Washington University in St. Louis
 | It has been suggested that George Warren Brown School of Social Work be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since April 2024. |
ASN 2552 | | |
Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington, the first president of the United States.
Washington University comprises eight undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools, including Arts and Sciences, George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Olin Business School, Washington University School of Medicine, McKelvey School of Engineering, Washington University School of Law, School of Continuing & Professional Studies, and Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts. Washington University enrolls approximately 16,550 students across its campuses from all 50 states and more than 110 countries.
Washington University has been a member of the Association of American Universities since 1923 and is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".[8][9] In 2021, the National Science Foundation ranked Washington University 25th among academic institutions in the United States for research and development expenditures.[10][11] The university's athletic teams, Washington University Bears, play in NCAA Division III as a founding member of the University Athletic Association.
As of 2023, 26 Nobel laureates, 11 Pulitzer Prize winners, 4 United States Poet Laureates, and 6 MacArthur Fellows have been affiliated with the university as faculty or alumni.[12][13] Washington University alumni also include 16 university presidents, 21 members of the United States Congress, 30 Rhodes Scholars, 7 Marshall Scholars and 2 Churchill Scholars.[14][15][16]
History
19th century
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Washington University was conceived by 17
The university's first chancellor was Joseph Gibson Hoyt. Crow secured the university charter from the Missouri General Assembly in 1853, and Eliot was named president of the board of trustees. Early on, Eliot solicited support from members of the local business community, including John O'Fallon, but Eliot failed to secure a permanent endowment. Washington University is unusual among major American universities in not having had a prior financial endowment. The institution had no backing of a religious organization, single wealthy patron, or earmarked government support. To this day, Washington University is controlled by a board of trustees that, by charter, appoints its own members.[18]
During the three years following its inception, the university had three different names. The board first approved "Eliot Seminary", but William Eliot was uncomfortable with naming a university after himself and objected to the establishment of a seminary which would implicitly be charged with teaching a religious faith. He favored a nonsectarian university.[19]
Under pressure from Eliot, the board of trustees created a task force charged with naming the university, headed by Samuel Treat. Several months later Treat's committee proposed naming the university the Washington Institute, after the nation's first president George Washington. In 1854, the board of trustees changed the name to "Washington Institute" in honor of George Washington and because the charter was coincidentally passed on Washington's birthday, February 22.[20] Naming the university after the nation's first president, only seven years before the American Civil War and during a time of bitter national division, was no coincidence. During this time of conflict, Americans universally admired George Washington as the father of the United States and a symbol of national unity. The board believed that the university should be a force of unity in a strongly divided Missouri. In 1856, the university amended its name to "Washington University".
Although chartered as a university, for many years Washington University functioned primarily as a night school located on 17th Street and Washington Avenue in downtown St. Louis. Owing to limited financial resources, Washington University initially used public buildings. Classes began on October 22, 1854, at the Benton School building. At first the university paid for the evening classes, but as their popularity grew, their funding was transferred to the
In 1867, the university opened the first private nonsectarian law school west of the Mississippi River. By 1882, Washington University had expanded to numerous departments, which were housed in various buildings across St. Louis. Medical classes were first held at Washington University in 1891 after the St. Louis Medical College decided to affiliate with the university, establishing the School of Medicine. However, by the 1890s the university was on the brink of financial collapse until Robert Sommers Brookings, president of the board of trustees, undertook the task of rebuilding the university's finances and acquiring land for a new campus. Brookings was instrumental in raising money for the university, since Eliot, the primary fundraiser for the university, had died.
In 1896, Holmes Smith, professor of Drawing and History of Art, designed what would become the basis for the modern-day university seal. The seal is made up of elements from the Washington family coat of arms and the symbol of Louis IX, whom the city is named after.[22]
Washington University spent its first half century in downtown St. Louis bounded by Washington Ave., Lucas Place, and Locust Street. By the 1890s, owing to the dramatic expansion of the medical school and a new benefactor in Robert Brookings, the university began to move west. The university board of directors began a process to find suitable ground and hired the landscape architecture firm Olmsted, Olmsted & Eliot of Boston. A committee of Robert S. Brookings, Henry Ware Eliot, and William Huse found a site of 103 acres (41.7 ha) just beyond Forest Park, located west of the city limits in St. Louis County. The elevation of the land was thought to resemble the Acropolis and inspired the nickname of "Hilltop" campus, renamed the Danforth campus in 2006 to honor former chancellor William H. Danforth.[23]
In 1899, the university opened a national design contest for the new campus.
20th century
The cornerstone of the first building, Busch Hall, was laid on October 20, 1900. The construction of Brookings Hall, Ridgley, and Cupples began shortly thereafter.[26]
The university delayed occupying these buildings until 1905 to accommodate the
By 1915, construction of a new medical complex was completed on Kings Highway in what is now St. Louis's Central West End. In 1918, Washington University admitted its first women medical students.[27]
During
After working for 22 years at the University of Chicago, Compton returned to St. Louis in 1946 to serve as Washington University's ninth chancellor.[30] Compton reestablished the Washington University football team, making the declaration that athletics were to be henceforth played on a "strictly amateur" basis with no athletic scholarships. Under Compton's leadership, enrollment at the university grew dramatically, fueled primarily by World War II veterans' use of their GI Bill benefits.[31]
The desegregation of Washington University began in 1947 with the School of Medicine and the School of Social Work.[32] The university ended racial segregation in its undergraduate divisions in 1952, making it the last local higher education institution to do so. During the 1940s, the university faced criticism from the local African American media, which included a letter-writing campaign by churches, the local Urban League, and legal briefs by the NAACP, seeking to strip the university of its tax-exempt status.
In 1949, a student group, the Student Committee for the Admission of Negroes (SCAN), was founded and began advocating for full racial integration. In 1951, then-vice chancellor Leslie Buchan argued that full desegregation would isolate the university from the community and potentially lead to incidents on campus.[citation needed] The following year, in May 1952, the board of trustees passed a resolution desegregating the university's undergraduate divisions.[33]
During the latter half of the 20th century, Washington University transitioned from a commuter college to a world-renowned institution.[34] In 1957, planning began for the construction of the "South 40", a complex of modern residential halls which primarily house freshmen and some sophomore students.[35]
With additional on-campus housing, the university, which had been predominantly attended by commuter students, began attracting a greater number of applicants from across the nation.[36] By 1964, over two-thirds of incoming students came from outside the St. Louis area.[37]
In 1971, the board of trustees appointed Chancellor William Henry Danforth, who guided the university through the social and financial crises of the 1970s, strengthened the School of Medicine, and improved the often tense ties between the university and the St. Louis community. During his 24-year chancellorship, he established 70 new endowed professorships, constructed dozens of buildings, secured a $1.72 billion endowment, and tripled the amount of student scholarships.[34]
To better distinguish itself in national media, the university's board of trustees added the phrase "in St. Louis" in 1976.[38]
In 1995,
Washington University's reputation was enhanced by two major fundraising efforts since the 1980s. From 1983 to 1987, the "Alliance for Washington University" campaign raised $630.5 million, which was then the most successful fund-raising effort in national history.[41] From 1998 to 2004, the "Campaign for Washington University" raised $1.55 billion, which was applied to additional scholarships, professorships, and research initiatives.[42]
21st century
In 2002, Washington University co-founded the
In 2005, Washington University founded the McDonnell International Scholars Academy, an international network of premier research universities, with an initial endowment gift of $10 million from John F. McDonnell.[45][46] The academy, which selects scholars from 35 partnered universities around the world, was created to develop a cohort of future leaders, strengthen ties with top foreign universities, and promote global awareness and social responsibility.[47][48]
In Fall 2006, the
In June 2019,
In October 2021, Washington University announced it would invest an additional $1 billion in financial aid for students.[53] The university practices need-blind admissions and meets 100% of admitted students' demonstrated needs.[54] The new financial aid initiative, called Gateway to Success, included $800 million in endowed funding to support need-blind undergraduate admissions, meaning the university will not consider an applicant's financial situation when making admissions decisions while still meeting 100% of demonstrated financial need for admitted undergraduates.[55] Another $200 million will be designated for financial aid for graduate and professional students in the university's Brown School, the School of Law and the School of Medicine, as well as in business, engineering, art and architecture, and Arts & Sciences.[54]
In 2022, Washington University was one of 10 universities picked to join the Kessler Scholars Collaborative, which provides support for selected first-generation and Pell-Grant eligible STEM students.
In March 2024, Washington University agreed to purchase the campus of neighboring Fontbonne University when it closes in 2025.[59]
U.S. presidential and vice-presidential debates
Washington University has been selected by the
The campus was the venue for four Presidential debates, and one Vice-Presidential debate: the inaugural 1992 Presidential debate on October 11, 1992,[61] the third 2000 Presidential debate on October 17,[61] the second 2004 Presidential debate on October 8,[61] the sole 2008 Vice Presidential debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin on October 2,[62] and the second 2016 Presidential debate on October 9. The university was scheduled to host a debate in 1996, but that debate was cancelled when the number of scheduled debates was scaled back to two.[63][64]
Following the 2004 debate, Chancellor Wrighton initially expressed skepticism about hosting another debate but later changed his view.[65] He acknowledged the unique educational opportunities for students and emphasized the role of these events in contributing to a national understanding of important issues. Wrighton also highlighted their impact in bringing national and international attention to the St. Louis region, positioning it as one of America's great metropolitan areas.[66]
Contrary to the majority opinion of the student body, the university opted not to host a 2020 presidential debate.[67]
Campuses
Danforth
The university's 169-acre Danforth Campus is bordered by the Forest Park section of St. Louis and Clayton and University City, Missouri.
A large portion of the Danforth Campus is recognized as the Washington University Hilltop Campus Historic District, which achieved National Historic Landmark status on February 27, 1987.[68][69]
The Barry Flanagan bronze statue, "Thinker on a Rock," widely known, simply, as "The Bunny", is currently on permanent loan to Washington University and features prominently near Olin Library, Graham Chapel and Mallinckrodt.
Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement
Founded with a major gift from former U.S. Congressman
Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum
The Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, established in 1881, is one of the oldest teaching museums in the country.[70] The collection includes works from 19th-, 20th-, and 21st-century American and European artists, including George Caleb Bingham, Thomas Cole, Pablo Picasso, Max Ernst, Alexander Calder, Jackson Pollock, Rembrandt, Robert Rauschenberg, Barbara Kruger, and Christian Boltanski. Also in the complex is the 3,000 sq ft (300 m2) Newman Money Museum exhibiting the collection of American numismatist Eric P. Newman. In October 2006, the Kemper Art Museum moved from its previous location, Steinberg Hall, into a new facility designed by former faculty member Fumihiko Maki. The Kemper Art Museum is located directly across from Steinberg Hall, which was Maki's first commission in 1959.
Medical
Washington University Medical Center comprises 186 acres (75.3 ha) spread over 18 city blocks, located along the eastern edge of Forest Park within the Central West End neighborhood of St. Louis.[71] The campus is home to the Washington University School of Medicine and its associated teaching hospitals, Barnes-Jewish Hospital and St. Louis Children's Hospital. Many of the buildings are connected via a series of skyways and corridors.
The School's 2,100 employed and volunteer faculty physicians also serve as the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals, which are part of BJC HealthCare. Washington University and BJC have taken on many joint venture projects, such as the Center for Advanced Medicine, completed in December 2001.
In 2019, Washington University was awarded a $7.6 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to create the Implementation Science Center for Cancer Control to address disparities in cancer care in parts of Missouri and Illinois.[72] In 2022, Washington University's Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences was awarded a five-year $61 million grant from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health, to focus on precision medicine, health equity, and diversity.[73]
Tyson Research Center
Other
Washington University's North Campus and West Campus principally house administrative functions that are not student focused. North Campus lies in St. Louis City near the
The West Campus is located about one mile (1.6 km) to the west of the Danforth Campus in
Academics
| College/School founding | |
|---|---|
| College/School | Year founded |
College of Arts & Sciences |
1853 |
| James McKelvey School of Engineering | 1854 |
| School of Law | 1867 |
| College of Art | 1879 |
| School of Medicine | 1891 |
| College of Architecture | 1910 |
| Olin Business School | 1917 |
Graduate School of Arts & Sciences |
1922 |
George Warren Brown School of Social Work |
1925 |
| School of Continuing & Professional Studies | 1931 |
| Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts | 2005 |
Arts and Sciences
Arts & Sciences is home to the College of Arts & Sciences as well as graduate programs across its many departments.The College of Arts & Sciences is the central undergraduate unit of the university with 330 tenured and
The College of Arts & Sciences offers courses in over a dozen languages, including Arabic, Hebrew, Spanish, German, French, Swahili, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Greek, Italian, Hindi, Portuguese, and Latin. The School of Continuing & Professional Studies in Arts & Sciences also offers course work in Swedish, Vietnamese, Irish, and Czech.
Business
Olin has a network of more than 16,000 alumni worldwide.[77] In 2004, the school's endowment increased to $213 million (2004) and annual gifts average $12 million per year.[78] Simon Hall was opened in 1986 after a donation from John E. Simon. On May 2, 2014, the $90 million conjoined Knight and Bauer Halls were dedicated, following a $15 million gift from Charles F. Knight and Joanne Knight and a $10 million gift from George and Carol Bauer through the Bauer Foundation. The two buildings are joined by a three-story-high atrium and include spaces for lectures, faculty offices, and classrooms.
Undergraduate BSBA students take 40–60% of their courses within the business school. Graduate students are able to pursue an MBA either full-time or part-time. Students may also take elective courses from other disciplines at Washington University, including law and many other fields.
School of Design and Visual Arts
The Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts was founded in 2006, merging the existing academic units of Architecture and Art with the university's museum. The School comprises
- College of Architecture
- Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design
- College of Art
- Graduate School of Art
- Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, considered one of the most distinguished university art collections in the country[79]
In October 2006 the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum moved into new facilities designed by
McKelvey School of Engineering
With approximately $27 million in annual research awards, the school focuses intellectual efforts on medicine and health, energy and environment, entrepreneurship, and security.
On January 31, 2019, the School of Engineering & Applied Science was renamed to the James McKelvey School of Engineering.[81] This renaming honored trustee and distinguished alumnus Jim McKelvey Jr., the co-founder of Square, following his substantial donation.[82]
School of Continuing & Professional Studies
In June 2023, Washington University announced its renamed and revamped University College as the School of Continuing & Professional Studies (CAPS).[83] CAPS was established to focus on adult learners with a focus on rapidly growing and high paying fields like data analytics, education, healthcare, and management.[83] The pre-nursing program was developed in partnership with Goldfarb School of Nursing at Barnes-Jewish College.[83]
School of Law
Washington University School of Law offers joint-degree programs with the Olin Business School, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the School of Medicine, and the School of Social Work. It also offers LLM programs, a Master of Juridical Studies (MJS), and a Juris Doctoris (JD). The law school offers 3 semesters of courses in the Spring, Summer, and Fall, and requires at least 85 credit hours of coursework for the JD.
The law school offers a full-time day program, beginning in August, for the J.D. degree. The law school is located in Anheuser-Busch Hall (opened in 1997).
Medicine
The
The medical school partners with St. Louis Children's Hospital and Barnes-Jewish Hospital, where all physicians are members of the school's faculty.
Social Work and Public Health
With roots dating back to 1909 in the university's School of Social Economy, the
Former dental school
Founded as the Missouri Dental College in 1866, the Washington University School of Dental Medicine was the first dental school west of the Mississippi River[89] and the sixth dental school in the United States. The school closed in 1991.[90]
Rankings and reputation
Princeton Review, in its 2020 edition, gave the university an admissions selectivity rating of 99 out of 99.[103] The acceptance rate for the class of 2026 (those entering in the fall of 2022) was 11.3%, with students selected from more than 33,000 applications. Of students admitted, 91 percent were in the top 10 percent of their class.[104] and the College of Arts and Sciences
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