Washington University in Saint Louis

Washington University in St. Louis

Latin: Universitas Washingtoniana
Former names	Eliot Seminary (1853–1854) Washington Institute (1854–1856)
Motto	Per veritatem vis (Latin)
Motto in English	Strength through truth
Type	Private
Established	February 22, 1853 (1853-02-22)
Endowment	$6.462 billion ((2016)
Chancellor	Mark S. Wrighton
Provost	Holden Thorp
Academic staff	3,645 (Fall 2015)
Administrative staff	10,623 (Fall 2015)
Students	14,842 (Fall 2015)
Undergraduates	7,543
Postgraduates	7,299
Address	One Brookings Drive St. Louis, Missouri 63130 (314) 935-6000 (800) 638-0700, U.S. 38°38′53″N 90°18′18″W / 38.648°N 90.305°W / 38.648; -90.305Coordinates: 38°38′53″N 90°18′18″W / 38.648°N 90.305°W / 38.648; -90.305
Campus	Urban 346.5 acres (0.54 sq mi; 140.22 ha) 1,966.5 acres (3.07 sq mi; 795.81 ha) at Tyson Research Center
Newspaper	Student Life
Colors	Red and Green
Athletics	NCAA Division III – UAA
Nickname	Bears
Website	www.wustl.edu

Washington University in St. Louis (also referred to as WashU, or WUSTL) is a private research university located in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853, and named after George Washington, the university has students and faculty from all 50 U.S. states and more than 120 countries. Twenty-five Nobel laureates have been affiliated with Washington University, nine having done the major part of their pioneering research at the university. Washington University's undergraduate program is ranked 19th by U.S. News & World Report and 11th by the Wall Street Journal in 2016. The university is ranked 23rd in the world in 2016 by the Academic Ranking of World Universities.

Washington University is made up of seven graduate and undergraduate schools that encompass a broad range of academic fields. To prevent confusion over its location, the Board of Trustees added the phrase "in St. Louis" in 1976.

Washington University was conceived by 17 St. Louis business, political, and religious leaders concerned by the lack of institutions of higher learning in the Midwest. Missouri State Senator Wayman Crow and Unitarian minister William Greenleaf Eliot, grandfather of the poet T.S. Eliot, led the effort.

The university's first chancellor was Joseph Gibson Hoyt. Crow secured the university charter from the Missouri General Assembly in 1853, and Eliot was named President of the Board of Trustees. Early on, Eliot solicited support from members of the local business community, including John O'Fallon, but Eliot failed to secure a permanent endowment. Washington University is unusual among major American universities in not having had a prior financial endowment. The institution had no backing of a religious organization, single wealthy patron, or earmarked government support.