CINCINNATI, UNIVERSITY OF

public, coeducational institution of higher learning in Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. A comprehensive research and arts university, it offers undergraduate and graduate study in business, applied science, engineering, education, social work, nursing, design, architecture, arts, and sciences. Professional programs are available at the Cincinnati College of Law, the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, and the College of Pharmacy. The university's College-Conservatory of Music offers training in composition, performance, theory, and musical history and education. There are three two-year branch colleges of the university. Total enrollment exceeds 34,000. The university began in 1819 as the Cincinnati College and the Medical College of Ohio. In 1870 the city of Cincinnati established it as a university, which became a state university in 1977. University research has produced the oral polio vaccine, the electronic organ, the first antihistamine, and antiknock gasoline. William Howard Taft, U.S. president and Supreme Court chief justice, and Charles G. Dawes, Nobel Peace Prize recipient, both graduated from the law college. Other notable alumni include architect Michael Graves, basketball player Oscar Robertson, author Thomas Berger, and opera singer Kathleen Battle.