Concept
The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The University of Idaho was the state's sole university for 71 years, until 1963. Its College of Law, established in 1909, was first accredited by the American Bar Association in 1925. It has an enrollment exceeding 12,000, with over 11,000 on the Moscow campus. The university offers 142 degree programs, from accountancy to wildlife resources, including bachelor's, master's, doctoral, and specialists' degrees, and accompanying honors programs. Certificates of completion are offered in 30 areas of study. At 25% and 53%, its 4 and 6 year graduation rates are the highest of any public university in Idaho, and it generates 74 percent of all research money in the state, with research expenditures of $100 million in 2010 alone. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity". As a land-grant university and the primary research university in the state, U of I has the largest campus in the state at , in the rolling hills of the Palouse region at an elevation of above sea level. The school is home to the Idaho Vandals, who compete in NCAA Division I athletics. In addition to the main campus in Moscow, the U of I has branch campuses in Coeur d'Alene, Boise, and Idaho Falls. It also operates a research park in Post Falls, and dozens of extension offices statewide. Timeline of the University of Idaho On January 30, 1889, Governor Edward Stevenson of the Idaho Territory signed the territorial legislature's Council Bill No. 20, which officially established the UI as the upcoming state's land-grant institution. Nearly four years later, the university opened for classes on October 3, 1892. The choice of location for the University of Idaho was an "Olive Branch of Peace" by Gov. Stevenson for his actions in styming the nearly successful effort to detach the north Idaho Panhandle and join the state of Washington.
