New York University
© New York University | |
| Motto: Perstare et praestare (Latin: "To persevere and to excel") | |
| Founded | 1831 |
| School type | Private |
| President | John Sexton |
| Location | New York, New York |
| Enrollment | 18,628 undergraduate 18,522 graduate and professional |
| Campus surroundings | Urban |
| Campus size | 28 acres |
| Sports teams | Violets |
| Mascot | Bobcat |
 The Washington Square Arch | |
New York University (NYU) is a large university in New York City, with its primary campus located in the city's Greenwich Village neighborhood. With a total enrollment of 51,901 (as of the fall of 2000), 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.
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.
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. The University Heights campus was far more spacious than its predecessor, and housed most of NYU's schools, including its Arts and Sciences 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."
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 best universities in the United States, 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 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'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.
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.
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2 Noted alumni 3 External links |
List of schools and colleges
Noted alumni
External links