Harvard University as students, faculty, or researchers. In addition, Harvard students and alumni have won 10 Academy Awards, 48 Pulitzer Prizes, and 108 Olympic medals (46 gold, 41 silver and 21 bronze). Harvard was established in 1636 by vote of the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In 1638, it acquired British North America's first known printing press. In 1639, it was named "Harvard College" after deceased clergyman John Harvard, an alumnus of the University of Cambridge, who had left the school £779 and his scholar's library of some 400 volumes. The charter creating the Harvard Corporation was granted
Harvard University be the first to be predominantly (50.8%) nonwhite. Harvard's undergraduate admission policies on preference for children of alumni has been criticized as favoring white, wealthy candidates. Admission is based on academic prowess, extracurricular activities and "personality" (judged subjectively by admissions officers who have not met the applicants), and it is alleged that this approach discriminates against Asians. Harvard is a large, highly residential research university. The university has been accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges since 1929. The university offers 46 undergraduate concentrations (majors), 134 graduate degrees, and 32 professional degrees. For the 2008–2009 academic year,