George Washington University - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The George Washington University (GW, GWU, or George Washington) is a private

Private university

Private universities are universities not operated by governments, although many receive public subsidies, especially in the form of tax breaks and public student loans and grants. Depending on their location, private universities may be subject to government regulation. Private universities are...

, coeducational comprehensive university

University

A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

located in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The university was chartered by an Act of Congress on February 9, 1821, as The Columbian College in the District of Columbia.

Founding and early history

Baptist

Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...

missionary and leading minister Luther Rice

Luther Rice

Luther Rice , was a Baptist minister and missionary to India, who helped form a missionary-sending body that became the modern Cooperative Program of the Southern Baptist Convention...

raised funds to purchase a site for a college to educate citizens in Washington, D.C. A large building was constructed on College Hill, which is now known as Meridian Hill

Meridian Hill Park

Meridian Hill Park, is located in the Washington, D.C. neighborhood of Columbia Heights in the United States. The 12 acres of landscaped grounds are maintained by the National Park Service as part of Rock Creek Park, but are not contiguous with the main part of that park...

, and on February 9, 1821, President James Monroe

James Monroe

James Monroe was the fifth President of the United States . Monroe was the last president who was a Founding Father of the United States, and the last president from the Virginia dynasty and the Republican Generation...

approved the congressional charter

Congressional charter

A congressional charter is a law passed by the United States Congress that states the mission, authority and activities of a group. Congress issued federal charters from 1791 until 1992 under Title 36 of the United States Code....

creating the non-denominational Columbian College in the District of Columbia. The first commencement in 1824 was considered an important event for the young city of Washington, D.C.. In attendance were President Monroe, John C. Calhoun

John C. Calhoun

John Caldwell Calhoun was a leading politician and political theorist from South Carolina during the first half of the 19th century. Calhoun eloquently spoke out on every issue of his day, but often changed positions. Calhoun began his political career as a nationalist, modernizer, and proponent...

, Henry Clay

Henry Clay

Henry Clay, Sr. , was a lawyer, politician and skilled orator who represented Kentucky separately in both the Senate and in the House of Representatives...

, Marquis de Lafayette, and other dignitaries. During the Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, most students left to join the Confederacy

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

and the college's buildings were used as a hospital and barracks. Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman

Walter "Walt" Whitman was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse...

was among many of the volunteers to work on the campus. Following the war, in 1873, Columbian College became the Columbian University and moved to an urban downtown location centered on 15th and H streets, NW.

In 1904, Columbian University changed its name to The George Washington University in an agreement with the George Washington Memorial Association to build a campus building in honor of the first U.S. president. Neither the university nor the association were able to raise enough money for the proposed building, however, but the name stuck. The university relocated its principal operations to the D.C. neighborhood of Foggy Bottom in 1912.

The George Washington University, like much of Washington, D.C., traces many of its origins back to the Freemasons. The Bible

Bible

The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

that the presidents of the university use to swear an oath on upon inauguration is the Bible of Freemason George Washington. Freemasonry symbols are prominently displayed throughout the campus including the foundation stones of many of the university buildings.

Expansion

The majority of the present infrastructure and financial stability at GW is due to the tenures of Presidents Cloyd Heck Marvin, Lloyd Hartman Elliott

Lloyd Hartman Elliott

Lloyd Hartman Elliott was President of George Washington University from 1965 to 1988.He was also a professor of educational administration at Cornell University, and President of the University of Maine.-Career:...

, and Stephen Joel Trachtenberg

Stephen Joel Trachtenberg

Stephen Joel Trachtenberg was the 15th President of George Washington University, serving from 1988 to 2007. On August 1, 2007, he retired from the presidency and became President Emeritus and University Professor of Public Service.- Background :...

. In the 1930s, the University was the center for theoretical physics

Theoretical physics

Theoretical physics is a branch of physics which employs mathematical models and abstractions of physics to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena...

. The cosmologist George Gamow

George Gamow

George Gamow , born Georgiy Antonovich Gamov , was a Russian-born theoretical physicist and cosmologist. He discovered alpha decay via quantum tunneling and worked on radioactive decay of the atomic nucleus, star formation, stellar nucleosynthesis, Big Bang nucleosynthesis, cosmic microwave...

produced critical work on the Big Bang Theory at GW in the 1930s and 1940s. In one of the most important moments in the 20th century, Niels Bohr

Niels Bohr

Niels Henrik David Bohr was a Danish physicist who made foundational contributions to understanding atomic structure and quantum mechanics, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922. Bohr mentored and collaborated with many of the top physicists of the century at his institute in...

announced that Otto Hahn

Otto Hahn

Otto Hahn FRS was a German chemist and Nobel laureate, a pioneer in the fields of radioactivity and radiochemistry. He is regarded as "the father of nuclear chemistry". Hahn was a courageous opposer of Jewish persecution by the Nazis and after World War II he became a passionate campaigner...

had successfully split the atom on January 26, 1939 at the Fifth Washington Conference on theoretical physics in the Hall of Government. During the Vietnam War

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

era, Thurston Hall, an undergraduate dormitory housing 875 students was (according to campus folklore) a staging ground for Student Anti-War Demonstrations (at 1900 F Street NW, the building is 3 blocks from the White House). In 1996, the university purchased the Mount Vernon College for Women

Mount Vernon College for Women

Mount Vernon College for Women was a private women's college in Washington, D.C. It merged with George Washington University in 1999 and is now known as the Mount Vernon Campus of The George Washington University....

in the city's Palisades

The Palisades, Washington, D.C.

The Palisades is a neighborhood in Washington, D.C., along the Potomac River, running roughly from the edge of the Georgetown University campus to the D.C.-Maryland boundary...

neighborhood that became the school's coeducational Mount Vernon Campus. The campus was first utilized in 1997 for women only, but became co-educational in a matter of years. The Mount Vernon campus is now totally integrated into the GW community, serving as a complement to the Foggy Bottom campus. In December 2006, the university named Johns Hopkins University

Johns Hopkins University

The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...

provost Steven Knapp

Steven Knapp

Steven Knapp is the current president of the George Washington University in Washington, D.C., having assumed office in August, 2007. He is the 16th president of the university, succeeding Stephen Joel Trachtenberg. Previously, he was the provost and dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at the...

its next president. He began his presidency on August 1, 2007.

Campuses

Foggy Bottom

The main GW campus consists of 43 acres (174,015 m²) in historic Foggy Bottom

Foggy Bottom

Foggy Bottom is one of the oldest late 18th and 19th-century neighborhoods in Washington, D.C. The area is thought to have received the name because its riverside location made it susceptible to concentrations of fog and industrial smoke, an atmospheric trait that did not prevent the neighborhood...

and is located a few blocks from the White House

White House

The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...

, the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, State Department and the National Mall

National Mall

The National Mall is an open-area national park in downtown Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The National Mall is a unit of the National Park Service , and is administered by the National Mall and Memorial Parks unit...

. Barring a few outlying buildings, the boundaries of campus are delineated by (running clockwise from Washington Circle

Washington Circle

Washington Circle is a traffic circle in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C., United States. It is the intersection of 23rd Street, K Street, New Hampshire Avenue, and Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., on the border of the Foggy Bottom and West End neighborhoods. The through lanes of K Street...

) Pennsylvania Avenue

Pennsylvania Avenue

Pennsylvania Avenue is a street in Washington, D.C. that joins the White House and the United States Capitol. Called "America's Main Street", it is the location of official parades and processions, as well as protest marches...

, 19th Street, E Street, Virginia Avenue

Virginia Avenue

Virginia Avenue is a street in the Northwest, Southwest, and Southeast quadrants of Washington, D.C. Like other state-named streets in Washington, it diagonally crosses the grid pattern formed by lettered and numbered streets....

, 24th Street, and New Hampshire Avenue

New Hampshire Avenue

New Hampshire Avenue is a diagonal street in Washington, D.C., beginning at the Kennedy Center and extending northeast for about 5 miles and then continuing into Maryland where it is designated Maryland Route 650. New Hampshire Avenue, however, is not contiguous...

. The University owns much of the property in Foggy Bottom and leases it to various tenants, including the World Bank

World Bank

The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...

and the International Monetary Fund

International Monetary Fund

The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...

. Other nearby institutions include the Harry S. Truman Building (Department of State

United States Department of State

The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...

headquarters), John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts center located on the Potomac River, adjacent to the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C...

, United States Institute of Peace

United States Institute of Peace

The United States Institute of Peace was created by Congress as a non-partisan, federal institution that works to prevent or end violent conflict around the world...

, Watergate complex

Watergate complex

The Watergate complex is a group of five buildings next to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C. in the United States. The site contains an office building, three apartment buildings, and a hotel-office building...

, and the embassies of Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...

, Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, Uruguay

Uruguay

Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...

, and Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...

.

The university has a significant presence in the area. Signs indicating the relative location of various university buildings can be found on almost every street corner. The student union

Student activity center

A student activity center is a type of building found on university campuses. In the United States, such a building is more often called a student union, student commons, or student center...

(the Marvin Center), several residence halls, the Media and Public Affairs building, Academic Center and other major academic buildings are located within a three-block radius of University Yard (the original quadrangle

Quadrangle (architecture)

In architecture, a quadrangle is a space or courtyard, usually rectangular in plan, the sides of which are entirely or mainly occupied by parts of a large building. The word is probably most closely associated with college or university campus architecture, but quadrangles may be found in other...

on campus).

The nearby area surrounding George Washington's main library, Gelman Library

Gelman Library

The Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library is the main library of The George Washington University, located on its Foggy Bottom campus. The Gelman Library, The Eckles Library on the Mount Vernon campus and the Virginia Science and Technology Campus Library in Ashburn comprise the trio known as the...

, forms the hub of the campus. The seven-story library building contains over two million volumes and is constructed in the Brutalist

Brutalist architecture

Brutalist architecture is a style of architecture which flourished from the 1950s to the mid 1970s, spawned from the modernist architectural movement.-The term "brutalism":...

architectural style

Architectural style

Architectural styles classify architecture in terms of the use of form, techniques, materials, time period, region and other stylistic influences. It overlaps with, and emerges from the study of the evolution and history of architecture...

of the 1970s. It features a concrete façade punctuated by windows that are divided by projecting vertical slabs. For most of the year, parts of the library are open 24 hours day, seven days per week for use by students, faculty and staff. The seventh floor of the library includes the Special Collections Research Center, National Security Archives (NSA), Global Resources Center, and Kiev Library. The NSA is a research institution that publishes declassified U.S. government files concerning selected topics of American foreign policy. It was a National Security Archive Freedom of Information Act

Freedom of Information Act (United States)

The Freedom of Information Act is a federal freedom of information law that allows for the full or partial disclosure of previously unreleased information and documents controlled by the United States government. The Act defines agency records subject to disclosure, outlines mandatory disclosure...

request that eventually made the Central Intelligence Agency's

Central Intelligence Agency

The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...

so-called "Family Jewels

Family Jewels (Central Intelligence Agency)

The Family Jewels is the informal name used to refer to a set of reports that detail activities conducted by the United States Central Intelligence Agency. Considered illegal or inappropriate, these actions were conducted over the span of decades, from the 1950s to the mid-1970s...

" public.

Close to the library is Lisner Auditorium

Lisner Auditorium

Lisner Auditorium is an auditorium, located on the campus of The George Washington University, at 730 21st Street, Northwest, Washington, D.C.. It is named for Abram Lisner, a trustee of the University who donated the money for its construction....

and a large open area between them is known as Kogan Plaza. Southeast of the plaza and located near Monroe Hall and Hall of Government is the Monroe Court, a landscaped area with a large fountain. The Foggy Bottom–GWU Washington Metro

Washington Metro

The Washington Metro, commonly called Metro, and unofficially Metrorail, is the rapid transit system in Washington, D.C., United States, and its surrounding suburbs. It is administered by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority , which also operates Metrobus service under the Metro name...

station is located at the intersection of 23rd and I Streets NW due south of Washington Circle

Washington Circle

, and provides access to the Orange and Blue lines. The University Hospital is located next to the Metro station entrance.

The Foggy Bottom campus contains most of the residential dormitories in which GW students live. The most notable include: Ivory Tower, Thurston Hall, Madison Hall, Potomac House, Fulbright Hall, Mitchell Hall, Crawford Hall, Schenley Hall, Munson Hall, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis Hall, Phillip Amsterdam Hall, The West End and the newest residence, South Hall, among others.

In late 2007, construction began on a large mixed-use residential, office and retail development located on the site of the old GW Hospital (Square 54) and just east of the Foggy Bottom-GWU Metrorail station. It was the second-largest undeveloped lot in the District of Columbia at the time of initial construction activity.

Mount Vernon

In 1999, the university acquired the 23 acres (93,077.8 m²) Mount Vernon College for Women

Mount Vernon College for Women

and renamed it The George Washington University - Mount Vernon Campus.

The GW Virginia Science and Technology Campus

The George Washington University also operates a research and graduate campus in Ashburn, Virginia (near Dulles International Airport) and several other graduate satellite education centers including the Alexandria Graduate Education Center in Alexandria

Alexandria, Virginia

Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...

, the Graduate Education Center in Arlington, and the Hampton Roads Center in Newport News

Newport News, Virginia

Newport News is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. It is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News...

. The Virginia Science and Technology Campus campus hosts more than a dozen research centers, labs, and institutes including the National Crash Analysis Center.

University

The George Washington University is governed by a Board of Trustees and the president who are in charge of managing the institution as a whole and providing a vision for the future. The current Chairman of the Board is W. Russell Ramsey. Ramsey is a business entrepreneur who is known as the co-founder of Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group, a top investment bank in the United States. He is currently the chairman, CEO, and CIO of Ramsey Asset Management. Other Trustees include: Randy L. Levine, president of the New York Yankees

New York Yankees

The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...

, and actress Kerry Washington

Kerry Washington

Kerry Washington is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Ray Charles's wife, Della Bea Robinson, in the film Ray , as Idi Amin's wife Kay in The Last King of Scotland, and as Alicia Masters, love interest of Ben Grimm, The Thing, in the live-action Fantastic Four films of 2005 and 2007...

.

The current President is Steven Knapp

Steven Knapp

who was the provost at Johns Hopkins University

Johns Hopkins University

The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...

before being chosen by the Board of Trustees in 2007. Knapp is the sixteenth president of the university. There is no student representative on the board.

In the Chronicle of Higher Education survey of college presidents' salaries for 2007-08, then-President Stephen Trachtenberg topped the nation with a compensation of $3.7 million.

Schools and colleges

GW is organized into twelve schools and colleges, each with a different dean and organization.

Undergraduate & Graduate Schools of The George Washington University
Columbian College of Arts and Sciences Columbian College of Arts and Sciences The Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, or CCAS, is The George Washington University's liberal arts and sciences college. The Columbian College bears the original name of The George Washington University when it was chartered by Congress in 1821...	School of Media and Public Affairs George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs The School of Media and Public Affairs at the George Washington University in Washington, DC, a school in the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, offers both undergraduate and graduate programs in journalism and political and international communication...	School of Business The George Washington University School of Business The George Washington University School of Business is the business school of George Washington University in Washington, D.C., United States. The GW School of Business is a top-tier institution that offers both undergraduate and graduate business degrees in a variety of programs...	Elliott School of International Affairs Elliott School of International Affairs The Elliott School of International Affairs at the George Washington University is a professional school in international relations. It is located in the heart of Washington, D.C...	School of Public Health and Health Services George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services Established in July 1997, the School of Public Health and Health Services brought together three longstanding university programs in the schools of medicine, business, and education that we have since expanded substantially. Today, more than 900 students from nearly every U.S. state and more than...	School of Engineering and Applied Science George Washington University School of Engineering and Applied Science The School of Engineering and Applied Science at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. is a technical school which specializes in engineering, technology, communications, and transportation...

Graduate Schools of The George Washington University
George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management	Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration George Washington University Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration The Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration is a graduate school in the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences at The George Washington University. The Trachtenberg School offers Master of Public Policy, Master of Public Administration, and PhD degrees in Public Policy and...	George Washington University Medical School George Washington University Medical School The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences was established in 1824 due to the need for doctors in the District of Columbia but formally opened its doors a year later in 1825. It is the eleventh oldest medical school in the country and the first medical school...	George Washington University Law School	Graduate School of Education & Human Development The George Washington University Graduate School of Education and Human Development The George Washington University School of Education and Human Development, is a part of George Washington University offering specializations is higher education, educational policy, counseling, teaching, and other educational programs. It is consistently ranked one of the top schools of education...

The Columbian College of Arts and Sciences

Columbian College of Arts and Sciences

The Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, or CCAS, is The George Washington University's liberal arts and sciences college. The Columbian College bears the original name of The George Washington University when it was chartered by Congress in 1821...

(CCAS) is the oldest and largest college in the university. It was founded in 1821; at the beginning of the university's history, there was no distinction between this college and the university. The School of Media and Public Affairs (SMPA), and the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration (SPPPA) belong to this college, although they are run separately. The Columbian College was among the first American institutions to grant a Doctor of Philosophy

Doctor of Philosophy

Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...

(Ph.D.), in 1888. The Columbian College is notable for its academic diversity. Nonetheless, the student body lacks ethnic diversity in line with the general public. While blacks constitute 55% of the population of the District of Columbia, and 12.1% of the nation as a whole, they constitute only 2.3% of the undergraduate population.

The Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration is a graduate school in the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences

Columbian College of Arts and Sciences

. The Trachtenberg School offers Master of Public Policy

Master of Public Policy

The Master of Public Policy , one of several public policy degrees, is a master's level professional degree that provides training in policy analysis and program evaluation at public policy schools. The MPP program places a focus on the systematic analysis of issues related to public policy and the...

, Master of Public Administration

Master of Public Administration

The Master of Public Administration is a professional post-graduate degree in Public Administration. The MPA program prepares individuals to serve as managers in the executive arm of local, state/provincial, and federal/national government, and increasingly in nongovernmental organization and...

, and PhD

PHD

PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...

degrees in Public Policy

Public policy

Public policy as government action is generally the principled guide to action taken by the administrative or executive branches of the state with regard to a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. In general, the foundation is the pertinent national and...

and Public Administration

Public administration

Public Administration houses the implementation of government policy and an academic discipline that studies this implementation and that prepares civil servants for this work. As a "field of inquiry with a diverse scope" its "fundamental goal.....

. The school works in partnership with the Elliott School of International Affairs

Elliott School of International Affairs

The Elliott School of International Affairs at the George Washington University is a professional school in international relations. It is located in the heart of Washington, D.C...

, The School of Public Health and Health Services

George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services

Established in July 1997, the School of Public Health and Health Services brought together three longstanding university programs in the schools of medicine, business, and education that we have since expanded substantially. Today, more than 900 students from nearly every U.S. state and more than...

, and The Graduate School of Education & Human Development

The George Washington University Graduate School of Education and Human Development

The George Washington University School of Education and Human Development, is a part of George Washington University offering specializations is higher education, educational policy, counseling, teaching, and other educational programs. It is consistently ranked one of the top schools of education...

to offer a variety of concentrations for its graduates. For Public Affairs Schools

Public Affairs Schools

Public affairs graduate schools provide advanced education in fields such as government relations, media relations and public relations.- Rankings :...

, it is ranked 14th nationwide by US News & World Report

The School of Media and Public Affairs

George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs

The School of Media and Public Affairs at the George Washington University in Washington, DC, a school in the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, offers both undergraduate and graduate programs in journalism and political and international communication...

(SMPA), which, although run separately, belongs to the Columbian College of Arts in Sciences. It offers two undergraduate degrees, Journalism and Mass Communication and Political Communication

Political communication

Political communication is a sub-field of political science and communication that deals with the production, dissemination, procession and effects of information, both through media and interpersonally, within a political context...

and a master's degree in Media and Public Affairs. It is housed in the same building as the Graduate School of Political Management. The Public Affairs Project at GWU, part of SMPA, is responsible for the creation and production of the PBS special, Planet Forward

Planet Forward

Planet Forward is a and PBS television special that launched in March 2009 and had a broadcast premiere April 15, 2009. Created and hosted by Frank Sesno, the project focuses on creating an online public forum where people from across the globe can discuss topics involving energy solutions and the...

. [School of Media and Public Affairs (SMPA) is one of the few schools in the country, and GWU was the first, to offer a Bachelor's Degree in political communication. The program boasts a faculty of retired and current professionals- including CNN correspondents, journalists, political analysts, and campaign professionals.

The School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) or simply the George Washington School of Medicine, was founded in 1824 due to the need for doctors in the District of Columbia. In 1981, the Medical Center became the center of the national spotlight when President Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

was rushed to the emergency room after an attempted assassination. The emergency room area was later renamed the Ronald Reagan Institute of Emergency Medicine, and other politicians, such as former Vice President Dick Cheney

Dick Cheney

Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....

, come to GW for routine and emergency procedures. Cheney and wife Lynne Cheney

Lynne Cheney

Lynne Ann Cheney is the wife of former United States Vice President Dick Cheney and served as the Second Lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009...

then helped to start the Richard B. and Lynne V. Cheney Cardiovascular Institute

Cheney Cardiovascular Institute

The Richard B. and Lynne V. Cheney Cardiovascular Institute at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. was established in 2006.-History and Mission:...

in 2006. Others include former First Lady Laura Bush who was treated for a pinched nerve a few years ago. An associate school in the university is the School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS).

George Washington University Law School was established in 1826 and is the oldest law school in the District of Columbia. Supreme Court Justices William Strong

William Strong (judge)

William Strong was an American jurist and politician. He was a justice on the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States.-Early life:...

, David J. Brewer, and John Marshall Harlan

John Marshall Harlan

John Marshall Harlan was a Kentucky lawyer and politician who served as an associate justice on the Supreme Court. He is most notable as the lone dissenter in the Civil Rights Cases , and Plessy v...

were among those who served on its faculty. Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Samuel Alito

Samuel Alito

Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr. is an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. He was nominated by President George W. Bush and has served on the court since January 31, 2006....

, and Justice Antonin Scalia

Antonin Scalia

Antonin Gregory Scalia is an American jurist who serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. As the longest-serving justice on the Court, Scalia is the Senior Associate Justice...

presided over its moot court

Moot court

A moot court is an extracurricular activity at many law schools in which participants take part in simulated court proceedings, usually to include drafting briefs and participating in oral argument. The term derives from Anglo Saxon times, when a moot was a gathering of prominent men in a...

in 2006, 2007, and 2009, respectively.

The Graduate School of Education & Human Development

The George Washington University Graduate School of Education and Human Development

(GSEHD) officially started in 1909. The school is composed of three distinct academic departments, and it is one of the largest schools within GW. U.S. News & World Report

U.S. News & World Report

U.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...

rated the graduate program in the top 20, and was 5th overall in total research expenditures.

The School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS)

George Washington University School of Engineering and Applied Science

The School of Engineering and Applied Science at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. is a technical school which specializes in engineering, technology, communications, and transportation...

was founded on October 1, 1884 as the Corcoran Scientific School of Columbian University. The school separated from the Columbian College in 1962 and was one of the first to accept women for degree candidacy in engineering and has awarded the most engineering doctoral degrees to women in the country. The bazooka

Bazooka

Bazooka is the common name for a man-portable recoilless rocket antitank weapon, widely fielded by the U.S. Army. Also referred to as the "Stovepipe", the innovative bazooka was amongst the first-generation of rocket propelled anti-tank weapons used in infantry combat...

was invented at the SEAS in 1942.

The Elliott School of International Affairs (ESIA)

Elliott School of International Affairs

The Elliott School of International Affairs at the George Washington University is a professional school in international relations. It is located in the heart of Washington, D.C...

was founded in 1898 as the School of Comparative Jurisprudence and Diplomacy. Under President Lloyd Elliott, the school separated from Columbian College. On September 3, 2005, alumnus Colin Powell

Colin Powell

Colin Luther Powell is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African American to serve in that position. During his military...

opened a new complex for this school at 1957 E Street NW in front of the Department of State.

The George Washington School of Business was established in 1928 with a $1 million gift by The Supreme Council of Scottish Rite Freemasonry Southern Jurisdiction.

On February 6, 2006, the Chairman and CEO of FedEx

FedEx

FedEx Corporation , originally known as FDX Corporation, is a logistics services company, based in the United States with headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee...

, Frederick Smith, opened a new complex for the school called Duquès Hall.

The School of Business is located in the Ric & Dawn Duquès Hall, named after graduate Ric Duques.

During the Trachtenberg Presidency, the university created several professional schools. Some schools founded during his era were the College of Professional Studies, and the Graduate School of Political Management.

Admission

GW received 21,135 applications and admitted 6,655 students for the class of 2014, or approximately 31.5% of applicants. GW Law is ranked 20th in the country.

Students at GW participate in a variety of educational opportunities. There are 9,700 full-time undergraduates studying in 87 majors with 1,500 in business, 500 in engineering, 2,000 in international affairs, 700 in communications and media, 800 in sciences and math, 2,900 in social sciences, and 1,300 in arts, languages, and humanities. Nearly 900 students participate in GW's Study Abroad Programs each semester in 50 countries. Additionally, about 125 entering students each fall join the University Honors Program community of 500 students.

The George Washington University has been ranked by The Princeton Review

The Princeton Review

The Princeton Review is an American-based standardized test preparation and admissions consulting company. The Princeton Review operates in 41 states and 22 countries across the globe. It offers test preparation for standardized aptitude tests such as the SAT and advice regarding college...

in the Top 10 for the following categories:

Most Politically Active
Dorms Like Palaces
Great College Towns
Best in the Northeast

The University is currently ranked 50th in the nation by the U.S. News national university ranking.

*Demographics of student body*
	Undergraduate	Graduate	U.S.
White	58.0%	54.7%	66.7%
Asian	10.2%	8.9%	4.4%
Black	6.9%	9.3%	12.8%
Hispanic	6.6%	4.2%	15.1%
Unspecified	12.5%	12.1%	N/A
Native American Native Americans in the United States Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...	0.3%	0.7%	1.0%
International student International student According to Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development , international students are those who travel to a country different from their own for the purpose of tertiary study. Despite that, the definition of international students varies in each country in accordance to their own national...	5.4%	10.0%	N/A
Men	44.4%	45.1%	N/A
Women	55.6%	54.9%	N/A

Tuition

At the George Washington University, tuition is guaranteed to remain at the freshman rate for up to ten continuous (full time) semesters of attendance at the university. Tuition has risen 58 percent over the past seven years. Tuition for the 2009-2010 year was $41,610, while the combined room and board is approximately $10,000 for incoming freshmen. Because of The George Washington University's fixed tuition rate, that tuition applies only to the Class of 2013. Tuition for the 2011-2012 year is $42,860, with combined room and board being $10,120. The tuition rate only applies to the incoming Class of 2015 and will not increase for those students for up to 10 semesters. GW is the third most expensive school in the United States of America.

Research

There are major research institutions that many students utilize like the Library of Congress

Library of Congress

The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...

, the National Institutes of Health

National Institutes of Health

The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...

, the Carnegie Institute

Carnegie Institution for Science

The Carnegie Institution for Science is an organization in the United States established to support scientific research....

, the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility

Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility

Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility , commonly called Jefferson Lab or JLab, is a U.S. national laboratory located in Newport News, Virginia. Since June 1, 2006, it has been operated by Jefferson Science Associates, LLC, a joint venture between Southeastern Universities Research...

, and the National Geographic Society

National Geographic Society

The National Geographic Society , headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world. Its interests include geography, archaeology and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical...

. Many think tank

Think tank

A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...

s nearby provide students with every opportunity to participate in research projects with professors and advisors.

Student life

The university is located in downtown D.C., near the Kennedy Center, embassies, and other cultural events. There are many student organizations at the University. GW has a Division I athletics program that includes men's baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, gymnastics, women's lacrosse, rowing, soccer, women's softball, squash, swimming & diving, tennis, women's volleyball, and water polo. Colonials athletics teams compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference. While only a Division II program, the Men's and Women's Rugby Teams both compete in the Potomac Rugby Union and have had much recent success.

Student organizations and government

Most student organizations are run through the Student Association (SA). The SA is fashioned after the federal government with an executive, legislative, and judicial branch. Some SA presidents have been successful after college, such as former SA president Edward "Skip" Gnehm

Edward Gnehm

Edward William Gnehm, Jr., also known as Skip Gnehm was most recently the U.S. ambassador to Jordan and is now a faculty member at George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs....

, who was the Ambassador to Kuwait during the Gulf War and received the Presidential Distinguished Service Award and two Presidential Meritorious Service Awards.

There are over 300 registered student organizations on campus. The largest student organization on campus claiming a membership approaching 2000, the GW College Democrats have hosted speakers such as CNN

CNN

Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...

contributor Donna Brazile

Donna Brazile

Donna Brazile is an American author, professor, and political analyst affiliated with the Democratic Party. She was the first African American to direct a major presidential campaign, for Al Gore in 2000...

and former DNC

DNC

DNC may refer to:*Daigaku Nyūshi Center, a Japanese Independent Administrative Institution which administers the National Center Test for University Admissions...

Chairman Howard Dean

Howard Dean

Howard Brush Dean III is an American politician and physician from Vermont. He served six terms as the 79th Governor of Vermont and ran unsuccessfully for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination. He was chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2005 to 2009. Although his U.S...

among numerous others. Likewise, the GW College Republicans, one of the largest CR chapters in the nation, have been visited by politicians like John Ashcroft

John Ashcroft

John David Ashcroft is a United States politician who served as the 79th United States Attorney General, from 2001 until 2005, appointed by President George W. Bush. Ashcroft previously served as the 50th Governor of Missouri and a U.S...

former Florida Governor Jeb Bush

Jeb Bush

John Ellis "Jeb" Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd Governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. He is a prominent member of the Bush family: the second son of former President George H. W. Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush; the younger brother of former President George W...

and former President George W. Bush

George W. Bush

George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

. The International Affairs Society (IAS) runs the university's award-winning Model United Nation's team, in addition to hosting yearly high school and middle school Model UN conferences on campus. The GW Chapter of STAND: A Student Anti-Genocide Coalition, or GW STAND, was formed in 2003 and works with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust. Adjacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the USHMM provides for the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust history...

and the Genocide Intervention Network

Genocide Intervention Network

thumb|right|300px|Genocide Intervention Network logoThe Genocide Intervention Network is a non-profit organization that "envisions a world in which the global community is willing and able to protect civilians from genocide and mass atrocities...

on information about genocide

Genocide

Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...

in Darfur

Darfur

Darfur is a region in western Sudan. An independent sultanate for several hundred years, it was incorporated into Sudan by Anglo-Egyptian forces in 1916. The region is divided into three federal states: West Darfur, South Darfur, and North Darfur...

. The Global Language Group, or Global Languages, is a non-profit organization that offers over 150 free classes in 50 languages.

There are also several a-cappella performance groups on campus. Sons of Pitch, GW's premier male a-cappella group, has been around since 2003, and the co-ed GW Troubadours, which are involved with GW's music department, have been a presence on campus since the mid 1950s. Furthermore, the premier female group on GW's campus is the GW Pitches, founded in 1996. All the groups are extremely committed to charity work, with the Troubadours holding an annual philanthropic concert in the fall entitled "Acappellapalooza," and the Sons of Pitch holding one in the spring named "The United States of A-Cappella." In the case of the former, groups from GWU are drawn for a concert, in the latter, groups from around the nation. To date, the Sons of Pitch have raised upwards of $10,000 for various charitable causes. In addition to the three premier groups, several niche groups exist as well. The Voice gospel choir, a group that sings gospel music, and the GW Vibes, a co-ed group focusing on soulful, current music. Each year, the groups duke it out at the Battle of the A-Cappella groups, one of the biggest student events on GW's campus.

There are chapters of many varied academic groups at the University. The local chapter of the Society of Physics Students was at one time under the auspices of world-renowned scientists like George Gamow

George Gamow

, Ralph Asher Alpher

Ralph Asher Alpher

Ralph Asher Alpher was an American cosmologist.- Childhood and education :Alpher was the son of a Russian Jewish immigrant, Samuel Alpher, from Vitebsk, Russia. His mother, Rose, died of stomach cancer in 1938 and his father later remarried...

, Mario Schoenberg and Edward Teller

Edward Teller

Edward Teller was a Hungarian-American theoretical physicist, known colloquially as "the father of the hydrogen bomb," even though he did not care for the title. Teller made numerous contributions to nuclear and molecular physics, spectroscopy , and surface physics...

, who have all taught at the university. The Enosinian Society, founded in 1822, is one of the university's oldest student organizations. Invited speakers included Daniel Webster

Daniel Webster

Daniel Webster was a leading American statesman and senator from Massachusetts during the period leading up to the Civil War. He first rose to regional prominence through his defense of New England shipping interests...

.

There are three major news sources on campus: the twice-weekly newspaper The GW Hatchet
GW Hatchet
The GW Hatchet is an independent student newspaper at The George Washington University. Founded in 1904, it is the second-oldest newspaper in the District of Columbia, behind only The Washington Post...

, The GW Patriot, which publishes articles online daily and in a monthly newsmagazine, and the online-only radio station, WRGW.

Another student group, the Emergency Medical Response Group (EMeRG) provides an all volunteer 24/7 ambulance service for the campus and the Foggy Bottom/West End community at no cost. EMeRG has been active on campus since 1994 and has advanced from bike response into a two ambulance system that is sanctioned by the District of Columbia Department of Health and DC Fire and EMS (DCFEMS). EMeRG also plays an active role in special events in around the DC area including the Marine Corps Marathon, National Marathon, Cherry Blossom Race, Commencement, Inauguration, and other events in Downtown DC and on the National Mall.

Controversies

The Program Board had, in years past, scheduled an X-rated film to show as part of their semester series. The film was usually partnered with a discussion of the First Amendment

First Amendment to the United States Constitution

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...

or a seminar on the sociological underpinnings of pornography. One year in the mid-1990s, "Porn Night" garnered national press coverage along with an ensuing protest. The film shown that night was John Wayne Bobbitt Uncut. The organized protest brought together College Republicans with College Democrats, Christians, Jews and Muslims and a bevy of diverse student organizations to speak out against pornography. A number of university administrators appeared that night to show their support of the students' right to assemble - on one hand to view the movie and on the other to protest using student fees to show the film in the first place.

A number of posters in October 2007 surfaced at GW satirizing the "Islamofascism

Islamofascism

The term Islamofascism is a neologism which draws an analogy between the ideological characteristics of specific Islamist movements from the turn of the 21st century on, and a broad range of European fascist movements of the early 20th century, neofascist movements, or totalitarianism.-Origins of...

Awareness Week," which was assumed to have been from the GW Young American's Foundation. On October 9, The Daily Colonial reported that the posters were not the work of the YAF, but rather an attempt to discredit the YAF for their involvement in promoting the Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week. Later that day, seven students advocating against alleged racism inherent in Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week emailed their statement of responsibility regarding the posters to the GW Hatchet. While YAF and other conservative groups demanded that the students be expelled, the university's judicial services found the students in violation of only GW's postering policy and the students were put on disciplinary probation and fined $25 for the satirical fliers.

In January 2009, a member of the GW College Democrats desecrated GW Young America's Foundation

Young America's Foundation

Young America's Foundation is a conservative youth organization, founded in 1969, with a focus on sharing conservative ideas with students through conferences, campus lectures, seminars, posters, and activism initiatives.-History:...

crucifixes that were being stored in the College Republicans' office after a pro-life event. The controversy, exposed by Pat Dollard

Pat Dollard

Patrick Dollard is an American documentary filmmaker. In the 1990s he was a Hollywood talent agent, manager, and producer most known for guiding the career of Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh....

and the GW Patriot, resulted in disciplinary action against a member of the College Democrats.

Environmental sustainability

GWU received a B on the College Sustainability Report Card for 2010, an improvement over the University's 2009 grade of C+. The school is reaching for a higher rating by updating facilities with energy efficient technologies.

Some students have criticized GW's recent initiatives as specifically designed as answers to questions on sustainability reports. GW keeps the lights on in all academic buildings, even when there are no classes and overnight. In addition, only 1 of 106 University Police Department's vehicles is a hybrid and GW does not count the 13 Mount Vernon Campus Express buses toward its sustainability totals.

Greek life

GW has a Greek community of over 2200 students (just under 22 percent of the undergraduate population).

There are 17 recognized men's social fraternity chapters on campus, including Alpha Epsilon Pi

Alpha Epsilon Pi

Alpha Epsilon Pi , the Global Jewish college fraternity, has 155 active chapters in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Israel with a membership of over 9,000 undergraduates...

, Beta Theta Pi

Beta Theta Pi

Beta Theta Pi , often just called Beta, is a social collegiate fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, USA, where it is part of the Miami Triad which includes Phi Delta Theta and Sigma Chi. It has over 138 active chapters and colonies in the United States and Canada...

, Delta Tau Delta

Delta Tau Delta

Delta Tau Delta is a U.S.-based international secret letter college fraternity. Delta Tau Delta was founded in 1858 at Bethany College, Bethany, Virginia, . It currently has around 125 student chapters nationwide, as well as more than 25 regional alumni groups. Its national community service...

, Kappa Alpha Order

Kappa Alpha Order

Kappa Alpha Order is a social fraternity and fraternal order. Kappa Alpha Order has 124 active chapters, 3 provisional chapters, and 2 commissions...

, Kappa Sigma

Kappa Sigma

Kappa Sigma , commonly nicknamed Kappa Sig, is an international fraternity with currently 282 active chapters and colonies in North America. Kappa Sigma has initiated more than 240,000 men on college campuses throughout the United States and Canada. Today, the Fraternity has over 175,000 living...

, Lambda Chi Alpha

Lambda Chi Alpha

Lambda Chi Alpha is one of the largest men's secret general fraternities in North America, having initiated more than 280,000 members and held chapters at more than 300 universities. It is a member of the North-American Interfraternity Conference and was founded by Warren A. Cole, while he was a...

, Phi Kappa Psi

Phi Kappa Psi

Phi Kappa Psi is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania on February 19, 1852. There are over a hundred chapters and colonies at accredited four year colleges and universities throughout the United States. More than 112,000 men have been...

, Phi Sigma Kappa

Phi Sigma Kappa

-Phi Sigma Kappa's Creed and Cardinal Principles:The 1934 Convention in Ann Arbor brought more changes for the fraternity. Brother Stewart W. Herman of Gettysburg wrote and presented the Creed, and Brother Ralph Watts of Massachusetts drafted and presented the Cardinal Principles.-World War II:The...

, Pi Kappa Alpha

Pi Kappa Alpha

Pi Kappa Alpha is a Greek social fraternity with over 230 chapters and colonies and over 250,000 lifetime initiates in the United States and Canada.-History:...

, Pi Kappa Phi

Pi Kappa Phi

Pi Kappa Phi is an American social fraternity. It was founded by Andrew Alexander Kroeg, Jr., Lawrence Harry Mixson, and Simon Fogarty, Jr. on December 10, 1904 at the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina...

, Sigma Chi

Sigma Chi

Sigma Chi is the largest and one of the oldest college Greek-letter secret and social fraternities in North America with 244 active chapters and more than . Sigma Chi was founded on June 28, 1855 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio when members split from Delta Kappa Epsilon...

, Sigma Nu

Sigma Nu

Sigma Nu is an undergraduate, college fraternity with chapters in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Sigma Nu was founded in 1869 by three cadets at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia...

, Sigma Alpha Epsilon

Sigma Alpha Epsilon

Sigma Alpha Epsilon is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity founded at the University of Alabama on March 9, 1856. Of all existing national social fraternities today, Sigma Alpha Epsilon is the only one founded in the Antebellum South...

, Sigma Phi Epsilon

Sigma Phi Epsilon

Sigma Phi Epsilon , commonly nicknamed SigEp or SPE, is a social college fraternity for male college students in the United States. It was founded on November 1, 1901, at Richmond College , and its national headquarters remains in Richmond, Virginia. It was founded on three principles: Virtue,...

, Tau Kappa Epsilon

Tau Kappa Epsilon

Tau Kappa Epsilon is a college fraternity founded on January 10, 1899 at Illinois Wesleyan University with chapters in the United States, and Canada, and affiliation with a German fraternity system known as the Corps of the Weinheimer Senioren Convent...

, Theta Delta Chi

Theta Delta Chi

Theta Delta Chi is a social fraternity that was founded in 1847 at Union College. While nicknames differ from institution to institution, the most common nicknames for the fraternity are Theta Delt, Thete, TDX, and TDC. Theta Delta Chi brothers refer to their local organization as Charges rather...

, and Zeta Beta Tau

Zeta Beta Tau

Zeta Beta Tau was founded in 1898 as the nation's first Jewish fraternity, although it is no longer sectarian. Today the merged Zeta Beta Tau Brotherhood is one of the largest, numbering over 140,000 initiated Brothers, and over 90 chapter locations.-Founding:The Zeta Beta Tau fraternity was...

.

There are 10 Panhellenic sororities on campus, including Alpha Delta Pi

Alpha Delta Pi

Alpha Delta Pi is a fraternity founded on May 15, 1851 at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. The Executive office for this sorority is located on Ponce de Leon Avenue in Atlanta, Georgia. Alpha Delta Pi is one of the two "Macon Magnolias," a term used to celebrate the bonds it shares with Phi Mu...

, Alpha Epsilon Phi

Alpha Epsilon Phi

Alpha Epsilon Phi is a sorority and member of the National Panhellenic Conference. It was founded on October 24, 1909 at Barnard College in New York City by seven Jewish women; Helen Phillips Lipman, Ida Beck Carlin, Rose Gerstein Smolin, Augustina "Tina" Hess Solomon, Lee Reiss Liebert, Rose...

, Alpha Phi

Alpha Phi

Alpha Phi International Women's Fraternity was founded at Syracuse University on September 18, 1872. Alpha Phi currently has 152 active chapters and over 200,000 initiated members. Its celebrated Founders' Day is October 10. It was the third Greek-letter organization founded for women. In Alpha...

, Chi Omega

Chi Omega

Chi Omega is a women's fraternity and the largest member of the National Panhellenic Conference. Chi Omega has 174 active collegiate chapters and over 230 alumnae chapters. Chi Omega's national headquarters is located in Memphis, Tennessee....

, Delta Gamma

Delta Gamma

Delta Gamma is one of the oldest and largest women's fraternities in the United States and Canada, with its Executive Offices based in Columbus, Ohio.-History:...

, Kappa Kappa Gamma

Kappa Kappa Gamma

Kappa Kappa Gamma is a collegiate women's fraternity, founded at Monmouth College, in Monmouth, Illinois, USA. Although the groundwork of the organization was developed as early as 1869, the 1876 Convention voted that October 13, 1870 should be recognized at the official Founders Day, because no...

, Pi Beta Phi

Pi Beta Phi

Pi Beta Phi is an international fraternity for women founded as I.C. Sorosis on April 28, 1867, at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois. Its headquarters are located in Town and Country, Missouri, and there are 134 active chapters and over 330 alumnae organizations across the United States and...

, Sigma Delta Tau

Sigma Delta Tau

Sigma Delta Tau is a national sorority and member of the National Panhellenic Conference, was founded March 25, 1917 at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. The original name, Sigma Delta Phi, was changed after the women discovered a sorority with the same name already existed...

, Sigma Kappa

Sigma Kappa

Sigma Kappa is a sorority founded in 1874 at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. Sigma Kappa was founded by five women: Mary Caffrey Low Carver, Elizabeth Gorham Hoag, Ida Mabel Fuller Pierce, Frances Elliott Mann Hall and Louise Helen Coburn...

, and Phi Sigma Sigma

Phi Sigma Sigma

Phi Sigma Sigma , colloquially known as "Phi Sig," was the first collegiate nonsectarian fraternity, welcoming women of all faiths and backgrounds...

.

Six National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) fraternities and sororities exist on campus: Alpha Phi Alpha

Alpha Phi Alpha

Alpha Phi Alpha is the first Inter-Collegiate Black Greek Letter fraternity. It was founded on December 4, 1906 at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Its founders are known as the "Seven Jewels". Alpha Phi Alpha developed a model that was used by the many Black Greek Letter Organizations ...

, Alpha Kappa Alpha

Alpha Kappa Alpha

Alpha Kappa Alpha is the first Greek-lettered sorority established and incorporated by African American college women. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of nine students, led by Ethel Hedgeman Lyle...

, Delta Sigma Theta

Delta Sigma Theta

Delta Sigma Theta is a non-profit Greek-lettered sorority of college-educated women who perform public service and place emphasis on the African American community. Delta Sigma Theta Sorority was founded on January 13, 1913 by twenty-two collegiate women at Howard University...

, Kappa Alpha Psi

Kappa Alpha Psi

Kappa Alpha Psi is a collegiate Greek-letter fraternity with a predominantly African American membership. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never limited membership based on color, creed or national origin...

, Omega Psi Phi

Omega Psi Phi

Omega Psi Phi is a fraternity and is the first African-American national fraternal organization to be founded at a historically black college. Omega Psi Phi was founded on November 17, 1911, at Howard University in Washington, D.C.. The founders were three Howard University juniors, Edgar Amos...

, and Zeta Phi Beta

Zeta Phi Beta

Zeta Phi Beta is an international, historically black Greek-lettered sorority and a member of the National Pan-Hellenic Council.Zeta Phi Beta is organized into 800+ chapters, in eight intercontinental regions including the USA, Africa, Europe, Asia and the Caribbean...

.

Other Greek-life exist on campus in the form of multicultural, professional, community-serviced based and honor groups: Alpha Phi Alpha

Alpha Phi Alpha

, Alpha Kappa Psi

Alpha Kappa Psi

ΑΚΨ is the oldest and largest professional business fraternity. The Alpha Kappa Psi Fraternity was founded on October 5, 1904 at New York University, and was incorporated on May 20, 1905...

, Delta Sigma Pi

Delta Sigma Pi

ΔΣΠ ' is one of the largest co-ed professional business fraternities. Delta Sigma Pi was founded on November 7, 1907 at the School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance, New York University, New York, New York and is currently headquartered in Oxford, Ohio...

, Mu Sigma Upsilon

Mu Sigma Upsilon

Mu Sigma Upsilon is the first multicultural national sorority associated with the National Multicultural Greek Council.It is a non-profit Greek letter organization of college-educated women committed to academics, unification of all women and the services for their communities and...

, Order of Omega

Order of Omega

The Order of Omega is an undergraduate Greek society recognizing "fraternity men and women who have attained a high standard of leadership in inter-fraternity activities." It functions as an adjunct to traditional fraternal organizations, rather than a social or professional group in se...

, Phi Beta Kappa, Omicron Delta Kappa

Omicron Delta Kappa

Omicron Delta Kappa, or ΟΔΚ, also known as The Circle, or more commonly ODK, is a national leadership honor society. It was founded December 3, 1914, at Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, by 15 student and faculty leaders. Chapters, known as Circles, are located on over 300...

, Tau Beta Pi

Tau Beta Pi

The Tau Beta Pi Association is the oldest engineering honor society in the United States and the second oldest collegiate honor society in America. It honors engineering students who have shown a history of academic achievement as well as a commitment to personal and professional integrity...

, Iota Nu Delta, Lambda Upsilon Lambda

Lambda Upsilon Lambda

La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity was established on February 19, 1982 in order to address the shortcomings of academic institutions in meeting and addressing the needs of Latino students in higher education...

, Lambda Pi Chi

Lambda Pi Chi

Lambda Pi Chi Sorority is a U.S.-based Latina based Greek letter intercollegiate sorority founded on April 16, 1988 at Cornell University...

, Phi Alpha Delta

Phi Alpha Delta

ΦAΔ , or P.A.D., is the largest co-ed professional law fraternity in the United States of America. Phi Alpha Delta has members who are university students, law school students, lawyers, judges, senators, and even presidents. It was founded in 1902 and today has over 300,000 initiated members...

, Pi Delta Psi

Pi Delta Psi

Pi Delta Psi is an Asian-American Cultural Interest Fraternity founded at Binghamton University on February 20, 1994. The mission of Pi Delta Psi is to break down cultural barriers by fostering individual growth in the areas of "Academic Achievement, Cultural Awareness, Righteousness, Friendship...

, Kappa Phi Lambda

Kappa Phi Lambda

Kappa Phi LambdaΚΦΛFounded:March 9, 1995 atThe State University of New York, BinghamtonFounders:* Elizabeth Choi* Karen Eng* Rei Hirasawa* Hee Cho Moon* Chae Yoo Park* Samantha Somchanhmavong* Connie Yang...

, Sigma Psi Zeta

Sigma Psi Zeta

Sigma Psi Zeta , a Multicultural, Asian-Interest sorority, was founded on March 23, 1994 at the University at Albany and incorporated in New York on March 15, 1996 by the 10 Founding Mothers. The sorority's colors are red and gold and its flower is a yellow rose with baby's breath.Sigma Psi Zeta is...

, Delta Phi Epsilon

Delta Phi Epsilon (professional)

Delta Phi Epsilon is the only national professional foreign service fraternity and sorority. Founded at Georgetown University on January 25, 1920, the society's mission is to promote good fellowship and brotherhood among persons studying or engaged in foreign service...

, Theta Tau

Theta Tau

ΘΤ Fraternity was founded in 1904 by four engineering students at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. As defined by the fraternity, the purpose of Theta Tau is to develop and maintain a high standard of professional interest among its members, and to unite them in a strong bond of...

,an Islamic-interest frat, Phi Sigma Pi

Phi Sigma Pi

Phi Sigma Pi is a national coeducational honor fraternity based in the United States. The fraternity is a 501 not-for-profit organization incorporated in the state of Pennsylvania, with the purpose of fostering the ideals of scholarship, leadership and fellowship...

, Alpha Chi Sigma

Alpha Chi Sigma

Alpha Chi Sigma is a professional fraternity specializing in the field of chemistry. It has both collegiate and professional chapters throughout the United States consisting of both men and women and numbering more than 63,400 members...

, Alpha Phi Omega

Alpha Phi Omega

Alpha Phi Omega is the largest collegiate fraternity in the United States, with chapters at over 350 campuses, an active membership of approximately 17,000 students, and over 350,000 alumni members...

, Sigma Iota Rho

Sigma Iota Rho

Sigma Iota Rho is a collegiate honor society of international studies founded in 1984 whose members are advanced students with outstanding academic performance in the field, as well as, extracurricular involvement...

, Sigma Pi Sigma

Sigma Pi Sigma

Sigma Pi Sigma is the National Physics Honor Society. It strives to promote physics at all stages, to promote fraternity between those who excel at physics, and to promote service among its members. It is closely associated with the Society of Physics Students .- External links :*...

, Alpha Omega Epsilon

Alpha Omega Epsilon

Alpha Omega Epsilon is a social and professional sorority for women in engineering and technical sciences. The sorority was founded by twenty-seven female engineering students at Marquette University on November 13, 1983, and four months later on March 22, 1984, it became a recognized organization...

, Xi Delta Pi, and Epsilon Sigma Alpha

Epsilon Sigma Alpha

Epsilon Sigma Alpha International is a collegiate and service organization for women and men ages 18 and older. The organization states that its purpose "is to inspire leadership and service by bringing good people together to pursue programs and projects that make a positive difference locally,...

Athletics and spirit programs

George Washington University is a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference and most of its teams play at the NCAA Division I level. All indoor sports play at the Smith Center

Charles E. Smith Athletic Center

The Charles E. Smith Athletic Center is a 5,000-seat multipurpose arena in Washington D.C.. It is home to the George Washington University Colonials men's and women's basketball teams, as well as the university's swimming, water polo, gymnastics, and volleyball teams...

on the Foggy Bottom campus. The outdoor events are held at the Mount Vernon campus Athletic Complex. The university's colors are buff

Buff (colour)

Buff is a pale yellow-brown colour that got its name from the colour of buff leather.Displayed on the right is the colour buff.EtymologyAccording to the Oxford English Dictionary, buff as a descriptor of a colour was first used in the London Gazette of 1686, describing a uniform to be "A Red Coat...

and blue

Blue

Blue is a colour, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440–490 nm. It is considered one of the additive primary colours. On the HSV Colour Wheel, the complement of blue is yellow; that is, a colour corresponding to an equal...

(buff being a color similar to tan, but sometimes represented as gold or yellow). The colors were taken from George Washington's uniform in the Revolutionary War

American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

. The teams have achieved great successes in recent years including a first round victory in the Men's NCAA Division I Soccer Tournament in 2004. The men's varsity crew team rows out of Thompson's Boat Center on the Potomac River and competes in the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges

Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges

The Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges is a college athletic conference of eighteen men's college rowing crews. It is an affiliate of the Eastern College Athletic Conference .-Members:...

. In the 2008-2009 season, the men's crew team placed an all-time high national ranking of 12th in the country. The sailing team competes in the Middle Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association

Middle Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association

Middle Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association organizes and regulates intercollegiate sailing in Ontario, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, the eastern part of West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Hundreds of sailors participate from 43 colleges and...

and in gymnastics in the East Atlantic Gymnastics League

East Atlantic Gymnastics League

The East Atlantic Gymnastics League is a collegiate women's gymnastics conference competing at the NCAA Division I level. Membership comprises eight universities:*George Washington University*University of Maryland*University of New Hampshire...

. In 2007 the GW Men's Water Polo team placed third at Eastern Championships, and was ranked 14th in the nation.

Men's basketball

Mike Jarvis

Mike Jarvis is an American college basketball coach and the current head men's basketball coach at Florida Atlantic University. He has coached at Boston University, George Washington University and St. John's University. He also has worked as a commentator for college basketball games on ESPN...

coached GW in the 1990s, and led the team to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 1993

1993 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

The 1993 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 18, 1993, and ended with the championship game on April 5 in New Orleans, Louisiana...

, where they were beaten by the Fab Five

Fab Five

Fab Five may refer to:* Fab Five , the 1991 University of Michigan men's basketball freshman recruiting class* The Fab Five, a 2011 documentary on the above group.* Fab Five: The Texas Cheerleader Scandal, a 2008 movie...

University of Michigan team (which later vacated its wins due to NCAA rule violations

University of Michigan basketball scandal

The University of Michigan basketball scandal or Ed Martin scandal was a six-year investigation of the relationship between the University of Michigan, its men's basketball teams and basketball team booster Ed Martin...

). Jarvis also coached former Colonials head coach Karl Hobbs

Karl Hobbs

Karl Hobbs is a former men's college basketball coach. He is currently the Director, Basketball Operations at the University of Connecticut. He is the former head coach of the George Washington University Colonials men's basketball team...

in high school. Former NBA player Yinka Dare

Yinka Dare

Yinka Dare was a Nigerian professional basketball player. A 7'0", 265 pound center, he played four seasons in the National Basketball Association...

also played at George Washington for two years before being drafted in the first round by the New Jersey Nets

New Jersey Nets

The New Jersey Nets are a professional basketball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...

.

Under former head coach Karl Hobbs

Karl Hobbs

, GW's basketball team returned to the national stage in 2004 after defeating No. 9 Michigan State

Michigan State Spartans men's basketball

The Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represents Michigan State University and competes in the Big Ten Conference of NCAA Division I. The team currently plays at the Breslin Student Events Center...

and No. 12 Maryland

Maryland Terrapins men's basketball

The Maryland Terrapins men's basketball team represents the University of Maryland in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I competition...

in back to back games to win the 2004 BB&T Classic

BB&T Classic Basketball Tournament

The BB&T Classic Basketball Tournament is a Washington, DC based basketball tournament that has been held annually since 1995, when it was known as the Franklin National Bank Classic. It is staged at the Verizon Center, on or around the first weekend in December...

. That year, the men's basketball team went on to win the Atlantic 10 West Title and the Atlantic 10 Tournament Title (earning an automatic bid to the 2005 NCAA Tournament

2005 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

The 2005 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 15, 2005, and ended with the championship game on April 4 at the Edward Jones Dome in St...

. The team received a #12 seed, losing to #5 seed Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball team represents the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in NCAA Division I basketball. The team plays its home games in Alexander Memorial Coliseum. Under the tenure of Bobby Cremins, Georgia Tech established itself as a national force in basketball...

in the first round.

The team began the 2005–06 season

2005–06 NCAA Division I men's basketball season

The 2005–06 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 6, 2005, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 2006 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Championship Game on April 3, 2006 at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana...

ranked 21st in the Associated Press poll, reaching as high as sixth in the polls, and after some tournament success they closed out the year ranked 19th in the nation. They had a record of 26-2 going into the 2006 NCAA Tournament

2006 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

The 2006 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball as a culmination of the 2005–06 basketball season...

. The 2005-06 team achieved the school's highest ranking in the last 50 years, peaking at #6 in the nation, had been one of the team's best ever, and received an #8 seed in the NCAA Tournament. In the tournament, they came back from an 18-point second-half deficit to defeat #9 seed UNC-Wilmington, but lost to Duke University

2005–06 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team

The 2005–06 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team represented Duke University. The head coach was Mike Krzyzewski. The team played its home games in the Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina, and was a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference....

, the top overall seed, in the second round.

While only one Colonial from the 2005-06 team was drafted in the 2006 NBA Draft

2006 NBA Draft

The 2006 NBA Draft was held on June 28, 2006 at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players,...

, J. R. Pinnock, two other Colonials from that team have played in the NBA. Pops Mensah-Bonsu

Pops Mensah-Bonsu

Nana Papa Yaw Dwene "Pops" Mensah-Bonsu is a British professional basketball player of Ghanaian descent.-Amateur career:...

played for the Dallas Mavericks

Dallas Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks are a professional basketball team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association , and the reigning NBA champions, having defeated the Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals.According to a 2011...

, Houston Rockets

Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The team plays in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1967, and played in San Diego, California for four years, before being...

, San Antonio Spurs

San Antonio Spurs

The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. They are part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ....

and currently plays for the Toronto Raptors

Toronto Raptors

The Toronto Raptors are a professional basketball team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1995, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, as part of the NBA's re-expansion...

and Mike Hall

Mike Hall (basketball)

Michael Horus Hall is an American professional basketball player with the Erdemir SK of the Turkish Basketball League.-College career:He attended Alan B. Shepard High School in Palos Heights, Illinois...

played for the Washington Wizards

Washington Wizards

The Washington Wizards are a professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C., previously known as Washington Bullets. They play in the National Basketball Association .-Early years:...

.

The 2006-07 basketball season was considered by many to be a rebuilding year for the Colonials after graduating their entire starting front court and losing Pinnock to the NBA. Coach Karl Hobbs

Karl Hobbs

and Senior guard Carl Elliott managed to lead the team to a 23-8 record, winning the 2007 Atlantic 10 Tournament

2007 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Tournament

The 2007 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Tournament was played from March 7 to March 10, 2007, at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The winner was named champion of the Atlantic 10 Conference and received an automatic bid to the 2007 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. George...

in Atlantic City, NJ (once again earning an auto-bid to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship

2007 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

The 2007 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 NCAA schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball as a culmination of the 2006–07 basketball season...

. The Colonials were placed as a #11 seed lost to #6 seed Vanderbilt University in Sacramento, CA 77-44.

Hobbs, a former player and coach under Jim Calhoun at the University of Connecticut

University of Connecticut

The admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...

coached the Colonials for 10 years. Known for his animated sideline personality Hobbs had been considered one of the up-and-coming coaches in the NCAA. On April 25, 2011 the University released Hobbs from his contractual obligations, forcing him to resign as men's basketball coach

The Colonials are currently coached by Mike Lonergan

Mike Lonergan

Mike Lonergan is the head coach of the George Washington University Colonials men's basketball team. He replaced Karl Hobbs...

Football

The school sponsored intercollegiate football from 1881 to 1966. The team played home games at Griffith Stadium

Griffith Stadium

Griffith Stadium was a sports stadium that stood in Washington, D.C. from 1911 to 1965, between Georgia Avenue and 5th Street, and between W Street and Florida Avenue, NW. An earlier wooden baseball park had been built on the same site in 1891...

and RFK Stadium. Colonials football was discontinued to transfer resources to other sports and to focus on the construction of an on-campus fieldhouse for basketball.

Spirit programs

The Colonials mascot is named George, and is portrayed by a student wearing an outfit inspired by the uniform worn by General Washington. The sports teams are called the Colonials, which was chosen by the student body in 1924. Another version of the GW mascot is an inflatable Colonial figure known as "Big George.".

The spirit program also includes the Colonial Brass, directed by Professor Benno Fritz.

The official fight song is Hail to the Buff and Blue
Hail to the Buff and Blue
Hail to the Buff and Blue is the official fight song of the George Washington University Colonials athletic teams. The song is played daily at 12:15pm and 6pm by the bells located atop Corcoran Hall, on the University Yard.- History :...

, composed in 1924 by student Eugene F. Sweeney and re-written in 1989 by Patrick M. Jones. The song is tolled twice-daily by bells atop Corcoran Hall, at 12:15pm and 6:00pm.

Club sports

The university also has various club sports, which are not varsity sports, but compete against other colleges. Examples include: volleyball

Volleyball

Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...

, ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

, fencing

Fencing

Fencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...

, lacrosse

Lacrosse

Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...

, rugby

Rugby football

Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...

, soccer, cricket

Cricket

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...

, squash

Squash (sport)

Squash is a high-speed racquet sport played by two players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball...

, tennis

Tennis

Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

, ultimate frisbee, cricket

Cricket

and others. The GW Club Sports Council was founded in 2010 to act as a lobbying body between Club Sports at GW, and the administration.

Notable alumni

George Washington alumni include many current and past political figures. Six alumni currently serve in the United States Senate and ten in the House of Representatives. These include Senate Majority Leader

Party leaders of the United States Senate

The Senate Majority and Minority Leaders are two United States Senators who are elected by the party conferences that hold the majority and the minority respectively. These leaders serve as the chief Senate spokespeople for their parties and manage and schedule the legislative and executive...

Harry Reid

Harry Mason Reid is the senior United States Senator from Nevada, serving since 1987. A member of the Democratic Party, he has been the Senate Majority Leader since January 2007, having previously served as Minority Leader and Minority and Majority Whip.Previously, Reid was a member of the U.S...

and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor

Eric Cantor

Eric Ivan Cantor is the U.S. Representative for Virginia's 7th congressional district, serving since 2001. A member of the Republican Party, he became House Majority Leader when the 112th Congress convened on January 3, 2011...

. Alumni have been governors of eighteen states and one territory, including current US Senator and former Governor of Virginia

Governor of Virginia

The governor of Virginia serves as the chief executive of the Commonwealth of Virginia for a four-year term. The position is currently held by Republican Bob McDonnell, who was inaugurated on January 16, 2010, as the 71st governor of Virginia....

, Mark Warner

Mark Warner

Mark Robert Warner is an American politician and businessman, currently serving in the United States Senate as the junior senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Warner was the 69th governor of Virginia from 2002 to 2006 and is the honorary chairman of...

, as well as former Governor of Guam, Frank Freyer

Frank Freyer

Frank Barrows Freyer was an United States Navy captain who served as the 14th Naval Governor of Guam. Freyer graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1902, having played several collegiate sports there. The Navy assigned him to many different ships, including having him participate in the...

. Other renowned figures of the higher echelons of United States government include Senator J. William Fulbright

J. William Fulbright

James William Fulbright was a United States Senator representing Arkansas from 1945 to 1975.Fulbright was a Southern Democrat and a staunch multilateralist who supported the creation of the United Nations and the longest serving chairman in the history of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee...

, former Secretary of State

United States Secretary of State

The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...

Colin Powell

, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is by law the highest ranking military officer in the United States Armed Forces, and is the principal military adviser to the President of the United States, the National Security Council, the Homeland Security Council and the Secretary of Defense...

General Peter Pace

Peter Pace

Peter Pace is a retired United States Marine Corps general who served as the 16th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the first Marine appointed to the United States' highest-ranking military office. Appointed by President George W. Bush, Pace succeeded U.S. Air Force General Richard Myers on...

, former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover

J. Edgar Hoover

John Edgar Hoover was the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States. Appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation—predecessor to the FBI—in 1924, he was instrumental in founding the FBI in 1935, where he remained director until his death in 1972...

, former CIA Director Allen Dulles and his brother, former Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles

John Foster Dulles

John Foster Dulles served as U.S. Secretary of State under President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 to 1959. He was a significant figure in the early Cold War era, advocating an aggressive stance against communism throughout the world...

. In addition, the current Mayor of the District of Columbia, Vincent Gray

Vincent C. Gray

Vincent C. Gray is an American politician who is currently serving as the seventh Mayor of the District of Columbia. Prior to his inauguration as mayor in January 2011, Gray served as Chairman of the Council of the District of Columbia, and as Councilmember for Ward 7...

, is a GWU alumnus.

Other notable alumni and former students include HH Prince Talal Arslan

Talal Arslan

-Political career:Arslan was elected to the Lebanese Parliament as a deputy of the Aley District in 1991, 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2009. From 1990 to 1992 he was the Lebanese Minister of Tourism, from 1996 to 1998 he was Minister of Emigrants and served as Minister of State twice from 2000 to 2003 and...

, Anwar al-Awlaki

Anwar al-Awlaki

Anwar al-Awlaki was an American and Yemeni imam who was an engineer and educator by training. According to U.S. government officials, he was a senior talent recruiter and motivator who was involved with planning operations for the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda...

, Ralph Asher Alpher

Ralph Asher Alpher

, Red Auerbach

Red Auerbach

Arnold Jacob "Red" Auerbach was an American basketball coach of the Washington Capitols, the Tri-Cities Blackhawks and the Boston Celtics. After he retired from coaching, he served as president and front office executive of the Celtics until his death...

, Alec Baldwin

Alec Baldwin

Alexander Rae "Alec" Baldwin III is an American actor who has appeared on film, stage, and television.Baldwin first gained recognition through television for his work in the soap opera Knots Landing in the role of Joshua Rush. He was a cast member for two seasons before his character was killed off...

, Dana Bash

Dana Bash

Dana Bash is an American reporter and anchorwoman for CNN who currently covers the Capitol Hill beat alongside Jessica Yellin and her husband John King. Previous to this assignment, she was a White House correspondent for the network.After completing her undergraduate political communications B.A...

, Larry Craig

Larry Craig

Larry Edwin Craig is a former Republican politician from the U.S. state of Idaho. He served 18 years in the U.S. Senate , preceded by 10 years in the U.S. House, representing Idaho's first district . His 28 years in the Congress rank as the second-longest in Idaho history, trailing only William...

, Preston Cloud

Preston Cloud

Preston Ercelle Cloud, Jr. was an American paleontologist, geographer, and professor. He was best-known for his work on the geologic time scale and the origin of life on Earth.-Early life:...

, Jack Edmonds

Jack Edmonds

Jack R. Edmonds is a mathematician, regarded as one of the most important contributors to the field of combinatorial optimization...

, Philip Emeagwali

Philip Emeagwali

Philip Emeagwali is a Nigerian -born engineer and computer scientist/geologist who was one of two winners of the 1989 Gordon Bell Prize, a prize from the IEEE, for his use of a Connection Machine supercomputer to help analyze petroleum fields....

, Jason Filardi

Jason Filardi

-Writer:*Bringing Down the House *Drum *Gangsta M.D. *In the Navy *17 Again Back Nine -Actor:*The Craft as Paramedic*Ricky 6 as Rookie Officer-External links:...

, John Flaherty

John Flaherty

John Timothy Flaherty is a television baseball broadcaster and a retired Major League Baseball player. Flaherty was a catcher, and last played in the major leagues for the New York Yankees.-Early life:...

, Ina Garten

Ina Garten

Ina Rosenberg Garten is an American author, host of the Food Network program Barefoot Contessa, and former White House nuclear policy analyst...

, Todd B. Hawley

Todd B. Hawley

Todd B. Hawley was one of the three founders of the International Space University and a lifelong advocate of human space exploration...

, Harold Hersey

Harold Hersey

Harold Brainerd Hersey was a pulp editor and publisher, and published several volumes of poetry. His pulp industry observations were published in hardback as Pulpwood Editor .-Early life:...

, David Holt (politician)

David Holt (politician)

David Holt is an American politician who serves as Oklahoma State Senator from the 30th district, which includes portions of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, The Village, Oklahoma, Bethany, Oklahoma, and Warr Acres, Oklahoma.-Personal life:...

, L. Ron Hubbard

L. Ron Hubbard

Lafayette Ronald Hubbard , better known as L. Ron Hubbard , was an American pulp fiction author and religious leader who founded the Church of Scientology...

, S.M. Krishna, Lee Kun-hee

Lee Kun-hee

Lee Kun-hee is Chairman of Samsung Electronics. He resigned on April 21, 2008 owing to Samsung Slush funds scandal, but returned on March 24, 2010. Lee has a degree in economics from Waseda University in Tokyo and attended an MBA course at George Washington University in the United States in 1966...

, Roy Lee

Roy Lee

Roy Lee is an American film producer who regularly takes well known Asian films and remakes them for American audiences. Examples include The Ring, The Grudge and The Departed...

, Theodore N. Lerner, Randy Levine

Randy Levine

Randy Lewis Levine is an attorney who is the president of the New York Yankees baseball club, a position he has held since January 2000.-Early life:...

, Gerardo I. Lopez

Gerardo I. Lopez

Gerardo I. Lopez, also known as Gerry Lopez, is CEO and President of AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc., Marquee Holdings Inc., and AMC Entertainment Inc...

, Carl Lutz

Carl Lutz

Carl Lutz was the Swiss Vice-Consul in Budapest, Hungary from 1942 until the end of World War II. He helped save tens of thousands of Jews from deportation to Nazi Extermination camps during the Holocaust. He is credited with saving over 62,000 Jews...

, Boris Mitchell, T.J. Miller, Darla Moore

Darla Moore

Darla Dee Moore is a partner of the private investment firm Rainwater, Inc, and is married to Richard Rainwater, who founded the firm....

, former First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, Leslie Sanchez

Leslie Sanchez

Leslie Sanchez is a prominent American author, political pundit affiliated with the Republican Party, and founder/CEO of Impacto Group LLC, a Washington, D.C.-based market research and consulting firm.-Early life:...

, Chuck Todd

Chuck Todd

Charles David “Chuck” Todd is an American journalist, Chief White House Correspondent and political director for NBC News, and contributing editor to Meet the Press...

, Margaret Truman

Margaret Truman

Mary Margaret Truman Daniel , also known as Margaret Truman or Margaret Daniel, was an American singer who later became a successful writer. The only child of US President Harry S...

, Kerry Washington

Kerry Washington

, Baby M

Baby M

Baby M was the pseudonym used In re Baby M, 537 A.2d 1227, 109 N.J. 396 for the infant named Sara Elizabeth Whitehead at her birth, and later named Melissa Stern by her father and adoptive mother....

, David McConnell

David McConnell

David McConnell is a southern Californian musician, most notable for his involvement as collaborator, producer and engineer for Elliott Smith's final album, From a Basement on the Hill as well as his involvement with the Summer Hymns and Folk Implosion/ Lou Barlow. He also plays solo under his own...

, Scott Wolf

Scott Wolf

Scott Richard Wolf is an American actor, known for his roles on the television series Party of Five as Bailey Salinger and on Everwood as Dr. Jake Hartman. Since 2009, he has appeared in the Sci-Fi series V as the morally ambiguous journalist, Chad Decker.-Early life:Wolf was born in Boston,...

, Rachel Zoe

Rachel Zoe

Rachel Zoe Rosenzweig , also known as Rachel Zoe, is an American fashion stylist best known for working with celebrities, fashion houses, beauty firms, advertising agencies, and magazine editors. In 2008, the first season of her Bravo reality television series The Rachel Zoe Project debuted...

, and Erica Hayden

Erica Hayden

Erica Hayden , referred to as "Erica America" or "i america", is an American radio personality, television host and psychotherapist. She is currently a radio personality in New York on Z100 on Saturdays 2pm-7pm and Sundays 6pm-midnight...

Notable faculty

As the university is located within blocks of the State Department, White House, Department of the Interior, International Monetary Fund

International Monetary Fund

, World Bank, and other Federal government buildings of significant importance, the university attracts many influential guest lecturers and visiting professors. Notable faculty include: George Gamow

George Gamow

(1934–1954), physicist and cosmologist; Edward Teller

Edward Teller

(1935–1941), nuclear physicist and father of the hydrogen bomb; Seyyed Hossein Nasr

Seyyed Hossein Nasr

Seyyed Hossein Nasr is an Iranian University Professor of Islamic studies at George Washington University, and a prominent Islamic philosopher...

, founder and first president of the Imperial Iranian Academy of Philosophy; Edward "Skip" Gnehm, former U.S. Ambassador to Jordan, Kuwait and Australia; Marcus Raskin

Marcus Raskin

Marcus Raskin is a prominent American social critic, political activist, author, and philosopher, working for progressive social change in the United States....

, former member of the national security counsel under President Kennedy and founder of the Institute for Policy Studies; Abba Eban

Abba Eban

Abba Eban was an Israeli diplomat and politician.In his career he was Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister, Education Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, and ambassador to the United States and to the United Nations...

, former Israeli Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Education & Culture and Minister of Foreign Affairs; John Logsdon

John Logsdon

John Logsdon is former Director of the Space Policy Institute at The George Washington University.Logsdon was a member of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board. He is a current member of the NASA Advisory Council...

, member of Columbia Accident Investigation Board

Columbia Accident Investigation Board

The Columbia Accident Investigation Board was convened by NASA to investigate the destruction of the Space Shuttle Columbia during STS-107 upon atmospheric re-entry on February 1, 2003. In addition to determining the cause of the accident, the panel also recommended changes that should be made...

, NASA

NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...

Advisory Council; Frank Sesno

Frank Sesno

Frank Sesno is an award-winning American journalist, former CNN correspondent, anchor and Washington bureau chief, and director of the School of Media and Public Affairs at The George Washington University. Sesno is also the creator and host of Planet Forward, a web-to-television show on PBS. Sesno...

, CNN

CNN

former Washington, DC Bureau Chief and Special Correspondent; James Carafano

James Carafano

James Jay Carafano is the director of the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies and the deputy director of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies at The Heritage Foundation. He is a historian and a recognized expert on national security affairs...

, Heritage Foundation national security and homeland security expert; Leon Fuerth

Leon Fuerth

Leon Sigmund Fuerth is a former diplomat who served as national security adviser to former U.S. Vice President Al Gore. He was succeeded in that capacity by I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby in January 2001...

, former national security adviser to Vice President Al Gore

Al Gore

Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....

; James Rosenau, political theorist and former president of the International Studies Association; Chris Kojm, Deputy Director of the 9/11 Commission and Iraq Study Group as well as President of the 9/11 Discourse Project; Steven V. Roberts

Steven V. Roberts

Steven V. Roberts is an American journalist, writer, political commentator.Roberts grew up in Bayonne, New Jersey and graduated from Bayonne High School. He attended Harvard where he served as editor of the student newspaper, The Harvard Crimson. After graduating with a B.A...

, American journalist, writer and political commentator and former senior writer at U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...

; Dr. Nancy E. Gary, former dean of Albany Medical College, Executive Vice President of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and Dean of its F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine, Roy Richard Grinker

Roy Richard Grinker

Roy Richard Grinker is an author and Professor of Anthropology, International Affairs, and Human Sciences at The George Washington University.Grinker is an authority on North and South Korean relations...

, anthropologist specializing in autism

Autism

Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...

and North-South Korean relations, and Edward P. Jones

Edward P. Jones

Edward Paul Jones is an American novelist and short story writer. His 2003 novel The Known World received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.-Biography:...

, who won the Pulitzer Prize

Pulitzer Prize

The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...

for fiction in 2004, Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé (MBA), president of Togo since 2005. In addition to Herbert J. Davis - Executive Director, U.S.-Bangladesh Business Council; U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Notable honorary degrees

The University has traditionally given honorary degrees to people who have made an influence in Washington like: J. Edgar Hoover

J. Edgar Hoover

(Doctor of Law, 1935), Harry S. Truman

Harry S. Truman

Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...

(1946), John Wesley Snyder (Treasury Secretary, Doctor of Law, 1947), Ulysses S. Grant III

Ulysses S. Grant III

Ulysses Simpson Grant III was the son of Frederick Dent Grant, and the grandson of General of the Army and President of the United States Ulysses S. Grant. He was an American soldier and planner...

(Doctor of Law, 1956), John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy

John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....

(Doctor of Law, 1961), Hillary Rodham Clinton

Hillary Rodham Clinton

Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the...

(Doctor of Public Service, 1994), Elizabeth Dole

Elizabeth Dole

Mary Elizabeth Alexander Hanford "Liddy" Dole is an American politician who served in both the Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush presidential administrations, as well as a United States Senator....

(Doctor of Public Service, 1995), William H. Rehnquist (Doctor of Law, 1996), Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

, (Doctor of Public Service, 1991), Sandra Day O'Connor

Sandra Day O'Connor

Sandra Day O'Connor is an American jurist who was the first female member of the Supreme Court of the United States. She served as an Associate Justice from 1981 until her retirement from the Court in 2006. O'Connor was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981...

(Doctor of Law, 2003), Barbara Bush

Barbara Bush

Barbara Pierce Bush is the wife of the 41st President of the United States George H. W. Bush, and served as First Lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993. She is the mother of the 43rd President George W. Bush and of the 43rd Governor of Florida Jeb Bush...

(Doctor of Public Service, 2006), George H.W. Bush (Doctor of Public Service, 2006), and Michelle Obama

Michelle Obama

Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama is the wife of the 44th and incumbent President of the United States, Barack Obama, and is the first African-American First Lady of the United States...

(Doctor of Public Service, 2010). Peace advocates and leaders of other nations who have influenced the world have also received this honor. These people include: King Mohammad V of Morocco (Doctor of Law, 1957) , Iranian Shah

Shah

Shāh is the title of the ruler of certain Southwest Asian and Central Asian countries, especially Persia , and derives from the Persian word shah, meaning "king".-History:...

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi

Mohammad Rezā Shāh Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, Shah of Persia , ruled Iran from 16 September 1941 until his overthrow by the Iranian Revolution on 11 February 1979...

(Doctor of Public Service, 1974), Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

(1991), Roy Lichtenstein

Roy Lichtenstein

Roy Lichtenstein was a prominent American pop artist. During the 1960s his paintings were exhibited at the Leo Castelli Gallery in New York City and along with Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, James Rosenquist and others he became a leading figure in the new art movement...

(Doctor of Fine Arts, honoris causa, 1996), Yitzhak Rabin

Yitzhak Rabin

' was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77 and 1992 until his assassination in 1995....

(Doctor of Public Service, 1996), Desmond Tutu

Desmond Tutu

Desmond Mpilo Tutu is a South African activist and retired Anglican bishop who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid...

(Doctor of Public Service, 1999), Andy Rooney (Doctor of Public Service, 2005), and South Korean president Lee Myung Bak (Doctor of Public Service, 2009).

External links

Official website
Official Studentblog
Official Athletics website
The GW and Foggy Bottom Historical Encyclopedia
George Washington University Historical Photographs, Special Collections Research Center, Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library, The George Washington University. This online collection contains photographs and negatives of individuals, localities, objects, buildings, events, and groups associated with the history of the University. It is one of the strongest photograph collections within the University Archives representing a photographic time-line of the history of The George Washington University from approximately 1859 through late 1980s.
Bricks without Straw, Special Collections Research Center, Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library, The George Washington University. This book gives a detailed history of The George Washington University.

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.