University of Chicago

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the public university in Chicago, see University of Illinois at Chicago. For the earlier university of the name, see Old University of Chicago.

University of Chicago
Latin: Universitas Chicagiensis
Motto	Crescat scientia; vita excolatur (Latin)
Motto in English	Let knowledge grow from more to more; and so be human life enriched[1]
Established	1890
Type	Private nondenominational coeducational
Endowment	US$7.47 billion[2]
President	Robert J. Zimmer
Academic staff	2,168[3]
Administrative staff	14,772 (including employees of theUniversity of Chicago Medical Center)[3]
Students	14,954[4]
Undergraduates	5,134[4]
Postgraduates	9,820[4]
Location	Chicago, Illinois, USA
Campus	Urban, 211 acres (85.4 ha)[3]
Colors	Maroon      White     [5]
Athletics	NCAA Division III – UAA
Nickname	Maroons
Mascot	Phoenix
Affiliations	AAU NAICU 568 Group URA CIC
Website	uchicago.edu

The University of Chicago (U of C, UChicago, or simply Chicago) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. The university consists of the College of the University of Chicago, various graduate programs and interdisciplinary committees organized into four divisions, six professional schools, and a school of continuing education. A highly regarded university internationally, beyond the arts and sciences, Chicago is also well known for its professional schools, which include the Pritzker School of Medicine, the Booth School of Business, the Law School, and the Divinity School. The university enrolls approximately 5,000 students in the College and about 15,000 students overall.

University of Chicago scholars have played a major role in the development of various academic disciplines, including: the Chicago school of economics, the Chicago school of sociology, the law and economics movement in legal analysis,^[6] the Chicago school of literary criticism, the Chicago school of religion,^[7] the school of political science known as behavioralism.^[8] The physics leading to the world's first man-made, self-sustaining nuclear reaction took place here.^[9] The university is also home to the University of Chicago Press, the largest university press in the United States.^[10]

Founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, the University of Chicago was incorporated in 1890; William Rainey Harper became the university's first president in 1891, and the first classes were held in 1892. Both Harper and future president Robert Maynard Hutchins advocated for Chicago's curriculum to be based upon theoretical and perennial issues rather than applied sciences and commercial utility.^[11]

The University of Chicago is home to many prominent alumni. 89 Nobel laureates^[12] have been affiliated with the university as visiting professors, students, faculty, or staff, the fourth most of any institution in the world. In addition, Chicago's alumni include 49 Rhodes Scholars,^[13] 2 Fields Medalists,^[14] 13 National Humanities Medalists^[15] and 13 billionaire graduates.^[16]

University of California, Riverside

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside), is a public research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of Californiasystem. The main campus sits on 1,900 acres (769 ha) in a suburban district of Riverside, California, United States, with a branch campus of 20 acres (8 ha) in Palm Desert. Founded in 1907 as the UC Citrus Experiment Station, Riverside pioneered research in biological pest control and the use of growth regulators responsible for extending the citrus growing season in California from four to nine months. Some of the world's most important research collections on citrus diversity and entomology, as well as science fiction and photography, are located at Riverside.

UCR's undergraduate College of Letters and Science opened in 1954. The Regents of the University of California declared UCR a general campus of the system in 1959, and graduate students were admitted in 1961. To accommodate an enrollment of 21,000 students by 2015, more than $730 million has been invested in new construction projects since 1999.^[6][7] Preliminary accreditation of the UCR School of Medicine was granted in October 2012 and the first class of 50 students was enrolled in August 2013. It is the first new research-based public medical school in 40 years.^[8]

UCR is consistently ranked as one of the most ethnically and economically diverse universities in the United States.^[9][10] The 2014 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings places UCR 55th among top public universities, 112th nationwide and ranks 16+ graduate school programs including the Graduate School of Education and the Bourns College of Engineering based on peer assessment, student selectivity, financial resources, and other factors.^[11] Washington Monthly ranked UCR 5th in the United States in terms of social mobility, research and community service,^[12] while U.S. News ranks UCR as the fifth most ethnically diverse and, by the number of undergraduates receiving Pell Grants (42 percent), the 15th most economically diverse student body in the nation.^[9][10] Nearly two-thirds of all UCR students graduate within six years without regard to economic disparity.^[13] UCR's extensive outreach and retention programs have contributed to its reputation as a "campus of choice" for minority students, including LGBT students.^[14] In 2005, UCR became the first public university campus in the nation to offer a gender-neutral housingoption.^[15]

UCR's sports teams are known as the Highlanders and play in the Big West Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Their nickname was inspired by the high altitude of the campus, which lies on the foothills of Box Springs Mountain. The UCR women's basketball team won back to back Big West championships in 2006 and 2007. In 2007, the men's baseball team won its first conference championship and advanced to the regionals for the second time since the university moved to Division I in 2001.

Pennsylvania State University

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Pennsylvania State University (commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU) is a public, state-related research university with campuses and facilities throughoutPennsylvania. Founded in 1855, the university has a stated threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service. Its instructional mission^[9] includes undergraduate, graduate, professional and continuing education offered through resident instruction and online delivery. Its University Park campus, the flagship campus, lies within the Borough of State College and College Township. It has two law schools, Penn State Law, on the school's University Park campus, and Dickinson Law, located in Carlisle. The College of Medicine is located in Hershey. Penn State has another 19 commonwealth campuses and 5 special-mission campuses located across the state.^[10] Penn State has been labeled one of the "Public Ivies," a publicly funded university considered as providing a quality of education comparable to those of the Ivy League.^[11][12]

Annual enrollment at the University Park campus totals more than 45,000 graduate and undergraduate students, making it one of the largest universities in the United States. It has the world's largest dues-paying alumni association.^[13] The university's total enrollment in 2009–10 was approximately 94,300 across its 24 campuses^[14]and online through its World Campus.^[15]

The university offers more than 160 majors among all its campuses^[16] and administers $2.03 billion (as of June 30, 2013) in endowment and similar funds.^[17] The university's research expenditures exceeded $753 million for the 2009 fiscal year and was ranked 9th among U.S. universities in research income^[18] by the National Science Foundation.

Annually, the university hosts the Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon (THON), which is the world's largest student-run philanthropy.^[19] This event is held in theBryce Jordan Center on the University Park campus. In 2014, THON raised a program record of $13.3 million.^[20] The university's athletics teams compete in Division I of the NCAA and are collectively known as the Penn State Nittany Lions. They compete in the Big Ten Conference for most sports.

University of Oxford

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

  (Redirected from Oxford University)

The University of Oxford (informally Oxford University or simply Oxford) is a collegiate research university located in Oxford, England. While having no known date of foundation, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096,^[1] making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world, and the world's second-oldest surviving university.^[1][6] It grew rapidly from 1167 when Henry II banned English students from attending the University of Paris.^[1] After disputes between students and Oxford townsfolk in 1209, some academics fled northeast to Cambridge, where they established what became the University of Cambridge.^[7] The two "ancient universities" are frequently jointly referred to as "Oxbridge".

The university is made up of a variety of institutions, including 38 constituent colleges and a full range of academic departments which are organised into four divisions.^[8]All the colleges are self-governing institutions as part of the university, each controlling its own membership and with its own internal structure and activities.^[9] Being a city university, it does not have a main campus; instead, all the buildings and facilities are scattered throughout the metropolitan centre.

Most undergraduate teaching at Oxford is organised around weekly tutorials at the self-governing colleges and halls, supported by classes, lectures and laboratory work provided by university faculties and departments. Oxford is the home of several notable scholarships, including the Clarendon Scholarship which was launched in 2001^[10] and the Rhodes Scholarship which has brought graduate students to read at the university for more than a century.^[11] The university operates the largestuniversity press in the world^[12] and the largest academic library system in the United Kingdom.^[13] Oxford has educated many notable alumni, including 27 Nobel laureates (60 total affiliations), 26 British Prime Ministers (most recently David Cameron, the incumbent) and many foreign heads of state.^[14]

University of Cambridge

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

  (Redirected from Cambridge University)

The University of Cambridge^{[note 1]} (abbreviated as Cantab in post-nominal letters^{[note 2]}) is a collegiate public research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, Cambridge is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's fourth-oldest surviving university.^[6] It grew out of an association of scholars who left the University of Oxford after a dispute with townsfolk.^[7] The two ancient universities share many common features and are often jointly referred to as "Oxbridge".

Cambridge is formed from a variety of institutions which include 31 constituent colleges and over 100 academic departments organised into six schools.^[8] The university occupies buildings throughout the town, many of which are of historical importance. The colleges are self-governing institutions founded as integral parts of the university. In the year ended 31 July 2014, the university had a total income of £1.51 billion, of which £371 million was from research grants and contracts. The central university and colleges have a combined endowment of around £4.9 billion, the largest of any university outside the United States.^[9] Cambridge is a member of many associations and forms part of the "golden triangle" of leading English universities and Cambridge University Health Partners, an academic health science centre. The university is closely linked with the development of the high-tech business cluster known as "Silicon Fen".

Students' learning involves lectures and laboratory sessions organised by departments, and supervisions provided by the colleges. The university operates eight arts, cultural, and scientific museums, including the Fitzwilliam Museum and a botanic garden. Cambridge's libraries hold a total of around 15 million books, 8 million of which are in Cambridge University Library which is a legal deposit library. Cambridge University Press, a department of the university, is the world's oldest publishing house and the second-largest university press in the world.^[10][11] Cambridge is regularly placed among the world's best universities in different university rankings.^[12][13][14] Beside academic studies, student life is centred on the colleges and numerous pan-university artistic activities, sports clubs and societies.

Cambridge has many notable alumni, including several eminent mathematicians, scientists, economists, writers, philosophers, actors, politicians, and 90 Nobel laureateswho have been affiliated with it.^[15] Throughout its history, the university has featured in literature and artistic works by numerous authors including Geoffrey Chaucer, E. M. Forster and C. P. Snow.