University Laboratory High School, or
Uni, was established in 1921 and is a
laboratory schoolFor the school located at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, see Louisiana State University Laboratory School
For the school located at Tarlac City, Philippines, see Laboratory School ...
located on the engineering part of the campus of the
University of IllinoisThe University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a public research university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the oldest and largest campus in the University of Illinois system....
. Its enrollment is approximately 300 students, spanning five years (the traditional grades
9Ninth grade is the ninth post-kindergarten year of school/education. Usually, it is the first year of upper secondary school and the students are 13 to 15 years of age.-Australia:...
-
12Twelfth grade is the North American name for the final year of secondary school in most countries after which students usually graduate at age 17 or 18. In some countries, there is a Thirteenth grade while other countries do not have a 12th grade/year at all....
, preceded by a composite 7th and 8th grade year known as the "subfreshman" year). The school is notable for the achievements of its alumni, including three Nobel laureates and a
Pulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by Hungarian-American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City....
winner; in 2006 and 2008 it was recognized as a "public elite" school by
NewsweekNewsweek is an American weekly newsmagazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
because of its students' high scores on the
SATThe SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board, a non-profit organization in the United States, and was once developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service...
..
University Laboratory High School, or
Uni, was established in 1921 and is a
laboratory schoolFor the school located at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, see Louisiana State University Laboratory School
For the school located at Tarlac City, Philippines, see Laboratory School ...
located on the engineering part of the campus of the
University of IllinoisThe University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a public research university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the oldest and largest campus in the University of Illinois system....
. Its enrollment is approximately 300 students, spanning five years (the traditional grades
9Ninth grade is the ninth post-kindergarten year of school/education. Usually, it is the first year of upper secondary school and the students are 13 to 15 years of age.-Australia:...
-
12Twelfth grade is the North American name for the final year of secondary school in most countries after which students usually graduate at age 17 or 18. In some countries, there is a Thirteenth grade while other countries do not have a 12th grade/year at all....
, preceded by a composite 7th and 8th grade year known as the "subfreshman" year). The school is notable for the achievements of its alumni, including three Nobel laureates and a
Pulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by Hungarian-American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City....
winner; in 2006 and 2008 it was recognized as a "public elite" school by
NewsweekNewsweek is an American weekly newsmagazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
because of its students' high scores on the
SATThe SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board, a non-profit organization in the United States, and was once developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service...
.. Until the recent SAT testing changes the total SAT scores varied from year to year ranging from 1400 to 1450.
Funding and Relationship to the University of Illinois
Although Uni is located in territory belonging to the Urbana School District, it is not operated by the school district, nor does it receive any property tax revenue from this or any other district. Public funding comes only through the statewide per-pupil distribution financed in the Illinois state budget. Additional funding comes from donations by alumni and parents of current students. Enrollment is competitive, rather than being dependent upon residency in a particular district.
For many years, Uni was funded by the
University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignThe University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a public research university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the oldest and largest campus in the University of Illinois system....
as a place to experiment with educational curricula, but the University of Illinois withdrew most of its support in the early 1980s. The "laboratory" aspect persists in certain classes. An experimental math course was taught in the early 2000s and teachers continue to experiment in small, creative ways with their courses to adapt to each grade of sixty students. The relationship to the University also imparts a number of other benefits on Uni's students. The proximity to the University campus provides a stimulating political climate, and access to the University's library system is equivalent to that of any undergraduate. The high school library is a branch of the University library system and for this reason has been called "the largest high school library in the world." Additionally,
Kenney GymKenney Gym is a 5,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Urbana, Illinois, on the campus of the University of Illinois. The arena opened in 1890 and was originally known as the Men's Gym Annex....
, the University's old men's gymnasium, is used by Uni for both physical education and as practice and game space for the volleyball and basketball teams. While access to certain facilities that are supported by student fees (such as the ARC recreation center) is not granted to Uni students, who are not assessed these fees, the school's relationship with the University of Illinois allows students over the age of 15 with sufficiently high grades to enroll in courses at the University. Credit earned in this manner may then be applied to future study at the university level.
Admissions and Academics
Students apply to enter Uni as part of the incoming "subfreshman" class, which completes a year at the 7th and 8th grade level before continuing on to the 9th grade. Roughly 60 students are admitted each year, keeping the school's total enrollment near 300 students. Admission decisions are based on previous academic history, extracurriculars, a personal statement, and a student's scores on the
Secondary School Admission TestThe Secondary School Admission Test, or SSAT, is an admissions test administered to students in grades 5-11 to help determine placement into independent or private junior high and high schools...
. Students may apply during their 6th or 7th grade years. Because the subfreshman year combines two years of middle school into one year, and because many students enter at the ages of 12 and 13, many Uni students graduate at 16 or 17. For this reason, some students then choose to wait a year before enrolling in college. Whether immediately after graduation, or a year later, the vast majority of students go on to enter a four-year college or university.
Interscholastic Competition
Uni has had numerous successes in interscholastic competitions, including competitive chess (administered by the
Illinois High School AssociationThe Illinois High School Association is one of 52
1 state high school associations in the United States, designed to regulate competition in most interscholastic sports and some interscholastic activities at the high school level. It is a charter member of the National Federation of...
) and academic competitions.
Chess
The school's chess team has won the IHSA's team chess tournament seven times (1978, 1979, 1986, 1991, 1992, 1994, and 2009) and has been runner-up three times (1976, 1980, 1989). During the school year, the team participates in the
East Central Illinois Chess League, a conference consisting of twelve schools from the central part of Illinois.
WYSE Academic Challenge
Since 1997, Uni has been an annual participant in the University of Illinois'
Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering Academic Challenge, which consists of a series of tests in various academic fields, including biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering design, english, mathematics, and physics. The competition is open to high schools in Illinois and Missouri. For nine consecutive years from 1998 to 2006 and also from 2008 to 2009, Uni was the state champion in the smallest division (enrollment under 300). In 2007, Uni competed in the next larger division and placed 2nd, despite the school's smaller enrollment in the 9th through 12th grades.
Athletics
Though Uni is not well-known for its sports teams, it does offer five sports for boys (Cross Country, Soccer, Basketball, Tennis, and Track & Field) and six sports for girls (Cross Country, Swimming, Volleyball, Basketball, Soccer, and Track & Field). The cross country and track teams have sent competitors to the state finals on numerous occasions. In girls track & field, Uni has two third place finishes (1985, 1990) and one second place finish (1991). In cross country, Uni has, in addition to appearances by individuals in other years, had 16 girls teams and 9 boys teams qualify for the state finals, with two third place finishes by the girls (1988, 1991) and one third place finish by the boys (1995) .
Notable Alumni and Faculty
Uni has many
famous alumni, including three
Nobel PrizeThe Nobel Prize is a Sweden-based international monetary prize. The award was established by the 1895 will and estate of Swedish chemist and inventor Alfred Nobel. It was first awarded in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace in 1901...
laureates:
- Philip W. Anderson (class of 1940), for physics in 1977
- Hamilton O. Smith
Hamilton Othanel Smith is an American microbiologist and Nobel laureate.Smith was born on August 23, 1931, and graduated from University Laboratory High School of Urbana, Illinois. He attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, but in 1950 transferred to the University of California,...
(class of 1948), for medicine in 1978
- James Tobin
James Tobin was an American economist who in his lifetime, had served on the Council of Economic Advisors, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and had taught at Harvard and Yale Universities. He developed the ideas of Keynesian economics, and advocated government intervention to...
(class of 1935), for economics in 1981
Other notable alumni include
- Iris Chang
Iris Shun-Ru Chang was an American historian and journalist. She was best known for her best-selling 1997 account of the Nanking Massacre, The Rape of Nanking. She committed suicide on November 9, 2004...
(class of 1985), best-selling author
- Theodore Gray
Theodore W. Gray is one of the founders of Wolfram Research and is currently Wolfram's Director of User Interface Technology.He created a wooden periodic table with compartments for each of the elements...
(class of 1982), a co-founder of Wolfram Research and winner of the Ig Nobel PrizeThe Ig Nobel Prizes are a parody of the Nobel Prizes and are given each year in early October for ten achievements that "first make people laugh, and then make them think"...
for chemistry in 2002
- Tina Howe
Tina Howe is an American playwright. She is the daughter of CBS broadcast journalist Quincy Howe, the granddaughter of biographer Mark Antony DeWolfe Howe and the great-granddaughter of the first Episcopal Bishop of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Howe graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in ...
(class of 1955), American playwright best known for Painting ChurchesPainting Churches is a play written by Tina Howe, first produced Off-Broadway in 1983. It was a finalist for the 1984 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play concerns the relationship between an artist daughter and her aging parents.-Plot:...
and Coastal DisturbancesCoastal Disturbances is a play by Tina Howe, which premiered Off-Broadway in 1986 and transferred to Broadway. It received a Tony Award nomination as Best Play.-Production history:...
; the latter received a Tony Award nomination for best play in 1987
- Shamit Kachru
Shamit Kachru is a string theorist who is a professor of physics at Stanford University and at Stanford Linear Accelerator Center . He is the son of the Kashmiri scholar Braj Kachru...
(class of 1987), string theoryString theory is a developing branch of theoretical physics that combines quantum mechanics and general relativity into a quantum theory of gravity...
specialist at Stanford UniversityThe Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university located in Stanford, California, United States...
- Francine Patterson
Dr. "Penny" Patterson is an American researcher who claims to have taught a modified form of American Sign Language which she calls "Gorilla Sign Language" or, GSL to a gorilla named Koko....
(class of 1964), teacher of Koko (gorilla)Koko is a lowland gorilla who, according to Francine 'Penny' Patterson, is able to understand more than 1,000 signs based on American Sign Language, and understand approximately 2,000 words of spoken English...
the gorilla who can sign 1000 words and understand the sign of 2000 words
- Mary Murphy Schroeder (class of 1958), Chief Judge
A judge, or arbiter of justice, is a lead official who presides over a court of law, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is like an umpire in a game and...
of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitThe U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a U.S. Federal Court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Alaska* District of Arizona...
- George Will
George Frederick Will is a Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper columnist, journalist, and author.-Education and early career:Will was born in Champaign, Illinois, the son of Frederick L. Will and Louise Hendrickson Will...
, Pulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by Hungarian-American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City....
-winning columnist
- Chris Butler, a member of the history faculty, developed a flowchart
A flowchart is a common type of diagram, that represents an algorithm or process, showing the steps as boxes of various kinds, and their order by connecting these with arrows...
-based approach to learning history, which aims to emphasize the causal relationships between historical events as much as the significance of the events themselves. In 2000, his work was recognized by the American Historical Society, which awarded him the AHA Beveridge Family Teaching Award.
- Max Beberman, a member of the math faculty from 1950-1971, contributed to the development of New Math
New Math was a brief, dramatic change in the way mathematics was taught in American grade schools, and to a lesser extent in European countries, during the 1960s. The name is commonly given to a set of teaching practices introduced in the U.S...
.
Erika HaroldErika Harold was Miss America 2003, having qualified for the pageant by being selected Miss Illinois 2002. Her official platform was "Preventing Youth Violence and Bullying: Protect Yourself, Respect Yourself." This platform choice was said to have grown out of personal experience; she recounts...
, who won the 2003
Miss AmericaThe Miss America pageant is a long-standing competition which awards scholarships to young women from the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...
pageant, briefly attended Uni, but was a graduate of Urbana High School in Urbana, Illinois.
The Wylde Q. Chicken Award
The Wylde Q. Chicken Award, sponsored by the graduating class of 1972, was first awarded in 1998 and is meant to recognize "spontaneous creativity," "unbidden originality," and "extraordinary acts in ordinary circumstances." It is awarded annually at the end of the school year; recipients are chosen by a panel of judges from the class of '72. Previous winners have included a series of promotional posters for the 50 states in the first floor restrooms, the staging of the American Revolution in comic strip form, and a
Gilbert and SullivanGilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian era partnership of librettist W. S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
-style adaptation of Shakespeare's
MacbethThe Tragedy of Macbeth, commonly just Macbeth, is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
.
Agora Days
Another example of creative freedom is Agora Days, a four-day school week in late February when students, parents, faculty, alumni and friends of the school can teach hour-long classes about a wide range of topics. Students are required to take a number of academic-oriented classes, but classes based on playing sports and watching films or TV series also exist. Students have the same eight-hour schedule on each of the four days.
External links