2006-07 Media Guide - Washington & Lee - Washington and Lee ...

GENERALS BASKETBALLABOUT W&LWASHINGTON and LEE UNIVER-SITY — a small, private, liberalarts college, is the ninth oldestinstitution of higher education inAmerica. Founded in 1749, W&Lprides itself on the characteristicsthat have earned its reputation asa place unique and apart in thenational educational scene.The school’s name comes fromtwo of America’s great leaderswho saved W&L in times of need.George Washington saved thenLiberty Hall Academy from financialruin in 1796 when he gave theschool its first major endowmentgift—$50,000 worth of James RiverCanal stock. The donation—atthe time the largest to any educational institution—continues today as part of theendowment.Robert E. Lee saved then Washington College from obscurity after the CivilWar by serving as its innovative president from 1865 until his death in 1870, andinstituting such programs as the School of Law, the nation’s first school of journalism,and the revered Honor System that continues to play a major role in W&L life.More than 95 percent of W&L’s full-time faculty members hold doctorate orother terminal degrees, and all of them are, first and foremost, teachers. And withan average class size of just 16, W&L students clearly benefit from that expertise.W&L was ranked 14th in the 2006 U.S. News listing of the nation's top liberalarts colleges, marking the 18th consecutive year that W&L has been ranked as oneof the top 25 liberal arts colleges in the nation.W&L also features a highly-ranked School of Law that has been an integral partof the school since 1866. Approximately 120 students receive Juris Doctor degreeseach year and five Master of Laws.With a student body that represents nearly all 50 states and attracts citizens from50 other countries, W&L is truly an international institution set in an idyllic collegetown. USA Today described it this way: “If you close your eyes and conjure up theideal campus—red brick buildings with rows of white columns, a placid commonsbeneath the arching branches of ivy-covered trees, a small town of 19th-centurystorefronts—you’ve got Washington and Lee.”Washington and Lee University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color,religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability or veteran'sstatus in its educational programs and activities or with regard to employment.Undergraduate student inquiries should be directed to the Dean of Students, ElrodUniversity Commons, (540) 458-8751, law student inquiries to the Associate Deanfor Student Services, (540) 458-8022, and employment inquiries to the Director ofHuman Resources, Howard House, (540) 458-8920, Washington and Lee University,Lexington, Virginia 24450-0303.