University of Cincinnati
The
University of Cincinnati is a
state university located in
Cincinnati, Ohio. Billing itself as an
urban research university, the university has an annual enrollment of approximately 35,000 full- and part-time students in programs ranging from 2-year Associate's Degrees to Ph.D. and post-doctorate education.
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McMicken Hall on the main campus. |
In
1819,
Cincinnati College and the
Medical College of Ohio were founded in Cincinnati upon the suggestion and with the funds of local benefactors such as Dr. Drake and
William Lytle of the
Lytle family of Cincinnati. In
1870, the City of Cincinnati established the University of Cincinnati, absorbing Cincinnati College and the Medical College of Ohio. University of Cincinnati became a "municipally-sponsored, state-affiliated" institution in
1968. During this time, the University of Cincinnati was the second-oldest and second-largest municipal university in the country. It became one of Ohio's state universities in
1977.
UC is distinguished as the birthplace of the
co-operative education (co-op) model. The program generally consists of alternating periods of coursework on campus and outside work at a host firm, giving students up to two years of relevant work experience by the time they graduate. The concept was invented at UC in 1906 by Herman Schneider, Dean of the College of Engineering at the time. Today, UC's Professional Practice (Co-op) Program is the largest co-op program at any public institution in the United States.
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Students and Cincinnati residents gather for live music and events at "Worldfest," one of several community events organised by the university. |
The university is comprised of several colleges:
*
Allied Health Sciences*
Applied Science*
Arts and Sciences*
Business*
Clermont College (branch campus)
*
College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), one of the most prestigious American music schools, ranked 6th by
U.S. News and World Report. It is particularly renowned for its voice, composition, piano, and musical theater departments.
*
Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP), one of the most highly-ranked design schools in the US and in the world
[UC website citation of I.D. Magazine], particularly known for its
architecture,
interior design, and
industrial design programs.
*
Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services*
Engineering*
The Graduate School*
College of Law, the fourth oldest continually running law school in the country. It is notable for graduating
William Howard Taft, the only person to serve both as
U.S. President and as
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Taft also served as the dean of the college when it integrated with the University of Cincinnati in 1896.
*
College of Medicine, includes both a leading teaching
hospital and several biomedical research laboratories. In the
1950s Albert Sabin developed the live
Polio vaccine at the College of Medicine.
*
Nursing*
Pharmacy*
Raymond Walters College (branch campus)
*
Social WorkUC is also the home of the
Institute for policy research. It is a multidisciplinary research organization which opened in
1971. It performs a variety of
surveys and polls on public opinion throughout Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana, primarily through telephone surveys.
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UC C-Paw, logo for UC athletic and student organizations |
The school's athletic teams are known as the
Bearcats. Cincinnati competes in
NCAA Division I sports (I-A for
football) as a member of the
Big East Conference since July 1, 2005. The school's best-known athletic alumni are
Baseball Hall of Fame Sandy Koufax, all-time
basketball great
Oscar Robertson, and International Tennis Hall of Famer
Tony Trabert Baseball Hall of Fame Miller Huggins. Cincinnati's oldest football rivalry, begun in 1888, this rivalry is with
Miami University and symbolized by a
Victory Bell awarded to the winner each year. This is, reportedly, the fourth oldest rivalry in
college football. Cincinnati also plays
Xavier University in the Annual Skyline Chili
Crosstown Shootout., and UC also plays Louisville, the teams battle for the Keg of Nails in Football every year. The school also has an on and off again (albeit lopsided) rivalry with
Ohio State University in football. When the schools' men's basketball teams meet in the John Wooden Classic in Indianapolis in 2006, it will be first meeting since the 1962 NCAA men's championship game for the Ohio neighbors.
The school's best known program, however, is the
men's basketball program. Cincinnati has an all time record of 1517-865 (.636), compiled over 105 seasons. While UC has consistently been a contender in this sport, it has been marked by several high and low points. The most notable era in Bearcats basketball was during the late 1950s and early 1960s, when the Bearcats posted five consecutive
Final Four appearances. Unanimous 3-time All American
Oscar Robertson led the Bearcats and the nation for 3 consecutive years in this period, and posted a career average of 33.8 points per game, which ranks third all-time in the NCAA. Ironically, Cincinnati was to win its two national championships in the 1961 and 1962 seasons, without Robertson, under rookie coach
Ed Jucker.
Cincinnati fell out of prominence during the early 1970s. After a brief resurgence in the mid-1970s, the program fell on hard times in the 1980s, but was revitalized under head coach
Bob Huggins after his hiring in 1989. Under Huggins, the Bearcats compiled a 399-127 record in 16 seasons, and posted 14 straight NCAA tournament appearances. Most notable among teams during the Huggins years was the 1991-'92 team, which lost to Michigan in the
Final Four.
Despite a .757 record under Huggins, the administration at the university became discontent with Huggins' tenure. Following a 2004 DUI arrest, which was ultimately the exclamation point to a long history of objectionable events surrounding Cincinnati's basketball program and its off the court behavior, the rollover clause on Huggins' contract was suspended. Huggins later took a buy out offer in August
2005 by President
Nancy Zimpher. Huggins is now the head basketball coach at
Kansas State University. After Bob Huggins was fired, Cincinnati Assistant coach Andy Took over on an interim basis. At the end of the season Andy Kennedy left Cincinati to become the head coach at Ole Miss. As a result in May of 2006, Cincinnati hired Murray State Mens Basketball Coach Mick Cronin to become the new head coach of the Bearcats. Cronin got his college coaching career stated at Cincinnati Under Bob Huggins. Cronin graduated from UC in 1998.
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The Campus Recreation Center, designed by Thom Mayne, opened in 2006. |
The university has had a strategic plan for the last decade for new architecture to be built by "signature architects." The buildings include:
*Engineering Research Center,
Michael Graves (UC alumnus) (
1994)
*
Aronoff Center for Art and Design,
Peter Eisenman (
1996)
*
College-Conservatory of Music,
Pei Cobb Freed and Partners (Henry Cobb) (
1999)
Photos*
Vontz Center for Molecular Studies,
Frank O. Gehry (
1999)
*Campus Recreation Center,
Morphosis (
Thom Mayne) (
2006)
*Lindner Athletic Center,
Bernard Tschumi (
2006)
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Vontz Center for Molecular Studies, designed by Frank Gehry, is part of the medical campus. |
Other architecturally-notable buildings on the UC campus designed by lesser known signature architects include:
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Tangeman University Center,
Gwathmey Siegel & Associates (
2004)
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Steger Student Life Center,
Moore Ruble Yudel (
2005)
See
List of University of Cincinnati People.
}}}
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University of Cincinnati web page*
Official UC Student Government Site*
The News Record student newspaper site*
Official UC athletics site*
BearcatNews.com*
Cincinnati Sports Forum @ NCAAbbs*
Photographs of the University of Cincinnati*
Unofficial UC Students' Wiki*
Cincinnati Photographs, including the Univerisity of Cincinnati*
Univerisity of Cincinnati Costs*
University of Cincinnati Magazine
