which first opened as a school in Detroit in 1817, became a state
university in 1837 when Michigan became a state.
In the early 1800s most people thought that only men should affend
college. But other people fell certain that women too must be educated.
Some of them thought that the best would be to have co-educated colleges.
Others thought that there must be separate colleges for men and women;
Oberlin College, which was founded it 1833 was the first co-educational
school. Mount Holyoke was founded in 1837. It was the first school for
women. Other schools for women are: Vassar (1821), Wells (1868), Wellesley
(1871). In 1870 Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, California began to admit
women to state universities. Now all public universities admit women. Even
many private men's colleges are beginning to admit women. So the ideas
about American education are changing.
Princeton University
Princeton University is a vibrant community of scholarship and learning
that stands in the nation's service and in the service of all nations.
Chartered in 1746, and known as the College of New Jersey until 1896, it
was British North America's fourth college. Fully coeducational since 1969,
Princeton in the 2002-2003 academic year enrolled 6,632 students -- 4,635
undergraduates and 1,997 graduate students -- with a ratio of full-time
students to faculty members of 5.6 to 1. The University, with more than
12,000 employees, is Mercer County's largest private employer and plays a
major role in the educational, cultural and economic life of the region.
The College of William and Mary.
The College of William and Mary, one of the nation's premier state-
assisted liberal arts universities, believes that excellence in teaching is
the key to unlocking intellectual and personal possibilities for students.
Dedicated to this philosophy and committed to limited enrollment, the
College provides high-quality undergraduate, graduate and professional
education that prepares students to make significant contributions to the
Commonwealth of Virginia and the nation. In recognition, the media have
included William and Mary among the nation's prestigious "Public Ivys," and
ranked it first among state institutions in terms of commitment to
teaching.
History
Chartered on February 8, 1693, by King William III and Queen Mary II as the second college in the American colonies. Severed formal ties with Britain in 1776. Became state-supported in 1906 and coeducational in 1918. Achieved modern university status in 1967. Phi Beta Kappa, the nation's premier academic honor society, and the honor code system of conduct were founded at William and Mary.
Location
Located in historic Williamsburg, Va., approximately 150 miles south of
Washington, D.C., midway between Richmond and Norfolk, Va.
Campus
Approximately 1,200 acres including picturesque Lake Matoaka and the
College Woods. Adjacent to Colonial Williamsburg, the Ancient Campus
section is restored to 18th-century appearance.
Instructional Faculty
569 in arts and sciences, marine science, education, business administration and law; 93 percent of the faculty teaching undergraduate courses have attained terminal degrees.
Enrollment
7,500 of whom approximately 5,500 are undergraduates.
Student-Faculty Ratio
Approximately 12 to 1.
Student Statistics
Students from 50 states and 75 foreign countries; 79 percent of current freshmen graduated in top tenth of their class with the middle 50 percent having total SAT scores ranging from 1240-1400; 28 percent of all students received need-based financial aid totaling $14 million in 2000-2001.
Tuition and Fees For the 2002-2003 session, total annual cost of tuition,
fees, room and board for in-state undergraduate students is$10,626; for out-
of-state undergraduate students, $24,826. In-state students in the School
of Law pay $11,100 and out-of-state students pay $21,290. In-state students
in the Master's of Business Administration program pay $9,978 and out-of-
state students pay $21,258. In-state graduate students in the Schools of
Marine Science, Education, and Arts and Sciences pay $6,138 and out-of-
state students pay $17,972.
Student Activities Over 250 student-interest groups plus 16 national social
fraternities and 12 sororities; William and Mary Theatre, Concert and
Sunday Series; Choir; Band; Speakers Forum; live entertainment in 10,000-
seat W&M Hall. There are a total of 23 men's and women's intercollegiate
athletic teams.
Degrees A.B., B.S., B.B.A., M.A., M.S., M.B.A., M.A.C., M.Ed., M.A.Ed.,
Ph.D., J.D., Ed.D., Psy.D., LL.M., M.P.P.
Programs of Study American Studies+#, Anthropology+#, Applied Science+#,
Art/Art History, Biochemistry (minor only), Biological Psychology*,
Biology+, Black Studies*, Business Administration+^, Chemistry+, Classical
Studies (Latin, Greek, Hebrew), Computer Science+#, Dance (minor
only),Economics, Education (certification)+#, English, Environmental
Science/Studies*, Film Studies (minor only), Geology, Government,
History+#, International Studies (International Relations and separate
concentrations in African, East Asian, European, Latin American, Middle
Eastern and Russian Studies), Kinesiology, Law^, Linguistics*, Literary and
Cultural Studies*, Marine Science+#, Mathematics+, Medieval and Renaissance
Studies*, Military Science, Modern Languages (Arabic, Chinese, French,
German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish), Music,
Philosophy, Physics+#, Psychology+#, Public Policy+, Religion, Sociology,
Theatre and Speech, Women's Studies*
*Interdisciplinary Studies Degree
+Master's Degree Program
#Doctoral Degree Program
^Professional Degree Program
Schools Arts and Sciences, Business Administration, Education, Law, Marine
Science
Special Opportunities Freshman seminars focusing on specialized topics
with a limited class-size of 17 students. Undergraduate research
opportunities. Community service projects and organizations. Psy.D. degree
in Clinical Psychology in conjuction with Eastern Virginia Medical
Authority. Center for International Studies with Study Abroad programs in
Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, England, France, Germany, Italy,
Japan and Scotland. Summer session with graduate offerings on campus.
Special institutes and seminars. Departmental Honors programs. 17 computer
labs outfitted with the latest Pentium PCs. A high-speed fiber-optic
network connects all campus buildings, including residence hall rooms.
Foreign language houses. Military Science Program. Advisory programs in pre-
engineering, pre-law and pre-medicine.
Library The Earl Gregg Swem Library contains more than one million volumes
and computer access to many standard computerized data bases. Special
Collections include documents from many historical figures, including the
lifetime papers of U.S. Chief Justice Warren Burger.
Computers Seventeen computer labs around campus outfitted with the latest
Pentium PC computers. Campus buildings--including all residence hall rooms
- are tied to a high-speed fiber-optic network, featuring the World Wide
Web and cable television.
Major Buildings Sir Christopher Wren Building (1695), oldest academic
building in the U.S.; President's House (1732); the Brafferton (1723); Phi
Beta Kappa Memorial Hall; William and Mary Hall seating up to 10,000 for
convocations, sports events, cultural programs. Among the College's newest
buildings are the University Center, McGlothlin-Street Hall, the Reves
Center, Plumeri Park and the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center. Residential
halls and houses for 4,450 students.
Endowment
$366 million
Annual Budget
Total--$172 million for 2002-2003
Alumni
70,000
Governance
A 17-member Board of Visitors appointed by the Governor of Virginia.
Administration
Chancellor: Dr. Henry A. Kissinger
(The former Secretary of State and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in
1973 is 22nd Chancellor of the College)
President: Timothy J. Sullivan '66 (25th President of the College)
Provost: Gillian T. Cell
Vice President for University Development: Dennis Cross
Vice President for Student Affairs: W. Samuel Sadler '64
Vice President for Public Affairs: Stewart H. Gamage '72
Vice President of Finance: Samuel E. Jones '75
Vice President for Administration: Anna Martin
Director of Athletics: Edward C. Driscoll, Jr.
Yale University.
Yale University was founded in 1701 as the Collegiate School in the home of
Abraham Pierson, its first rector, in Killingworth, Connecticut. In 1716
the school moved to New Haven and, with generous gift by Elihu Yale of nine
bales of goods, 417 books, and a portrait of King George the first, renamed
Yale College in 1718.
Yale embarked on a steady expansion, establishing the Medical Institution
(1810), Divinity School (1822), Law School (1843), Graduate School of Arts
and Sciences (1847), the School of Fine Arts (1869) and School of Music
(1894). In 1887 Yale College became Yale University. It continued to add to
its academic offerings with the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies
(1900), School of Nursing (1923), School of Drama (1955), School of
Architecture (1972), and School of Management (1974).
Rutgers College.
Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, with over 60,000 students on
campuses in Camden, Newark, and New Brunswick, is one of the major state
university systems in the nation. The university is made up of twenty-six
degree-granting divisions; twelve undergraduate colleges, eleven graduate
schools, and three schools offering both undergraduate and graduate
degrees. Five are located in Camden, seven in Newark, and fourteen in New
Brunswick.
Rutgers has a unique history as a colonial college, a land-grant
institution, and a state university. Chartered in 1766 as Queen's College,
the eighth institution of higher learning to be founded in the colonies
before the revolution, the school opened its doors in New Brunswick in 1771
with one instructor, one sophomore, and a handful of freshmen. During this
early period the college developed as a classical liberal arts institution.
In 1825, the name of the college was changed to Rutgers to honor a former
trustee and revolutionary war veteran, Colonel Henry Rutgers.
Rutgers College became the land-grant college of New Jersey in 1864,
resulting in the establishment of the Rutgers Scientific School with
departments of agriculture, engineering, and chemistry. Further expansion
in the sciences came with the founding of the New Jersey Agricultural
Experiment Station in 1880, the College of Engineering in 1914, and the
College of Agriculture (now Cook College) in 1921. The precursors to
several other Rutgers divisions were also founded during this period: the
College of Pharmacy in 1892, the New Jersey College for Women (now Douglass
College) in 1918, and the School of Education (now a graduate school) in
1924.
Brown University
Founded in 1764, Brown University was the third college in New
England and the seventh in America - and the only one that welcomed
students of all religious persuasions. A commitment to diversity and
intellectual freedom remains a hallmark of the University today.
Established as Rhode Island College in the town of Warren, Rhode
Island, the University moved to its present location on Providence's
College Hill in 1770. In 1804, the University was renamed to honor a $5,000
donation from Providence merchant Nicholas Brown.
Over the years the University grew steadily, adding graduate
courses in the 1880s, a women's college in 1889 (renamed Pembroke College
in 1928), a graduate school in 1927, and a medical education program in
1973 (now the Brown Medical School). The men's and women's undergraduate
colleges merged in 1971.
While facilities and programs expanded, Brown chose to keep its
enrollment relatively small, with an undergraduate student-faculty ratio of
about 9 to 1. The main campus covers nearly 140 acres, all of it within a
10-minute walk of its hub, the College Green. The University is situated on
a historic residential hill overlooking downtown Providence, a city of some
170,000 people.
The University library system contains more than 5 million items,
including bound volumes, periodicals, maps, sheet music, and manuscripts.
The number of items grows by more than 100,000 each year.
The John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library, known as "the Rock," is
Brown's primary humanities and social-sciences resource center.
The Sciences Library houses the University's collection of science
and medical books and periodicals. Located on the 14th floor is the
University's media services operation.
The John Hay Library houses special collections, including most of the University's rare books, manuscripts, and archives.
The John Carter Brown Library is an independently administered and funded center for advanced research in history and the humanities. It houses an internationally renowned collection of primary sources pertaining to the Americas before 1825.
Other specialty libraries include the Orwig Music Library (the
general music collection), the Art Slide Library (slides of art and art-
related subjects, including architecture and archaeology), and the
Demography Library (a major resource for population research).
Teaching, research and public service are conducted through a
number of centers and institutes affiliated with the University. They
include the Annenberg Institute for School Reform, the Center for Alcohol
and Addiction Studies, the Center for Gerontology and Health Care Research,
the Population Studies and Training Center, and the Watson Institute for
International Studies.
Carrying on an intercollegiate athletic tradition more than 100 years old, the Brown Bears compete against the seven other Ivy League schools and against other colleges and universities at the NCAA Division I level. Brown has one of the nation's broadest arrays of varsity teams -- 37 in all; 20 for women and 17 for men.
Brown has its share of historic firsts, including the nation's
first intercollegiate men's ice hockey game (defeating Harvard 6-0 on
January 19, 1898) and the nation's first women's varsity ice hockey team
(organized in 1964).
As a member of the Ivy League, Brown awards financial aid on the basis of need; it does not grant athletic scholarships.
University of Pensilvania.
Students:
Full-time: 18,050
Part-time: 4,276
Total: 22,326
Full-time Undergraduate: 9,863
Full-time Graduate/professional: 8,187
(Fall 2001; most current figures)
Undergraduate Admissions:
Penn received record-high 19,153 applications for admission to the Class of
2005. Of those applicants, 4,132, or 21.6 percent, were offered admission,
making the class of 2005 the most selective in Penn's history and the
institution among the most selective universities in America. Ninety-two
percent of the students admitted for Fall 2001 came from the top 10 percent
of their high school graduating class and scored a combined 1,412 on the
SAT. 2,391 students matriculated into this year's freshman class.
Internationalism:
Record-high 2,588 international students applied for admission to Penn's
undergraduate schools for Fall 2001, and 401 (15.5%) received admissions
offers. Ten percent of the first Ten percent of the first year classes are
international students. Of the international students accepted to the Class
of 2005, 11.1% were from Africa and the Middle East, 44.6% from Asia, 1%
from Australia and the Pacific, 14.3% from Canada and Mexico, 10.6% from
Central/South America and the Caribbean, and 18.6% from Europe. Penn had
3,485 international students enrolled in Fall 2001.
Study Abroad:
Penn offers 65 study-abroad programs in 36 countries. Penn ranks first
among the Ivy League schools in the number of students studying abroad,
according to the most recent data (Institute for International Education,
1999-2000). In 1999-2000, 1,196 Penn undergraduate students participated in
study- abroad programs.
Diversity:
About 42 percent of those accepted for admission to the Class of 2005 are
Black, Hispanic, Asian, or Native American. Women comprise 50 percent of
all students currently enrolled.
Undergraduate Schools:
Penn's four undergraduate schools, with their Fall 2001 student
populations, are:
The College at Penn (School of Arts and Sciences), 6,464
School of Engineering and Applied Science, 1,612
School of Nursing, 363
The Wharton School, 1,729
Graduate and Professional Schools:
Penn's 12 graduate and professional schools, with their Fall 2001 student
populations, are:
Annenberg School for Communication, 78
School of Arts and Sciences, 2,302
School of Dental Medicine, 530
Graduate School of Education, 1,059
School of Engineering and Applied Science, 884
Graduate School of Fine Arts, 562
Law School, 856
School of Medicine, 1,091
School of Nursing, 351
School of Social Work, 326
School of Veterinary Medicine, 451
The Wharton School, 2,055
Faculty:
Standing: 2,257
Associated: 2,062
Total: 4,319
The student-faculty ratio is 6.4:1 (Fall 2001).
Measures of distinction of the faculty include:
61 members of the Academy of Arts and Sciences;
44 members of the Institute of Medicine;
39 members of the National Academy of Sciences;
91 Guggenheim Fellowships (1980-2001);
11 members of the National Academy of Engineering;
Seven MacArthur Award recipients;
Six National Medal of Science recipients;
Four Nobel Prize recipients; and
Two Pulitzer Prize winners
Staff:
Penn is the largest private employer in the city of Philadelphia and the
fourth-largest in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of Fall 2001, Penn
has a total regular work force of 12,290. The University of Pennsylvania
Health System, which includes the Hospital of the University of
Pennsylvania, employs an additional 12,673 people.
Academics:
Total undergraduate majors currently being pursued: 94 (Academic Year
2002).
Libraries:
5.0 million books
3.6 million items on microfilm
39,439 periodical subscriptions
1,952 CD-ROM databases
4,734 e-journals
Athletics and Recreation:
A charter member of the Ivy League, Penn offers intercollegiate competition
for men in 20 sports, including basketball, baseball, heavyweight crew,
lightweight crew, cross country, fencing, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer,
sprint football, squash, swimming, tennis, indoor track, outdoor track and
wrestling. It offers intercollegiate competition for women in 14 sports,
including basketball, crew, cross country, field hockey, fencing, golf,
gymnastics, lacrosse, soccer, softball, squash, swimming, tennis, indoor
track, outdoor track and volleyball. During the 2001-2002 academic year,
there were 14,678 team members participating in 20 intramural teams; 927
additional students were members of 30 club sports.
Campus Size:
. West Philadelphia campus: 269 acres, 151 buildings (excluding hospital)
. New Bolton Center: 600 acres, 77 buildings
. Morris Arboretum: 92 acres, 30 buildings
Living Alumni of Record:
Total: 233,303 (Fiscal Year 2001)
Undergraduate Admission and Fees:
$27,988 (Academic Year 2003)
Room and Board Fees:
$8,224 (Academic Year 2003)
Community Service:
Approximately 5,000 University students, faculty and staff participate in
more than 300 Penn volunteer and community service programs. The Middle
States Association of Colleges and Schools recognized the University's West
Philadelphia Improvement Corps (WEPIC), in Penn's Center for Community
Partnerships, for exemplary school-college partnerships in Pennsylvania.
Fundraising (Fiscal Year 2001):
Endowment $3.382 billion (as of June 30, 2001)
Voluntary support: $285 million
107,941 donors gave $138 million in contributions
$92 million in gifts from foundations and associations
$37 million in gifts from corporations
Sponsored Projects (Fiscal Year 2001):
$550 million in awards
4,169 awards
2,655 projects
1,219 principal investigators
Budget:
$3.21 billion (Fiscal Year 2002)
Payroll (including benefits):
$1.324 billion (Fiscal Year 2002)
Washington and Lee University.
Washington and Lee is a small, private, liberal arts university nestled
between the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains in Lexington, VA. It is the
ninth oldest institution of higher learning in the nation.
In 1749, Scotch-Irish pioneers who had migrated deep into the Valley of
Virginia founded a small classical school called Augusta Academy, some 20
miles north of what is now Lexington. In 1776, the trustees, fired by
patriotism, changed the name of the school to Liberty Hall. Four years
later the school was moved to the vicinity of Lexington, where in 1782 it
was chartered as Liberty Hall Academy by the Virginia legislature and
empowered to grant degrees. A limestone building, erected in 1793 on the
crest of a ridge overlooking Lexington, burned in 1803, though its ruins
are preserved today as a symbol of the institution's honored past.
In 1796, George Washington saved the struggling Liberty Hall Academy when
he gave the school its first major endowment--$20,000 worth of James River
Canal stock. The trustees promptly changed the name of the school to
Washington Academy as an expression of their gratitude. In a letter to the
trustees, Washington responded, "To promote the Literature in this rising
Empire, and to encourage the Arts, have ever been amongst the warmest
wishes of my heart." The donations - one of the largest to any educational
institution at that time –continue to contribute to the University's
operating budget today.
General Robert E. Lee reluctantly accepted the position of president of the
College in 1865. Because of his leadership of the Confederate army, Lee
worried he "might draw upon the College a feeling of hostility," but also
added that "I think it the duty of every citizen in the present condition
of the Country, to do all in his power to aid in the restoration of peace
and harmony." During his brief presidency, Lee established the School of
Law, encouraged development of the sciences, and instituted programs in
business instruction that led to the founding of the School of Commerce in
1906. He also inaugurated courses in journalism, which developed by 1925
into The School of Journalism--now the Department of Journalism and Mass
Communications. These courses in business and journalism were the first
offered in colleges in the United States. After Lee's death in 1870, the
trustees voted to change the name from Washington College to Washington and
Lee University.
Once an all-male institution, Washington and Lee first admitted women to
its law school in 1972. The first undergraduate women matriculated in 1985.
Since then, Washington and Lee has flourished. The University now boasts a
new science building, a performing arts center and an indoor tennis
facility, and it continues to climb the ranking charts of U.S. News and
World Report and other rating agencies. Washington and Lee is ranked 15th
among the top national liberal arts colleges by U.S. News.
Washington and Lee University observed its 250th Anniversary with a year-
long, national celebration during the 1998-99 academic year.
Columbia University.
Columbia University was founded in 1754 as King’s College by royal charter
of King George II of England. It is the oldest institution of higher
learning in the state of New York and the fifth oldest in the United
States.
Controversy preceded the founding of the College, with various groups
competing to determine its location and religious affiliation. Advocates of
New York City met with success on the first point, while the Anglicans
prevailed on the latter. However, all constituencies agreed to commit
themselves to principles of religious liberty in establishing the policies
of the College.
In July 1754, Samuel Johnson held the first classes in a new schoolhouse
adjoining Trinity Church, located on what is now lower Broadway in
Manhattan. There were eight students in the class. At King’s College, the
future leaders of colonial society could receive an education designed to
“enlarge the Mind, improve the Understanding, polish the whole Man, and
qualify them to support the brightest Characters in all the elevated
stations in life.” One early manifestation of the institution’s lofty goals
was the establishment in 1767 of the first American medical school to grant
the MD degree.
The American Revolution brought the growth of the College to a halt,
forcing a suspension of instruction in 1776 that lasted for eight years.
However, the institution continued to exert a significant influence on
American life through the people associated with it. Among the earliest
students and Trustees of King’s College were John Jay, the first Chief
Justice of the United States; Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of
the Treasury; Gouverneur Morris, the author of the final draft of the U.S.
Constitution; and Robert R. Livingston, a member of the five-man committee
that drafted the Declaration of Independence.
The College reopened in 1784 with a new name—Columbia—that embodied the
patriotic fervor, which had inspired the nation’s quest for independence.
The revitalized institution was recognizable as the descendant of its
colonial ancestor, thanks to its inclination toward Anglicanism and the
needs of an urban population, but there were important differences:
Columbia College reflected the legacy of the Revolution in the greater
economic, denominational, and geographic diversity of its new students and
leaders. Cloistered campus life gave way to the more common phenomenon of
day students, who lived at home or lodged in the city.
In 1849, the College moved from Park Place, near the present site of City
Hall, to 49th Street and Madison Avenue, where it remained for the next
fifty years. During the last half of the nineteenth century, Columbia
rapidly assumed the shape of a modern university. The Law School was
founded in 1858, and the country’s first mining school, a precursor of
today’s School of Engineering and Applied Science, was established in 1864.
When Seth Low became Columbia’s president in 1890, he vigorously promoted
the university ideal for the College, placing the fragmented federation of
autonomous and competing schools under a central administration that
stressed cooperation and shared resources. Barnard College for women had
become affiliated with Columbia in 1889; the medical school came under the
aegis of the University in 1891, followed by Teachers of graduate faculties
in political science, philosophy, and pure science established Columbia as
one of the nation’s earliest centers for graduate education. In 1896, the
Trustees officially authorized the use of yet another new name, Columbia
University, and today the institution is officially known as Columbia
University in the City of New York.
Low’s greatest accomplishment, however, was moving the University from 49th
Street to Morningside Heights and a more spacious campus designed as an
urban academic village by McKim, Mead & White, the renowned turn-of-the-
century architectural firm. Architect Charles Follen McKim provided
Columbia with stately buildings patterned after those of the Italian
Renaissance. The University continued to prosper after its move uptown.
During the presidency of Nicholas Murray Butler (1902–1945), Columbia
emerged as a preeminent national center for educational innovation and
scholarly achievement. John Erskine taught the first Great Books Honors
Seminar at Columbia College in 1919, making the study of original
masterworks the foundation of undergraduate education. Columbia became, in
the words of College alumnus Herman Wouk, a place of “doubled magic,” where
“the best things of the moment were outside the rectangle of Columbia; the
best things of all human history and thought were inside the rectangle.”
The study of the sciences flourished along with the liberal arts, and in
1928, Columbia–Presbyterian Medical Center, the first such center to
combine teaching, research, and patient care, was officially opened as a
joint project between the medical school and The Presbyterian Hospital.
By the late 1930s, a Columbia student could study with the likes of Jacques
Barzun, Paul Lazarsfeld, Mark Van Doren, Lionel Trilling, and I.I. Rabi, to
name just a few of the great minds of the Morningside campus. The
University’s graduates during this time were equally accomplished—for
example, two alumni of Columbia’s Law School, Charles Evans Hughes and
Harlan Fiske Stone (who also held the position of Law School dean), served
successively as Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.
Research into the atom by faculty members I.I. Rabi, Enrico Fermi, and
Polykarp Kusch placed Columbia’s Physics Department in the international
spotlight in the 1940s, and the founding of the School of International
Affairs (now the School of International and Public Affairs) in 1946 marked
the beginning of intensive growth in international relations as a major
scholarly focus of the University. The Oral History movement in the United
States was launched at Columbia in 1948.
Columbia celebrated its Bicentennial in 1954 during a period of steady
expansion. This growth mandated a major campus-building program in the
1960s, and, by the end of the decade, five of the University’s schools were
housed in new buildings.
The revival of spirit and energy on Columbia’s campus in recent years has
been even more sweeping. The 1980s saw the completion of over $145 million
worth of new construction, including two residence halls, a computer
science center, the Rare Book and Manuscript Library, a chemistry building,
the Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery, Lawrence A. Wien Stadium, and
much more. The quality of student life on campus has been a primary
concern, and the opening of Morris A. Schapiro Hall in 1988 enabled
Columbia College to achieve its long-held goal of offering four years of
housing to all undergraduate students. A second gift from this farsighted
benefactor led to the opening in 1992 of the Morris A. Schapiro Center for
Engineering and Physical Science Research, which is helping to secure
Columbia’s leadership in telecommunications and high-tech research.
On the Health Sciences campus, a generous commitment from the Sherman
Fairchild Foundation has lent impetus to the development of the Audubon
Biomedical Science and Technology Park by providing funds for construction
of the Center for Disease Prevention. In addition to securing Columbia’s
place at the forefront of medical research, this project will help spur the
growth of the biotechnology industry in New York City, forge vital new
links between Columbia and the local community, and help to revitalize the
area around the medical center.
Thanks to concerted efforts to place the University on the strongest
possible foundations, Columbia is approaching the twenty-first century with
a firm sense of the importance of what has been accomplished in the past
and confidence in what it can achieve in the years to come.
In 1897, the University moved from 49th Street and Madison Avenue, where it
had stood for fifty years, to its present location on Morningside Heights
at 116th Street and Broadway. Seth Low, the President of the University at
the time of the move, sought to create an academic village in a more
spacious setting. Charles Follen McKim of the architectural firm of McKim,
Mead & White modeled the new campus after the Athenian agora. The Columbia
campus comprises the largest single collection of McKim, Mead & White
buildings in existence.
The architectural centerpiece of the campus is Low Memorial Library, named
in honor of Seth Low’s father. Built in the Roman classical style, it
appears in the New York City Register of Historic Places. The building
today houses the University’s central administration offices and the
Visitors Center.
A broad flight of steps descends from Low Library to an expansive plaza, a
popular place for students to gather, and from there to College Walk, a
promenade that bisects the central campus. Beyond College Walk is the South
Campus, where Butler Library, the University’s main library, stands. South
Campus is also the site of many of Columbia College’s facilities, including
student residences, the Ferris Booth Hall activities center, and the
College’s administrative offices and classroom buildings, along with the
building housing the Journalism School.
To the north of Low Library stands Pupin Hall, which in 1966 was designated
a national historic landmark in recognition of the atomic research
undertaken there by Columbia’s scientists beginning in 1925. To the east is
St. Paul’s Chapel, which is listed with the New York City Register of
Historic Places.
Many newer buildings surround the original campus. Among the most
impressive are the Sherman Fairchild Center for the Life Sciences, the
Computer Science building, Morris A. Schapiro Hall, and the Morris A.
Schapiro Center for Engineering and Physical Science Research.
Two miles to the north of Morningside Heights is the twenty-acre campus of
the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, overlooking the Hudson River in
Manhattan’s Washington Heights. Among the most prominent buildings on the
site are the twenty-story Julius and Armand Hammer Health Sciences Center,
the William Black Medical Research building, and the seventeen-story tower
of the College of Physicians and Surgeons. In 1989, The Presbyterian
Hospital opened the Milstein Hospital Building, a 745-bed facility that
incorporates the very latest advances in medical technology and patient
care. To the west is the New York State Psychiatric Institute; east of
Broadway will be the Audubon Biomedical Science and Technology Park, which
will include the new Center for Disease Prevention. The Park is being
developed as a major urban research complex to house activities on the
cutting edge of scientific and medical research.
Other interesting information.
It is also very interesting, that in the USA many universities are
connected with each other. They belong to different unions. For example,
Dartmouth College, Brown University, Columbia University, Princeton
University and Yale University are the parts of «Ivy League». It is a union
of the most respectable and famous universities in the United States of
America.
«Ivy League» consists of eight colleges and universities. All of them are
rather old and popular. But they are not cheap, because students must pay
much money for their education.
The most expensive University is Dartmouth. The cheapest one is Yale.
All the universities have their own emblems, which are always different and
have definite meanings.
The
Report.
Klimenko Ekaterina.
9 form «V».
Education and Culture
In the United States, education, cultural activities, and the
communications media exert a tremendous influence on the lives of
individuals. Through these means, knowledge and cultural values are
generated, transmitted, and preserved from one generation to the next.
In most of the United States, illiteracy has been virtually eliminated.
However, census estimates suggest that 2.4 percent of the population over
age 25 is functionally illiterate, that is, they are unable to read and
write well enough to meet the demands of everyday life. More of the
population has received more education than ever before. Among Americans
aged 25 and older in 1993, about four-fifths had completed high school, as
compared with only about one-fourth as recently as 1940. In 1993 nearly 22
percent of the population had com pleted four or more years of college.
This same trend toward increased accessibility and usage applies to
America's cultural institutions, which have continued to thrive despite a
troubled economy.
Education
In the United States, education is offered at all levels from
prekindergarten to graduate school by both public and private institutions.
Elementary and secondary education involves 12 years of schooling, the
successful completion of which leads to a high school diploma. Although
public education can be defined in various ways, one key concept is the
accountability of school officials to the voters. In theory, responsibility
for operating the public education system in the United States is local. In
fact, much of the local control has been superseded, and state legislation
controls financing methods, academic standards, and policy and curriculum
guidelines. Because public education is separately developed within each
state, variations exist from one state to another. Parallel paths among
states have developed, however, in part because public education is also a
matter of national interest.
Public elementary and secondary education is supported financially by three
levels of government—local, state, and federal. Local school districts
often levy property taxes, which are the major source of financing for the
public school systems. One of the problems that arises because of the heavy
reliance on local property tax is a disparity in the quality of education
received by students. Rich communities can afford to pay more per student
than poorer communities; consequently, the disparity in wealth affects the
quality of education received. Some states have taken measures to level
this imbalance by distributing property tax collections to school districts
based on the number of students enrolled.
When public education was established in the American colonies in the mid-
17th century, it was viewed by many as an instrument that would break down
the barriers of social class and prejudice. Public schools were intended
for all creeds, classes, and religions. In addition to the development of
individuals, public schools were to promote social harmony by equalizing
the conditions of the population.
Most students attended private schools, however, until well into the 19th
century. Then, in the decades before the American Civil War (1861-1865), a
transition took place from private to public school education. This
transition was to provide children of all classes with a free education.
The idea of free public education did, however, encounter opposition. The
nonw hite population, which consisted primarily of blacks, was either
totally denied an education or allowed to attend only racially segregated
schools.
School Segregation
Before the Civil War, public school segregation was common both in the
South and in the North. In every southern state except Kentucky and
Maryland, laws existed that forbade the teaching of reading and writing to
slaves.
In 1867, after the end of the Civil War, schools for blacks began to be
established in various parts of the South. For nearly a century, until
1954, most education facilities in the southern states remained racially
segregated by state laws. Not only were schools segregated, but, in schools
for blacks, the physical conditions and facilities were poor,
transportation to such schools was meager or nonexistent, and expenditures
per black pupil fell below those per white pupil.
In the northern states during this same period, most black chi ldren also
attended separate schools. Sometimes this was the result of state laws;
more often it was the result of policy decisions, either officially
acknowledged or clandestine. Examples of the latter are gerrymandered
school districts and pupil transfer systems. The result, in the South and
the North, was a dual system of education for blacks and whites.
In 1954 the Supreme Court of the United States declared racial segregation
in schools illegal, in its landmark Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
decision. Since then progress has been made toward desegregation; however,
widespread de facto segregation still exists today in both suburban and
urban areas. In the late 1980s more than 60 percent of black and Hispanic
American students attended schools where minority group enrollment
constituted over 50 percent of the total. In some large cities, either
because of residential patterns or because of an intent to segregate
schools, entire school districts are still segregated. Some districts have
attempted the busing of pupils to help achieve integration, but this has
proved generally unpopular and unworkable. Thus, the right to a
desegregated education remains more theoretical than real for many
children.
Elementary and Secondary Enrollments
In 1993 some 59,680 public elementary and 19,995 public secondary schools
were in operation in the United States, in addition to 4826 special-purpose
or combined schools. Enrollment in public schools in 1993 totaled about 31
million elementary pupils and about 11.7 million secondary students. In
addition, private elementary and secondary schools together enrolled about
4.9 million students in 1991. The largest system of private education in
the United States is that of the Roman Catholic church, with some 2.6
million students in 1991. In public schools, the average expenditure per
pupil in the United States in 1993 was about $5574, ranging from a low of
about $3218 in Utah to a high of about $9712 in New Jersey.
Higher Education
The first American colleges were small and attended by an aristocratic
student body. The earliest institutions were established in the United
States between the mid-17th and mid-18th centuries: Harvard University
(1636), the College of William and Mary (1693), Yale University (1701), the
University of Pennsylvania (1740), Princeton University (1746), Columbia
University (1754), Brown University (1764), Rutgers University (1771), and
Dartmouth College (1769). These private institutions initially prepared
students for careers in theology, law, medicine, and teaching—a curriculum
too narrow for a country experiencing a rapid expansion of its territory,
industry, and industrial population.
An important development occurred in 1862, when President Abraham Lincoln
signed the Morrill Act (see Land-Grant Colleges), which donated public
lands to the several states and territories to provide colleges with the
resources necessary to teach such branches of learning as agriculture and
the mechanical arts. The Morrill Act was designed to promote the liberal
and practical education of the new industrial population. Based on the act,
each state was granted 12,141 hectares (30,000 acres) of federal land for
each member it had in Congress. In addition to creating colleges, the
Morrill Act extended education to groups that would benefit from higher
education regardless of financial background and greatly accelerated the
admission of women to institutions of higher learning. Some of the larger
institutions that were established or expanded as a result of the Morrill
Act include the University of Arizona (1885), the University of California
at Berkeley (1868), the University of Florida (1853), the University of
Illinois (1867), Purdue University (1865), the University of Maryland
(1807), Michigan State University (1855), Ohio State University (1870),
Pennsylvania State University (1855), and the University of Wisconsin
(1849).
Higher education, like elementary and secondary education, has historically
been racially segregated in the United States. Before 1954 most blacks
gained access to higher education only by attending colleges and
universities established for blacks, nearly all of which were located in
the southern states. With the gradual dissolution of most traditional
racial barriers, more and more blacks enrolled in institutions where whites
made up the majority of the student body. By 1990 only about 17 percent of
all black students were enrolled in the 105 historically black colleges and
universities.
Accreditation
A unique feature of higher education in the United States is the device
known as accreditation, which includes voluntary self-evaluation by a
school and appraisal by a group of its peers. This process operates through
nationally recognized accrediting agencies and associations and certain
state bodies. These agencies or associations have established educational
criteria to evaluate institutions in terms of their own objectives and to
ascertain whether programs of educational quality are being maintained.
They provide institutions with continued stimulus for improvement, to
ensure that accredited status may serve as an authentic index of
educational quality.
Costs of Higher Education
The cost of higher education varies by type of institution. Tuition is
highest at private four-year institutions, and lowest at public two-year
institutions. The private four-year colleges nearly quadrupled their
average tuition rates between 1975 and 1990. For private four-year
colleges, tuition and fees for the 1992-1993 academic year averaged about
$13,043, compared with about $2827 at public four-year colleges. The cost
of attending an institution of higher education includes not only tuition
and fees, however, but also books and supplies, transportation, personal
expenses and, sometimes, room and board. Although tuition and fees
generally are substantially lower at public institutions than at private
ones, the other student costs are about the same. The average cost for
tuition, fees, and room and board for the 1992-1993 academic year at
private four-year colleges was about $18,892. At public four-year colleges
the average combined cost was about $6449.
Enrollment Trends
In 1992 about 62.1 million people were enrolled in elementary and secondary
schools and institutions of higher education, about 1.1 million more than
the number enrolled in 1975.
Nursery school enrollment increased sharply between 1970 and 1992, from
about 1.1 million to about 2.9 million children. This rise in nursery
school enrollment may have occurred because of the increasingly recognized
value of preprimary education as well as the growth in employment outside
the home of women with young children. College and university enrollment
also increased substantially, from some 8.6 million students in 1970 to
14.5 million in 1992. The increase in enrollment in institutions of higher
education was primarily due to the growth in attendance by women. Of the
total school enrollment in 1992, whites constituted about 83 percent,
blacks about 10 percent, and Hispanic Americans (who may be of any race)
about 7 percent.
Libraries
. The beginning……………………………………………………….1-2
. Princeton University…………………………………………….2
. The College of William and Mary…………………………..2-7
. Yale University……………………………………………………..7
. Rutgers College……………………………………………………7-8
. Brown University…………………………………………………8-10
. University of Pensilvania………………………………………10-14
. Washington and Lee University…………………………….14-16
. Columbia University…………………………………………….16-22
. Other interesting information…………………………………22
. « Ivy League »………………………………………………………23-24
. Education and Culture……………………………………………25
. Education…………………………………………………………….25-31
. Literature…………………………………………………………….32
. N. V. Bagramova.
T. I. Vorontsova.
«The book for reading in area studies. The United States of America
(country and people)»
«Publishers Soyuz», St. Petersburg, 2000 year.
. O. L. Soboleva.
«Students Encyclopedia. Russian language, Literature, Russian history,
English language.»
Moscow, «AST-PRESS», 2001 year.
. Internet.
Official web sites of the colleges and universities.