Stanford University

Establishment and Early Years - Founded in 1885 by Leland and Jane Stanford - Opened in 1891 on Stanford's Palo Alto farm - Modeled after Cornell University in New York - Early faculty members were former Cornell affiliates - Embraced accessible, non-sectarian education for both men and women Campus and Architecture - Campus occupies 8,180 acres - Architectural style inspired by early Spanish adobe houses - Buildings feature one-story design, deep window seats, and open fireplaces - Roof covered with dark red tiles - Designed by renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted Expansion and Professional Schools - Stanford University School of Medicine established in 1908 - Law department transitioned into a professional law school in 1908 - Stanford Graduate School of Education became a professional graduate school in 1917 - Stanford Graduate School of Business founded in 1925 - The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace started in 1919 Influence on Silicon Valley - Frederick Terman encouraged engineering graduates to start their own companies - Stanford Industrial Park established in the 1950s - William Shockley, co-inventor of the silicon transistor, founded Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory - Presence of high-tech and semiconductor firms contributed to the establishment of Silicon Valley - Terman and Shockley are considered the fathers of Silicon Valley Achievements and Notable Affiliations - Stanford has won 131 NCAA team championships, the most of any university - Stanford students and alumni have won at least 296 Olympic medals - Affiliated with 58 Nobel laureates, 29 Turing Award laureates, and 8 Fields Medalists - Successful in attracting funding for start-ups, with alumni-founded companies producing over $2.7 trillion in annual revenue - Alma mater of U.S. President Herbert Hoover, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Rishi Sunak, 74 billionaires, and 17 astronauts