george washington university

The George Washington University (GWU) is a private, coeducational, non-sectarian university located in Washington, D.C.. Founded in 1821 as The Columbian College on land provided by former President George Washington, the university has since developed into one of the world's leading educational and research institutions. The 43 acre campus, located in the city's historic Foggy Bottom neighborhood, is situated a few blocks from the White House and the rest of the National Mall. In 1999, the university acquired the Mount Vernon College for Women. As of 2006, the George Washington University's endowment and other trust funds total approximately $1.017 billion. George Washington is currently ranked 52nd on U.S. News & World Report's list of Top National Universities.[2]

In addition to 4,500 staff members, The George Washington University enrolls an even balance of undergraduate and graduate students; roughly 11,000 of the former and 12,500 of the latter. Applications dropped for the class of 2006 as compared to 2005.

GW's primary student media are a newspaper called The Hatchet, [3] a news web site called The Daily Colonial, [4] and a student radio station called WRGW [5]. It is a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference for college athletics. The official school colors are buff (yellow-brown) and blue.

History

George Washington had long argued for the creation of a university in the District of Columbia and, in his will, bequeathed fifty shares of the Potomac Company to support such an institution. "I give and bequeath in perpetuity the fifty shares which I hold in the Potomac Company (under the aforesaid Acts of the Legislature of Virginia) towards the endowment of a UNIVERSITY to be established within the limits of the District of Columbia, under the auspices of the General Government, if that Government should incline to extend a fostering hand towards it."[6]

Aware of Washington's wishes, a group of men, led by Luther Rice, a Baptist minister, later raised funds to purchase a site for a college to educate missionaries and the clergy. A large building was constructed on what is now Meridian Hill, and on February 9, 1821, President James Monroe approved the Congressional charter creating The Columbian College. President Monroe, John C. Calhoun, Henry Clay, the Marquis de Lafayette and other dignitaries attended the College's first commencement exercises in 1824. The college's buildings were used as a hospital during the Civil War.

Various other departments have occupied other buildings around Washington, including what is now the National Museum of Women in the Arts on New York Avenue NW.

Despite its auspicious beginnings, the university often was bedevilled by financial crises in its first one hundred years of existence.

The name of the institution was changed to Columbian University in 1873 and to The George Washington University in 1904. The university became one of the first institutions in the United States to grant a Ph.D. in 1888.

Since the 1970s, under the leadership of presidents Lloyd Hartman Elliott and Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, GWU has become a major undergraduate and graduate institution. It has grown immensely in recent years and is at present the largest private landowner in the District of Columbia, and second largest overall (behind the federal government).

In June 1999, the university purchased the Mount Vernon College for Women near Georgetown, which became the George Washington University Mount Vernon Campus.

Academics

The George Washington University has a distinguished medical school and its own hospital. It boasts a highly ranked law school The George Washington University Law School and one of the leading schools of international affairs in the United States, the Elliott School of International Affairs. It also has a distinguished record in the fields of engineering, medicine, political science, public affairs, business, psychology, and computer science.

In addition to offering courses on its Foggy Bottom and Mount Vernon campuses, GW faculty teach a large number of graduate courses in the suburbs of Washington (in Maryland and Virginia). The Graduate School of Political Management primarily holds their classes in the Hall of the States building at 444 North Capitol Street, located on north side of the U.S. Capitol Building and Senate offices.

Organization

The university is made up of a number of colleges that have different disciplines within them.

• Columbian College of Arts and Sciences (CCAS)
  • School of Media and Public Affairs (SMPA)
  • School of Public Policy and Public Administration (SPPPA)
• College of Professional Studies
  • Graduate School of Political Management (GSPM)
• Elliott School of International Affairs (ESIA)
• The George Washington University Law School
• The Graduate School of Education and Human Development (GSEHD)
• School of Business (GWSB)
• School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS)
• School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS)
• School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS)

Campus

The university has three campuses: The main campus in Foggy Bottom, the Mount Vernon campus in northern Washington, D.C., and the Virginia campus in Ashburn, Virginia. The university also owns land and buildings around the Foggy Bottom campus that are not used for academic purposes; these include the mall at 2000 Pennsylvania Ave, and the land under the International Monetary Fund building.

Foggy Bottom Campus

This is the main campus, occupying 43 acres (170,000 m²) and over one hundred buildings on fourteen city blocks, plus portions of other blocks.

The major and notable buildings are:

• Libraries: Melvin Gelman Library, Jacob Burns Law Library and Paul Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library
• Medical:
  • The George Washington University Hospital serves the university and the entire region. This is typically where presidents in need of urgent medical help are taken, as was President Ronald Reagan after a failed assassination attempt in 1981. More recently, Vice President Richard Cheney has been taken to The George Washington University Hospital on multiple occasions. The current hospital is across the street from the lot of the old hospital, which was torn down in 2003-2004.
  • The primary academic building for the School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) is Ross Hall, which is located adjacent to the hospital.
• Academic
  • 814 20th St, formerly the Union Methodist Episcopal Church, cornerstone laid 1854, making it the oldest building in the university.
  • The Academic Center, a complex of three buildings, Phillips Hall, Rome Hall and Smith Hall of Art, and home to the computer center.
  • Corcoran Hall, built in 1924 as the first building built for GWU on the Foggy Bottom campus, is the birthplace of the bazooka. This is the center of the sciences at GW.
  • 1957 E St., completed in 2003 as the new home to the Elliott School of International Affairs, as well as lecture halls and dormitory rooms. GW Alum Gen. Colin Powell visited GW to officially open this building.
  • Tompkins Hall, home of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS).
  • Media & Public Affairs Building, which houses the Luther W. Brady Art Gallery and the Jack Morton Auditorium, where CNN's Crossfire was broadcast until June 3rd, 2005; it later hosted CNN's On The Story which taped weekly on Friday evenings and aired the following Saturday. It now hosts CNN's Reliable Sources.
  • Duquès Hall, opened in January 2006 for classes and officially on February 8 2006, is the home to the GW Business School and features a model trading floor and state of the art class rooms.
• Mixed Use
  • Cloyd Heck Marvin Center, the central building of the university and home to the J Street food court (there is no J Street in Washington, the name is a joking reference to this fact) the Cafritz Conference Center and the Dorothy Betts Marvin Theatre, as well as classrooms, studios, and offices for the Department of Theatre and Dance. The fifth floor houses The Hippodrome, an area for students to relax and have fun.
  • The Grant School building, which houses School Without Walls during the day, is used for evening classes.
• Activity
  • Lisner Auditorium, the main auditorium of the university and home to the Dimock Gallery of art. When built it was the largest in the city.
• Athletic: The centerpiece is the Charles E. Smith Center, home of the Colonials and a fully equipped athletics center which occupies nearly an entire city block. There are also two tennis courts nearby, and the Lerner Health and Wellness Center.
• Residences: There are 24 residence halls (not including Townhouses) on the Foggy Bottom campus, capable of housing over 6000 students.
• Other Holdings: GWU is the largest private landowner in D.C. The university has many holdings in the area, either just the land or the buildings as well. Among these are the mall at 2000 Pennsylvania Ave, an office block at 2100 Pennsylvania Ave with many student-oriented services, The George Washington University Inn, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and several foreign embassies.
• The University has announced its 20 year plan for the modernization of the Foggy Bottom Campus. The plan hinges on the redevelopment of the old George Washington University Hospital site, commonly known as Square 54.

Mount Vernon Campus

This wooded campus, located on 23 acres (93,000 m²) in northwest Washington, D.C., was purchased by GWU in 1999. Founded by Elizabeth Somers, Mount Vernon was previously a seminary for women. The campus has been co-ed since the acquisition, though it still has a large emphasis on women's academics and athletics. The Elizabeth Somers Women's Leadership Program is based on this campus and gives freshmen girls a unique residential-academic program. The Eckles Memorial Library serves this campus, and there are NCAA Division 1 fields for women's softball, women's and men's soccer, and women's lacrosse. There are six residence halls on this campus.

Nicknamed "The Vern," many students consider the Mount Vernon Campus inferior to the main campus, because of its rumored non-existent social life. Somers, also known as "little Thurston," is the most popular dorm. Another well-known downfall of the Mount Vernon Campus is the shuttle service, or Vern Express. During the 2004-2005 academic year, there were several shuttle accidents that the University tried to keep under wraps. Two notable instances that occurred were a shuttle fire which disabled and destroyed a vehicle on Reservoir Rd, and an unmanned vehicle which crashed through an external wall at the Mount Vernon academic center.

There are some positive aspects to choosing to live on Mount Vernon, however. There's an abundance of free food with "Wacky Wednesdays," which is a somewhat failed attempt to get more students to come to Mount Vernon. The atmostphere is more conducive to diligent study (if that's what you're after). Also, there are outdoor athletic facilities, and a green area where it is socially acceptable to sunbathe.

GW is planning on building another large residence hall on the campus that will house another 500 students.

The Halls are:

• Clark: 37-student capacity in traditional double rooms.
• Cole: 43-student capacity in traditional double rooms. Right next to Eckles Library
• Hensley: 39-student capacity in traditional single and double rooms.
• Merriweather: 43-student capacity in traditional double rooms.
• Pelham: 78-student capacity in single rooms.
• Somers: 246-student capacity in traditional single and double rooms. Right next to the Softball field

Virginia Campuses

The George Washington University has several Virginia Campuses. Among these are the Alexandria Graduate Education Center in Alexandria, VA; Graduate Education Center, Arlington in Arlington, VA; Hampton Roads Center in Newport News, VA; and the GW Virginia Campus - Loudoun in Ashburn, VA. This does not include the various satellite locations where classes are regularly held (Chesapeake, Mechanicsville, McLean, Richmond, and Virginia Beach, VA).

Students and faculty

There were 10,394 undergraduate (not including Non-Degree Students) and 12,634 graduate students enrolled for the Fall 2005 academic semester. In 2001, there were 1,508 full-time and 2,725 part-time members of the faculty.

Student government

The Student Association (SA) is the official undergraduate and graduate student government of The George Washington University. The SA is fashioned after the federal government with three co-equal branches of government. The President and Executive Vice President, however, are separately and popularly elected. The Senate is divided by the schools of the University, including but not limited to the GW Law and Medical Schools. Student elections are generally held in February or March of the Spring semester and are administered electronically in designated locations and/or via paper ballot. To be elected, candidates for President and Executive Vice President must receive at least 40% of the student vote (or a run-off election is triggered).

Historically, SA presidents have fared well in the political arena. Former SA president Edward "Skip" Gnehm was the Ambassador to Kuwait during the Gulf War and received the Presidential Distinguished Service Award and two Presidential Meritorious Service Awards. Former SA president John David Morris (1989-1990) currently serves as a city councilman in Peoria, Illinois, and Al Park (1994-1995) is a New Mexico state representative and possible candidate for New Mexico Attorney General. Famed actor Alec Baldwin once ran for SA President as a sophomore and narrowly lost. After his defeat, he transferred to New York University (NYU) to pursue an acting career.

The Student Association Executive Vice President chairs the Student Senate and assists the President in the performance of his duties.

The Student Association Senate is composed of 29 voting members, of which 15 are undergraduate students and 14 are graduate students. Seats are distributed proportionally based on each school's population. There are also two undergraduate and two graduate at-large Senate seats.

The student government also includes a Student Court. The Student Court adjudicates disputes between student groups and among the branches of the government.

Clubs and traditions

There are over four hundred student organizations at the University, including organizations of common interest or political activism, ethnic organizations, and Greek organizations. It is also home to one of the first virtual student organizations in the United States named ETLSO. The Educational Technology and Leadership Student Organization (ETLSO) caters to the needs of distance education students.

Political and International Organizations

The George Washington University is home to several large and active political and international organizations.

The GW College Democrats boast nearly 1500 members and are one of the largest organizations on campus. Notable speakers hosted by the group have included Senator Edward Kennedy, Senator and 2004 Democratic Presidential Candidate John Kerry, Vermont Governor Howard Dean, Representative Dennis Kucinich, and former DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe. Howard Dean formally endorsed John Kerry for President on campus at a GW College Democrats sponsored event.

Another Democratic student organization, the GW Democrats, was formed in 2006 as an alternative to the GW College Democrats. This has led to some controversy between the two groups. The group is participating in political campaigns and events in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and DC.

The GW College Republicans has approximately 430 members and is very active on campus. It was named the Best Chapter of 2005 by the College Republican National Committee. The group actively participates in local and national campaigns and political events around the DC area. Notable guest speakers hosted by the organization in the past include Ann Coulter, Jack Kemp, Sam Brownback, Norm Coleman and George Allen.

The International Affairs Society (IAS) is another one of the largest and most active student organizations, with over 350 dues paying members. IAS activities include hosting speakers and panels on current events, visiting area institutions such as foreign embassies, Model United Nations (MUN) participation, social events, and hosting and organizing MUN conferences for middle and secondary-school students.

GW's Student Global AIDS Campaign (SGAC for short) is one of the most active chapters in the country. Last year, the club staged protests against prominent drug companies, organized the National SGAC conference (held on GW's Campus), lobbied senators to increase their support for global health initiatives, helped to create free HIV-testing days for students and distributed buckets of condoms to residence halls. The club is currently working to reduce the cost of HIV testing at GW, although the administration has been slow to respond. D.C. currently has the highest rate of new AIDS cases in the country (119 per 100,000).[7]

Greek-Letter Organizations

There are 12 recognized fraternities on campus, including Alpha Epsilon Pi, Beta Theta Pi, Delta Phi Epsilon, Kappa Sigma, Lambda Chi Alpha, Phi Kappa Psi, Phi Sigma Kappa, Pi Kappa Alpha, Pi Kappa Phi, Sigma Nu, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Tau Kappa Epsilon, and Theta Delta Chi. Sigma Chi was approved for recolonization in 2006, and is projected to be chartered in late Spring 2007. There are also a number of unrecognized fraternities, including Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Sigma Alpha Mu (also called SAMMY on campus), Alpha Pi Epsilon (or "Apes," formerly Zeta Beta Tau and the original chapter of Alpha Epsilon Pi before their recolonization found under the current charter). There are 8 Panhellenic sororities on campus, including Alpha Delta Pi, Alpha Epsilon Phi, Alpha Phi, Delta Gamma, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Phi Sigma Sigma, Sigma Delta Tau, and Sigma Kappa. Pi Beta Phi was approved for colonization by the Panhellenic Association in 2006.

Theta Tau, the USA's oldest and foremost engineering fraternity is active on campus, as is the national honor fraternity Phi Sigma Pi. Additionally there are two community service based Greek-letter organizations on campus: Alpha Phi Omega, a co-ed service fraternity, and Epsilon Sigma Alpha, which was founded in Spring 2003 and is currently the only community service sorority on campus.

Other Organizations

Intramural sports are also very popular in addition to the NCAA Division I varsity teams.

GWU is home to an active music and theater community. Music groups include emocapella, the Sons of Pitch, The GW Vibes, the GW troubadors, and the GW Pitches. Student theater organizations include Generic Theatre Company , 14th Grade Players, Forbidden Planet Productions (FPP), and receSs.

The GW Chess team/club was reconstituted in September of 2005 and now competes with other universities nationally. It is currently coached by Grandmaster Lubosh Kavalek, who is also an alumnus.

In 2003 the GW Gaming League was founded. The league has become quite popular, and has gained event sponsorship from such corporations as Electronic Arts, Universal Pictures, and Red Bull. It has even appeared in a Washington Post article.

The Daily Colonial is an online, student-run newspaper. Founded in 2004 it has received recognition across campus. It has grown exponentially in readership and staff since its inception. Fueled completely by volunteer students it boasts a collection of staff writers.

Also found online is WRGW, an online, student-run radio station that carries programming from 8 AM until 12 AM every day during the school year. Their programming includes a wide range of music and talk shows. For decades, WRGW has served as the flagship station for GW Men's and Women's Basketball games and other sporting events in both the Spring and Fall. Recently, the station expanded into broadcasting Women's and Men's soccer, Women's Lacrosse and Women's Softball. The station also sponsors concerts and other major campus events.

The Hippo

Though the official mascot is the Colonial, since 1996 the placement of a bronze hippo in the center of campus by President Trachtenberg has caused the Hippo to become an unofficial mascot for the school and administration. President Trachtenberg reportedly purchased the Hippo while drunk and donated the gift to the University after his wife rejected it. [8]. The Hippo is featured on some university-related logos (such as on clothing and posters) and a mascot wearing an inflatable hippo costume can sometimes be seen at university events.

School songs

Fight Song

The school fight song, "Hail to the Buff & Blue" or "The GW Fight Song" is as follows:

Hail to the buff! (buff!)

Hail to the blue! (blue!)

Hail to the buff and blue!

All our lives we'll be proud to say,

We hail from GW! (go big blue!)

Oh by George we're happy we can say,

We're GW here to show the way!

So raise high the buff! (buff!)

Raise high the blue! (blue!)

Loyal to GW!

(You bet we're!)

Loyal to GW! (fight!)

Alma Mater

The school's Alma Mater as presently sung today was rewritten from its original version in 1970:

Hail Alma Mater,

To thy spirit guiding,

Knowledge thy closest friend

In its strength abiding,

Pledge we fidelity

Ne'er its place resigning,

Hail thee George Washington.

Athletics

GW has an extensive Division I program that includes Men's Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Golf, Gymnastics, Women's Lacrosse, Rowing, Soccer, Women's Softball, Squash, Swimming & Diving, Tennis, Women's Volleyball, and Water Polo.

The teams are called the Colonials and have achieved great successes in recent years including a first round victory in the Men's NCAA Division I Soccer Tournament in 2004 and basketball beating No. 9 Michigan State and No. 12 Maryland in back to back games to win the 2004 BB&T Classic. The Men's Basketball team went on to win the Atlantic 10 West Title and the Atlantic 10 Tournament Title (earning an automatic bid to the 2005 NCAA Tournament.

The team began the 2005 season ranked 21st in the Associated Press poll and after some tournament success they closed out the year ranked 19th nationwide. They had a record of 26-2 (16-0 in the A-10) going into the 2006 NCAA Tournament led by power forward Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Omar Williams, Danilo Pinnock, Mike Hall and Maureece Rice. The 2005-2006 season has been the team's best ever, surpassing the start of the 1953-1954 season. They received a #8 seed in the NCAA Tournament and came back a from a large second half deficit to defeat #9 seed UNC-Wilmington, but then lost to Duke, the top overall seed in the tournament.

Karl Hobbs, a former player and coach under Jim Calhoun at the University of Connecticut is in his fifth year as head coach. Hobbs is a fan favorite -- often receiving as much applause during his entrance to games as the athletes. Known for his outward shows of emotion during games that include stomping his foot and slamming his clipboard, Hobbs is considered one of the up-and-coming coaches in the NCAA.

The official student supporters' group of the men's basketball team is called the Colonial Army. It is one of the largest student organizations on campus.

Colonials athletic teams compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

The university's colors are buff and blue (buff being a color similar to tan, but often represented as gold or yellow). The colors were taken from George Washington's uniform in the Revolutionary War.

GW's football team won the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas in 1957. The school last competed in the sport in 1966 as a member of the Southern Conference.[9]

Presidents

• William Staughton (1821-1827)
• Stephen Chapin (1828-1841)
• Joel Smith Bacon (1843-1854)
• Joseph Getchell Binney (1855-1858)
• George Whitefield Samson (1859-1871)
• James Clarke Welling (1871-1894)
• Samuel Harrison Greene (1894-1895)
• Benaiah L. Whitman (1895-1900)
• Samuel Harrison Greene (1900-1902)
• Charles Willis Needham (1902-1910)
• Charles Herbert Stockton (1910-1918)
• William Miller Collier (1918-1921)
• Howard L. Hodgkins (1921-1923)
• William Mather Lewis (1923-1927)
• Cloyd Heck Marvin (1927-1959)
• Oswald Symister Colclough (1959-1961)
• Thomas Henry Carroll (1961-1964)
• Lloyd Hartman Elliott (1965-1988)
• Stephen Joel Trachtenberg (1988-2007) (announced his retirement as President in April 2006, effective at the end of the following academic year in May 2007)

Noted alumni

• Academics :
  • Derek Curtis Bok (1958), President - Harvard University
  • Scott S. Cowen (1975), President - Tulane University

• United States Ambassadors :
  • Edward "Skip" Gnehm (1966/1968), Ambassador to Jordan, Kuwait and Australia
  • Joseph W. Prueher (1973), Ambassador to China
  • Thomas J. Dodd, Junior (1966), Ambassador to Uruguay & Costa Rica
  • Thomas A. Loftus (1975), Ambassador to Norway
  • Thomas A. McDonald (1976), Ambassador to Zimbabwe
  • David H. Shinn (1980), Ambassador to Ethiopia & Burkina Faso
  • William Dale Montgomery (1972), Ambassador to Croatia, Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro
  • Edward T. DeJarnette (1978), Ambassador to Angola & Tanzania
  • Amelia E. Shippy (1977), Ambassador to Malawi
  • Everett E. Briggs (1972), Ambassador to Portugal
  • Tibor P. Nagy (1978), Ambassador to Ethiopia
  • Donald K. Bandler (1979), Ambassador to Cyprus
  • Michael Myron Einik (1972), Ambassador to Finland

• United States Armed Forces :
  • General Billy Mitchell (1919, but received degree as part of "class of 1899", having dropped out to serve in the Spanish-American War), advocate of air power in the military
  • General Peter Pace, MBA, United States Marine Corps, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 2005-
  • General John W. Vessey, Jr. (1966), Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
  • General John M. Shalikashvili (1970), Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
  • General Colin Powell (MBA 1971), US Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
  • Admiral Thad Allen (MPA), Commandant of the Coast Guard 2006–Present
  • Admiral John B. Hayes (M.A.) Commandant of the Coast Guard (Ret.) 1978—1982

• Business :
  • Kun-Hee Lee (MBA), Chairman of Samsung Group
  • Abby Joseph Cohen, Managing Director of Goldman Sachs
  • Anousheh Ansari (M.S., 1992), entrepreneur & patroness of private space flight. First female space tourist.

• Elected Officials :
  • Bob Barr (1972), former US Representative from Georgia
  • Helen Delich Bentley, former US Representative from Maryland, 1985-1995
  • Michael Bilirakis (1960), US Representative from Florida
  • Eric Cantor (1985), US Representative from Virginia
  • Mel Carnahan (1955), Governor of Missouri
  • Jean Carnahan (1955), US Senator from Missouri
  • Kent Conrad (1975), US Senator from North Dakota
  • John J. Duncan (1973), US Representative from Tennessee
  • Michael B. Enzi (1966), US Senator from Wyoming
  • J. William Fulbright (1934, 1959), US Senator from Arkansas
  • Dan Glickman (JD 1969), former US Representative from Kansas
  • Daniel Inouye (JD 1952), US Senator from Hawaii
  • Steve Israel (1985), US Representative from New York
  • Samuel R. Johnson (1974), US Representative from Texas
  • Blair Lee I (1882), US Senator from Maryland, 1914 - 1917
  • Gladys Noon Spellman, Maryland Congresswoman, 1975-1981.
  • James Ramstad (1973), US Representative from Minnesota
  • Harry Reid (JD 1964), US Senator from Nevada, Senate Minority Leader
  • George W. Romney (attended 1929-30), Governor of Michigan
  • Cliff Stearns (1963), US Representative from Florida
  • Robert Wexler (1985), US Representative from Florida
  • Mark Warner (1977), former Governor of Virginia

• Entertainment :
  • Angela Aki (2000), singer-songwriter (of Final Fantasy XII fame)
  • Alec Baldwin (attended 1979), actor/activist
  • Dan Glickman (JD 1969), former Secretary of Agriculture, currently the president of the Motion Picture Association of America
  • Kerry Washington (1998), actress
  • Scott Wolf (1991), actor
  • Warren Brown (Joint JD & MA 1998), host of "Sugar Rush" on the Food Network, chef, owner of Cake Love

• First Family :
  • Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis (1951), First Lady of US President John F. Kennedy
  • Margaret Truman Daniel (1946, 1975), author and daughter of US President Harry S. Truman
  • Lynda Bird Johnson (attended 1965), daughter of US President Lyndon Johnson
  • D. Jeffrey Carter (1978), son of US President Jimmy Carter

• Government :
  • Charles W. Colson, chief counsel for US President Richard Nixon, spent time in prison for his part in the Watergate scandal
  • Allen Dulles (1920), Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
  • John Foster Dulles (1912), US Secretary of State
  • W. Mark Felt (1940), Associate Director - FBI, "Deep Throat" informant
  • Dan Glickman (JD 1969), former Secretary of Agriculture
  • J. Edgar Hoover (1916, 1917, 1935), Director - FBI
  • Patrick J. Hurley (1912, 1932), US Secretary of War
  • Leon Jaworski (1926), Special Prosecutor for the Watergate hearings
  • Stephen L. Johnson (M.S.), Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 2005-Present
  • Susan Schwab, United States Trade Representative
  • John W. Snow (1967), US Secretary of the Treasury
  • Kenneth W. Starr (1968), United States Solicitor General, and Independent Counsel during the Whitewater and Monica Lewinsky scandals

• International :
  • Kenkichi Kodera (1900, 1901), key Japanese pan-Asianist writer; expert on Western law; mayor of Kobe
  • Maximo Kalaw (1916), noted Philippine nationalist, political scientist, novelist
  • Henrique Valle, Deputy Ambassador of Brazil to the UN
  • Elizabeth Ogbon (1977), first female ambassador of Nigeria to West Germany and the Philippines
  • {Philip Jaisohn (So Chae-p'il) (M.D., 1892), Korean nationalist, first Korean to get a medical degree in the United States.
  • Jose Abad Santos (1909), Chief Justice of the Philippine Supreme Court
  • Syngman Rhee (1907, 1954), first President of South Korea
  • Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer, Interim President of Iraq
  • Mikhail Saakashvili (1995), President of Georgia 2003-Present
  • His Majesty King Mohammed VI (2000), King of Morocco, Honoris Causa Degree for his efforts to expand the scope of democracy in the Kingdom of Morocco
  • Faure Gnassingbé (MBA), President of the Republic of Togo 2005-Present

• Law :
  • Carlos F. Lucero (1964), first Hispanic Judge - US 10th circuit court of appeals
  • William Barr (1977), US Attorney General
  • London Steverson (1977), Federal Administrative Law Judge with the Office of Hearings and Appeals, Social Security Administration

• Media :
  • Dana Bash, CNN White House correspondent
  • Rowland Evans (1951), news commentator from CNN's Evans, Novak, Hunt and Shields
  • Chuck Todd (1991), editor-in-chief, The Hotline
  • Brian Williams, Attended but transferred to The Catholic University of America, NBC Nightly News Anchor

• Ministry/Religion :
  • L. Ron Hubbard (attended 1930-1932), author and founder of the Church of Scientology

• Science :
  • Julius Axelrod, (1955, Ph.D.), 1970 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
  • Captain Michael Coats (1977), Astronaut and Space Shuttle Commander
  • Michael Griffin, NASA Administrator

• Sports :
  • Arnold J. 'Red' Auerbach (1940, 1941), President/coach - Boston Celtics
  • Yinka Dare (attended 1993-1994), basketball player, New Jersey Nets
  • John Flaherty (1988), catcher, New York Yankees
  • Randy Levine (B.A., 1977), President, New York Yankees
  • Lubomir Kavalek (1975), Chess Grandmaster
  • Sam Perlozzo (1973), manager, Baltimore Orioles
  • Abe Pollin (1945), owner/chairman - Washington Wizards & Washington Capitals
  • Jerry Reinsdorf (1957), owner - Chicago White Sox & Chicago Bulls
  • Chet Simmons (1950), founder of ESPN
  • Theodore N. Lerner (1948), owner - Washington Nationals
  • Michael O'Connor (2002), pitcher - Washington Nationals

• Others :
  • Frank Robinson (Honorary Doctor of Public Service degree), Baseball Hall of Famer, manager of the Washington Nationals
  • André Remondet (Diploma), Former Chief Architect of Public Buildings (France) - Grand Prix de Rome Winner
  • George Herbert Walker Bush, (Honorary Doctor of Public Service degree), President of the United States
  • Barbara Bush (Honorary Doctor of Public Service degree), First Lady of the United States
  • Rachel Zoe, celebrity fashion stylist

Noted faculty

• George Gamow (1934-1954), physicist and cosmologist
• Ken Lay (1969), former CEO of Enron
• Edward Teller (1935-1941), nuclear physicist and father of the hydrogen bomb
• Jonathan Turley, Shapiro Chair for Public Interest Law and frequent guest on news programs
• Elizabeth Glass Geltman, Professor of Law
• John F. Banzhaf III, Professor of Public Interest Law, featured in Super Size Me
• James N. Rosenau, former president of the International Studies Association
• Amitai Etzioni, former president of the American Sociological Association
• Seyyed Hossein Nasr, founder and first president of the Imperial Iranian Academy of Philosophy
• Edward "Skip" Gnehm, former US Ambassador to Jordan, Kuwait and Australia
• Lee Sigelman, Editor of the American Political Science Review.
• Dr. Thomas Sewall, anatomist and founding member of medical department.
• Leon Fuerth, former National Security Adviser to Vice President Al Gore
• Lawrence Wilkerson, former Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell
• Yvonne Captain-Hidalgo, Executive Director Phi Beta Delta Honor Society
• John Logsdon, Member of Columbia Accident Investigation Board, NASA Advisory Council
• Steven V. Roberts, Journalist, writer, commentator.
• Congressman Tom Cole, Oklahoma Congressman from the 4th District.

External links

• The George Washington University web site
• The Daily Colonial - A daily student news web site
• The GW Hatchet - A twice-weekly student newspaper
• GW's Alumni Online Community
• Official GW athletics site
• The GW Patriot - A conservative monthly journal web site
• GW News Center
• WRGW - GW's All-Online Student-Run Radio Station

• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 38.900750° -77.047100°
  • Satellite image from WikiMapia, Google Maps or Windows Live Local
  • Street map from MapQuest or Google Maps
  • Topographic map from TopoZone
  • Aerial image from TerraServer-USA