<p>The term has come to connote notions academic elitism and ignorance. Definition from the Oxford English Dictionary:
Explanation from Wikipedia:
In Christian tradition, the term Ivory Tower is a symbol for noble purity. It originates from the Song of Solomon (7,4) (“Your neck is like an ivory tower”) and has also been later used (among others) as an epithet for Mary in the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary (“tower of ivory”).</p>
<p>Today, the term usually describes a metaphysical space of solitude and sanctity where most writers and scientists reside. The first reference to this meaning can be found in the texts by Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve, a French literature critic and author approximately in the mid-19th century. He used the term “tour d’ivoire” to describe an attitude of an author towards what happens around him and in his texts. “Living in an ivory tower” usually depicts an intellectual who lives only for his work and doesn’t care much about, or is ignorant of, or thought to have made insufficient efforts to understand the social and political consequences of it, concentrating his or her entire efforts on the quest for what they perceive to be scientific or artistic truths.</p>
<p>The current usage is considered to come from the appearance of the Hawksmoor Towers, twin creamy-white gothic towers at All Souls College, Oxford, the only pure research college at Oxford. </p>
<p>Thus, there are two meanings mixed together: mockery of an absent-minded savant and admiration of someone who is able to devote his or her entire efforts to a noble cause (hence “ivory”, a noble material). The term has a rather negative flavor today, the implication being that specialists who are so deeply drawn into their scientific fields of study that they often can’t find a lingua franca with “normal” people outside their “ivory towers”. Moreover, this problem is often ignored and instead of actively searching for a solution, most scientists simply accept that even educated people can’t understand them and live in literal isolation.</p>
<p>Academic elitism, a tendency to seclude oneself in an “ivory tower”, is often considered to be a problem among scientists.
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<p>The name was a pet name for the new building used by the university president. It stuck ever since. The only way a building’s name will change is if somebody donates a ton of money.</p>
<p>This president must possess a broad base of knowledge in the fields of english literature and semantics!</p>
<p>Speaking of academic elitism lol the irony…</p>
<p>That was an overstatement. The definition of the term “Ivory Tower” is widely known.</p>
<p>Did they name the dorm like this on purpose?</p>
<p>No, I think it was a pet name that went too far. Somebody in housing must of REALLY liked the pun… I live in the building now. It’s a really nice building (as it should be with its name). An example of upperclassmen GW living: full kitchen (fridge, microwave, stove, dishwasher, dining table, chairs), common room with furniture included (sofa, arm chairs, coffee table, side tables, tv stand), two bedrooms for 4 people and two bathrooms.</p>