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Article: Ivy League
- Article from:
- Dictionary of American History
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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IVY LEAGUE
IVY LEAGUE
was coined in 1937 by a newspaper columnist to describe football competition at ivy-covered northeastern universities. The term came to identify eight prestigious private American universities that admit less than 20 percent of their applicants and require an academically rigorous curriculum. Their alumni often enter highly influential and lucrative careers. Once overwhelmingly male, white, and Protestant, they now enroll a diverse student body by recruiting cultural, ethnic, racial, and religious minorities. Seven of the eight were established as colonial colleges: Harvard, Congregational, was established at Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1636; Yale, Congregational, ...