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Northwestern University
- Location & Contact Information
- Address, Directions, & Map:
- 633 Clark Street, Evanston, Illinois, United States of America
- Telephone Numbers: 847-491-3741
- Official Website: [1]
- Address, Directions, & Map:
- History & Memorable Moments
Founded in 1851 by Methodists from Chicago (including John Evans, after whom Evanston is named), Northwestern opened in Evanston in 1855 with two faculty members and ten students. The school’s nine founders, all of who were Methodists (three of them ministers), knelt in prayer and worship before launching their first organizational meeting. 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 part of Minnesota. The original Evanston campus in 1855 consisted of only one building, a temporary structure called "Old College." University Hall, the first permanent building, was constructed in 1869. Northwestern built a campus in Chicago for the schools of law, medicine, and business in the 1920s. [1]
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. [1]
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. [1]
In 1873, the Evanston College for Ladies merged with Northwestern, and Frances Willard, who later gained fame as a suffragist, became the school's first dean of women. Northwestern first became co-educational in 1869 at the insistence of Dean Erastus Haven, and the first female student graduated in 1874. [1]
Purple became Northwestern's official school color in 1892, replacing black and gold. A university committee thought that too many other universities used those colors. Contrary to popular belief, both white and purple are official colors. The University's Alma Mater mentions white in conjunction with purple ("Hail to purple, hail to white"), and both are listed in the university guidelines. [1]
During the 1930s, Northwestern nearly merged with its academic rival, the University of Chicago. In 1933, Northwestern President Walter Scott and Chicago President Robert 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." [1]
Northwestern hosted the first-ever NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship game in 1939. It took place in Patten Gymnasium, which was demolished and relocated farther north in order to make room for the Technological Institute. [1]
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. [1]
In May 1978, the first Unabomber attack occurred at Northwestern University. The following year, the second Unabomber attack also occurred at Northwestern. [1]
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." In the late 1990s, Northwestern student journalists uncovered information that exonerated Illinois death row inmate Anthony Porter two days before his scheduled execution. [1]
- Overview, Photographs, & Video Links
Prospective Students
- Admissions Tips
New & Current Students
- Campus Events
- Transportation
- Safety Tips
- Support Centers
- Counseling
- Grading System
- Good Classes & Teachers
- Groups & Organizations
- College & Career Tips
Alumni
- Benefits of Joining Alumni Association
- Mailing List Directory
- Chapters
- Teachers (Where are they now?)
- Bryson, Michael (September 1996 - Present)
- Duncan, Gregory M (July 1975 - September 1980)
- Louis, Corey (April 1999 - Present)
- Alumni Directory
- Alumni Events
Visitors
- Hotels Nearby
- Restaurant Recommendations
- Places of Worship
- Sports Facility Access
Other Links
References
