One of the oldest colleges in the country, Washington and Lee University (W&L) was founded in 1749 and is named after George Washington (who bequeathed the school its first major endowment) and Confederate general Robert E. Lee (a former president of the institution). The highly ranked liberal arts school in Lexington, Virginia is attended by more than 2,300 students who take courses in about 40 major areas including public policy, politics, international studies, physics, and biochemistry. The university has more than 200 faculty and a student-to-faculty ratio of 9:1. Former US Supreme Court Justice and W&L alumni Lewis F. Powell donated his personal and professional papers to the university's prestigious law school.