University of Washington - Seattle Campus

School Description

University of Washington - Seattle Campus School Description

The University of Washington is one of the oldest state-supported institutions of higher education on the West Coast and is one of the preeminent research universities in the world. The University of Washington educates a diverse student body to become responsible global citizens and future leaders through a challenging learning environment informed by cutting-edge scholarship.

We discover timely solutions to the worlds most complex problems and enrich the lives of people throughout our community, the state of Washington, the nation, and the world..

The natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest envelops us. This is an important element of who we are, for this awe-inspiring place not only anchors us, it reaffirms our desire to effect positive change in the world around us. We accept gratefully our role in preserving and enhancing Washington: the place, the people, our home.

University of Washington - Seattle Campus

See Washington (disambiguation) for other uses. [[File:UW Map.png|300px|thumb|right|A map showing all the UW campuses. Yellow is the main campus, purple are the two other campuses (1=Tacoma, 2=Bothell), and red are the sites for the UW North Sound campus.]] [[File:Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition - Rainier Vista.jpg|right|thumb|200px|The Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition's lower campus axis toward Mount Rainier]]

University of Washington, founded in 1861, is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. UW is the largest university in the northwestern United States and the oldest public university on the west coast. The university has three campuses, with its flagship campus in Seattle's University District and much smaller branch campuses in Tacoma and Bothell. Its operating budget for fiscal year 2005 was $3.1 billion. The university is also considered a Public Ivy. In 2008, the school placed 16th in the world's top universities, according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities.

History

The city of Seattle was one of several settlements in the mid to late 19th century vying for primacy in the newly formed Washington Territory. In 1854, territorial governor Isaac Stevens recommended the establishment of a university in Washington. Several prominent Seattle-area residents, chief among them Methodist preacher Daniel Bagley, saw the siting of this University as a chance to add to the city's prestige. They were able to convince early founder of Seattle and member of the territorial legislature Arthur A. Denny of the importance of Seattle winning the school. The legislature initially chartered two universities, one in Seattle and one in Lewis County, but later repealed its decision in favor of a single university in Lewis County, provided locally donated land could be found. When no site emerged, the legislature, encouraged by Denny, relocated the university to Seattle in 1858.