University of Rochester

The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It enrolls approximately 6,800 undergraduates and 5,000 graduate students. Its 158 buildings house over 200 academic majors. With approximately 28,000 full-time employees, the university is the largest private employer in Upstate New York and the 7th largest in all of New York State. The College of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering houses some of the college's departments and divisions. The Institute of Optics was founded in 1929 and is regarded among the premier optics programs in the world. The Departments of Political Science and Economics have influenced positivist social science since the 1960s. The Department of Chemistry is noted for its contributions to synthetic organic chemistry, including the first lab-based synthesis of morphine. The Rossell Hope Robbins Library serves as the university's resource for Old and Middle English texts and expertise. The university is also home to Rochester's Laboratory for Laser Energetics, a national laboratory supported by the US Department of Energy. Rochester alumni, faculty, and affiliates include recipients of 13 Nobel Prizes, 13 Pulitzer Prizes, 45 Grammy Awards, and 20 Guggenheim Fellowships. The University of Rochester traces its origins to The First Baptist Church of Hamilton (New York), which was founded in 1796. The church established the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York, later renamed the Hamilton Literary and Theological Institution, in 1817. This institution gave birth to both Madison University and the University of Rochester. Its function was to train clergy in the Baptist tradition. When it aspired to grant higher degrees, it created a collegiate division separate from the theological division. The collegiate division was granted a charter by the State of New York in 1846, after which its name was changed to Madison University. John Wilder and the Baptist Education Society urged that the new university be moved to Rochester, New York.