You may be wondering — what is Harvard or Yale or Princeton and where did they come from? Why are they called Ivy Leagues? Like Ivy poison? Don’t wonder any more. At GCSP we are going to break it down for you very quickly so that when you are at that cocktail party you can boast of knowing exactly what an Ivy League is.
Here you go.
What is the Ivy League?
Simply put the Ivy Leagues are a group of eight private universities located in northeastern USA. The term “Ivy League” nowadays connotes the world class academic and extracurricular achievements of these eight schools. The schools include, in no particular order, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, UPenn and Columbia. Each school has a varied, unique and rich history. So, how did eight very different schools pool into an ‘Ivy League’?
The first time the term “Ivy League” was used was in 1933 in the New York Herald Tribune to somewhat describe American universities that had Ivy plants covering their old buildings. Later in 1935, the Associated Press Sports editor Alan Gould used the term “Ivy League” in an article dated February 8, 1935, thereby, ushering a sports ranking for most of the present-day Ivy League schools.
Around 1945, the eight Ivy League schools came together to sign the “Ivy Group Agreement” which established common practices in academic standards, eligibility for participation in Ivy League football competitions, and the provision of need-based financial aid for students. This successfully led to the official founding of the Ivy League for the eight participating schools, and the kick-off of sports competitions in 1956. Since then, Harvard, Yale, Columbia, UPenn, Cornell, Brown, Princeton, and Dartmouth have contributed to the 8,000 strong student-athletes who compete against each other annually in the Ivy League championships spanning football, soccer, lacrosse, basketball, swimming, squash, golf, tennis, and indoor and outdoor track and field events.
A history of each Ivy
While all the eight Ivy League schools share an uncommon combination of academic and sports success, their individual histories are unique. Harvard is the oldest Ivy League school while the most recent one is Cornell which was founded in 1865. By looking at the details of the history of each college, you begin to see the founding tenets and principles that have informed the spirit of what each college is today. Let’s look at each chronologically:
Harvard, 1636
Harvard was founded in 1636 in Cambridge, Massachusetts under the order of the General Court of Massachusetts. As you can see unlike what most people tend to believe, John Harvard did not find Harvard University. He bequeathed some of his estate and 400 books to the school, and as an honor for his generosity, the administrators named the university after him. Harvard’s first piece of land and buildings were located at what is currently known as the Harvard Yard (formerly ‘Cowyard Row’). Over the years, Harvard added some of its most notable schools including the Harvard Medical School in 1783 and the Business School in 1908. Of note, the first Harvard-Yale game was played in 1875, which Harvard won. Harvard has continued to produce many of the world’s firsts including the most billionaires of any university in the world as well as the most US presidents of any Ivy League.
Yale, 1701
Yale was founded in 1701 at the mouth of the Connecticut River. The initial vision of the colonial clergy founders was to educate students for service in church and civil society. Like Harvard, Yale was named after its benefactor, Elihu Yale, who donated cash from the sale of nine bales of goods together with 417 books and a portrait of King George I. Both modern versions of football and frisbee were invented at Yale. I guess you didn’t know that! So was the first modern science, Chemistry, administered at the institution. Yale continues to dazzle, boasting one of the coziest campuses in the world as well as owning the largest amphitheater — the Yale Bowl — second only to the Roman Colosseum.
UPenn, 1740
UPenn is a massive university at the periphery of Philadelphia. UPenn was founded in 1740 as a charity school under the leadership of Benjamin Franklin. The initial purpose of UPenn was to educate young men in religious methods. UPenn moved fast and established the first medical school in the US in 1765. A little more than a century later, UPenn established the first business school in the US. UPenn continues to enjoy leadership in undergraduate professional courses in business that is second to none. Long live the “love” campus.
Princeton, 1746
Few universities have maintained their collegiate focus like Princeton. Since its founding in 1746, Princeton remains one of the top most universities that focus almost exclusively on undergraduate education with the exception of the Princeton University Graduate School that handles master’s and doctoral degree programs in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and engineering. When the university was founded, it was bequeathed with 10 acres by Nathaniel and Rebeckah Fitz Randolph. In 1933, Albert Einstein became a life member of the Institute for Advanced Study, with an office on the Princeton University campus.
Columbia, 1754
When Columbia was founded, it was easily the richest university among the Ivy Leagues. The reason was simple. Columbia was founded by the royal charter of King George II of England in 1754 and later bequeathed with 8,000 pounds by Joseph Murray, the then King’s College governor. One of the most iconic structures at Columbia is the Low Memorial Library, which was built from the one million dollars donation made by Columbia’s president Seth Low in 1895. Columbia is one of the most notable universities in New York City, a pure incentive for anyone wishing to study there.
Brown, 1764
Brown was established in 1764 by a group of baptist clergymen at Providence as ‘Rhode Island College’. Brown was aptly named after Reverend Chad Brown the founding father of the Brown family in America who assumed the leadership of the First Baptist Church in America and owned a farmland that would serve as the future site of Brown University. When Brown was founded, there was only one student available; 14-year old William Rogers who took instructions from then president James Commanding. In 1969, Brown made a landmark decision to abolish all distribution requirements for classes thus ushering in a new, open curriculum. This meant that students could select from credit/ no credit grading option, including pass/ fail options for their classes, and as such get maximum flexibility in their studies with less worry about their GPAs.
Dartmouth, 1769
Is Dartmouth an Ivy? We get that a lot, and yes, it is an Ivy. Dartmouth was founded in 1769 by a charter of the Royal Governor of New Hampshire, establishing an institution to offer “the best means of education”. In 1770, President Eleazar Wheelock was the only college faculty member. In recent times, Dartmouth prides itself in offering the most collegiate experience of any Ivy League school, with an almost full focus on undergraduate education. Dartmouth prides itself in diversity and has more Native graduates than all other Ivy League institutions combined. This fact was made possible when Dartmouth established the Native American Program in 1972.
Cornell, 1865
Cornell sits on the largest acreage of any Ivy; about 745 acres. Cornell was founded in 1865 through a bill sponsored by New York senators Ezra Cornell and Andrew White. Cornell is renowned for its School of Hotel Administration whose alumni are top corporate executives and entrepreneurs in the hotel industry globally. One distinguishing feature of Cornell is its coed dormitories, which was realized in 1974 when the former men’s dorms on West Campus and the former women’s dorms on North Campus merged.
Now, go ye and boast of this knowledge! JK. We hope you enjoyed knowing a little more about these iconic universities. Let us know what else you would want to see featured. Drop your comments and questions in the comments sections and tag two people who need to see this :).
