According to the school, Washington and Lee University is a highly ranked national institution with strong programs in the liberal arts and sciences, business, journalism and law. With students from almost every state as well as more than 40 foreign countries, W&L is a global community in a small college town. Its location in Lexington, VA, offers the unparalleled beauty and recreation of the Shenandoah Valley, a great place to live and study. \r\n Student self-governance is a hallmark of a W&L education. The student-run Honor System, with its single sanction of dismissal, yields high expectations that students internalize and live out in a community of trust. With unproctored exams and facilities open 24 hours a day, this environment sets W&L apart and engenders a commitment to honor and civility that continues to inform students’ decisions well beyond graduation. \r\n Small classes, state-of-the-art facilities and a supportive educational environment prepare W&L students for success in both graduate school and the workplace. Professors are committed to mentoring and teaching students, both in the classroom and in impromptu get-togethers around town, a happy situation that leads to lifelong relationships. More than 90 percent of the faculty hold earned doctorate or terminal degrees and are active researchers in their chosen fields.\r\n Interdisciplinary courses and programs are common at W&L and employ the latest technology and research to create a rich and varied curriculum unmatched by other institutions of its size. The first college in the U.S. to offer courses in business and journalism, it remains the only university in the nation’s top 20 liberal arts schools to have nationally accredited programs in both fields. W&L also boasts special academic programs, such as independent and honors work and professional ethics programs, as well as a six-week spring term for students to immerse themselves in a single subject, gain valuable experience in internships or study abroad. \r\n Washington and Lee students are actively involved in shaping their educations. They also participate in athletics, the arts and more than 120 student organizations that are a key aspect of campus life. Students are committed to leadership and service and enjoy numerous opportunities to participate in both. Omicron Delta Kappa, a national honor society recognizing leadership and service in campus activities, was founded in 1914 at W&L. Students lead student government, service organizations and campus committees. Politics students oversee the Mock Convention, the largest, most accurate, student-run, simulated presidential selection in the nation. Students in the Williams Investment Society manage $1 million of the University’s endowment, primarily in equity securities. The Shepherd Poverty Alliance has partnerships with more than 35 non-profit agencies and organizations across the eastern U.S., providing W&L students with valuable career experience serving disadvantaged individuals, while the Nabors Service League matches student volunteers with local needs. \r\n The nation’s ninth-oldest institution of higher education, W&L enjoys a rich history dating to its founding in 1749. George Washington saved the then-struggling institute in 1796, when he gave the school its first endowment gift of $20,000 in James River Canal stock. In 1813, Washington acknowledged and accepted the honor of the institution’s renaming as Washington College. Robert E. Lee served as president from 1865 until his death in 1870, expanded course offerings, instituted innovative programs and established two of the University’s most cherished hallmarks, the Honor System and the speaking tradition. After Lee’s death, the trustees changed the school’s name to Washington and Lee University. The front campus of the University is a National Historic Landmark, only the third college campus in the country so designated.

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Washington and Lee University

 
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