Aquinas College (Michigan)
St. Bernard (dog) | |
Website | www |
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Aquinas College is a private
History
The Congregation of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart of the
In response to the need for their sister teachers to hold
In 1939, Catholic Junior College added a third year to its curriculum. The college began awarding four-year
In 1948 students instituted a chapter of the Dominican Third (Secular) Order (tertiaries; TOP). In May 1950 the outdoor Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima was dedicated, in memory of the members of Aquinas College who sacrificed their lives in the
The 1950s and 1960s were a period of great growth and construction and during them the college abandoned and sold the original campus on Ransom Street. In 1955 the new Administration Building, now the "Academic Building", was erected.[7]
In 1974 the college became legally independent of the Dominican Sisters of Grand Rapids. In 1975 the name of the athletic teams was changed from the "Tommies" to the "Saints", pursuant to a student poll, because African American members had been racially ridiculed as "Toms".[8]
In 1977 the college was accredited to award its first graduate degree, the Master's of Management in business, which was distinct from the conventional Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree awarded by other institutions because it was primarily based on the humanities and not mathematics.
Also in 1997, the college officially named its mascot, a
A marker designating the college as a Michigan Historic Site was erected by the Michigan History Division, Department of State in 1962.[10] The inscription reads:
Aquinas had its beginning in 1887 as the Novitiate Normal School of the Dominican Sisters of Marywood. In 1922 it became Marywood College of the Sacred Heart. When the college was moved downtown in 1931, it became the coeducational Catholic Junior College. It began operating as a four-year college in 1940 and was named in honor of the great medieval theologian and philosopher, Saint Thomas Aquinas. Aquinas is primarily a liberal arts college. It was moved to this campus, the former Lowe estate, in 1945.
Campus
The arboreal campus is in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The college has four dormitories: Dominican Hall, Hruby Hall, Regina Hall, and St. Joseph Hall. It also has five apartment buildings on campus and five "living learning communities", denominated "houses" on campus.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/33/Cook_Carriage_House.jpg/220px-Cook_Carriage_House.jpg)
Academics
Admissions statistics | |
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2021 entering class[11] | |
Admit rate | 89.0 (1,275 out of 1,432) |
Yield rate | 16.9 (216 out of 1,275) |
Test scores middle 50%[i] | |
SAT Total | 1000–1170 (among 45% of FTFs) |
ACT Composite | 20–25 (among 7% of FTFs) |
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The college has more than 2,000 undergraduate and graduate students and offers 61 majors,[12] awarding bachelor's degrees and master's degrees. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.[12] Its most popular undergraduate majors, in terms of 2021 graduates, were:[13]
- Business Administration & Management (39)
- Psychology (29)
- Liberal Arts & Sciences/Liberal Studies (26)
- Business/Corporate Communications (16)
- Speech Communication & Rhetoric (15)
- Biology/Biological Sciences (11)
- Elementary Education & Teaching (11)
Many graduates continue to graduate schools: approximately 90% of pre-medical students are accepted into medical schools. The opportunity to study away is a major attraction to many students, as many study for a semester at an international institution. Programs currently offered include: England, Spain, Italy, Ireland, France, Costa Rica, Germany, Japan, and Dominican Exchange (US). Short term faculty-led trips are also offered.
Aquinas is also becoming well known for its innovative and unique block schedule model. This one-class-at-a-time scheduling model allows students the flexibility to take one class every day for 3.5 weeks. After the 3.5 weeks, students receive a 4 day weekend, and then return to their next block, or next class. Students have seen improvement in their retention and persistence rates as well as received the benefit of more experiential, real world learning.<Block Scheduling | Aquinas College>
Administration
The college is headed by a president and board of trustees.
The college's first administrator was Monsignor Bukowski, for whom its chapel is named. In February, 1969, Norbert J. Hruby succeeded Bukowski as president. Hruby Hall, an administrative building and residence hall on campus, bears his name. Aquinas's third president, Peter D. O’Connor, served from 1986 to 1990. R. Paul Nelson served as the fourth president from 1990 to 1997 followed by Harry J. Knopke from 1997 to 2006. On July 1, 2006, Provost C. Edward Balog was named interim president and he became the college's sixth president in May 2007; he retired on June 30, 2011. Juan Olivarez became the seventh president on July 1, 2011, and retired upon completion of the school year in the spring of 2017. Kevin Quinn was the eighth president and left mid-term. Steve Germic served as the interim president until July, 2022 when President Alicia Cordoba was elected. She is the ninth and current president of the college.
Student publications and radio
Publications:
- The Paraclete, a Catholic news and commentary publication;
- The Torch;
- "The Saint"
The student radio station is "AQ Sound".[14]
Athletics
The Aquinas athletic teams are called the Saints. The university is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) since the 1992–93 academic year.
Aquinas compete in 30 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, bowling, cross country, golf, ice hockey, lacrosse, rugby, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field and volleyball; while women's sports basketball, bowling, cross country, dance, golf, ice hockey, lacrosse, rugby, soccer, softball, stunt, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field and volleyball; and co-ed sports include cheerleading and eSports.
Notable people
This section needs additional citations for verification. (April 2013) |
Notable alumni
- Paul Assenmacher, professional baseball player[15]
- Governor of Guam
- Phil Cavanagh, member of the Michigan House of Representatives
- Clement Chiwaya, Malawian politician[16]
- sportscaster
- Bob Hay, songwriter and musician
- Dave Joppie, professional baseball coach
- Kenneth Marin, economist
- Patrick Miles Jr., former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan
- Godfrey Mwakikagile, writer and scholar of African studies
- Ardeth Platte, anti-nuclear activist
- Randy Richardville, member of the Michigan Senate
- Roy Schmidt, member of the Michigan House of Representatives
- Brad D. Smith, former CEO of Intuit, President of Marshall University[17]
- Glenn Steil Sr., member of the Michigan Senate[18]
- Shirley Weis, former chief administrative officer of Mayo Clinic[19]
- Brian Williams, sportscaster
- Michael Woroniecki, Christian missionary and street preacher
Notable faculty
- Andrew Bergeron, guitarist and member of the Folias Duo group[20]
- Mary Jane Dockeray, environmental educator[21]
- AnaLouise Keating, gender studies academic
- Carmen Maret, flutist and member of the Folias Duo group[22]
- Kenneth Marin, economist
- Gleaves Whitney, political scholar
References
- ^ "The Aquinas College Seal", accessed 12 January 2017.
- ^ Audits [dead link]
- ^ "Enrollment Fall 2022". National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Home Page. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
- ^ a b c Aquinas College, "1886–1939" Archived 16 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved 13 January 2017.
- ^ Aquinas College, "Heritage and Traditions", accessed 13 January 2017.
- ^ Aquinas College, "1940–1949", accessed 13 January 2017.
- ^ Aquinas College, "1950–1959" Archived 2017-12-16 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 13 January 2017.
- ^ a b Aquinas College, "1970–1979" Archived 2017-12-16 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 14 January 2017.
- ^ a b Aquinas College, "1990–1999" Archived 2017-12-16 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 14 January 2017.
- ^ "Michigan Historical Markers – Aquinas College". www.hmdb.org. Historical Marker Data Base. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
- ^ "Aquinas College Common Data Set 2021–2022" (PDF). Aquinas College. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
- ^ a b "Discover AQ". www.aquinas.edu. 28 July 2014. Archived from the original on 12 January 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
- ^ "Aquinas College". nces.ed.gov. U.S. Dept of Education. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
- ^ "AQ Sound". 28 January 2015.[permanent dead link]
- ^ ESPN, "Paul Assenmacher Profile", accessed 8 June 2015.
- ^ "Malawi Parliamentarian gives moving lecture at US College". Nyasa Times. 2012-10-29. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 2021-11-14.
- ^ "Brad D. Smith Aquinas College Masters Degree". May 11, 2010. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
- ^ "Glenn Steil obituary". Grand Rapids Press. May 11, 2010. Archived from the original on August 1, 2020. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
- ^ Anderson, Jake (April 17, 2013). "Mayo Clinic's chief administrative officer Weis to retire". MinnPost.
- ^ "Andrew Bergeron". Aquinas College. Retrieved 2024-06-29.
- mlive. Retrieved 2024-06-09.
- ^ "Carmen Maret". Aquinas College. Retrieved 2024-06-09.