standards. All grade levels and subject areas have specific benchmarks and content standards that measure successful student outcomes and achievements. Girard is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. It also holds membership in the National Association of Independent Schools, the Association of Boarding Schools, and the Coalition for Residential Education. Virtually all of Girard's graduates are accepted into accredited colleges and universities, with approximately 95% continuing to higher-education institutions, a percentage far higher than most public high schools in the School District of Philadelphia. Founder's Hall Founder's Hall at Girard College (1833–1847) is considered one of the finest examples of American Greek Revival architecture, for which it is designated a National Historic Landmark. School founder Girard specified in his will the dimensions and plan of the building. Nicholas Biddle (1786–1844) was chairman of the School's building committee, banker and financier, and president of the later revived and reorganized Second Bank of the United States in Philadelphia. Girard's will demanded an architectural competition for the school's design. Endowed with his $2-million contribution, the 1832 competition was the first American architectural competition to participate nationally. The winning architect was Thomas Ustick Walter (1804–1887). After the Girard commission, Walter designed the dome of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. He returned to Philadelphia and became an assistant architect on the City Hall and, in 1857, a founding member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Founder's Hall was the school's original classroom building. It has three main floors, each measuring . The plan for each floor, according to Stephen Girard's specifications, consists of a front hall, four 50 ft. square rooms with 25 ft. ceilings arranged two-by-two, and a back hall the same size as the front hall. The scale of the spaces was impressively large when the building first opened. Resulting from his association with architect Walter, Nicholas Biddle hired him in 1834 to convert the Biddle country seat, Andalusia, in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, from a large Pennsylvania farmhouse into an exemplary domestic Greek-Revival structure. Notable alumni Graduates (or, in some cases, former students) of Girard College include: Lawrence Cunningham, author and professor Eugene Daub 1960, sculptor Harry Davis, former Major League Baseball player Joseph Hallman 1998, composer, musician Al Harker, 1934 FIFA World Cup and professional soccer player Richard Harris, Alaska pioneer involved in the founding of Juneau, Alaska George Hegamin, former National Football League