University of Denver

On March 3, 1864 the university was founded as the Colorado Seminary by John Evans, the former Governor of Colorado Territory, who had been appointed by President Abraham Lincoln. John Evans is the namesake of Evans Avenue (which bisects the DU campus and runs through the Denver metro area), Mount Evans (a 14,264 foot mountain visible from DU), and the city of Evanston, Illinois (the site of Northwestern University, founded by Evans prior to his founding of DU).Evans founded the school to help civilize the newly created (1858) city of Denver, which was little more than a mining camp at that time.
As a co-educational institution, according to College Board, under a competitive standard, the average admitted applicant is at his or her top 25% of their graduating class.
The reverse initials "DU" are used as the university's shorthand moniker (rather than the more intuitive "UD") as part of a Rocky Mountain and midwestern tradition of initial reversal, similar to the University of Colorado's "CU", the University of Tulsa's "TU", the University of Oklahoma's "OU", the University of Nebraska's "NU", the University of Missouri's "MU", and the University of Kansas' "KU."