History and Purpose of the University of Chicago

The University of Chicago is a private, nondenominational, coeducational institution of higher learning and research. It is located in the community of Hyde Park-South Kenwood, a culturally rich and ethnically diverse neighborhood seven miles south of downtown Chicago. Hyde Park and South Kenwood encompass one and one-quarter square miles of commercial and residential districts that extend from 47th Street on the north to 61st Street on the south and from Cottage Grove Avenue eastward to the shoreline of Lake Michigan. The neighborhood is a stimulating blend of the urban and small town.

The University of Chicago includes the undergraduate College; four graduate Divisions (of the Biological Sciences, the Humanities, the Physical Sciences, and the Social Sciences); six graduate professional schools (the Graduate School of Business, the Divinity School, the Law School, the Pritzker School of Medicine, the Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies, and the School of Social Service Administration); the libraries, laboratories, museums, clinics, and institutes; the Graham School of General Studies; and the University of Chicago Press.

The University was founded by John D. Rockefeller. William Rainey Harper was its first president. Classes began on October 1, 1892, with an enrollment of 594 students and a faculty of 103, including eight former college presidents. In 1930 the undergraduate College and the graduate divisions were created by President Robert Maynard Hutchins to foster interdisciplinary study and encourage interdepartmental cooperation. Such cross-fertilization continues to characterize the University.