Topeka Relocation Guide 2008 - (Page 36) Higher Education Opportunities Topeka is a hub of higher education, allowing Shawnee County residents access to a wide spectrum of undergraduate and graduate level programs. Washburn University Memorial Union Washburn University Washburn provides broadly-based liberal arts and professional education by combining the most effective modes of educating: accomplished faculty, small class sizes, state-of-the-art technology, modern learning techniques, and unique opportunities through an interactive campus and community relationship. Highlights include: National recognition: Washburn is rated sixth in the Midwest among public master’s level universities in the 2008 America’s Best Colleges rankings issued by U.S. News & World Report. This is the eighth consecutive year that Washburn has earned a Top 10 rating. Enrollment: 6,901 Classes: 44 percent of undergraduate classes have fewer than 20 students. Student/faculty ratio: 16:1 Faculty: 84 percent of full-time faculty members hold doctorate degrees or the highest degree in their discipline. Academic programs: Washburn offers more than 200 programs leading to certification or associate, bachelor, masters, and juris doctor degrees through the College of Arts and Sciences and the Schools of Applied Studies, Business, Law, and Nursing. Graduates: Approximately 1,200 degrees and certificates are awarded annually. Financial aid: More than $52 million in financial aid is available to students annually. Scholarships awarded from university resources total $5.8 million. Endowment funding of approximately $113 million ranks Washburn second in the state on a per-student basis among public institutions. Internships: Each year 1,000 students participate in internship opportunities at more than 125 sites in Topeka. Athletics: Ten athletic teams compete at the NCAA Division II level in the MidAmerica Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) Conference. Students can choose from baseball, basketball, football, Washburn University Campus golf, women’s soccer, softball, tennis, and volleyball. Also on campus: • Stoffer Science Hall reopens in early 2008 following a major renovation. Other recent additions to campus include a Student Recreation and Wellness Center; an art building; Carole Chapel; and Washburn Village, a 192-bed, apartment-style housing complex. • The Mulvane Art Museum is the oldest accredited art museum west of the Mississippi River. The museum’s permanent collection, though international in scope, emphasizes the work of artists in Kansas and throughout the Midwest. • Washburn is home to KTWU, the first public television station in Kansas. • Crane Observatory houses an 1898 Warner & Swasey refracting telescope. • The Kuehne Bell Tower features a quartet of bells once housed in the clock tower of Thomas Gymnasium, which was destroyed during a 1966 tornado. Alumni: Washburn boasts more than 33,000 alumni, who can be found in every Kansas county and in every state in the U.S. Is Washburn private — or public? Washburn is a publicly funded, independently governed, state-coordinated university. The school was established in 1865 as Lincoln College by a charter issued by the State of Kansas and the General Association of Congregational Ministers and Churches of Kansas. In 1941, the citizens of Topeka endorsed Washburn by voting to establish a municipal university, supported in part by the City and governed by a local board of regents. In 1999, the university’s primary funding was moved from city property tax to county sales tax sources, with the school retaining status Topek a Reloc at ion Gu ide 20 08 36
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