History of the University of Pittsburgh
The
Early history
The founding
Founded by
The Western University
Within a short period, more advanced education in the area was needed, so in 1819 the
Fires
The University's buildings, along with most of its records and files, were destroyed in
A move north
WUP moved to two former theological seminary buildings on North Avenue in
20th century
Citing a need to avoid confusion, distinguish itself from the University of Pennsylvania, and return to its roots by identifying itself with the city, the Western University of Pennsylvania, by act of the state legislature, was renamed the University of Pittsburgh in 1908. During this time, Pitt had also outgrown its accommodations on the North Side of Pittsburgh and its departments had been scattered throughout the city for years. The Department of Medicine was in West Penn Hospital, the departments of Dentistry and Pharmacy were in a building on a hilltop at Pride and Bluff Streets, and the Law School was in the former University building at Ross and Diamond Streets after having moved from the Orphan's Court in the Old Allegheny County Court House. To consolidate its components on one campus, WUP bought 43 acres (170,000 m2) of land in December 1907 in what is now the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh and began relocating departments there by 1909.[24] The initial campus layout plan came from the winning submission from a national architectural contest that incorporated a Greek Acropolis design by Henry Hornbostel for 30 buildings.[25] However, due to financial and other constraints, only four of the buildings were constructed in this style, of which only Thaw Hall remains today. It was also during this period that the university, led by Chancellor Samuel McCormick, would again fend off pressures to abandon the school's commitment to liberal education in favor of more technical-based training. During his administration, McCormick would also lead the university into a new level of national recognition, expansion, and growth, as well as began institutional support of athletics.[18]
World War I
When the United States entered World War I in 1917, by law of Congress, all male college students were subject to military training. In the spring of 1918, Pitt began training students for war-related industrial work. The United States Army built seven frame barracks for housing 1,000 men, a 2,000 seat mess hall, an administrative building and a YMCA Hospitality House on the hillside campus. In September of that year, the federal government announced it was taking control of colleges and universities for the training of officers and technical specialists in the Student Army Training Corps (SATC), but by November 11, Germany had surrendered and by December all student soldiers were out of the armed services. The war activity had caused a major influx of students to Pitt and a corresponding shortage of space. The barracks, meant to be temporary, were used for some time to help alleviate congestion, but it was apparent that this was an inadequate solution; by 1920, Pitt alumni had begun a campaign to fund construction of a sorely-needed new building. The campaign was a success, raising $670,000 ($70,000 more than was needed), due in part to both the excitement of alumni with the championship caliber play of the Pitt football team (national champions or undefeated in 1910, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918 and 1920) and by a $100,000 contribution directly from the Athletic Committee's football receipts. By 1921, Alumni Hall (now known as Eberly Hall), designed by Benno Janssen (the runner-up for the previous campus plan architectural competition), was dedicated. It signified a departure from (and end to) the Acropolis Plan. This enthusiasm for football would also lead to the construction of Pitt Stadium in 1925.[26]
A national landmark
In the 1920s, new university chancellor John Gabbert Bowman declared that he had a vision for a centerpiece "tall building" for the university. The 14-acre (57,000 m2) Frick Acres property in Oakland was soon purchased and plans for the campus shifted focus from the hillside to a neo Gothic Revival plan that today comprises the Cathedral of Learning, Heinz Memorial Chapel, and the Stephen Foster Memorial buildings. By 1925, Bowman had settled on a design by Charles Klauder for the "tall building": an attention-getting 535-foot (163 m) tower whose great height, with open spaces all around, would suggest the "character that ought to be in an educated man." The building's "parallel lines going up and up...would express courage [and] fearlessness" and it would "unify Pittsburgh into a community conscious of its character." The Cathedral is "cut off" flat at the top to suggest that its lines, like education, have no ending. The building was financed by donors and by a campaign to collect dimes from local school children. Bowman was a persuasive leader and although the Great Depression intervened, the Cathedral of Learning, on which construction was begun in 1926, was completed in 1937. It remains the second-tallest education building in the world (the tallest in the Western Hemisphere) and contains an equally-impressive interior highlighted by 26 nationality rooms.
Adjacent to the Cathedral of Learning, the
The Pitt Vaccine
State relations
In 1966 the state designated Pitt as a state-related university, which allows it to receive public funds (currently more than $160 million per year). This allows the university to offer reduced tuition to Pennsylvania residents, but it remains under independent control. Pitt is typically listed as a public university. Upon affiliation with the state, subsidized tuition led to a massive influx of new students and rapid expansion of Pitt's size and scope. In the 1970s, Pitt's football team returned to prominence, with a national championship season in 1976 led by Hall of Fame running back Tony Dorsett, and continued success in the 1980s with players such as Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino. In the 1980s, significant medical research in the field of organ transplantation was conducted by Thomas Starzl, establishing Pitt as a world leader in the field. Chancellor Wesley Posvar retired in 1991, after 24 years in office. His administration is known for eliminating the university's debt from its 1960s financial crisis and growing the school's prestige and endowment. Under Posvar, Pitt's operating budget grew sevenfold to $630 million and its endowment tripled to $257 million. He also established the Honors College, the School of Health-Related Professions, the University Center for International Studies, the Center for Philosophy of Science, and the University Center for Social and Urban Research.[29]
Into the 21st century
In 1999,
Heads of the University of Pittsburgh
The original title used by the head of the institution was "Principal" from its founding. Despite Pittsburgh Academy's being granted university status in 1819, the title of Principal was used until 1872, during George Woods' tenure of heading the university, when a legislative act altered the university's charter, designating the head of the university as "Chancellor".[33] The title was changed from "Chancellor" to "President" in 1984 during Wesley Posvar's term in office,[34] but was reverted to "Chancellor" during the term of his successor, J. Dennis O'Connor. The university considers the first chancellor of the university to be Robert Bruce who became Principal in 1819 when the school was granted university status. Numbers in parentheses are the school's recognition of the sequence of chancellors. Stanton Crawford served as acting chancellor but was named full chancellor posthumously.
Head | Years | Name of Institution | Head | Years | Name of Institution | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hugh H. Brackenridge Founder |
1787 | Pittsburgh Academy | Milton Goff acting Chancellor |
1880–1881 | Western University of Pennsylvania | ||
George Welch Principal |
1789 | Pittsburgh Academy | Henry MacCracken Chancellor (6th) |
1881–1884 | Western University of Pennsylvania | ||
Robert Andrews Principal |
1796–1800 | Pittsburgh Academy | Milton Goff Chancellor (7th) |
1884–1890 | Western University of Pennsylvania | ||
Robert Steele Principal |
1800–1801 | Pittsburgh Academy | William J. Holland Chancellor (8th) |
1891–1901 | Western University of Pennsylvania | ||
John Taylor Principal |
1801 | Pittsburgh Academy | John A. Brashear acting Chancellor |
1901–1904 | Western University of Pennsylvania | ||
Benjamin B. Hopkins Principal |
1803-1804? | Pittsburgh Academy | Samuel B. McCormick Chancellor (9th) |
1904–1921 | Western University of Pennsylvania/ University of Pittsburgh | ||
James Mountain Principal |
180? | Pittsburgh Academy | John G. Bowman Chancellor (10th) |
1921–1945 | University of Pittsburgh | ||
Robert Patterson Principal |
1807–1810 | Pittsburgh Academy | Rufus H. Fitzgerald Chancellor (11th) |
1945–1955 | University of Pittsburgh | ||
Joseph Stockton Principal |
1810–1820 | Pittsburgh Academy | Charles B. Nutting acting Chancellor |
1955–1956 | University of Pittsburgh | ||
Robert Bruce Principal (1st, 1st term) |
1820–1835 | Western University of Pennsylvania | Edward H. Litchfield Chancellor (12th) |
1956–1965 | University of Pittsburgh | ||
Gilbert Morgan Principal (2nd) |
1835–1836 | Western University of Pennsylvania | Stanton C. Crawford Chancellor (13th) |
1965–1966 | University of Pittsburgh | ||
Robert Bruce Principal (1st, 2nd term) |
1836–1843 | Western University of Pennsylvania | David H. Kurtzman Chancellor (14th) |
1966–1967 | University of Pittsburgh | ||
Heman Dyer Principal (3rd) |
1843–1849 | Western University of Pennsylvania | Wesley W. Posvar Chancellor/President (15th) |
1967–1991 | University of Pittsburgh | ||
David H. Riddle acting Principal |
1849–1855 | Western University of Pennsylvania | J. Dennis O'Connor President/Chancellor (16th) |
1991–1995 | University of Pittsburgh | ||
John F. McLaren Principal (4th) |
1855–1858 | Western University of Pennsylvania | Mark A. Nordenberg Chancellor (17th) |
1995–31 July 2014 | University of Pittsburgh | ||
George Woods Principal/Chancellor (5th) |
1858–1880 | Western University of Pennsylvania | Patrick D. Gallagher Chancellor (18th) |
August 2014 | University of Pittsburgh |
References
- ISBN 0-8229-1150-7.
- ^ The Story of Pitt
- ^ Starrett, Agnes Lynch (1937). Through One Hundred and Fifty Years: The University of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh PA: University of Pittsburgh Press. p. 26. Retrieved 21 December 2009.
- ^ "Early Schools". Pittsburgh School Bulletin. Pittsburgh PA: Pittsburgh Teachers Association Inc.: 25 May 1928. Retrieved 22 December 2009.
- ^ Holland, WilliamJacob (1893). First Alumni Year Book: Our University. Pittsburgh PA: Alumni Association of the Western University of Pennsylvania. p. 36. Archived from the original on 13 August 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2009.
- ^ Annual catalog of the Western University of Pennsylvania, Year Ending 1905. Western University of Pennsylvania. 1905. p. 27. Retrieved 21 December 2009.
- ^ "The History of Pittsburgh | Historic Pittsburgh".
- ^ "Request Rejected".
- ^ "Through one hundred and fifty years: The University of Pittsburgh | Documenting Pitt".
- ^ a b c d "The Owl | Documenting Pitt".
- ^ a b c d "The Owl | Documenting Pitt".
- ^ a b c d "Request Rejected".
- ^ "Rev. John Taylor | Historic Pittsburgh".
- ^ McCormick, Samuel Black (1908). The History of the Western University of Pennsylvania (1787-1908). Allegheny PA: University of Pittsburgh. p. 4. Retrieved 5 November 2009.
- ^ "The Celebration of the One Hundred and Twenty-Fifth Anniversary: History of the University". University of Pittsburgh Bulletin. 8 (21): 4–5. 1 November 1912. Retrieved 20 January 2010.
- ^ Starrett, Agnes Lynch (1937). Through One Hundred and Fifty Years: The University of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh PA: University of Pittsburgh Press. p. 66. Retrieved 5 November 2009.
- ISBN 0-8229-1150-7.
- ^ ISBN 0-8229-1150-7.
- ^ "The Owl". Western University of Pennsylvania. 1909. p. 9. Retrieved 28 April 2008.
- ^ "The Owl". University of Pittsburgh. 1910. p. 7. Retrieved 28 April 2008.
- ^ "University of Pittsburgh". www.pitt.edu. Archived from the original on 2003-07-28.
- ^ "University of Pittsburgh". www.pitt.edu. Archived from the original on 2003-07-28.
- ^ "University of Pittsburgh". www.pitt.edu. Archived from the original on 2003-07-28.
- ^ "The Owl | Documenting Pitt".
- ISBN 0-8229-1150-7.
- ISBN 0-8229-1150-7.
- ^ "The Pennsylvania Center for the Book: Jonas Salk". Pennsylvania State University. Retrieved 21 January 2009.
- ^ http://www.polio.pitt.edu/ Archived 2005-02-15 at the Wayback Machine[1]
- ^ "Pitt Ranked 4th Among Public Universities, 10th Among All U.S. Colleges and Universities With Endowments in Excess of $1 Billion in The FY 2006 Percentage Increase in Its Endowment". University of Pittsburgh. 24 January 2007. Archived from the original on 17 October 2007. Retrieved 31 October 2007.
- ^ Coyne, Justine (October 18, 2013). "Pitt ends capital campaign with $2.1B total". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2021-12-02.
- ^ "University of Pittsburgh Announces 12-Year Facilities Plan To Support Programmatic Direction". University of Pittsburgh. 17 May 2007. Archived from the original on 10 June 2007. Retrieved 21 June 2007.
- ^ Fish, Tom (2021-08-27). "The 30 universities with the largest endowments". Newsweek. Retrieved 2021-12-02.
- ISBN 0-8229-1150-7.
- ^ Hart, Peter (30 August 2001). "Wesley Posvar, 15th chancellor of University, dies". University Times. Vol. 34, no. 1. Pittsburgh PA. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
- ^ "Request Rejected".
- ^ "History of the Western University of Pennsylvania,1787-1908 | Documenting Pitt".
- ^ "Through one hundred and fifty years: The University of Pittsburgh | Documenting Pitt".