University of Cincinnati

The University of Cincinnati is a state university located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Billing itself as an urban research university, the university has an annual enrollment of approximately 35,000 full- and part-time students in programs ranging from 2-year Associate's Degrees to Ph.D. and post-doctorate education.

History

In 1819, Cincinnati College and the Medical College of Ohio were founded in Cincinnati upon the suggestion and with the funds of local benefactors such as Dr. Drake and William Lytle of the Lytle family of Cincinnati. In 1870, the City of Cincinnati established the University of Cincinnati, absorbing Cincinnati College and the Medical College of Ohio. University of Cincinnati became a "municipally-sponsored, state-affiliated" institution in 1968. During this time, the University of Cincinnati was the second-oldest and second-largest municipal university in the country. It became one of Ohio's state universities in 1977.

UC is distinguished as the birthplace of the co-operative education (co-op) model. The program generally consists of alternating periods of coursework on campus and outside work at a host firm, giving students up to two years of relevant work experience by the time they graduate. The concept was invented at UC in 1906 by Herman Schneider, Dean of the College of Engineering at the time. Today, UC's Professional Practice (Co-op) Program is the largest co-op program at any public institution in the United States.

Academic Profile

The university is comprised of several colleges:

Allied Health Sciences
Applied Science
Arts and Sciences
Business
Clermont College (branch campus)
College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), one of the most prestigious American music schools, ranked 6th by U.S. News and World Report. It is particularly renowned for its voice, composition, piano, and musical theater departments.
Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP), one of the most highly-ranked design schools in the US, particularly known for its architecture, interior design, and industrial design programs.
Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services
Engineering
The Graduate School
College of Law, the fourth oldest continually running law school in the country. It is notable for graduating William Howard Taft, the only person to serve both as U.S. President and as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Taft also served as the dean of the college when it integrated with the University of Cincinnati in 1896.
College of Medicine, includes both a leading teaching hospital and several biomedical research laboratories. In the 1950s Albert Sabin developed the live Polio vaccine at the College of Medicine.
Nursing
Pharmacy
Raymond Walters College (branch campus)
Social Work

UC is also the home of the Institute for policy research. It is a multidisciplinary research organization which opened in 1971. It performs a variety of surveys and polls on public opinion throughout Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana, primarily through telephone surveys.

Athletics

The school's sports teams are known as the Bearcats. Cincinnati competes in NCAA Division I sports (I-A for football) as a member of the Big East Conference since July 1, 2005. The school's best-known athletic alumni are Baseball Hall of Fame Sandy Koufax, all-time basketball great Oscar Robertson, and International Tennis Hall of Famer Tony Trabert Baseball Hall of Fame Miller Huggins. Cincinnati's oldest football rivalry, begun in 1888, is with Miami University and symbolized by a Victory Bell awarded to the winner each year. This is, reportedly, the fourth oldest rivalry in college football. Cincinnati also plays Xavier University in the Annual Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout., and UC also plays Louisville, they battle for the Keg of Nails in Football every year. The school also has an on and off again (albeit lopsided) rivalry with Ohio State University in football. When the schools' men's basketball teams meet in the John Wooden Classic in Indianapolis in 2006, it will be first meeting since the 1962 NCAA men's championship game for the Ohio neighbors.

The school's best known program, however, is the men's basketball program. Cincinnati has an all time record of 1517-865 (.636), compiled over 105 seasons. While UC has consistently been a contender in this sport, it has been marked by several high and low points. The most notable era in Bearcats basketball was during the late 1950s and early 1960s, when the Bearcats posted five consecutive Final Four appearances. Unanimous 3-time All American Oscar Robertson led the Bearcats and the nation for 3 consecutive years in this period, and posted a career average of 33.8 points, which ranks third all-time in the NCAA. Ironically, Cincinnati was to win its two national championships in the 1961 and 1962 seasons, without Robertson, under rookie coach Ed Jucker.

Cincinnati fell out of prominence during the early 1970s. After a brief resurgence in the mid-1970s, the program fell on hard times in the 1980s, but was revitalized under head coach Bob Huggins after his hiring in 1989. Under Huggins, the Bearcats compiled a 399-127 record in 16 seasons, and posted 14 straight NCAA tournament appearances. Most notable among teams during the Huggins years was the 1991-'92 team, which lost to Michigan in the Final Four.

Despite a .757 record under Huggins, the administration at the university became discontent with Huggins' tenure. Following a 2004 DUI arrest, which was ultimately the exclamation point to a long history of objectionable events surrounding Cincinnati's basketball program and its off the court behavior, the rollover clause on Huggins' contract was suspended. Huggins later took a buy out offer in August 2005 by President Nancy Zimpher, and is now the head coach at Kansas State University. The men's varsity basketball team was coached for the rest of the 2005-2006 season by assistant coach Anthony KEnnedy. Murray State's Mick Cronin, who is a graduate of UC, is now the basketball team's coach.

Architecture

The university has had a strategic plan for the last decade for new architecture to be built by "signature architects." The buildings include:

Engineering Research Center, Michael Graves (UC alumnus) (1994)
Aronoff Center for Art and Design, Peter Eisenman (1996)
College-Conservatory of Music, Pei Cobb Freed and Partners (Henry Cobb) (1999) Photos
Vontz Center for Molecular Studies, Frank O. Gehry (1999)
Campus Recreation Center, Morphosis (Thom Mayne) (2006)
Lindner Athletic Center, Bernard Tschumi (2006)

Other architecturally-notable buildings on the UC campus designed by lesser known signature architects include:

Famous alumni

See List of University of Cincinnati People.

External links

Educational institutions established in 1819 | University of Cincinnati | Big East Conference