Washburn University (WU ) is a co-educational, public, institution of higher learning located in Topeka, Kansas, USA. The university offers a number of undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and business. Washburn has 550 faculty members, who teach 6,300 undergraduate students and 1,000 graduate students, and the university's assets include a $112 million endowment. The president of Washburn University is Dr. Jerry Farley, who has served as president since 1997 and taken an active approach in improving academics and student life. Washburn University is governed by a nine-member Board of Regents. Three, who must be residents of the state of Kansas, are appointed by the Governor. Three residents of the city, one from each of the state senatorial districts, are appointed by the Mayor of the city of Topeka. One is the Mayor or a member of the governing body of the city designated by the Mayor. The Shawnee County Commission appoints one member, who must be a resident of Shawnee County but not of the city of Topeka. The Kansas Board of Regents annually selects one of its members to serve on the Washburn Board. Members of the Board (with the exception of the Kansas Board of Regents' appointee) serve staggered four-year terms. [1]

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History

Washburn University was established in February 1865 as Lincoln College by a charter issued by the State of Kansas and the General Association of Congregational Ministers and Churches of Kansas on land donated by abolitionist John Ritchie. The school was renamed Washburn College in 1868 after receiving a $25,000 donation from Ichabod Washburn, a church deacon and industrialist who resided in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Washburn’s mascot honors the school’s early benefactor, Ichabod Washburn. The original design of the studious-looking, tailcoat-clad figure was created in 1938 by Bradbury Thompson (B.A. ‘34), who became an internationally acclaimed graphic artist. The men's athletic teams use The Ichabods nickname; the school's women's teams are known as Lady Blues . Washburn is a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association and the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II.

Formerly a municipal university, the university's primary funding was moved from city property tax to county sales tax sources in 1999, with the school retaining status as a municipal subdivision of the state. Washburn is governed by its own nine-member Board of Regents.

On June 8, 1966, only a few days after classes were dismissed for the summer, much of the campus was demolished by a tornado, and completely denuded of trees. Three months before the tornado struck, the Washburn Board of Trustees had reinsured every building on campus for the maximum amount. A week after the tornado struck, summer classes began at Topeka West High School. By the fall of 1966, Stoffer Hall was repaired and trailers were in place. It took years to reconstruct the campus, with students attending classes in trailers well into the early 1970s.

In 1987, the Washburn men's basketball team defeated West Virginia State 79-77 to win the NAIA national championship at Kemper Arena in Kansas City.

In 2005 the Washburn Lady Blues basketball team posted a record of 35-2, setting a school record for wins and capturing the NCAA Division II national championship by defeating Seattle Pacific University 70-53.

Academics

WU provides broadly-based liberal arts and professional education through more than 200 certificate, associate, baccalaureate, master’s and juris doctor programs through the College of Arts and Sciences and the Schools of Law, Business, Nursing and Applied Studies.

Rankings

Washburn University is consistently ranked among Midwestern universities as an independent public institution, rated 4th in the Midwest among public Master's level universities in 2006 by U.S. News and World Report. The University's endowment of $100M+ ranks it near the top among Master's degree institutions in endowment per student.

Law School

Formed in 1903, the law school has made a commitment to innovation in legal profession. The Washburn School of law was one of the first in the country to have and a legal clinic where students are able to actively practice the legal profession. Today, it is in the minority of law school to employ a full time faculty for their law clinic. This dedication to innovation has been continued in recent years with the First-Year Academic support program. This program provides small study groups to facilitate the student's success. Washburn School of Law had the highest pass rate of the Kansas State Bar Exam of any law school in the state of Kansas. The Washburn Law Library houses over 380,000 volumes and is the largest in the state. It has been ranked as one of the top 20 law school libraries in the country. Notable alumni include Bob Dole.

Campus attractions

• KTWU, the first public television station in Kansas. KTWU is a non-commercial, public television station authorized by the Federal Communications Commission, Washington, D.C. and licensed to Washburn University. KTWU commenced telecasting Oct. 21, 1965.
• Mulvane Art Museum. The Mulvane Art Museum, the oldest accredited art museum west of the Mississippi River, opened in 1924. The museum's permanent collection, though international in scope, emphasizes the work of artists of Kansas and the Midwest.
• Crane Observatory houses an 1898 Warner & Swasey refracting telescope.

Notable alumni

Institutional partnerships

• University of Klagenfurt, Austria
• Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
• Tongji University, Shanghai, China
• Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
• Cambridge University Summer International School, England
• Blaise Pascal University, Clermont-Ferrand, France
• Fukuoka University, Japan
• Bell College, Hamilton, Scotland
• University of Pretoria, South Africa
• University of Cantabria, Spain
• University of Orebro, Sweden
• Dayeh Univeresity, Changhua, Taiwan
• Mingado University, Changhua, Taiwan
• Tunghai University, Taichung, Taiwan
• Kasem Bundit University, Bangkok, Thailand
• Consortium for North American Higher Education Collaboration Partnership Schools, Mexico and Canada
• Kansas Paraguay Commission
• The Magellan Exchange, a consortium of 25 universities in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Mexico, Spain and the Netherlands

Study abroad programs

Short term

Washburn sponsors summer/short term language programs in:

• Austria
• England
• France
• Ireland
• Japan
• Spain
• United Arab Emirates

Semester-long

• University of Klagenfurt, Austria
• Denmark International Studies Program, Copenhagen
• Blaise Pascal University, Clermont-Ferrand, France
• University of Cantabria, Spain
• University of Orebro, Sweden
• Consortium for North American Higher Education Collaboration Partnership Schools, Mexico and Canada
• The Magellan Exchange, a consortium of 25 universities in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Mexico, Spain and the Netherlands

References

1. Board of Regents, Washburn University