On Presidents’ Day, we’re usually too busy enjoying our long holiday weekend to put much thought into why we have a day off in the first place. So this year, we’re going to remind you in the only way The CollegeBound Network can—with a roundup of colleges and universities that are named after U.S. presidents.

Getting anything named after you is a pretty big deal, but the fact that some of the greatest schools in the country are named after some of the greatest presidents in history says a lot. (It also says we need to get working on electing a female president, but that’s for another blog). Take a look:

The George Washington University, Washington, DC. When President George Washington died in 1799, his will called for 50 of his shares in the Potomac Company to go towards financing a university in the District of Columbia. An act of Congress in 1821 created Columbian College, which, after changing names a few times, became George Washington University in 1904.

GW President Steven Knapp has said that President Washington sought a center of higher education that focused on open discussion and that brought people with different perspectives together. “We are a globalized version of the university that George Washington envisioned,” President Knapp has said. (Thanks to Menachem Wecker, writer and editor at George Washington Today, the university’s official news source, for that information)

Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia. The struggling Liberty Academy got back on its feet thanks to an endowment by President George Washington worth thousands of dollars in James River Canal stock. The school was renamed in his honor. (Years later, Confederate General Robert E. Lee was president of the college for a brief time beginning in 1865, and so that is why his name was later added as well.)

Jeffery Hanna, executive director of communications and public affairs at Washington and Lee wrote to us in an email, “In a letter to the trustees acknowledging the institution’s new name, Washington wrote, ‘To promote Literature in the rising Empire, and to encourage the Arts, have ever been amongst the warmest wishes of my heart.’ Generations of Washington and Lee students have been inspired by the first president’s generosity. The University prides itself not only on the uncommon educational experience that blends the liberal arts with professional programs, but also on its dedication to educating students for character and preparing them for the moral responsibilities they will face as citizens and leaders.”

Lincoln University of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Lincoln University, Pennsylvaia. The school got its start as the Ashmun Institute in 1854 but was named after President Abraham Lincoln in 1866. Lincoln would be very happy to know that this Pennsylvania college has always supported the education of African-Americans and now attracts highly diverse and international students to its campus. Notable Lincoln alumni include Langston Hughes, poet, and Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American U.S. Supreme Court Justice.

James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia. The mission statement of the school is: “We are a community committed to preparing students to be educated and enlightened citizens who lead productive and meaningful lives.” Seems like our 4th president would be proud of his namesake.

Here are some others:

Franklin Pierce College, Rindge, NH
Harry S. Truman College, Chicago, IL
Monroe College, Bronx and New Rochelle, NY
Roosevelt University, Chicago, IL
Truman State University, Kirksville, MO
Washington and Jefferson College, Washington, PA
Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO

Our list is by no means exhaustive. There are a number of other two-year and four-year colleges across the country named after presidents, not to mention graduate schools within universities, like the Clinton School of Public Service at the University of Arkansas.

Did we leave your school off our list? Leave a comment below and let us know what students on your campus are doing to make their presidential namesake proud. Happy Presidents’ Day!

–The CollegeBound Network