University of Louisville facts for kids
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Former names
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Jefferson Seminary (1798–1829) Louisville Medical Institute (1837–1846) Louisville College (1840–1846) |
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| Type | Public research university |
| Established | April 3, 1798 |
| Accreditation | SACS |
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Academic affiliations
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| Endowment | $1.00 billion (FY 2024) |
| Budget | $1.73 billion (FY 2025) |
| President | Gerry Bradley |
| Provost | Kathryn (Katie) Cardarelli |
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Academic staff
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1,787 full-time, 867 part-time |
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Administrative staff
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4,321 |
| Students | 24,123 (Fall 2024) |
| Undergraduates | 17,248 (Fall 2024) |
| Postgraduates | 5,981 (Fall 2024) |
| Location |
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United States
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| Campus | Large city, Belknap: 345 acres HSC: 62 acres Shelby: 233 acres Total: 640 acres (2.6 km2) |
| Other campuses | |
| Newspaper | The Louisville Cardinal |
| Colors | Cardinal red Black |
| Nickname | Cardinals |
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Sporting affiliations
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NCAA Division I FBS – ACC |
| Mascot | Louie the Cardinal |
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The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of Kentucky's state university system. The school started in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary. In the 1800s, it became one of the first public colleges funded by a city in the U.S.
UofL is known for its high level of research. Its University of Louisville School of Medicine has achieved important medical breakthroughs. These include the first fully self-contained artificial heart transplant. They also performed the first successful hand transplantation in the United States. The University Hospital also had the first civilian ambulance and one of the first blood banks in the U.S.
The university is also famous for its sports teams, the Louisville Cardinals. These teams have done very well in national competitions. They have reached the Final Four in men's basketball and the College Baseball World Series many times. The women's basketball team has also been a runner-up in national championships.
Contents
Discover the History of UofL
How UofL Began: 1798–1845
The University of Louisville started with a special paper from the Kentucky government in 1798. This paper allowed a school to be built in the new town of Louisville. Land was sold to help pay for construction. On April 3, 1798, eight community leaders began raising money for the school. It was first called the Jefferson Seminary.
The seminary opened 15 years later, offering college and high school classes. Edward Mann Butler, an early Kentucky historian, led the school from 1813 to 1816. Even though it started well, the Jefferson Seminary closed in 1829. This was partly because new public schools opened.
In 1837, the Louisville city council created the Louisville Medical Institute. A famous doctor named Charles Caldwell helped make it one of the best medical schools in the western U.S. In 1840, Louisville College, a liberal arts school, was also started.
Becoming a Public City University: 1846–1969
In 1846, the Kentucky government combined the Medical Institute, Louisville College, and a new law school. They formed the University of Louisville. The university grew quickly in the 1900s. It added new schools for liberal arts, graduate studies, dentistry, engineering, music, and social work.
In 1923, the university bought the land for what is now the Belknap Campus. The liberal arts and law schools moved there, but the medical school stayed downtown. The Belknap Campus was named after a family who helped the school. In 1926, Grawemeyer Hall, an important building, was constructed.
In 1931, the university opened the Louisville Municipal College for Negroes. This was a separate school for Black students. It was closed in 1951 when the university became desegregated. During World War II, UofL was one of many colleges that helped train Navy officers. Later in the 20th century, schools for business, education, and justice administration were added.
Joining the State University System: 1970–Present
In the 1960s, there was talk of UofL joining Kentucky's public university system. As a city-funded school, it faced money problems. Moving to the state system would help with funding and make tuition more affordable. In 1970, the university officially joined the state system. This was largely thanks to Kentucky Governor Louie Nunn, who was a UofL graduate.
The first years in the state system were challenging. Enrollment grew very fast, but funding was often not enough. However, new programs like nursing and public affairs were still added.
John W. Shumaker became president in 1995. He was very good at raising money, greatly increasing the school's funds. He also hired Tom Jurich as athletics director. Jurich improved the sports programs and built new athletic facilities on campus. Academically, UofL improved its student retention and research funding.
James R. Ramsey, the 17th president, continued to grow the university's funds. He also focused on making the Belknap Campus more beautiful. He started projects to paint overpasses and plant trees. Under Ramsey, the university's research funding from the government doubled. The graduation rate also increased significantly.
In 2016, there were changes in leadership at the university. The governor made changes to the board of trustees, and President Ramsey stepped down. The university faced some challenges with its accreditation agency but later resolved them. In 2017, the university had some public issues, including problems with its foundation's spending. The men's basketball team also faced penalties from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) due to rule violations. The head coach, Rick Pitino, was later fired.
From 1895 to 2016, a statue called the Confederate monument stood on the Belknap Campus. Due to public discussion, the statue was moved to Brandenburg, Kentucky, in late 2016.
Kim Schatzel became the University of Louisville's 19th president on February 1, 2023.
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Explore UofL's Campuses
The University of Louisville has three main campuses in the Louisville area: Belknap, Health Science, and Shelby. It also has an International Campus in Panama City, Panama.
Belknap Campus: The Main Hub
The Belknap Campus was acquired in 1923 and is the school's main campus. It is located south of downtown Louisville. Seven of the university's 12 academic colleges are here. You can see a famous statue, The Thinker by Auguste Rodin, in front of Grawemeyer Hall. Some of the original buildings from when the campus was an orphanage are still used.
The Belknap Campus has grown a lot recently. Old factories and parking lots have been replaced with new buildings. These include L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium for football and Cardinal Park for other sports. New dorms like Bettie Johnson Apartments and Kurz Hall have also been built.
Other interesting places on Belknap Campus include the Rauch Planetarium and the Covi Gallery of the Hite Art Institute. The final resting place for former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis and his wife is also here. The Speed Art Museum, a private museum, is next to the campus and works with the university.
The university has bought more land around the Belknap Campus for future growth. This includes plans for new student housing and a research park for engineering and applied sciences.
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Student Activities Center and Clock Tower.
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Belknap Campus from the Eastern Parkway overpass.
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Rauch Planetarium.
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Lutz Hall, home to several departments.
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Shumaker Research Building and Belknap Academic Building.
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New Projects on Belknap Campus
In 2009, the university shared its plans for the next 20 years. These plans included a new student recreation center, more residence halls, and academic buildings. Improvements were also made to roads and pedestrian areas around campus. The KFC Yum! Center, a practice facility for basketball and volleyball, was completed in 2007.
A new Student Recreation Center opened in October 2013. Several new student housing buildings, like The Province and Cardinal Towne, have been built near the campus. The university is also renovating athletic facilities. This includes an $8 million academic center at Cardinal Stadium and expansions for Jim Patterson Stadium (baseball) and Dan Ulmer Stadium (softball).
Health Sciences Campus: Medical Innovations
The University Health Sciences Center, also called the Med Campus, is located east of Downtown Louisville. It is part of a medical area with other hospitals. This campus houses five of the university's colleges, including the medical school. It has been used continuously since 1846. Important buildings here include the Medical Research Tower and the University Hospital.
New buildings for cardiovascular and biomedical research have been completed. Faculty and students also work with nearby hospitals like Norton Children's Hospital. They also have outreach programs in other parts of Kentucky.
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Cardiovascular Innovation Institute.
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The university's Medical Research Tower.
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Baxter Research Building on the Health Sciences Campus.
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University Hospital Medical Plaza, completed in June 2008.
Developing the Health Sciences Campus
The Health Sciences Campus has seen many new developments. Three new buildings, the Baxter Research Complex, Cardiovascular Research Tower, and Jackson Street Medical Plaza, have been completed.
In 2007, Louisville announced plans for a nine-acre medical research park. This park, now called the Nucleus Research Park, aims to have a million square feet of research space. Nucleus, Kentucky's Life Science and Innovation Center, helps develop this research park. The project is expected to cost $300 million.
Shelby Campus: Eastern Louisville Location
The Shelby Campus is about 230 acres and is located in Eastern Louisville. This campus was once a different college from 1961 to 1969. After that college closed, its assets were transferred to UofL. Currently, it has three buildings used for night classes and seminars. A new biosafety facility, the Center for Predictive Medicine, is also being built here.
The Shelby Campus is also home to the Information Technology Resource Center (ITRC). The ITRC does research for homeland security and offers training in emergency preparedness. The campus is undergoing major renovations to develop parts of it for business and research use.
International Campus: Learning Abroad
The University of Louisville has a campus in Panama City, Panama. This campus offers an MBA program. It is ranked as one of the best MBA programs in Latin America. The university also offers professional MBA programs in other parts of the world, like Athens, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
Other UofL Facilities
Louisville also operates the Moore Observatory in Oldham County. This is an astronomical observatory used for studying space. There are also plans to buy land in Oldham County for the school's equine (horse) program.
Academics at UofL
The University of Louisville offers many different degrees. Students can earn bachelor's degrees in 70 subjects, master's degrees in 78, and doctorate degrees in 22. In 2018, UofL spent $176 million on research and development.
Through its School of Medicine and University Hospital, Louisville is known for medical breakthroughs. These include the world's first self-contained artificial heart transplant in 2001. They also performed the world's first successful hand transplant in 1999.
UofL's Schools and Colleges
The university has 12 main schools and colleges:
- College of Arts and Sciences (1907)
- College of Business (1953)
- College of Education and Human Development (1968)
- Graduate School (1918)
- J. B. Speed School of Engineering (1925)
- Kent School of Social Work (1936)
- Louis D. Brandeis School of Law (1846)
- School of Dentistry (1887)
- University of Louisville School of Medicine (1837)
- School of Music (1932)
- School of Nursing (1979)
- School of Public Health and Information Sciences (re-established in 2002)
UPS Tuition Help and Metropolitan College
UPS offers a special program called Metropolitan College. This program helps UofL students who work overnight at Worldport, the company's air hub in Louisville. It provides full tuition reimbursement. Students also get money for books and bonus checks if they do well in school.
Honors Program for Top Students
The university has an honors program for high-achieving students. New students can apply if they have a strong high school GPA and good test scores. Students in the honors program get benefits like early class registration. They also have smaller class sizes and special study abroad opportunities.
UofL Libraries
The University of Louisville has a large library system. The main library is the William F. Ekstrom Library, which opened in 1981. It was expanded in 2006 and can hold over 1.3 million books. It is one of only five universities in the U.S. with a robotic system to retrieve books.
There are five other libraries at the university:
- Archives and Special Collections
- The Margaret M. Bridwell Art Library
- Dwight Anderson Memorial Music Library
- Kornhauser Health Sciences Library
- Brandeis Law School Library
Student Life at UofL
Where Students Live: Residence Halls
The university has 12 housing options on its campuses for students:
- Belknap Village North
- Belknap Village South
- Bettie Johnson Hall
- Billy Minardi Hall
- Cardinal Towne (with restaurants on the first floor)
- Community Park
- Denny Crum Hall (named after a former basketball coach)
- Herman & Heddy Kurz Hall
- Louisville Hall
- Unitas Tower (named after football player Johnny Unitas)
- University Pointe
- University Tower Apartments
Student Media and Entertainment
The university has an independent student-run weekly newspaper called The Louisville Cardinal. It was founded in 1926 and has been financially and editorially independent since 1980.
Inside the university's Student Activities Center is the Floyd Theatre. This movie theater shows films for students.
Greek Life: Fraternities and Sororities
There are over 20 Greek letter organizations (fraternities and sororities) on campus. About 14% of undergraduate men and 11% of undergraduate women are part of UofL's Greek system.
Notable People from UofL
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The University of Louisville has more than 144,000 alumni around the world. Many famous people have graduated from UofL. These include:
- A winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Theatre (Marsha Norman)
- NFL stars like Johnny Unitas and Lamar Jackson (a Heisman Trophy winner)
- A Majority Leader of the United States Senate (Mitch McConnell)
- The first female director of the CIA (Gina Haspel)
UofL Athletics: The Cardinals
The University of Louisville's sports teams are called the Cardinals. They compete in NCAA Division I and are part of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) since 2014. UofL has 21 varsity sports teams. These include baseball, basketball, football, soccer, and volleyball for men and women.
The Cardinals are very well known for their men's basketball team. They have won national championships and made many Final Four appearances. The team is also known for its large fan attendance. The men's basketball program faced penalties from the NCAA in 2017 due to rule violations.
Other Cardinal teams have also become nationally recognized. The women's basketball team, coached by Jeff Walz, has reached the NCAA championship game multiple times. The volleyball team has won conference championships. The baseball team has also made appearances in the College World Series.
Many Louisville games are shown on local TV in Kentucky.
See also
In Spanish: Universidad de Louisville para niños
- McConnell Center
- Metro-College
