In 1831, Albert Gallatin, the distinguished statesman who served as secretary of the treasury under Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, declared his intention to establish “in this immense and fast-growing city … a system of rational and practical education fitting for all and graciously opened to all.”

Founded in 1831, New York University is now one of the largest private universities in the United States. Of the more than 3,000 colleges and universities in America, New York University is one of only 60 member institutions of the distinguished Association of American Universities. From a student body of 158 during NYU’s very first semester, enrollment has grown to more than 50,000 students at three degree-granting campuses in New York City, Abu Dhabi, and Shanghai, and at study away sites in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North and South America. Today, students come from every state in the union and from 133 foreign countries.

NYU’s leadership team is dedicated to fulfilling the University’s educational mission and research enterprise, to advancing a vision for the University’s future, and to sustaining its tradition of academic excellence.

New York University has grown into one of the nation’s leading institutions of higher education, a dynamic and prominent research university that is “in and of the city” with an academic presence that spans the globe.

Universities are among the most enduring of human institutions.  They owe their longevity, in part, to their ability to reflect upon long range goals and their tradition of carefully and successfully balancing present considerations with future concerns. These initiatives will shape the University in ways that will permit following generations of scholars, students, administrators, and staff to carry the University further still.