Established after the second Dark Age by Derf Espinoza, sponsored by Emperor Alexei the Unifier, on land granted to Duke Berin Todbrook for services to the empire. Derf Espinoza envisioned an institution for the further advancement of the sciences, a place where research could be conducted into the sciences, and where scientific principles could be taught to all who wished to learn them. Emperor Alexei consented, on condition that a full range of subjects be taught as well, including leadership, military theory, and public administration, so that the Empire could have the benefit of well-educated leaders and administrators. Other conditions included that no one would be given preferential treatment based on race, nobility, parentage, or gender, that Derf was allowed to teach theory of undeath but without lab practicals, and that Alexei himself had a scholarship fund he could dispense to deserving prospective students.

Toddbrook U is renowned for its sciences and engineering research, its public administration program (the program notes that Alexei himself, and later his daughter, grandson, and great-grandson, and eventually some of Tarahin's presidents, made a point to come once a month to lecture on current events), its Officers In Training Program (OITP, sponsored and overseen by key Chiefs of Staff in the imperial military), and its magical research, which is second only to Maginian University. Toddbrook U also has a thriving medical school, a growing history department, seminary and theology program, and classical and modern arts program. Recently, the university has recieved a grant from the Church of Harvest to sponsor four master chefs to teach a World Foods and Cooking advanced degree, which siphons into the Church of Harvest's vestment program.

Social life on campus includes a notable array of fraternities and sororities, social clubs, activity groups, and sports teams, including a dueling club sponsored by Father Itzhak Delorian of the Church of War, and an intramural debate team co-sponsored by the churches of Order and Vision. Traditional "student holidays" include Berrin Toddbrook day, Derf's day, Sleep day, and Reever day.

On Berrin Toddbrook Day, the students celebrate the family who administers their land by throwing a shellen party on the central quad, where everyone comes in paper-mache' shells decorated in festive themes. It is rumored that Emperor Hakim the Religious started this holiday himself while a student in the OITP. Contests are held for the best shells based on orriginality, size, comfort, and themes. In recent years, some actual shellens have protested this holiday as extremely racist.

On Derf's day, classes are cancelled, and a huge carnival is erected on the central quad. It is customary that the statue of Derf Espinoza is decorated by the fraternities the night before. The church of wealth usually sets up booths for sales of gnomish devices.

Sleep Day is not an official holiday, but it is planned a month in advance, and the students are absolutely useless on that day.

On Reever day, the fraternities dress as Reevers all day, talk in Reever dialect, and hold mock battles on the central quad.

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In these modern times, the University has drifted into a fairly typical composition of student body.

The engineering department is dominated by gnomes. The pure sciences are dominated by cephalans. Women's studies is mostly harpies. The drama department seems biased toward elven actors. The history department fights tooth & nail for a watcher professor, but none ever surface. Time faithful students dominate this field. The officer training program is known for its fierce minotaur drill sergeant. The major sports teams are dominated by large humanoids (ogres, trolls, larger goblins) or athletic animalmen (gymnastics is ruled by felinians; track is generally the province of cheetahmen, thracen, & deermen). The cheerleaders are split between nymphs (for their beauty) & halflings (for their taunts). Study abroad programs have to have two tiers: those for halfings & pseudohalflings & those for other races, lest footpads & shellens dominate the program. Vision faithful are predominant in the film department, & psionists are everywhere. The magic departments are, of course, dominated by magens. The more "shop" oriented classes, like metalworking & basketweaving, are dominated by dwarves. The choir gives preferential treatment to any nightingales.

At least two dorms are said to be haunted. One really is.

university characters

One of the school's minor stories is about the time a psionist student ate some bad mushrooms at a party and left an entire dorm tripping until morning. During that time, a few gifted students of Cosmos and a fifth-year Architecture student drew the following map of campus with all the names changed:

http://www.cornell.edu/maps/