The George Washington University, which celebrated its 175th anniversary in 1996, grew out of the desire of our country's first President to establish a national institution of higher learning. When GW opened its doors in 1821 as Columbian College in the District of Columbia, it boasted three faculty members, one tutor, and 30 students. In 1904, the name of the institution was changed to The George Washington University. Carver Barracks, on the site of the first campus, housed Union soldiers during the Civil War. Despite sagging enrollment, professors continued to hold classes, often in their homes. Forty-six of the school's medical graduates served in the Union Army, 24 in the Confederate Army. Today, the University's enrollment totals more than 19,000 undergraduate and graduate students in nine schools. |