Saint Francis University

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Coordinates: 40°30′21.87″N 78°38′23.66″W / 40.5060750°N 78.6399056°W / 40.5060750; -78.6399056
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Saint Francis University
TypePrivate, Catholic
Established1847
Endowment$19.8 million[1]
PresidentGabriel Zeis
Academic staff
241
Undergraduates2,000
Postgraduates600
Location
Loretto, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, and Ambialet, France
CampusRural, 600 acres (2,428,095 m²)
Athletics21 teams
ColorsRed and White    
NicknameRed Flash
Websitewww.francis.edu

Saint Francis University is a four-year, coeducational Catholic liberal arts university in Loretto, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1847 and conducted under the tradition of the Franciscan Friars of the Third Order Regular. The university is situated on 600 acres (2.4 km2) in the forests and farmland of Loretto.

Overview

Located in Loretto, Pennsylvania, Saint Francis University enrolls approximately 1,700 undergraduate and 600 graduate students, of which 40% are male and 60% female.[2] The university offers 25 undergraduate and 7 graduate majors to its students including a Doctor of Physical Therapy.[3] The university maintains an average graduation rate of 61%.[2] Saint Francis University has 21 men and women's sports teams and competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 1 level.

The current president of the university is Fr. Gabriel Zeis, TOR.

Mount Assisi Friary, which is the former mansion of industrialist Charles M. Schwab, is on the grounds of Saint Francis University.

Also contained in the grounds is the main building for the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art which has a number of smaller facilities across the local region.

Immergrün Golf Course is a 9 hole course located on the campus of Saint Francis University. Immergrün has never been altered since it was built by Donald Ross for Charles M. Schwab in 1917.[4]

Also on the campus are The DiSepio Institute for Rural Health and Wellness[5] and the Center of Excellence for Remote and Medically Under-Served Areas (CERMUSA) a research and applied technology center.[6]

Saint Francis University also runs a campus at Ambialet, France.[7]

History

The John F. Kennedy Center

Saint Francis College was established in 1847 by six Franciscan Friars from Ireland who were given land in Loretto by Bishop Michael O'Connor to establish a school.[3] The University was one of the first Catholic Universities in the United States and the first Franciscan college in the nation. Although it originally only admitted males, it became one of the first Catholic Universities to become co-educational. Loretto is the site of the first English-language Roman Catholic Church established west of the Allegheny Front, in what is now the United States, by Demetrius Augustine Gallitzin in 1799.

In 2001, the Saint Francis College was accredited as university status and renamed to Saint Francis University.

DeGol Field
North Campus

Athletics

Athletically, St. Francis competes in the NCAA's Northeast Conference. Men's Volleyball competes in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA). Their mascot is the Red Flash. The University has a total of 21 varsity sports teams, with nine men's teams and twelve women's programs all competiting in NCAA Division I.

Notable alumni

John Handrigan Professional Golfer, semi pro hockey player

  • Charles M. Schwab - Industrialist
  • Captain Paul Boyton known as the Fearless Frogman, author, inventor, and a member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame. Boyton opened the first "permanent" amusement park in Chicago in 1894, Sea Lion Park on Coney Island, New York in 1895, and Chutes Park in San Francisco, California in 1895.
  • Brian Sell - Distance runner and member of the USA 2008 Olympic men's marathon team.[8]
  • Scott Layden - Former president and general manager of the New York Knicks NBA basketball team and former general manager of the Utah Jazz.[9]
  • Maurice Stokes - Basketball player (Basketball Hall of Fame)
  • Norm Van Lier - NBA Basketball player
  • Kevin Porter - Former American professional basketball player, held the record for the most assists in one game with 29 assists.
  • Calvin Fowler - 1968 Olympic Gold Medal as co-captain Men's Basketball, ABA professional basketball player.
  • Tony Bova - Pittsburgh Steelers 1942-1947. 1943 1st in NFL in yards per catch
  • Robert Conway - Vice Admiral United States Navy
  • Brennan Manning (christened Richard Francis Xavier Manning) - Popular Christian author (e.g., The Ragamuffin Gospel), friar, priest, contemplative, and powerful speaker.
  • Teresa S. Polley - President and Chief Operating Officer of the Financial Accounting Foundation, the organization responsible for the oversight, administration and finances of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB), and their Advisory Councils.
  • Dominic Joseph Mike Ryba - Known as the "One Man Team". He was a right-hander and played for the St. Louis Cardinals (1935–1938) and Boston Red Sox(1941–1946). He pitched in the 1946 World Series.[10]

See also

References

File:StFrancisRedFlash.png
St. Francis Red Flash logo
  1. ^ As of June 30, 2009. "U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2009 Endowment Market Value and Percentage Change in Endowment Market Value from FY 2008 to FY 2009" (PDF). 2009 NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments. National Association of College and University Business Officers. Retrieved February 9, 2010.
  2. ^ a b Saint Francis University Fast Facts
  3. ^ a b History of Saint Francis University
  4. ^ http://www.immergrungolfclub.com/
  5. ^ http://www.francis.edu/DiSepioInstitute.htm?ekmensel=c580fa7b_18_0_10778_6
  6. ^ http://www.cermusa.francis.edu/default.asp
  7. ^ http://www.francis.edu/France.htm
  8. ^ http://www.usatf.org/athletes/bios/Sell_Brian.asp
  9. ^ NBA.com Scott Layden
  10. ^ http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/rybami01.shtml?redir

External links

40°30′21.87″N 78°38′23.66″W / 40.5060750°N 78.6399056°W / 40.5060750; -78.6399056

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