Although New York University is neither the city's oldest nor most prestigious university (those honors go to the Ivy League Columbia University on the Upper West Side), it is definitely the most popular, as well as the biggest one. It is located in a very vibrant area of downtown Manhattan, with its campus organically interacting with urban life, and not secluded as most American university campuses. With more than 20 schools, colleges and institutes, the overall area on which the NYU buildings stand is 930,000 square meters. Although the main cluster of buildings are found around Washington Square Park, on the territory between Houston Street, Broadway, Sixth Avenue and Eighth Street, there are a few buildings that are located on blocks going up to 14th Street and a couple in the borough of Brooklyn.
NYU is a private university, despite its name. It was founded in the middle of 19th century after US Secretary of Treasury Albert Gallatin realized that New York, America's biggest, most prosperous and fastest growing city, needed an academic institution that would admit young men according to their merit, not class. With the financial support of the city's leading bankers and merchants the institution was formalized and the first classes were held in rented rooms near New York City Hall. NYU's first professional school was the School of Law, which today leading university rankings place at sixth place among all world law schools. Unlike most American universities established in the 19th century, NYU is a non-denominational university, meaning that it does not adhere to the tenets of any particular religious subgroup, such as Catholic or Protestant. Its motto is Perstare et praestare, whichm translated from Latin to English, means "to persevere and to excel." The university's logo is the upheld torch, which, alluding to the Statue of Liberty, symbolizes NYU's commitment to the city of New York and to liberal values.
In the beginning the institution was called the University of the City of New York. The name was officially changed - by popular habit and demand - to New York University in 1896. By that time it not only had its Washington Square campus, but also one in the Bronx. Today there are NYU schools and departments in Paris, Shanghai and Abu Dhabi. Besides the Law School, NYU's other renowned schools and colleges are the College of Dentistry, the Leonard N. Stern School of Business, the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and the Tisch School of the Arts.
NYU's overall ranking depends on the authority. Nationally, it is ranked between 13th and 32nd, whereas globally its score ranges between 17 and 41, although some fields such as international law, social sciences and psychology are in the top ten. The university boasts 35 Nobel Prize winners, 16 Pulitzer Prize winners and 30 Academy Award winners, among others.
Among NYU's famous alumni are former New York mayor Rudi Giuliani, filmmaker Martin Scorsese and former director of the International Atomic Energy Agency Mohamed ElBaradei.