New York University

NYU Seal

Motto Perstare et praestare ("To persevere and to excel")
Established 1831
School type Private
President John Sexton
Location New York, NY, USA
Enrollment 19,506 undergraduate, 18,682 graduate and professional
Faculty 1,907
Campus Urban
Athletics 18 sports teams
Homepage www.nyu.edu
NYU Logo

New York University (NYU) is a large research-oriented university in New York City, with its primary campus in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan. With a total enrollment of 38,188 (as of the fall of 2003), 18,628 of which are undergraduates and 18,522 of which are graduate or professional students, NYU is one of the largest private universities in the United States. The University comprises 14 schools, colleges, and divisions, which occupy six major centers across Manhattan.

Contents

About NYU

Apart from noted strengths in mathematics, computer science, neuroscience, public administration, and the performing arts, NYU's Stern School of Business ranks among the top 15 business schools in the country, while its School of Law regularly ranks in the top five of US law schools in education and research. NYU also has one of the largest and most diverse international student populations of any university in the United States, with nearly 4,000 students representing over 100 different countries.

NYU has also grown more selective in its undergraduate admissions in recent years, in light of the growing popularity of an "urban" education and the perceived decrease in crime in New York City. NYU has seen a continuing trend of increasingly greater numbers of applicants, lower acceptance rates, and higher average SAT scores for freshmen. In 2000, applications to NYU increased by more than 300 percent from 1991, while the acceptance rate declined from 65 percent to 29.3 percent, the lowest in the University's history [1] (http://www.nyu.edu/nyutoday/archives/14/04/frosh.nyu).

The University is a very "national" school, with over 60% of its incoming freshmen coming from outside of the Tri-State Area. In addition, 15% come from one of New York City's five boroughs, and 25% come from the surrounding 17 counties. Nevertheless, NYU's main feeder schools reflect a strong New York City influence; the top five are Stuyvesant High School, Benjamin Cardozo High School, Brooklyn Technical High School, Townsend Harris High School, and the Bronx High School of Science.

NYU's aggressive recruitment of renowned professors and Ivy League graduates has been a large factor in the University's growing prestige. It has often been involved in bidding wars to lure top faculty in an attempt to boost its academic reputation. NYU is remarkable in that it went from being a near-bankrupt commuter school to becoming one of the country's top research universities, in large part due to the fact that, instead of building its endowment, the University spent its money on building new facilities and hiring more faculty.

NYU's campus is fractured and decentralized, with buildings spread over much of the neighborhood. There is often tension between the university and other neighborhood residents and businesses over real estate issues. In spite of this, NYU is the fourth largest landowner in the city (the largest being the City itself).

NYU's sports teams are called the Violets. They participate in the NCAA's Division III and the University Athletic Association. The school's official color is violet. Its mascot is called Bobcat.

History

The Washington Square Arch
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The Washington Square Arch
Originally called the University of the City of New York, it was founded by a group of prominent New Yorkers in 1831 as an alternative to the Episcopalian-dominated and "aristocratic" Columbia College (now Columbia University). Notable among NYU's founding fathers is Albert Gallatin, after whom one of the University's schools is named. In the beginning, the University, which had always known as New York University (the name changed officially in 1896), focused primarily on teaching Latin and Greek, though it was also a progressive school, offering coursework in modern languages, engineering, agriculture, and other pragmatic subjects. In 1832, NYU held its first classes in rented rooms in four-story Clinton Hall, located near City Hall. In 1835, NYU's first professional school, the School of Law, was founded.
The University Heights campus
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The University Heights campus
While NYU has had its Washington Square campus since its inception, the University purchased a campus at University Heights in the Bronx, as a result of overcrowding on the old campus. NYU's move to the Bronx took place in 1894, spearheaded by the efforts of Chancellor Mitchell MacCracken, who is credited with turning the school into a modern university. The University Heights campus was far more spacious than its predecessor, and housed the bulk of the University's operations, along with the undergraduate College of Arts and Science (University College) and School of Engineering (which was later merged into Polytechnic University). Feeling the pressures of imminent bankruptcy, then-President of NYU, James Hester, negotiated the sale of the University Heights campus to the City University of New York, which took place in 1973. While University Heights alumni fought to keep the campus, some suggest that the sale was a "blessing in disguise" as the Uptown campus was losing money and the management of two campuses was impossible for NYU, financially. Chancellor Sidney Borowitz said on the matter, "There was so much pressure from Uptown alumni to preserve the Heights that it was only under the threat of possible financial ruin that the campus could be sold. With two campuses, NYU could never have prospered as it has." After the sale of the University Heights campus, University College merged with Washington Square College (founded in 1914), which was the Arts and Sciences division of the University based in Greenwich Village.

Student life

NYU is largely a reflection of the population of New York City, having a mostly progressive and liberal-minded student body. According to the Princeton Review, NYU ranks #2 as most accepting of gays and lesbians.

NYU's location in Greenwich Village -- a vibrant and creative neighborhood that has attracted generations of artists, writers, intellectuals, and musicians -- provides a unique perspective in which to study. The Village -- and the rest of New York City -- acts as an extension of NYU's campus. Being that NYU's "campus" is a patchwork of buildings and structures across much of the Village, it is indeed an "urban university" that has embraced the city as an essential element of the academic experience.

That said, NYU is often criticized for its lack of a "campus life" and it has been said that the University lacks a strong sense of community, particularly amongst undergraduates. This fact was put into perspective when a string of six highly publicized suicides took place at (or around) the University during the 2003-2004 academic year. NYU responded by offering free counseling to all enrolled students.

List of schools and colleges

  • Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences
  • College of Arts and Science
  • College of Dentistry
  • Ehrenkranz School of Social Work
  • Gallatin School of Individualized Study
  • Graduate School of Arts and Science
  • Institute of Fine Arts
  • School of Continuing and Professional Studies
  • School of Law
  • School of Medicine
  • Steinhardt School of Education
  • Stern School of Business
  • Tisch School of the Arts
  • Wagner Graduate School of Public Service

Noted alumni

A list of other notable alumni from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts can be found at NYUview (http://www.nyuview.com/index.php?p=136).

Noted faculty

Further reading

  • Frusciano, Tom and Marilyn Pettit, New York University and the City, an Illustrated History. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1997.
  • Potash, David M. The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at New York University: A History. New York: NYU Arts and Sciences Publications, March 1991.

External links

ja:ニューヨーク大学


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