University of Toledo

Infobox University
name = The University of Toledo


motto = Coadyuvando El Presente, Formando El Porvenir (Spanish for "Guide to the Present, Moulder of the Future")
established = 1872
type = Public
president = Dr. Lloyd A. Jacobs
city = Toledo
state = OH
country = USA
students = 22,336
undergrad = 19,406
postgrad = 2,930
postgrad_label = graduate
alumni = greater than 100,000 | faculty = 2,232
endowment = $184 million | [ [http://www.nacubo.org/documents/research/FY05NESInstitutionsbyTotalAssets.pdf 2005 University Endowments] .] campus = Urban
colors = Midnight Blue and Gold | mascot = Rocky the Rocket
free_label = Athletics
free = Varsity Football Div 1A, Men's and Women's Basketball Div 1, Men's Baseball Div 1, Women's Softball, Swimming, Diving, Field Hockey, Soccer, Track and Field
website = [http://www.utoledo.edu utoledo.edu]
The University of Toledo is a public university situated in Toledo, Ohio. The Carnegie Foundation has classified the university as "Doctoral/Research Extensive".

National recognition

In its 137-year history UT has garnered several national accolades. The University’s programs, faculty and facilities have been highlighted in the media, including "The Wall Street Journal, Consumer Reports, The New York Times, The Plain Dealer, Newsweek, CNN, C-SPAN, NPR" and "The Today Show". "The Princeton Review" ranked the graduate school of engineering as the 18th best in the country. The Occupational Therapy program is ranked in the Top Ten Percent in the country. The University recently merged with The Medical University of Ohio (formerly The Medical College of Ohio) making it the third largest university in Ohio in terms of operating budget. This merger also makes the University only one of 17 public institutions in the country with a school of medicine, law, business, education, pharmacy, and engineering (ut website). The medical school includes professors who are internationally recognized in their fields. The University of Toledo College of Medicine senior graduates "matched" at a higher rate than those of other seniors nationwide for the second year in a row; a record 97 percent secured first-year residency positions during the initial National Residency Matching Program (ut website). The University of Toledo College of Medicine also boasts the highest United States Medical Licensing Exam Step 1 score by a medical student in the country (270) in 2006 (toledoblade7/06). The University of Toledo Medical Center is one of 15 major teaching hospitals chosen by Solucient's annual "Top 100 Hospitals: Performance Improvement Leaders," compiled by "Modern Healthcare" magazine.

The University of Toledo College Of Law is ranked 85th in the nation by "U.S. News and World Report" in 2008. The College of Law also has the highest first time passing rate for the Bar Exam in the state as well as being in the Top 10 in passing rate in the country, higher than Harvard and many of the other Ivy League law schools.

The University of Toledo students are among the winners of prestigious national fellowships, including the Fulbright, the Woodrow Wilson, the National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship, the National Consortium for the Physical Sciences, the Whitaker Foundation, the Goldwater, the Madison Foundation Fellowship, and the Phi Kappa Phi National Fellowship. A study by the "Miliken Institute", an independent economic think tank, showed that The University of Toledo was named as a top global player when it comes to taking biotechnology research from the laboratory to the world. For every $14 million UT spent on research, UT created one biotechnology start-up, which places it 7th among educational institutions in North America, Europe, and Asia combined. The University was recognized by the American Society of Landscape Architects as one of the 22 most beautiful landscaped campuses in the country. USA Today touted the Student Recreation Center as one of the best in the country. The convert|15000|sqft|m2|sing=on facility features an indoor track, three pools, a water slide, free weights, exercise equipment, golf simulator, rock climbing wall, and basketball, racquetball and squash courts.

In recognition of its technological advancements, "Yahoo! Internet Life" magazine dubbed The University of Toledo as one of America’s 100 Most Wired Colleges. Newsweek featured an article on Xunming Deng, a physics professor at the University of Toledo, on the state-of-the-art research being conducted on solar technology at the University of Toledo and the surrounding Toledo area. [ [http://www.newsweek.com/id/41912 The Power Of the Sun | Newsweek Technology | Newsweek.com ] ]

History

Early History 1872-1928

The University of Toledo began in 1872 as a private arts and trades school offering painting and architectural drawing as its only subjects. In the 125 years since, the university has grown into a comprehensive institution offering more than 250 undergraduate and graduate programs to more than 20,000 students from around the world.

In a pamphlet published in 1868 entitled "Toledo: Future Great City of the World", Jesup Scott articulated a dream that led him to endow what would become The University of Toledo. He expressed his belief that the center of world commerce was moving westward and by 1900 would be located in Toledo. To help realize this dream, in 1872 Scott donated 160 acres (647,000 m²) of land as an endowment for a university to train the city's young people.

By the 1920s, Toledo University was a growing institution, limited only by the buildings that housed it. Classes were held in two downtown buildings, but both were too small. In 1922, the university moved into an automobile mechanics training facility that had been constructed during World War I on the original Scott property. While twice the size of the old buildings, this location was less than ideal. Its limitations became evident when an enrollment increase of 32 percent in one year produced a critical shortage of classroom and office space.

The prospects for a new, permanent home for the institution improved in 1928 when Dr. Henry J. Doermann became president. His first activity was to initiate plans for a new campus. To pay for the proposed buildings, the city placed a bond levy before Toledo's voters. An all-out campaign led to the levy's passage by a margin of 10,000 votes, just 11 months before the start of the Great Depression.

A local architectural firm planned the new campus. Dr. Doermann wanted the buildings to reflect the best design elements of the universities of Europe because he felt such architecture would inspire students. It took 400 men less than one year to complete University Hall and the Field House in the Collegiate Gothic design, the entire university being an excellent example of this style. Centennial Mall, the picturesque lawn area in the heart of campus, is one of the "100 most beautifully landscaped places in the country", according to the American Society of Landscape Architects. Only 22 college campuses are on the list.

tudent Protests in the 1960's and 70's

College students became more politically active in the 1960s. The decade produced frequent student protests, including many at The University of Toledo. Most of the UT protests were peaceful. More serious protests by students opposed to the war in Vietnam did lead to several arrests. In 1970, the campus remained peaceful following the deaths of four student protesters at Kent State University.

Recent developments (1992-2008)

The university continued to expand its physical environs in the 1990s. A major expansion of the campus took place when UT renovated commercial buildings at Dorr Street and Secor Road for classrooms. A new Academic Center and Residence Hall (1992) was built to house the Honors Program. Other new buildings included the Student Medical Center (1992), the Center for the Visual Arts designed by the famous architect Frank Gehry next to the Toledo Museum of Art (1992), the International House Residence Hall (1995) and Nitschke Hall (1995). Construction began in 1995 on a Pharmacy, Chemistry and Life Sciences complex on the main campus (Wolfe Hall) and a [http://www.lakeerie.utoledo.edu Lake Erie Research Center] at Maumee Bay State Park. University/Parks Trail, a six mile (10 km) rail trail which runs from the university to Sylvania, Ohio, was also constructed in 1995.Since the turn of the century, more on campus housing has been established. In 2002 The Crossings opened its doors for the students to enjoy. Shortly there after, Ottawa House East and Ottawa House West opene(2005) and in 2007, The Quad (Dowd, White, and Nash Halls) endured a renovation and was also re-opened for use.

Significant growth in the 1990s not only occurred in buildings, but also in technology. The university joined OhioLINK, a statewide library network, in 1994. Computer labs and hook-ups in dormitories and offices provided Internet access to most. Technological improvements allowed students to register for classes and check their grades by phone, and the university established a homepage on the World Wide Web. UT became one of ten universities to receive five separate eight-figure gifts — two separate gifts of $100 million from Ambassador Walter Guinness to create the University Cancer Diagnosis Research Institute.

Despite the challenges facing higher education in the 1990s, The University of Toledo marked its 125th year in operation. The institution grew from a small, private arts and trades school to become a large state-assisted university. Many of its faculty and academic programs have worldwide reputations, and its campus is an architectural gem.

After a protracted protest by students, staff, faculty and community members; the board of trustees of the University agreed to include domestic partner benefits in the health care portion of the contract for faculty and staff with an effective start date of April 1, 2006. This development made the University of Toledo the first state university to begin covering domestic partners after the passage of Ohio Issue 1, several others had partner benefits before and continued them after the ban. The protest gained momentum after November 2004, when issue 1 was voted into law as an Ohio Constitutional amendment but began over a decade earlier with the work of several faculty members.

On March 31, 2006, Governor Bob Taft signed House Bill 478, which merged the University of Toledo with the Medical University of Ohio. The merger became effective on July 1, 2006. The institution retained the University of Toledo name, and the former Medical University of Ohio facilities are referred to as the Health Science Campus. Toledo became the third largest public university in Ohio in terms of its operating budget, as well as one of only 17 public universities in the country that has colleges of business, education, engineering, law, medicine and pharmacy.

The Wright Center for PVIC

For more than 20 years, the University of Toledo (UT) has been involved with advancing solar cell science and technology and is internationally recognized as an academic leader.

UT has assembled a team of world class faculty whose research involved establishing science and technology platforms employing second and third generation photovoltaics (PV) materials and devices tailored for applications in clean electricity generation. The three primary locations of the Wright Center for Photovoltaics Innovation and Commercialization (PVIC) include The University of Toledo, The Ohio State University, and Bowling Green State University.

The Center for PVIC is a State of Ohio Third Frontier supported Wright Center of Innovation was established through an Ohio Department of Development primary grant of $18.6 million to UT, and its mission is to stimulate the Ohio PV industry, to establish a full value chain of PV in Ohio, to generate new high-tech jobs, and to increase industry revenue.

The Center's research is focused on improving large area materials and devices, increasing the efficiency of solar technologies, and lowering production costs - with the ultimate goal of increasing the number of solar-powered electrical generation systems in homes, businesses, and utilities, as well as supporting the nation's defense and aerospace needs for advanced solar energy systems.

The Wright Center for PVIC is an internationally recognized PV research and development center with an infrastructure attractive to companies that are already successfully marketing PV as well as to companies that are incubating the future generations of PV devices. These activities bring to Ohio established companies along with faculty researchers seeking to be at the forefront of developments in PV and to participate in the formation of startup companies.

Fields of study in photovoltaics include Physics, Chemistry, Materials Science and Engineering, Optical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Architectural and Civil Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Biological Sciences, Atmospheric Sciences, Remote Sensing, Computer Science, and Mathematics.

Job opportunities in the photovoltaic industry range from entry level to management, in both the scientific and non-scientific fields such as research and development, engineering, manufacturing, design, construction, information technology, communication, education, marketing, finance, accounting, administration, and sales.

Academics

The University of Toledo, as of 2006, offers over 250 academic programs; all are a part of the University's ten colleges: Arts and Sciences, Business, Education, Engineering, Health Science and Human Service, Law, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, and University of Toledo's University College.

In 2006, The Princeton Review named the University of Toledo College of Engineering Graduate School as the #18 engineering graduate school in the United States.

In the Spring Semester of 2007, President Lloyd Jacobs announced that the tuition for the 2007-2008 academic year would remain the same as it was in the 2006-2007 school year. This was the first time in 33 years that the University of Toledo did not raise tuition costs. This move was made to counter the statewide trend of steadily increasing four-year college tuition costs.

Athletics

The University of Toledo's athletic teams play as the Rockets, and uniforms sport the colors midnight blue and gold. The University's sports teams play in the Mid-American Conference. The Rockets football team holds nine Mid-American Conference Championships, in 1969, 1970, 1971, 1981, 1984, 1990 (co-champs with Western Michigan), 1995, 2001, and 2004.

Toledo's principal rivals are the Falcons of Bowling Green State University. The two teams play for a trophy each year known as the Peace Pipe, a prize that originated in basketball but progressed to football in 1980. BGSU currently holds a 36-32-4 advantage over the Rockets, but Toledo has won four of the last five contests between the two teams.

The University of Toledo also has an official spirit crew known as Blue Crew. They attend numerous athletic events and are present throughout the community.

The University of Toledo Rocket Marching Band performs a pre-game show and halftime show at all home football games in the Glass Bowl. The band program at the University of Toledo is directed by Dr. Jason Stumbo and Mr. Rick Napierala.

The University of Toledo recently signed a two-game series in football with The Ohio State University Buckeyes. The first game will be considered a "home" game for Toledo, and will be played at Cleveland Browns Stadium on September 19, 2009.

Among other sports, Toledo consistently fields strong distance running teams; Brianna Shook '04, who is also an assistant track coach at the school, holds the American record for the steeplechase.

The UT rockets have the second longest winning streak in division 1-A football history (1969–1971) 35-0.

The Toledo Rockets men's basketball team were the 2006-07 Mid-American Conference champion, until his firing after slumping to a 11-19 record in 2007-08, was led by head coach Stan Joplin, a man of impressive integrity and character who was a former star player for the Rockets during the late 1970s, was an assistant coach from 1984-90. Men's Basketball Receives NCAA Award For High Academic PerformanceToledo tied for third-best APR mark in nation and leads MAC for second straight year. The University of Toledo men's basketball program ranks at the top of the Mid-American Conference for a second straight year in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Academic Performance Rating (APR) release this week. Toledo's 994 rating is tied for third place among all NCAA Division I men's basketball programs and trails only Columbia and Davidson.

Miscellaneous facts

*The bells in the belltower of University Hall are actually electronic recordings. For a semester, they would sometimes skip. This was fixed with a new electronic system.Fact|date=June 2007
*Centennial Mall was built by taking a bird's eye view of paths made in the snow by students in the Great Blizzard of 1978 [ [http://traditions.utoledo.edu/locations/centennialmall.html New Page 1 ] ] . Centennial Mall was completed in 1980 and provides the campus with an environmentally friendly look, which contributes to UT's ranking as one of the "100 most beautifully landscaped places in the country," according to the American Society of Landscape Architects. Only 22 college campuses are on the list.
*The Student Rec Center at The University of Toledo was the first in the nation to have a water slide
*The rocket outside of the Glass Bowl is a genuine rocket from the U.S. Army missile program aimed at Bowling Green State University and if lit it would end up at the convert|50|yd|sing=on line of Doyt Perry Football Stadium at Bowling Green State University [ [http://traditions.utoledo.edu/monuments/rocket.html New Page 1 ] ]
*It was believed that anyone to walk on the university seal in Centennial Mall would fail his next exam, it has been since raised from the ground ensuring student success, however it is believed that walking to the right of the seal will now cause failure during exams [ [http://traditions.utoledo.edu/monuments/seal.html New Page 1 ] ]
*The student newspaper, "The Independent Collegian", is one of the few collegiate newspapers in the country to be completely independent (including financially) of their university. "The Collegian", as it was formerly known, left UT due to a conflict over funding. The Collegian's advertising revenue, which they had to turn over to the University, exceeded the amount of funding they received from the University. Thus, they were the only student group that actually had to give money back to the university. The newspaper was also founded by Gloria Steinem's father, Leo Steinem, in 1918 [ [http://www.toledoalumni.org/index.asp?id=26 The University of Toledo - Alumni ] ] Fact|date=June 2007
*The Dancing Rock-ets are the first collegiate dance team in the United States. Fact|date=June 2007

Notable alumni

* Deborah Agosti - Former Chief Justice, Nevada State Supreme Court (1998-2004).
* Tom Amstutz - College football player and current UT men's football coach
* Bob Dempsey - NASA Flight Director
* Chuck Ealey - University of Toledo's starting quarterback for 35 straight wins from 1969-1971
* Mari Evans - author and dramatist
* Todd France - Former NFL kicker
* Stewart Greenleaf - 1966 Law School Graduate, Member, Pennsylvania State Senate since 1979.
* Bruce Gradkowski - Quarterback for Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2007)
* Kelly Herndon - Starting cornerback for Seattle Seahawks (2007)
* Gerald Jakubowski - President of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
* Curtis Johnson - defensive back for the 1972 undefeated Miami Dolphins "no-name defense"
* Jeff Johnson - social commentator for Black Entertainment Television
* Stan Joplin - College basketball player, UT men's basketball coach from 1996 to 2008.
* Nick Kaczur - Starting tackle for New England Patriots (2007)
* Andy McCollum - free agent NFL center formerly with the New Orleans Saints and St. Louis Rams
* Steve Mix - Former NBA All-Star, only men's player to have jersey retired (2/17/07), played 13 years in NBA.
* John B. Neff - “one of the 10 most influential investors of the 20th Century” by Barron’s Magazine.
* Tom Morrisey - novelist and travel writer
* Christi Paul - CNN Headline News Anchor
* Jim Rex - South Carolina Superintendent of Education
* Michael Sallah - 2004 Pulitzer Prize recipient for Investigative Reporting
* John W. Snow - Former United States Secretary of the Treasury (2003-2006)
* Chuck Sullivan - 1959 graduate of the UT College of Business, is the retired chairman, CEO and president of Interstate Bakeries Corp.
* Chester Taylor - Running back for Minnesota Vikings (2007)
* Dan Williams - retired defensive lineman for the Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos

* Greg Wojciechowski - NCAA heavyweight wrestling champion in 1971
* Jerry Evans - retired tight end for the Denver Broncos
* Carl Ford - retired NFL wide receiver for Green Bay Packers
* Fredric J. Baur - inventor of the Pringles Can.
* Philip Baker Hall - American Actor - many films including "Boogie Nights", "You Kill Me", etc.
* Lance Moore - Wide Receiver for New Orleans Saints

External links

* [http://www.utoledo.edu University of Toledo Home Page]
* [http://www.utrockets.com University of Toledo Rockets Official Athletics Home Page]
* [http://www.toledosattic.org/details.asp?did=55 125 Years of the University of Toledo]
* [http://www.toledosattic.org/details.asp?did=80 Walking Tour of the University of Toledo]
* [http://www.utoledo.edu/library/ The University of Toledo Library System]
* [http://www.utoledo.edu/research/PVIC The Center for Photovoltaics Innovation and Commercialization (PVIC)]

Notes

* http://www.utoledo.edu/offices/aaseio/index.html

References

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