UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA Founded on 40 acres of land donated by a saloon-keeper and Today, the University of Arizona is one of the top 20 research two gamblers, and funded by a $25,000 consolation prize in universities in the nation and has played a part in groundbreaking Tucson’s competition for the Territorial capital, the University of projects ranging from the exploration of Mars to the development Arizona rose from the desert floor of the true old West. Nobody of new cancer treatments and pioneering breakthroughs in heart wanted it, and fewer believed it would last. Fortunately, they were transplantation. UA’s observational, theoretical and space astronomy wrong, and the bet laid down by E.B. Gifford, Ben C. Parker and programs have been ranked No. 1 in the country by the National W.S. “Billy” Read on Nov. 27, 1886, has paid off into one of the Science Foundation (NSF) and recent other rankings placed 17 of the finest research institutions in the world. university’s graduate programs among the top 20 in the nation. In When the first 32 students arrived at the only building on addition, the Nobel Prize, three Pulitzer Prizes and the National Medal campus in 1891, they began a tradition that has now entered its of Science have been bestowed upon Arizona educators. third century. The hitching posts for horses required to reach the Not to be forgotten, the University’s undergraduate programs edge of town may be gone, but “Old Main” remains as witness to continue to flourish. The NSF considers Arizona to be one of the the University’s growth into a 400-acre Research I institution with 10 universities that best integrates teaching and research for nearly 200 buildings, more than 38,000 students, and a faculty undergraduates. The NASA-funded space grant program pays and staff of 12,000. undergraduates to work in laboratories alongside faculty, and the Arizona’s first university is the largest employer in Pima Undergraduate Biology Research Program includes 43 departments, County and the fourth-largest in Arizona with a payroll of half involves 240 faculty sponsors and funds 140 undergraduate their mark on the world. Other notable ex-Wildcats include Native a billion dollars. The UA offers more than 325 degree fields in a researchers annually. The Eller College of Management and the American artist Fritz Scholder, the late astronaut Richard Scobee, THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA OF UNIVERSITY THE dozen different colleges and another similar group of specialized McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship are rated in the global top television fitness personality Denise Austin, Arizona Supreme Court schools. 10 by Finance Times. The University was named in an Elite 50 list of Justice Stanley G. Feldman, August Busch III, the CEO of Anheuser- It’s hard to believe that in the early days there were more institutions for academically-minded athletes last year. Busch Inc., Phoenix Suns general manager Steve Kerr, former students in the preparatory department finishing the equivalent UA’s top-notch programs develop top-name graduates who have Boston Globe publisher Richard Gilman, and noted national sports of high school than there were University students. The number continued on to success in their respective fields. The UA boasts a broadcasters Dan Hicks, Tom Tolbert and Sean Elliott. of University graduates never reached more than 10 per year until laundry list of graduates who have significantly impacted society. The UA also plays host to the world, with students representing a decade of rapid expansion beginning in 1910, which saw the From the late U.S. Congressman Morris K. Udall to Joan Ganz Cooney, all 50 states and 130 countries. Nearly a quarter of the student Territory become a state and the small outpost in the Sonoran founder of the Children’s Television Workshop, to Emmy Award body consists of under-represented racial and ethnic groups, Desert grow into a true educational institution. winning actor/comedian Garry Shandling, UA graduates have made and the campus is located in one of the most diverse locations in the country, with the influence of Native American and Mexican cultures evident throughout the Tucson community. The University of Arizona is in its third century of service with a continued commitment to providing support to its undergraduate population. Recently completed and current construction projects are testaments to the fact that the UA is dedicated to continued progress. The Integrated Learning Center, located underneath the grass Mall in the middle of campus, provides a home base for freshmen, with classrooms and offices for easier access to faculty and staff. The Student Union embraces the ambience of the Southwest with shaded terraces and open-air walkways, and provides numerous services such as the bookstore, technology center and varied restaurants that serve the UA community. The SALT (Strategic Alternative Learning Techniques) Center enhances aid to students with learning disabilities. The Eddie Lynch Athletics Pavilion includes a strength training center, medical services center, and the Jim Click Hall of Champions — a museum to showcase Arizona Athletics heritage and tradition. This commitment to excellence ensures that the University of Arizona will continue to grow from its auspicious beginnings as a single-building outpost in the desert into a world-renowned center for knowledge and research well into the next century. 192 www.arizonawildcats.com ARIZONA TUCSON, Situated in the heart of Southern Arizona, Tucson is a city of The world-famous Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, with its rich Tucson has held fast to its small-town ambience, despite stunning contrast and diversity. From the broad desert valley of collection of desert wildlife and vegetation is another popular explosive growth. Historic sites compete with new resort- world-famous saguaro cacti to 9,000-foot mountain forests of visitors’ destination. Tucson is a two-hour drive from Tombstone, minded centers for nighttime entertainment and shopping, and pine trees and snow, the city stands at a crossroads geographically a two-hour drive from Phoenix, four hours from Mexico’s Gulf of the University constantly holds the center of the city’s attention and culturally. California coast, 70 miles from border city Nogales and within with its athletics and cultural activities. In the metropolitan Tucson area, a population of just over one hours’ drives from several major international bird-watching Phoenix is a two-hour drive to the north and is home to NBA, million is spread along a main valley floor of some 20 miles between areas. World-class astronomy facilities on four nearby mountain NFL, NHL and Major League Baseball franchises. Further north mountain ranges to the east and the west and into the foothills ranges also attract visitors and specialists alike. lie international attractions like the Grand Canyon, Sedona, the nestled against the backdrop of the Santa Catalina range to the In addition to its natural attractions, Tucson features a wide Painted Desert, Monument Valley and Lakes Powell and Mead. north, Rincon to the east and Tucson Mountains to the west. On any range of cultural experiences. From the first Native American Las Vegas is only a seven-hour road trip away, as are San Diego of the 350 days of sunshine per year, the Santa Rita Mountains can inhabitants to the earliest Spanish settlers to the current winter and other Pacific beach cities. be seen some 65 miles to the south between Arizona and Mexico. visitors, each group of people left its mark on Tucson. Native The nights are always cooler in the desert after a splendid It’s just a 40-minute drive to the top of Mt. Lemmon, American, Mexican and American Southwest influences are sunset or a mid-afternoon dousing from a summer monsoon. the southernmost ski resort in the United States, affording prevalent throughout the city. The Mission of San Xavier del Bac, That’s when Tucson’s small-town attitude and big-city potential winter activities on the same day as a golf game or any myriad located just nine miles from campus on the Tohono O’odham reveal themselves in the nighttime entertainment. From cultural recreational opportunities in the area. Outdoor activities are Nation, is one of the original missions built by the Spanish events at the UA’s Centennial Hall or the Temple of Music and Art, the norm with hundreds of miles of hiking and biking trails, missionaries, and the artist colonies of Tubac and Bisbee are to the hot spots for a youthful population, there are activities to highlighted by Sabino Canyon which showcases the beauty of within a few hours drive as well. engage most any interest. the desert with river-guided trails leading into the mountains. Continuously settled for more than 12,000 years – the oldest The melding of the city’s diverse influences makes Tucson an The Sonoran Desert provides a unique setting. Far from the such settlement in the United States-- Tucson has grown from a ideal choice as a home, a vacation spot and a business magnet. Saharan sand dunes that most first-time visitors expect, the desert small Native American village into one of the Sunbelt growth cities With a population that includes college students, families of boasts a wide range of wildlife and vegetation. An afternoon of the 21st century. It is one of the premier astronomy and optics all backgrounds and thriving groups of young professionals and drive through the Saguaro National Park with its world-famous centers in the world, an important health sciences center and home retirees, Tucson is a city with something for everyone. display of saguaro cacti highlights the unique beauty of the area. to a renowned research institution in the University of Arizona.