University of Richmond

The University of Richmond describes itself as "a premier, private, liberal arts university featuring highly selective, primarily undergraduate programs, as well as graduate programs in arts and sciences, business and law." Located in Richmond, Virginia, the University of Richmond (also known as "UR" or "U of R") is a liberal arts university with 3,000 undergraduate students and 1,300 graduate students in law, business, and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

History

Founded by Virginia Baptists in 1830 as a seminary for men, the school was incorporated ten years later as Richmond College. During the American Civil War, Richmond College was used as a hospital for Confederate troops and later as a Union barracks. By the end of the war, the college was bankrupt and unable to continue functioning. In 1866, James Thomas donated $5,000 to re-open the college. The T.C. Williams School of Law opened in 1870.

In 1894, the college elected Dr. Frederic W. Boatwright president. President Boatwright would serve for 51 years. He is most remembered for his decision to move the college in 1914 from its original location in what is now the Fan district to its current location in the Westhampton area of Richmond. The university's main library, Boatwright Memorial Library, was named in honor of Dr. Boatwright's long and distinguished service.

Looking out over Westhampton Lake from Tyler Haynes Commons

In conjunction with the move, a new college for women, Westhampton College, opened on the new campus. In 1921, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences opened, followed by the E. Claiborne Robins School of Business in 1949, and the School of Continuing Studies in 1962. In 1969, E. Claiborne Robins, a trustee and alumnus, donated $50 million to the university, the largest gift made to an institution of higher education at the time. Today, the university's $1.2 billion endowment ranks 42nd in North America.

In 1987, a donation of $20 million by Robert S. Jepson, Jr. facilitated the opening of the Jepson School of Leadership Studies, the first such school in the United States. In 1990, the missions of Richmond and Westhampton Colleges were combined to form the School of Arts and Sciences.

On January 12, 2006, William E. Cooper announced that he would step down as president of the University of Richmond, effective June 30, 2007. A national search for President Cooper's successor is currently underway.

Academics

All students must complete general education requirements as part of the liberal arts curriculum. These requirements include the Core Course, a demanding two-semester course heavily focused on international writings and philosophy that first-year students must endure. Viewed by many students as a rite of passage, first-year students can often be heard comparing notes on the teaching styles or draconian grading curves of particular professors. Other general education requirements include expository writing, wellness, foreign language, and one class each in six fields of study.

Richmond offers more than 100 majors, minors, and concentrations in three undergraduate schools--the School of Arts and Sciences, the Robins School of Business, and the Jepson School of Leadership Studies.

Admissions

The University of Richmond admitted 47% of applicants for the class of 2009, which has middle 50 percent range SAT I scores of 1260â€"1370. In its "America's Best Colleges 2006" issue, U.S. News and World Report ranked Richmond 34th among national "Liberal Arts Colleges." For the previous eleven years, UR had been ranked first in the "Master's Universities - South" category, but an official reclassification by the Carnegie Foundation resulted in UR's inclusion among national liberal arts colleges. Business Week recently ranked the E. Claiborne Robins School of Business as the 25th best undergraduate program in the nation.

Despite the fact that the University of Richmond's name incorrectly leads some to believe that it is a public institution of higher education drawing students primarily from within the state of Virginia, only about 15% of UR's undergraduate students are from Virginia. The University of Richmond primarily draws students from the New England and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States, but also draws students from across the country and abroad. Peer universities that Richmond typically competes with for students include Washington and Lee University, Wesleyan University, Davidson College, Wake Forest University, Bucknell University, Colgate University, and Furman University.

Financial Aid

Richmond administers a generous financial aid program, with 65% of all students receiving some form of financial assistance. Richmond is one only a few universities in the United States to offer a "need-blind" admissions policy and to meet 100% of admitted students' demonstrated need. Richmond offers 50 merit-based, full tuition scholarships to students in each entering class (approximately 1 out of every 15 students). Richmond also caps student loan debt at $4,000 per year. Recently, to encourage enrollment from Virginia residents, admitted students from Virginia will family incomes of $40,000 or less will receive full-tuition/room and board financial aid packages without loans.

Student Life

Richmond has approximately 220 student organizations. Student groups include those devoted to:academic interests (Phi Beta Kappa, Golden Key National Honour Society); student government (Richmond College Student Government Association and Westhampton College Student Government Association); media (The Collegian, student newspaper published since 1914, campus radio station WDCE); community service (Habitat for Humanity, Alpha Phi Omega); intramural athletics;religion (InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Hillel); performing arts (including several a capella groups); and culture and diversity (Ngoma African Dance Company, Multicultural Student Union).

Richmond also has an active Greek life with 15 national fraternities and sororities. The fraternities include Kappa Alpha, Kappa Sigma, Phi Gamma Delta, Pi Kappa Alpha, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Sigma Chi, and the founding chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon. The sororities are Alpha Chi Omega, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Delta Delta, Delta Gamma, Delta Sigma Theta, Kappa Alpha Theta, Kappa Kappa Gamma, and Pi Beta Phi.

Traditions

Noted University of Richmond traditions include: an honor code administered by student honor councils; Investiture and Proclamation Night, ceremonies for first year men and women to reflect on their next four years; Ring Dance, a dance held at the Jefferson Hotel by the Junior class women; and Festivus, a Greek, day-long celebration held in the spring (until recent years called Pig Roast).

International Education

In the past decade, the university has sought to develop a stronger international focus. International students from about 70 countries represent about 5% of the student body. Approximately half of undergraduate students participate in one of 78 study abroad programs offered by the university. Other international programs include Global House, a residential program housed in Keller Hall, and an international film series.

Campus

The University of Richmond's campus consists of 350 acres in a suburban setting on the western edge of the city. The university has, with few exceptions, remained true to the original architectural plans for the campus--stately red brick buildings in a collegiate gothic style set around shared open lawns. Many of the original buildings, including Jeter Hall and North Court, both residence halls, and Ryland Hall, the original administration building and library for Richmond College, were designed by Ralph Adams Cram in 1910. Cram, a noted institutional architect, also designed buildings for Princeton, Cornell, Rice, and Williams, among other universities. Warren H. Manning, a former apprentice to Frederick Law Olmstead, designed the original landscape plan. The overall effect of the gothic architecture set amid a landscape of pines, rolling hills, and Westhampton Lake, is intimate and tranquil. In 2000, the campus was recognized by the Princeton Review as the most beautiful in the in United States.

The University of Richmond also owns the former Reynolds Metals Executive Office Building, purchased from Alcoa in 2001. Located a few miles from campus, the 250,000 square-foot building was designed by architect Gordon Bunshaft and opened in 1958. The building, which incorporates nearly 1.4 million pounds of aluminum, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It currently serves as the headquarters of Philip Morris USA, which is leasing it from the university.

Athletics

Richmond is the only university in the country with the spider as its official mascot. The university's athletic programs compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference in all sports except women's golf, which competes as an associate member of the Colonial Athletic Association. UR's basketball program has developed a reputation as a "giant killer" in the NCAA tournament, defeating the Charles Barkley-led Auburn Tigers in 1984, reaching the Sweet Sixteen in 1988 by defeating defending national champion Indiana and Georgia Tech, and becoming the first 15-seed to knock off a 2-seed when the Spiders defeated Syracuse in 1991. The Spiders hold the distinction of being the only basketball program to win NCAA tournament games as a 12, 13, 14, and 15 seed.

In 2007, UR's football program and the other eleven Atlantic 10 football programs will begin playing under the banner of the Colonial Athletic Association.

Miscellaneous

The University of Richmond campus was used to film the pilot of Commander in Chief as well as the movie Cry_Wolf. Much of Cry_Wolf was filmed on the Westhampton side of campus, with several dormitories, including South Court, North Court, and Keller Hall, serving as locations. Several episodes of the television show Dawson's Creek were also filmed on campus, referring to Richmond only as a nameless "beautiful Ivy League campus." The filming itself took place in Stern Quad and inside the Jepson Alumni Center. From 1990-2003, the Shanghai Quartet served as quartet-in-residence at UR, and their relationship with the university continues with their roles as Distinguished Visiting Artists. In 2004, contemporary music sextet eighth blackbird (spelled in all lowercase) was named ensemble-in-residence. Camp Concert Hall, located on campus, is a favorite recording venue for National Public Radio (NPR).

The University of Richmond is home to the Virginia Governor's School for Visual and Performing Arts and Humanities during the summer.

Notable alumni

Humanities & Arts

*Douglas S. Freeman - two-time Pulitzer Prize winning author and historian
*Earl Hamner - author of Spencer's Mountain and creator of television shows The Waltons and Falcon Crest
*Grant Shaud - actor, best known for playing the role of Miles Silverberg on the 1990s TV sitcom Murphy Brown

Science & Technology

*Leland D. Melvin - NASA astronaut

University of Richmond: Encyclopedia BETA

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