Chicago, University of, Colleges, U.S.

Related Category: Colleges, U.S.

Chicago, University of, at Chicago; coeducational; inc. 1890, opened 1892 primarily through the gifts of John D. Rockefeller. Because of the progressive programs and distinguished faculty established under its first president, William R. Harper (1891–1906), the Univ. of Chicago immediately achieved prominence in American education. Under Robert M. Hutchins (1929–51) it established a unique program of admitting students to the undergraduate division after only two years of high school and granting B.A. degrees at the age of 18 or 19. Survey courses were developed and comprehensive examinations were substituted for regular course requirements. However, under Lawrence Kimpton (1951–60), this program was largely abandoned. Significant among the university's graduate and research facilities are the Pritzker School of Medicine; the Enrico Fermi Institute and the Enrico Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory; the Argonne National Laboratory; the Yerkes Observatory, at Williams Bay, Wis.; the Oriental Institute; and the former school of education (closed in 1997).

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