Public Ivies

Public Ivy is a term first used by the writer William Faulkner to describe the University of Virginia, where he served as Writer-In-Residence from 1957 to 1962. It was used in the context of comparison to the eight prestigious Ivy League universities in the northeast. Since at least the 1980s, there has been more than one university referred to in this way.

Related Topics:
William Faulkner - University of Virginia - 1957 - 1962 - Ivy League - Northeast - 1980s

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The idea was then expanded upon by Richard Moll in his book entitled, The Public Ivies: America's Flagship Undergraduate Colleges (1985, ISBN 0670582050). According to Moll, a Public Ivy is a public university or college that provides the collegiate experience of the prestigious Ivy League schools, but at a more reasonable price. Moll was the director of admissions at the University of California, Santa Cruz and traveled the nation examining higher education and in particular, the select few public institutions with the feel of an Ivy League university. A later book entitled, THE PUBLIC IVIES: America's Flagship Public Universities (2001, ISBN 0060953624) by Howard and Matthew Greene

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of Greene's Guides included a few more universities than the first book (although the original list of institutions is considered by many to be closed, forever associating these eight schools with the prestigious moniker "Public Ivy").

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From Moll (1985), listed alphabetically:

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• College of William and Mary
• Miami University
• University of California
• University of Michigan
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• University of Texas at Austin
• University of Vermont
• University of Virginia

From Greene's Guides (2001), additional schools listed alphabetically:

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• Indiana University
• Ohio State University
• Pennsylvania State University
• Rutgers University
• State University of New York
• University of Colorado
• University of Florida
• University of Illinois
• University of Maryland, College Park
• University of Washington
• University of Wisconsin

Greene also later expanded on this idea, and compiled a list of Hidden Ivies, Thirty Colleges of Excellence.

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The Public Ivies have some attributes that all or most of the actual Ivy League cannot match. For instance, the University of Virginia – together with Monticello – is internationally recognized as a World Heritage Site, while no member of the Ivy League can say the same. The University of California, Berkeley regularly outpaces the entire Ivy League in graduate science education and research output. The College of William and Mary is older than any university in the Ivy League save one (Harvard University).

Related Topics:
University of Virginia - Monticello - World Heritage Site - University of California, Berkeley - College of William and Mary - Harvard University

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Note: The athletics programs at some of the Division I-A public universities on this list generate a large amount of television revenue for the universities they represent, which provides a large incentive for these student athletes to receive scholarships for their athletic prowess. Ivy League games, which for football are in the lower Division I-AA, are typically not televised and therefore generate very little revenue for the schools involved. Although amateur athletics are practiced at all universities in the United States, the public universities named here award athletic scholarships to their college athletes. This is not allowed in the Ivy League, where even the athletes must pay their own way.

Related Topics:
Division I-A - Division I-AA

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Public Ivies: See also ►