Washburn University

Washburn University (WU) is a public university in Topeka, Kansas, United States. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and business. Washburn has 550 faculty members, who teach more than 6,100 undergraduate students and nearly 800 graduate students. The university's assets include a $158 million endowment. History Washburn University was established at Topeka, Kansas, in February 1865 as "Lincoln College", by a charter issued by the State of Kansas and the General Association of Congregational Ministers and Churches of Kansas; the land on which the college stood was donated by abolitionist John Ritchie. The institution was renamed "Washburn College" in 1868, after Ichabod Washburn pledged $25,000 to the school. Washburn was a church deacon, abolitionist, and industrialist who lived in Worcester, Massachusetts. Washburn College adopted a variation of the Washbourne arms as its emblem, substituting the school colors for the tinctures of the arms. Since becoming a university, however, Washburn has abandoned use of the family arms. Instead, the university now employs a stylized "W" as the emblem of the institution. The school mascot, "The Ichabod", is still in use. "The Ichabod" honors the namesake and early benefactor of the institution, Ichabod Washburn. "The Ichabod" existed only in name until 1938, when alumnus (and later prominent graphic artist) Bradbury Thompson (B.A., 1934) created the studious-looking, tailcoat-wearing figure the university uses today. The athletic teams are nicknamed "Ichabods", although women's teams did not use that nickname until the 2013–14 school year.