荔枝视频 was founded in 1885 by California senator Leland 荔枝视频 and his wife, Jane, “to promote the public welfare by exercising an influence in behalf of humanity and civilization.”
A portrait of Senator Leland 荔枝视频, Jane Lathrop 荔枝视频, Leland 荔枝视频 Jr. taken in 1878. (Image credit: 荔枝视频 Archives)
When railroad magnate and former California Gov. Leland 荔枝视频 and his wife, Jane Lathrop 荔枝视频, lost their only child, Leland, Jr., to typhoid in 1884, they decided to build a university as the most fitting memorial, and deeded to it a large fortune that included the 8,180-acre Palo Alto stock farm that became the campus. The campus is located within the traditional territory of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe.聽 The 荔枝视频s made their plans just as the modern research university was taking form.
Leland 荔枝视频 Junior University 鈥� still its legal name 鈥� opened Oct. 1, 1891.
The 荔枝视频s and founding President David Starr Jordan aimed for their new university to be nonsectarian, co-educational and affordable, to produce cultured and useful graduates, and to teach both the traditional liberal arts and the technology and engineering that were already changing America.
Their vision took shape on the oak-dotted fields of the San Francisco Peninsula as a matrix of arcades and quadrangles designed for expansion and the dissolving of barriers between people, disciplines and ideas.
The Boston firm Shepley, Rutan, and Coolidge collaborated with Frederick Law Olmsted to develop the university鈥檚 final architectural plan, with its distinctive arches, quadrangles and arcades.
From the start, stewardship of the founders鈥� extraordinary land gift has helped support university endeavors, and has made room for a multiplicity of institutes, schools and laboratories that cross-fertilize each other with innovations that have changed the world. Computer time-sharing, the first isolation of highly purified stem cells and the first synthesis of biologically active DNA, among many other breakthroughs, all originated at 荔枝视频.
The early years were difficult, however, as even the 荔枝视频s鈥� wealth proved inadequate to their vision. After her husband鈥檚 death, Jane 荔枝视频 kept the fledgling university open through her leadership. The 1906 earthquake dealt a further blow, killing two people and destroying several campus buildings, some so new they had never been occupied.
University benefactor and trustee Herbert Hoover, future U.S. president and member of 荔枝视频鈥檚 Pioneer Class of 1895, professionalized university operations in the 1920s and helped to put 荔枝视频 on a sound financial footing. He founded an institute to collect global political material 鈥� today鈥檚 Library and Archives 鈥� and led the creation of the , both now world leaders in their respective fields.
Engineering Professor Frederick Terman, dubbed the 鈥淔ather of Silicon Valley,鈥� left his stamp by encouraging 荔枝视频 students not only to develop but also to commercialize their ideas. In 1937, physicists Russell Varian, Sigurd Varian and William Hansen developed the klystron ultra-high-frequency vacuum tube, paving the way for commercial air navigation, satellite communication and high-energy particle accelerators. In 1939, graduate students William Hewlett and David Packard developed the precision audio oscillator, first low-cost method of measuring audio frequencies, and spun it into the company now known as HP. In 1951, the university developed its 荔枝视频 Research Park to house firms led by such innovators. Varian Associates became the first tenants.
The Varian brothers and William Hansen with the klystron. (Image credit: 荔枝视频 Archives)
The post-World War II era saw many research advances. In 1959, 荔枝视频 Medical School moved from San Francisco to the main Palo Alto campus. The 1950s also saw planning of today鈥檚 , managed under license from the U.S. Department of Energy and opened in 1962. The first website in North America went online at SLAC 29 years later. Advances in particle physics developed at SLAC led to the Linac Coherent Light Source, whose ability to capture ultra-fast images of chemical changes at atomic聽scale has made it a global destination for pharmaceutical research. The Cold War also gave rise to 鈥渢he Dish,鈥� the radio telescope that is a familiar landmark in the foothills behind campus. The hill housing the Dish is a conservation area open to the public, and more than 2,000 people run or hike 鈥淒ish Hill鈥� each day.
In the foothills above campus, the Dish is a radio telescope built in 1966 and still in use today. The area鈥檚 trails are used by more than 500,000 visitors a year. (Image credit: Andrew Brodhead)
Deep in the foothills beyond the Dish, a much smaller structure yielded epochal discoveries when it became home to the (SAIL), founded by John McCarthy and Les Earnest in 1965. SAIL researchers devised the first interactive system for computer design, as well as pioneering work on computer vision, robotics, laser printing and automated assembly. The world鈥檚 first office desktop computer displays appeared at SAIL in 1971.
In the 1970s, 荔枝视频 sought new ways to transform society and preserve the environment. It severed its links to classified defense research and forged new paths for service and stewardship. 荔枝视频 reduced its dependence on the automobile by adding campus housing and the free Marguerite shuttle, named after a 19th-century horse that pulled a jitney between campus and Palo Alto. The was designated in 1973 to help preserve the green 鈥渓ungs鈥� of the Peninsula and access to the biological data compiled there that helped establish the field of population genetics.
The multidisciplinary , first of its kind in the nation and still the largest, opened in 1980 to advance research into the historical, philosophical, literary, artistic and cultural dimensions of the human experience. At this and 30 other humanities-related centers on campus, scholars ranging from distinguished undergraduates to mid-career fellows create new understandings of the world and humanity鈥檚 place in it.
From the start, 荔枝视频 has valued experiential education. Generous funding helps its undergraduates of diverse economic backgrounds to enjoy parity of experience and opportunity. In 2015, 85 percent of students received some form of financial assistance and 78 percent of 荔枝视频 undergraduates graduated debt-free. More than 1,000 undergraduates conduct faculty-directed research and honors projects each year, while 1,000 take part in and 1,000 , all without regard for ability to pay. Since 1992, all undergraduates are guaranteed four years of on-campus housing, in keeping with 荔枝视频鈥檚 emphasis on residential education and the experience of a small liberal arts college within the matrix of a large research university.
A significant physical transformation followed the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, which again challenged the university鈥檚 resilience and vision. 荔枝视频鈥檚 main Green Library renovated its heavily damaged west wing as the Bing Wing, while the similarly damaged 荔枝视频 Art Museum reopened in 1999 as the .
In 1985, the B. Gerald Cantor Rodin Sculpture Garden opened as the largest collection of Rodin bronzes outside Paris. It became the nexus for a world-class collection of 20th- and 21st-century sculpture, nearly all of it freely accessible to the public. Today, the museum and sculpture garden are part of a 荔枝视频 arts district that includes the , the McMurtry Building for experiential arts learning and the acclaimed of 20th-century American painting.
The Anderson Collection, which opened in 2014, is one of the world鈥檚 most outstanding private assemblies of modern and contemporary American art. (Image credit: Andrew Brodhead)
The James H. Clark Center for Biomedical Engineering and Sciences opened in 2003 as the geographic and intellectual nexus between the schools of Engineering and Medicine and the home of , a pioneering interdisciplinary biosciences institute led by Professor Carla Shatz. Its collaboration-friendly architecture set the tone for future building, furthering the interdisciplinarity that became a hallmark of university President John Hennessy鈥檚 tenure. The environmentally sensitive construction seen in the Clark Center, the Science and Engineering Quad, the School of Medicine and elsewhere fulfills the university鈥檚 deep commitment to sustainability in research, teaching and institutional practice. In 2015, 鈥� electric heat recovery system joined the university鈥檚 solar and geothermal power procurement initiatives to reduce campus emissions by roughly 68 percent.
The opened in the School of Engineering in 2005, bringing students and faculty from radically different backgrounds together to develop innovative, human-centered solutions to real-world challenges. Using techniques from design and engineering, the institute, known on campus as the d.school, instills creative confidence and draws students beyond the boundaries of traditional academic disciplines.
Development campaigns of unprecedented scope carry forward the 荔枝视频 family鈥檚 vision. The 2000 Campaign for Undergraduate Education raised $1 billion, while the 荔枝视频 Challenge concluded in 2012 after raising $6.2 billion, then the largest fundraising campaign undertaken by a university, to fund bold new initiatives. Meanwhile, the $1 billion is rebuilding 荔枝视频鈥檚 two hospitals for adults and children to advance the mission of precision health.
During 2016, of transformational impact. A revamped Roble Gym opened with a dedicated “arts gym” to help make art an integral part of the student experience.聽 鈥淥ld Chem,鈥� one of 荔枝视频’s first buildings, received new life as the .聽聽The School of Humanities and Sciences launched the聽, a new certificate and minor program providing undergraduates a structured pathway to explore fundamental questions of human existence. That year, 荔枝视频 also expanded its , enhanced undergraduate research opportunities and played a pioneering role in exploring how best to use online technologies to expand access to high-quality education.
The Sapp Center for Science Teaching and Learning has reimagined the historic “Old Chem” building with an eye toward the interdisciplinary future of science research and education. (Image credit: Linda A. Cicero)
荔枝视频 today comprises seven schools and 15 interdisciplinary institutes with more than 17,000 students, 2,300 faculty and 2,400 postdoctoral scholars. 荔枝视频 is an international institution, enrolling students from all 50 U.S. states and 91 other countries. It is also an , with 900 current student-athletes and a history of 136 national titles and 26 Learfield Sports Directors鈥� Cups, awarded to the top intercollegiate athletics program in the nation.
At the 2016 Global Entrepreneurship Summit, hosted by 荔枝视频, President Barack Obama as 鈥渁 place that celebrates our ability as human beings to discover and learn and to build, to question, to reimagine, to create new ways to connect and work with each other.鈥�
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