Northwestern University

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For other schools named Northwestern please see Northwestern College.
Northwestern University
Official Seal of Northwestern University
Motto Quaecumque sunt vera (Latin: Whatsoever things are true)
Established 1851
Type Private
Endowment $4.92 billion[2]
President Henry S. Bienen
Staff 2,500 (approx.)
Undergraduates 7,947
Postgraduates 5,460
Location Evanston, Illinois, USA
Campus Suburban, 240 acres
Athletics Wildcats
Colors Purple and White
Mascot Willie the Wildcat
Website www.northwestern.edu

Northwestern University is a private, coeducational, non-sectarian research university, located in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, U.S.. Northwestern's main campus is a 240-acre (97 ha) parcel in Evanston, along the shore of Lake Michigan. Several of Northwestern's professional schools are located in Chicago, on a 25-acre (10 ha) campus near the Magnificent Mile. As of 2005, Northwestern's endowment and other trust funds total approximately $4.92 billion.

Northwestern University enrolls approximately 15,000 full-time students (including approximately 8,000 undergraduates) and employs nearly 7,100 faculty and staff members.

Northwestern's student newspaper is The Daily Northwestern, its student radio station is WNUR and its student television news network is NNN. It is a member of the Big Ten Conference for college athletics. The official school color is purple.

The school is commonly referred to as simply Northwestern, and although some refer to the university as "NW" or "NWU", NU is the correct abbreviation. [3] All University vehicles have license plates with "NWU" on them, and the university's original Internet domain was "nwu.edu."

Contents

[edit] History

The Arch at Northwestern's Evanston campus
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The Arch at Northwestern's Evanston campus

Founded in 1851 by Methodists from Chicago (including John Evans, after whom Evanston is named), Northwestern opened in 1855 with two faculty members and ten students. The University's name, Northwestern, came from its founders' desire to serve citizens of the states that occupied the area of the former Northwest Territory: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Northwestern created its Chicago campus during the 1920s.

The phrase on Northwestern's seal is Quaecumque sunt vera -- in Latin, "Whatsoever things are true" from Philippians 4:8. Also on Northwestern's seal, a Greek phrase inscribed on the pages of an open book: ho logos pleres charitos kai aletheias, which translates as "The Word... full of grace and truth." This phrase comes from the Gospel of John (1:14): "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we behold His glory, and the glory was of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." Both the Latin and Greek phrases express the values of the University's founders, and recall Northwestern's Methodist heritage.

Northwestern's founding charter granted the school a permanent exemption from paying property taxes. For this reason, Northwestern has often endured a difficult relationship with Evanston's government. Tensions have arisen regarding building codes, law enforcement, and politics. Recently, factions of Evanston's government have attempted to divide Northwestern's campus into several different wards, so as to reduce students' voting potency.

In 1873, the Evanston College for Ladies merged with Northwestern, and legendary suffragist Frances Willard became the school's first dean of women.

During the 1930s, Northwestern nearly merged with its academic rival, the University of Chicago. In 1933, Northwestern president Scott and Chicago president Hutchins concluded that in order to secure the future of both universities, it was in the best interest of both to merge as the Universities of Chicago, with Northwestern's Evanston campus serving undergraduates, Northwestern's Chicago campus serving professionals, and Chicago's Hyde Park campus serving postgraduates. What Scott and Hutchins initially envisioned as the preeminent university in the world was eventually extinguished by Northwestern's boards of trustees, a result that Hutchins called "one of the lost opportunities of American education." [4]

Northwestern hosted the first ever NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship game in 1939. It took place in Patten Gymnasium, which the school eventually demolished in order to make room for the Technological Institute.

In 1948, prominent anthropologist Melville J. Herskovits founded the Program of African Studies at Northwestern, the first center of its kind at an American academic institution.

On January 11, 2003, in a speech at Northwestern School of Law's Lincoln Hall, Governor of Illinois George Ryan announced that he would commute the sentences of more than 150 death row inmates. Ryan said, "it is fitting that we are gathered here today at Northwestern University with the students, teachers, lawyers and investigators who first shed light on the sorrowful conditions of Illinois’ death penalty system." [5] In the late 1990s, Northwestern student journalists uncovered information that exonerated Illinois death row inmate Anthony Porter two days before his scheduled execution.

On December 31, 2004, the FDA approved the use of Lyrica, a prescription drug developed by Northwestern scientists and marketed by Pfizer.

[edit] Student body

The Montgomery Ward Building at the Feinberg School of Medicine--America's first academic skyscraper. [1]
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The Montgomery Ward Building at the Feinberg School of Medicine--America's first academic skyscraper. [1]

Northwestern's admissions are among the "most selective" in the nation, according to U.S. News and World Report. Among national undergraduate programs, the publication ranked Northwestern 14th overall in selectivity. As of the 2005-06 academic year, there are 7,947 undergraduates and 5,460 graduate students enrolled full-time. 909 students were enrolled part-time in the School of Continuing Studies.

In early April, it was confirmed that for the undergraduate class of 2010, there were 18,419 total applicants, up 18% from the year before. 5,200 students were admitted (about 28%).

In the class of 2009, 6.4% are black, 17.4% are Asian, 6.5% are Hispanic and 1.8% are multiracial. The class is 52.1% female and 47.9% male. The mean high school rank was the 94th percentile and the combined SAT score 1402 (out of 1600), marking the highest SAT average of any class in Northwestern history and making Northwestern the most selective Big Ten university, and the second most selective university in the American Midwest. Of those enrolled in the class of 2009, 126 graduated as valedictorian of their high school class.

According to numbers posted by the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life, 36% of Northwestern students were affiliated with a fraternity or a sorority in Spring 2005. This is the highest percentage of students involved in Greek life among Big Ten universities.

[edit] Campus Life

Student theater enjoys a highly visible presence on campus. Two annual productions are especially notable: the Waa-Mu show, and the Dolphin show. Waa-Mu is an original musical, written and produced almost entirely by students. The Dolphin Show is the nation's largest student produced musical. Children's theater is represented on campus by Griffin’s Tale and the recently formed Purple Crayon Players. In addition, Northwestern boasts the largest student-theatre community in the nation. Students produce over sixty independent productions each year. Many Northwestern alumni have used these productions as stepping stones to successful television and film careers. Chicago's Lookingglass Theatre was founded by alum David Schwimmer and began in the Great Room in Jones residential college. The improv and sketch comedy group Mee-Ow lists Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Dermot Mulroney, Ana Gasteyer, John Cameron Mitchell and Seth Meyers among its alumni. The Titanic Players are the country's oldest long-form improv group in the country. Mee-Ow and Titanic, along with Northwestern's theatre department, have brought nation-wide attention to Northwestern's improv comedy training and performance.[citation needed]

Northwestern students are also heavily involved in community service. Annual events include Dance Marathon, a 30-hour event that raised over $610,000 for charity in 2005, Project Pumpkin, a Halloween celebration where over 800 local children are invited to campus for an afternoon of games and candy, and Suitcase Party. Many students also assist with Special Olympics and take alternative spring break trips.

Northwestern's Evanston campus runs North-South along a stretch of Sheridan Road. The North side of campus is home to the campus' fraternity quads, the Henry Crown Sports Pavilion, and the Technological Institute and all of its adjoining science-related buildings. The South side of campus is home to the University's music buildings, art buildings, and sorority quads. This division in building location, along with the fact that the South end of campus is closer to the downtown center of Evanston, creates a difference in the culture of students typically found on either end of the campus.

[edit] Athletics

Northwestern University Wildcats
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Northwestern University Wildcats

A charter member of the Big Ten Conference and the only private institution in the conference, Northwestern has 19 intercollegiate athletic teams (8 men's and 11 women's) and numerous club sports. The football team plays at Ryan Field (formerly known as Dyche Stadium); the basketball and volleyball teams play at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Northwestern's athletic teams are nicknamed the Wildcats. Before 1924, they were known as "The Purple" and unofficially as "The Fighting Methodists." The name Wildcats was bestowed upon the university in 1924 by a writer for the Chicago Tribune who wrote that even in a loss to the University of Chicago Maroons, the Northwestern football players looked like "Wildcats [that] had come down from Evanston." The name was so popular that university board members made "wildcats" the official nickname just months later.

The Northwestern Athletics' mascot is Willie the Wildcat. However, the team's first mascot was not Willie, but a live, caged bear cub from the Lincoln Park Zoo named Furpaw. In fall 1923, Furpaw was driven to the playing field to greet the fans before each game. After a losing season, the team decided that Furpaw was the harbinger of bad luck and banished him from campus.

The Northwestern University Marching Band(NUMB) leads the students in cheers and spirit, providing strong links to the past and preserving Northwestern's oldest traditions.

See Northwestern Wildcats for additional sports information.

[edit] Rankings

Levy Mayer Hall
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Levy Mayer Hall

According to US News & World Report, as of 2007, Northwestern's undergraduate program ranks 14th among all American "National University" programs. Northwestern's Medill School consistently ranks among America's top three journalism, media, and integrated marketing communications (IMC) schools [6][7] [8]; Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management consistently ranks among America's top five business schools; Northwestern's School of Law consistently ranks among America's top fourteen law schools; Northwestern's Feinberg School of Medicine consistently ranks among America's top thirty medical schools; Northwestern's School of Education and Social Policy consistently ranks among America's top ten education schools; Northwestern's Materials science program in the Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science ranks among America's top three; Northwestern's art history program consistently ranks among America's top ten; Northwestern's program in African history consistently ranks among America's top two; Northwestern's School of Music consistently ranks first among America's non-conservatory-based music programs. Other esteemed programs include Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences (MMSS), Learning Sciences, Engineering, Theatre, Communications, Psychology, Radio/Television/Film, and Integrated Science (ISP).

The Princeton Review ranks Northwestern among the Top 20 schools with the "Best College Newspaper," the "Best College Theater," and where "Town-Gown Relations are Strained." In 2003, this publication ranked Northwestern first for "Best Overall Academic Experience for Undergraduates."

The Times Higher Education Supplement's ranks Northwestern 19th in the United States and 49th among world universities; the Institute of Higher Education at Shanghai Jiao Tong University ranks Northwestern 23rd in the United States, and 31st among world universities. Newsweek Magazine ranks Northwestern the 23rd most global American university, and 35th most global university overall. [1]

[edit] Traditions

Northwestern University student traditions include:

  • Painting The Rock to advertise student groups and on-campus events
  • Jingling car keys at sports games. This began as a taunt; Big Ten rivals often bested Northwestern at football, and the keys implied "while your school may win the football game, in a few years your school's graduates will be parking Northwestern graduates' cars."
  • "Go U Northwestern", the Northwestern fight song, is played after scoring and at the end of games.
  • The Wildcat Growl is done when the other team has control of the ball in sports to show support and distract the other teams. This works especially well in thwarting audibles on the field as the majority of home fans participate.
  • The Clock Tower glows purple after a winning game, altering sports with the season, announcing the results to a large part of the Evanston community. The Clock Tower remains purple until a loss or the end of the sports season.
  • Dance Marathon, a 30-hour philanthropic event, raises several hundred thousand dollars every winter.
  • Primal Scream is held at 9:00 p.m. on the Sunday before finals week every quarter. For the event, students lean out windows or gather in court yards and scream at the top of their lungs.[9]
  • Armadillo Day, or more commonly Dillo Day, is held on Northwestern's Lakefill every Spring on the weekend before Memorial Day.

[edit] Schools, colleges and departments

[edit] Undergraduate programs

[edit] Graduate and professional programs

[edit] Notable alumni

Main article: List of Northwestern alumni

Many Northwestern alumni play or have played important roles in Chicago and Illinois, such as Rod Blagojevich, Jerry Reinsdorf, and Mary Zimmerman.

Northwestern's film and theater programs have also produced a steady stream of talented actors, actresses, and filmmakers. These alumni range from Ann-Margret and Warren Beatty, to David Schwimmer, Zach Braff, and Stephen Colbert.

Northwestern alumni living in New York City and Los Angeles, especially those involved in theater in film, are commonly known as the "Northwestern Mafia" due to their high concentration in the area and their willingness to help out fellow Wildcats [10]. They were referenced in an episode of Joey, in which Matt LeBlanc's character pretends to be a Northwestern alumnus in order to improve his industry connections.

[edit] Notable faculty

[edit] Trivia

In May 1978, the first Unabomber attack occurred at Northwestern University. The following year, the second Unabomber attack also occurred at Northwestern.

In the fall of 1999, Oprah Winfrey taught a class entitled "Dynamics of Leadership" at the Kellogg School of Management.

Men's Fitness magazine named Northwestern the fifth-fittest college in America in 2005.

The Chicago Transit Authority's elevated train running through Evanston is called the Purple Line, taking its name from Northwestern's school color. Although the majority of the campus sits two to four city blocks from the Purple Line, the Foster station is within walking distance of the southern end of the campus, while the Noyes station is close to the northern end of the campus. The Central station is close to Ryan Field, Northwestern's football stadium. Northwestern's professional schools and hospital in downtown Chicago are about four blocks east of the Chicago stop on the CTA Red Line.

[edit] References in popular culture

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Professional Schools

Undergraduate and Graduate

Miscellaneous


[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Education news & resources at the Times Higher Education Supplement, Top 500 World Universities, The World's 100 Most Global Universities retrieved Aug 18 2006

[edit] References


Northwestern University  

Academics

Judd A. and Marjorie Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences • School of Communication • School of Music • J. L. Kellogg School of Management • Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science • Medill School of Journalism • School of Education and Social Policy • Feinberg School of Medicine • Northwestern University School of Law

Athletics

Big Ten • Go U Northwestern • Northwestern Wildcats • NUMB • Ryan Field • Welsh-Ryan Arena • Willie the Wildcat

Campus

Chicago • Evanston • The Lakefill • The Rock • Technological Institute

Culture

Alumni • The Daily Northwestern • Dance Marathon • Dillo Day • Dolphin Show • Mee-Ow • NNN • Waa-Mu • WNUR


Big Ten Conference
Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Michigan • Michigan State • Minnesota • Northwestern • Ohio State • Penn State • Purdue • Wisconsin
Committee on Institutional Cooperation
Chicago • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Michigan • Michigan State • Minnesota • Northwestern • Ohio State • Penn State • Purdue • Wisconsin
Colleges and Universities in Chicagoland
Art Institute of Chicago • Chicago College of Performing Arts • Chicago State University • University of Chicago • Columbia College Chicago • Concordia University Chicago • DePaul University • Dominican University • East-West University • Hebrew Theological College • Illinois Institute of Art - Chicago • Illinois Institute of Technology • University of Illinois at Chicago • Kendall College • Loyola University Chicago • Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago • McCormick Theological Seminary • Meadville Theological School • Moody Bible Institute • North Park University • Northeastern Illinois University • Northwestern University • Roosevelt University • University of Saint Mary of the Lake • St. Xavier University • Telshe Yeshiva • Valparaiso University • Vandercook College of Music
Public

Arizona • Buffalo (SUNY) • UC Berkeley • UC Davis • UC Irvine • UC Los Angeles • UC San Diego • UC Santa Barbara • Colorado • Florida • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Iowa State • Kansas • Maryland • Michigan • Michigan State • Minnesota • Missouri • Nebraska • North Carolina • Ohio State • Oregon • Penn State • Pittsburgh • Purdue • Rutgers • SUNY Stony Brook • Texas • Texas A&M • Virginia • Washington • Wisconsin
Private

Brandeis • Brown • Caltech • Carnegie Mellon • Case Western • Chicago • Columbia • Cornell • Duke • Emory • Harvard • Johns Hopkins • MIT • Northwestern • NYU • Penn • Princeton • Rice • Rochester • USC • Stanford • Syracuse • Tulane • Vanderbilt • Wash U • Yale
Canadian

McGill • Toronto
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