In Addition to History

GW NEWS
[admissions]
Applications
Rise 28 Percent
[philanthropy]
$2.5M Donation
Endows Institute
for Religious
Freedom at GW
A new institute focused on religious freedom
has been established and endowed at
GW through a $2.5 million donation from
the John L. Loeb Jr. Foundation and the New
York City-based George Washington Institute
for Religious Freedom, the university
announced in January.
The Ambassador John L. Loeb Jr. Institute
for Religious Freedom at GW will foster
dialogue on religious understanding and the
separation of church and state, and will serve
as a center for academic collaboration in religion,
peace studies, history, political science
and other programs for scholars, students,
educators and the public.
Educational programs that had been
offered through the New York-based institute,
also founded by Amb. Loeb, will be
transferred to the university. The George
Washington Institute for Religious Freedom,
[scholarships]
Sakiya Walker, a Duke Ellington
School of the Arts senior, accepts a
full-ride Stephen Joel Trachtenberg
Scholarship from GW President
Steven Knapp in March, one of 10
awards on a day of surprise visits
to D.C. schools, which Dr. Knapp
called “my favorite day of the year.”
though, will continue to operate the Loeb Visitors
Center at the Touro Synagogue National
Historic Site in Newport, R.I.
Before the First Amendment guaranteed
freedom of religion, President George
Washington was an early advocate for religious
minorities. His 1790 letter to the Touro
Synagogue in Newport, penned after he and
then-Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson
visited the city, promised that the nation would
“give to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no
assistance” and defined freedom of belief as the
“inherent natural right” of every American.
The institute will be housed within the
Columbian College of Arts and Sciences.
Amb. Loeb, who served as the U.S. ambassador
to Denmark from 1981 to 1983 and as a
delegate to the United Nations, is a businessman,
philanthropist and art collector. He
was a partner of the Wall Street investment
banking and brokerage firm Loeb, Rhoades
and Co., from 1957 to 1979.
“I can’t think of a more appropriate institution
to carry on the work of the George
Washington Institute for Religious Freedom
than this university, named for our first
president himself,” Amb. Loeb said. “GW’s
new institute will enable the university to tell
the story of how Washington’s letter helped
define this nation.”
Applications to become a first-year undergraduate
student entering in fall 2016 were
28 percent higher than the previous year, the
university announced in February.
As of Jan. 15, GW received 25,431 applications
from prospective students around the
world. By comparison, for fall 2015, the university
received a total of 19,833 applications.
Students who chose to apply test-optional
accounted for about 20 percent of the applications.
Admissions officials said they believe
GW’s new test-optional policy was a factor in
the rise in applications. Other factors included
targeted outreach to school counselors, a
more personalized and data-driven approach
to recruitment, and a revamped campus visit
experience.
The decision to adopt a test-optional
admissions policy was influenced, in part,
by a concern that outstanding students who
did not earn high scores on the SAT or ACT
may have felt discouraged from applying. At
the same time, studies have indicated that a
sustained commitment to a rigorous course of
study and exceptional academic performance
in high school are the best indicators of how a
student will fare in college.
In the first year since implementing the
policy, GW has seen an increase in applications
from underrepresented groups, including
African-American, Latino and international
students. Applications
from first-generation
college students
increased by nearly
1,100.
“We adopted our
For more on this
story, visit
go.gwu.edu/
spring16admissions
test-optional policy
to strengthen and
diversify an already
outstanding applicant
pool by reaching out to exceptional students
who have been underrepresented at selective
colleges and universities,” GW President
Steven Knapp says. “These initial results suggest
that our efforts are on the right track.”
Applications for early decision for fall
2016 rose by more than 30 percent over 2015,
to 1,373. GW was slated to accept 841 early
decision applicants for fall 2016 compared to
780 for the previous class. The students GW
accepted for early decision have a median and
mean GPA that is slightly higher than the
early decision class the previous year.
WILLIAM ATKINS
12 / gw magazine / Spring 2016