Northwestern University is a prestigious American private university. The main campus is located on the shores of Lake Michigan in Evanston, Illinois (240 acres), but the university's professional schools (specifically Law and Medicine), as well as the part-time MBA program are in downtown Chicago, Illinois (25 acres). The University has a total enrollment of approximately 17,000 students and around 6,800 faculty and staff. The school is known as "NU", not "NWU". The name comes from the founders' desire to serve the people of the former Northwest Territory.
The school was founded in 1851 and officially opened in 1855.
The school's sports teams are called the Wildcats (before the 1924, they were known as "The Purple" and only unofficially as "The Fighting Methodists"). The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference, and it is the only private school of the 11 Big Ten institutions. The school mascot is Willie the Wildcat.
Royal Purple is the official school color (the Chicago Transit Authority elevated train line that goes through Evanston is the Purple Line--NU stops are Davis, Foster, and Noyes). The phrase on the school's seal is "Quaecumque sunt vera" and are the first words of the University Motto in Latin, meaning "Whatsoever things are true".
The school newspaper is The Daily Northwestern and the school radio station is WNUR (89.3 FM). |
