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Saint Louis University

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Saint Louis University
File:Saintlouisuniversityseal.jpg
MottoAd Majorem Dei Gloriam (Latin: To the Greater Glory of God)
TypePrivate
Established1818
AffiliationRoman Catholic (Jesuit)
EndowmentUS$832.5 million
PresidentLawrence Biondi, S.J.
Academic staff
1,002
Undergraduates7,421
Postgraduates4,402
Location
St. Louis
,
Missouri
,
USA
CampusUrban, 244 acres [1]. Frost Campus. Medical Center Campus. Madrid Campus.
MascotBilliken
Websitehttp://www.slu.edu/


Saint Louis University is a private, co-educational Catholic Jesuit university in the United States located in St. Louis, Missouri. It is the oldest university west of the Mississippi River.

It has a current enrollment of 11,823 students, making it the 4th-largest Jesuit University in the United States. [2]. The university provides undergraduate, graduate and professional programs.

History

Saint Louis University traces its origins to the Saint Louis Academy which was founded on 16 November 1818 by the Most Reverend Louis Guillaume Valentin Du Bourg, Bishop of Louisiana and the Floridas, and placed under the charge of the Reverend François Niel and others of the secular clergy attached to the Saint Louis Cathedral. In 1820 the name Saint Louis Academy was changed to the Saint Louis College. In 1827 Bishop Du Bourg placed it in the care of the Society of Jesus, not long after which it received its charter as a university by act of the Missouri Legislature. [3]

Saint Louis University is the oldest university west of the Mississippi River and the second-oldest Jesuit college in the nation. (Only Georgetown University has been in existence longer.) It is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. The high school, which was founded along with it, was originally located in DuBourg Hall on the SLU campus but moved to its own campus in the 1920s.

The first M.D. degree awarded west of the Mississippi was conferred by Saint Louis University in 1836.

During the early 1940s, many local priests, especially the Jesuits, began to challenge the segregationist policies at the city's Catholic colleges and parochial schools. Saint Louis University opened its doors to African Americans in 1943 after its president, Father Patrick Holloran, secured the approval of St. Louis Archbishop John J. Glennon.

For over thirty years the university has maintained a campus in Madrid, Spain with a student body of around 1000. The Madrid campus was the first freestanding campus operated by an American university in Europe and the first American institution to be recognized by Spain's higher education authority as an official foreign university.

DuBourg Hall serves as the administration building for Saint Louis University.

Since 1953, the university has had a distinctive research resource in the Vatican Film Library, created through initiatives taken by Fr. Lowrie Daly, S.J. and generously supported by the Knights of Columbus. External scholars are able to apply for NEH Research Fellowships to gain access to the microfilmed manuscript collections. These fellowships are administered by Saint Louis University's Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies.

In the early 1970's, the campus was the site of an emerging new stream of Bible-based liturgical music that has enjoyed a worldwide impact. The composers were known as The St. Louis Jesuits. After a twenty-year hiatus, they released a new album in the fall of 2005.

The university was ranked 77th by U.S. News & World Report in their list of the best U.S. colleges for 2007, placing it among the top five Catholic institutions in the United States. [4]

More than 100 doctors from Saint Louis University's physician practice, SLUCare, were ranked among the best doctors in St. Louis in 2006 by St. Louis Magazine. [5]

The University has long supported the arts, with several museums on campus including the Museum of Contemporary Religious Art, the Saint Louis University Museum of Art, and Cupples House.

Academics

Colleges and Schools

Additional programs

Campus

Libraries and Museums

Saint Louis University has 4 libraries. Pius XII Memorial Library is the general academic library. It holds over 1 million books, 6,000 journal subscriptions, and 140 electronic databases. The Knights of Columbus Vatican Film Library holds a unique collection of microfilm focusing on the manuscripts housed in the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana. The Omer Poos Law Library houses the law collection and is within the School of Law. The Medical Center Library serves the health and medical community at SLU.

The University also has several museums, including the Museum of Contemporary Religious Art.

Housing

Saint Louis has both dormitory and apartment space on-campus. As part of the Freshman Year Experience (FYE) program, resident freshman students live in one of four freshman-only buildings for their first year, after which point they are able to live anyplace else on campus.

FYE Options

The Griesedieck Complex (also known as "Gries", pronounced "greez") contains 14 stories of living space in its main building, with additional dorm space in its two wings, Walsh and Clemens. Gries is located in the heart of the campus, in front of the quad, and has an average freshman living space, 10' 7.5" by 18' 2", with community showers and bathrooms. Reinert Hall, named after Jesuit Father Paul C. Reinert, is located two blocks south of the main campus in a converted hotel; sometimes referred to as "the Island." Where the building lacks in location it makes up for in living space, containing some of the largest dormitories across the country, 12' 1" by 27', complete with private full baths in each room. Reinert also has access to a private pool and 24-hour in-building study/meeting rooms.

Upperclassman Options

Several housing choices exist for sophomores, juniors and seniors. SLU does not have Greek houses on campus; however, DeMattais Hall acts as a Greek dormitory and de facto community House. Next to DeMattais Hall is Marguerite Hall, which offers 8 floors of suite-style two-occupancy dorm rooms. Continuing up West Pine Mall, is Notre Dame Hall. While many honors students choose to live here, it is upperclassmen housing open to all students. Another dorm option is Fusz Hall, catercorner to the University's Clocktower. It contains a food court.

Grand Forest, the Village, and the Marchetti Towers are the apartment options available. Because of its proximity to the stadium, many student-athletes live in Grand Forest. Similarly, the Village, just across from DeMattias, houses many Greeks. The Village is also very close to the local SLU bars -- Humphrey's and Laclede's -- making it an especially popular location for juniors and seniors. The Marchetti Towers is just west of Grand Forest and consists of two, 12-story towers. It is very popular with sophomores coming out of FYE housing, though it also has a strong junior and senior population.

Major Building and Renovation Projects

Edward A. Doisy Research Center

SLU is currently building a $67 million, 10-story tall research building that will connect to its Medical Campus Building. It is designed to be a green building and is named for Edward Adelbert Doisy, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate of 1943 and a long-time faculty member at SLU's medical school.[1] With improvements to other research building facilities, the total cost of the project is forecasted to be around $80 million.

Chaifetz Arena

The planned multi-purpose arena, whose construction began on August 28, 2006, [2] and is expected to cost $80 million, will contain more than 10,000 seats, a training facility, state of the art locker rooms, and a practice facility that can house an additional 1,000 spectators. It will be located on the eastern-most end of campus, just north of I-64. The arena will replace the Scottrade Center as the University's primary location for large events, notably Commencement celebrations and varsity sports. On February 28 2007, the arena was named in honor of University alumnus (1975) Dr. Richard A. Chaifetz, who made a $12 million naming rights gift to the Arena.[6]

Recreation Center

Also beginning at the end of the Summer 2006 will be a massive renovation of the Simon Recreation Center. The overhaul, which was approved by SLU's Student Government Association on May 3, 2006, will convert a parking lot located under the building into additional workout space and be funded by an annual $100 fee to students. The project is expected to be completed by the end of the Fall semester 2006, with early estimates of its total cost hovering around $7 million.

Athletics

Main article: Saint Louis Billikens
File:Stl 2606.gif

Soccer

Main articles: Saint Louis University Men's Soccer and Saint Louis University Women's Soccer

The men's soccer team has won 10 national titles (1959-60, 1962-63, 1965, 1967, 1969-70, 1972-73), the most in NCAA Men's Soccer Championship history. SLU also holds the record for most NCAA Tournament appearances with 43. Several Billikens have gone on to play professionally, including Shane Battelle, Brad Davis, Vedad Ibisevic, Brian McBride, Matt McKeon, Dipsy Selolwane, Mike Sorber, Joe Clarke, Bob Madison, Jack Jewsbury, Tim Ward, and Will John. The soccer team plays at Hermann Stadium on campus. Legion 1818 is the official supporters group for the team.

The women's soccer program has also made great strides since its founding in 1996. Under the tutelage of coach Tim Champion, the Billiken women made their NCAA Tournament debut in 2005, knocking off Stanford before falling to perennial power Santa Clara in the second round. The women's team made a return appearance to the NCAA Tournament in 2006, earning a first round bye.

Basketball

Main article: Saint Louis University Men's Basketball

In the 1948-1949 the Billikens were ranked first in the first AP basketball poll. Ed Macauley of the Basketball Hall of Fame and SLU won the NIT championship in 1948 and have played in that 18 times and the last time being 2004. Larry Hughes of the Cleveland Cavaliers played one season at SLU in the 1997-1998 season, where he was selected as the consensus national Freshman of the Year. They have made the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament in 1952, 1957, 1994, 1995, 1998, and 2000. The Billikens are currently coached by Brad Soderberg. Here is the List of Head Men's Basketball Coaches at Saint Louis University. The BLUE CREW is the official student cheering section at the Men's Billiken Basketball games. The Mens team currently plays at the Scotttrade Center, formerly known as the Savvis Center.

The Saint Louis University Pep Band, under the direction of Michael Beczkala, PhD., plays at all home men's and women's basketball games. With over 100 members, this is one of the largest student organizations on campus; part of its unique nature is the large number of alumni who are active members of the group. Made up of brass, woodwinds, and a rhythm section including percussion and electric bass, the SLU Pep Band is arguably one of the best pep bands in the country. SLU currently plays their basketball games at the Scottrade Center but is presently proceeding on development of a new 10,000-seat arena on the Frost campus which will bring games a lot closer to the resident student body. Construction will start by September 2006 and the arena should be ready for the 2008-2009 season.

The widespread NCAA conference realignment affected the Billikens, as they made the move from Conference USA (which was created by a merger between the Metro and Great Midwest Conferences) to the Atlantic 10 on July 1, 2005. This became the sixth conference affiliation for SLU since 1937. Through the years, SLU has been affiliated with the Missouri Valley Conference (1937-1974); the defunct Metro Conference (1975-1982); the Midwestern Collegiate Conference, now known as the Horizon League (1982-1991); and the defunct Great Midwest Conference (1991-1995).

Ice Hockey

SLU had a hockey program for nearly the entire decade of the 1970s, until the program ended in 1980. The current team began play for the 1996-1997 season and is a member in the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) and fields a Men's Division 1 team in the Central States Collegiate Hockey League (CSCHL). When needed, SLU hockey also has the option to field a D2 team to give a place to student-athletes to develop their skills and enjoy ice hockey as a team sport. The team plays home games at the Summit Center in Chesterfield Missouri but The University is planning to build The Saint Louis University Ice Pavilion.

Other Sports

  • Baseball

In 2006, the Billiken baseball team earned the program's first NCAA Tournament berth since 1966 by winning the Atlantic 10 Tournament. SLU’s most successful baseball team of all time was the 1965 squad, which qualified for the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the College World Series.

  • Tennis

The Billiken tennis team has had many good seasons over the years, especially during their hey-day during 1981-1984. Mario Barreta, Marco Molinari, Bill Hornbarger, Scott Howell, Lee Blount, and Marc Braekel were among the prominent Billiken players during this era.

  • Volleyball

The women's volleyball team qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 2006 by winning the Atlantic 10 Tournament, marking the program's first-ever NCAA appearance and its first post-season bid since earning a spot in the 1995 National Invitation Tournament.

  • SLU does not have a football team. The university did field a club-level football squad during the late 1960s and early 1970s. SLU's football team threw the first legal forward pass in football history. Eddie Cochems, the Saint Louis University coach, was the first to use the forward pass in 1906.

Student Life

File:UniversitasSum02.jpg
A feature article about the Presidential Scholars in the Summer 2002 edition of Universitas, a SLU publication.

Student Organizations

Saint Louis University has a large number of student organizations that cover a variety of interests: student government, club sports, organizations focused on media and publications, performing arts, religion and volunteerism and service. A current list can be found here on the university's website.

Non-Greek Student Groups

Greek Life

Saint Louis has 12 fraternities and five sororities on-campus whose members represent approximately 20% of the student body.

Fraternities
Sororities

Notable moments

  • 1903 -- Theodore Roosevelt attends a Latin disputation at Saint Louis University. It is a "Grand Act" (a defense covering Philosophy and Theology) given by Spanish Jesuit Fr. Joachim Villalonga in celebration of the centennial of the Louisiana Purchase.
  • 1906 -- Bradbury Robinson throws the first legal forward pass in the history of American football to Jack Schneider, under the direction of SLU coach Eddie Cochems (September 5, 1906, against Carroll College of Waukesha).
  • 1943 -- Professor of Biochemistry Edward Adelbert Doisy shares (with Henrik Dam) the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on Vitamin K, which he had isolated in a pure form in 1939.
  • 1949 -- Jesuit Priests from SLU assist a boy believed to suffer from demonic possession. The boy's experience serves as the basis of the documentary In The Grip Of Evil and is dramatized in the film The Exorcist.
  • 1967 -- First lay incorporation of a Jesuit university in the United States. The membership of the Board of Trustees went from 13 Jesuit priests to 18 lay members and 10 Jesuits. Fr. Paul Reinert, S.J., yielded the chairmanship to Daniel L. Schlafly. (Reported in Time magazine, February 3, 1967: "A Louder Voice for Laymen.")
  • 2003 -- The unranked SLU basketball team upsets #2 Louisville at the Savvis Center. Louisville had the nation's longest winning streak at the time.
  • 2006 -- Cardinal Sfeir, Patriarch of the 12-15 million-member Maronite Catholic Church and one of the most important figures in the Middle East, was bestowed with Saint Louis University's highest honor, the Sword of Ignatius Loyola, on June 30, 2006. [3]

Notable graduates

Academia


The Arts

Politics


Science

Sports

  • Pat Leahy -- played soccer at SLU but was a placekicker for the New York Jets from 1974 to 1990
  • Ed Macauley (1949) -- NBA Hall of Famer
  • Brian McBride -- Only American to score in more than one FIFA World Cup tournament, doing so once in 1998 (vs. Iran), and twice in 2002 (game-winners vs. Portugal and Mexico). He is also SLU's all-time leading goal-scorer and held the freshman scoring record until 2003, when he was surpassed by Vedad Ibisevic.
  • Jerry Trupiano -- Red Sox Radio Broadcaster
  • Larry Hughes -- NBA Basketball player - student but never graduated, was drafted after his freshman year into the NBA by the Philadelphia 76ers.

Miscellaneous

  • August Busch IV Current President and CEO of the Anheuser-Busch Company
  • Jack Boehm Former President and CEO of Valvoline Oil Company.
  • Thomas Anthony Dooley (M.D. Saint Louis University Medical School, 1958) -- humanitarian who worked in Southeastern Asia; author of Deliver Us from Evil, The Edge of Tomorrow, and The Night They Burned the Mountain.
  • Thomas J. Farrell (B.A. 1966; M.A. 1968; Ph.D. 1974) -- "Man of the Year" according to the SLU student newspaper in May 1969 is the author of Walter Ong's Contributions to Cultural Studies (2000) and senior editor (with Paul A. Soukup, S.J.; SLU B.A. 1973) of An Ong Reader (2002).
  • John Kaiser, M.H.M. (B.A. 1960) -- Mill Hill Missionary died under suspicious circumstances while serving in Kenya. Received an Award for Distinguished Service in the Promotion of Human Rights from the Law Society of Kenya prior to his death.
  • Trafford P. Maher, S.J. (B.A. 1937; M.A. 1939) -- with a grant from the American Jewish Committee, researched material that was used by the Second Vatican Council in documents on ecumenism and relationships with non-Christians.
  • Mev Puleo (B.A. 1985) -- theological educator, photojournalist and social activist.
  • Dave Senay (B.A.) -- President and CEO of Fleishman-Hillard International Communications.
  • Rex Sinquefield (B.A.) -- Co-founder and co-chairman of Dimensional Fund Advisors; president of the Show-Me Institute.
  • Sister Rose Thering, O.P. (Ph.D. 1961) -- Dominican nun whose campaign against anti-Semitism in Catholic textbooks is the subject of the Oscar-nominated 39-minute documentary film directed by Oren Jacoby, Sister Rose's Passion.

Notable Faculty

Past

  • Marshall McLuhan -- (1937-1944) well-known for coining the expressions "the medium is the message" and the "global village".

Present

  • Dr. Thomas Alan Shippey -- Author and former faculty member of Oxford University, where he taught Old English. Widely considered one of the leading academic scholars of J.R.R. Tolkien.
  • Dr. Eleonore Stump -- Author of Aquinas (The Arguments of the Philosophers), as well as The Cambridge Companion to Augustine and The Cambridge Companion to Aquinas. She is the Robert J. Henle, S.J. Professor of Philosophy and is one of the foremost Analytical Thomists.
  • Dr. Belden C. Lane -- Author of Landscapes of the Sacred: Geography and Narrative in American Spirituality. His academic interests include American religion and spirituality, focusing particularly on the connection between religion and geography.

See Also

Citations

  1. ^ SLU Press Release:SLU Research Building Named in Honor of Nobel Laureate Following $30 Million Gift
  2. ^ SLU Press Release:Saint Louis University Announces Arena Groundbreaking Date
  3. ^ SLU Press Release:Maronite Patriarch Receives SLU’s Sword of Ignatius Loyola
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