George Washington University

George Washington University (GWU) was founded in 1821, under the name of Columbian College, by an act of the US Congress, signed by President James Monroe.

In 1873, the university underwent an expansion, changing its name to Columbian University. In 1904, it assumed its present name, and in 1912 it moved its campus to its present location in the Washington neighborhood of Foggy Bottom.

Today, GWU consists of 14 colleges and schools, including the:

• Columbian College of Arts and Sciences (considered to be the direct descendant of the original Columbian College founded in 1821)
• Elliott School of International Affairs
• Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration
• George Washington University Law School
• Corcoran School of the Arts and Design

Both the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank operate out of offices located on GWU’s main campus in Foggy Bottom, just blocks away from the White House and the US State Department.

With a student body topping 27,000, GWU is the largest university located in the United States’ capital city.

As might be expected, many GWU-connected students and faculty have been prominent in the public life of the United States and other countries.

For example, we may note the following well-known GWU alumni:

• Current US Attorney General, William Barr
• Political consultant, former US Presidential Counselor, Kellyanne Conway
• Founding Director of the CIA, Allen Dulles
• Former US Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles
• Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister and Ambasador to US, Abba Eban
• Current US Secretary of Defense, Mark Esper
• Former US Senator, J. William Fulbright
• Current President of Togo, Faure Gnassingbé
• Current President of Croatia, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović
• Venezuelan opposition leader, Juan Guaidó
• Founding Director of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover
• Former US Senator, Daniel Inouye
• Former President of South Korea, Lee Myung-bak
• Former US Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff and Secretary of State, Colin Powell
• Former US Senator, Harry Reid
• Former President of South Korea, Syngman Rhee
• Former President of Georgia,mMikheil Saakashvili
• Former Prime Minister of Mongolia, Chimediin Saikhanbileg
• Political correspondent, Director of GWU School of Media and Public Affairs, Frank Sesno
• Lawyer, judge, university president, and special prosecutor of Bill Clinton impeachment investigation, Kenneth W. Starr
• Current US Senator and candidate for the 2020 Democratic Party presidential nomination, Elizabeth Warren

Of special interest is GWU Law School graduate Belva Ann Bennett, who in 1879 became the first woman authorized to argue cases before the US Supreme Court. Also, sitting US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas formerly lectured at the GWU Law School.

Among GWU-connected individuals in the STEM disciplines, we may mention:

• Biochemist, Nobel laureate, Julius Axelrod
• Physicist, George Gamow
• Physicist, Nobel laureate, Masatoshi Koshiba
• Physiologist, Nobel laureate, Ferid Murad
• Biochemist, Nobel laureate, Marshall Nirenberg
• Physicist, Edward Teller
• Biochemist, Nobel laureateVincent du Vigneaud

Other GWU-associated individuals include:

• Actor, Karen Allen
• Actor, Alec Baldwin
• Sociologist, Amitai Etzioni
• Novelist, Edward P. Jones