Saint Louis University
President Fred Pestello | | |
Provost | Michael Lewis | |
---|---|---|
Academic staff | 2,022[3] | |
Administrative staff | 6,000[4] | |
Students | 15,204[3] | |
Undergraduates | 8,502[3] | |
Postgraduates | 6,702[3] | |
Location | ||
Campus | Urban – 273 acres (110.5 ha)[5], 47 acres (19 ha) | |
Colors | Blue and white[6] | |
Nickname | Billikens | |
Sporting affiliations | NCAA Division I – A-10 | |
Website | www | |
Saint Louis University (SLU) is a
In the 2023–2024 academic year, SLU had an enrollment of 15,204 students. The student body included 8,502 undergraduate students and 6,702 graduate students that represent all 50 states and 96 countries.[3] The university is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".[9]
For more than 50 years, the university has maintained a campus in Madrid, Spain.[10] 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.
SLU's athletic teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I and are a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference.[11]
History
Early years
Saint Louis University traces its origins to the Saint Louis Academy, founded on November 16, 1818, by
Already having a two-story building for the 65 students using Bishop Dubourg's personal library of 8,000 volumes for its printed materials, the name Saint Louis Academy was changed in 1820 to Saint Louis College (while the secondary school division remained Saint Louis Academy, now known as St. Louis University High School).[citation needed] In 1827 Bishop Dubourg placed Saint Louis College in the care of the Society of Jesus. Not long after that, it received its charter as a university by act of the Missouri Legislature.[7]
According to William Faherty, the first Jesuit president of St. Louis College, Peter Verhaegen, was a key leader in building Catholicism in the West from his arrival 1823 to his death in 1853. He kept frontier needs in mind while designing the curriculum, intensified the school's Catholic life, established a medical department, and moved the school to a bigger campus.[12] It included Protestants among its faculty, student body, and supporters. It introduced evening adult programs, and taught poor boys with city funding.[13]
University beginnings and American Civil War
In 1829, the new university moved its campus to Washington Avenue and Ninth, today the site of
In 1852 the university and its teaching priests were the subject of an anti-Catholic novel, The Mysteries of St. Louis, which was written by newspaper editor Henry Boernstein. Boernstein's popular newspaper, Anzeiger des Westens, routinely criticized the university.[17]
In 1867, after the
The first building on campus, DuBourg Hall, began construction in 1888, and the college officially moved to its new location in 1889.[citation needed] Construction of the new St. Francis Xavier College Church began on 8 June 1884. The basement of the church was completed later that year and was the location for liturgical functions until the upper church was subsequently completed in 1898.[19]
20th century and shift to majority lay board of trustees
During the early 1940s, many local priests, especially the Jesuits, began to challenge the
In 1967, Saint Louis University became one of the first Catholic universities to give laypeople more power over the affairs of the school. Board chairman
From 1985 to 1992 the chairman of the Board of Trustees was William H. T. Bush (younger brother of former president George H. W. Bush). The younger Bush also taught classes at the school.[26]
Since the move to lay oversight, there has been some debate over how much influence the
As of 2023, 40 Jesuits taught, studied, and ministered at SLU.[30]
Slavery, history, memory and reconciliation
In 2016, the institution revealed names and stories of Black Americans who had been enslaved by the university and its founders and who contributed to the cultivation and building of the institution. Direct descendants include Louis Chauvin and St. Louis Black Stockings player Sylvester Chauvin, whose burial site was marked by a headstone in 2022 through the Negro Leagues Baseball Grave Marker Project.[31] Contemporary descendants formed the organization Descendants of the Saint Louis University Enslaved and are petitioning for a physical monument on campus to acknowledge the history of their ancestors.[32] The group has estimated the contemporary value of labor performed by enslaved workers to be between 361 million to 74 billion dollars.[33]
Timeline of notable events
- 1818 – First institution of higher learning west of the Mississippi River[34]
- 1832 – First graduate programs west of the Mississippi River[34]
- 1836 – First medical school west of the Mississippi River[34]
- 1843 – First in the West to open a school of law[34]
- 1906 – First forward pass in football history[34]
- 1908 – First female students admitted[34]
- 1910 – First business school west of the Mississippi River[34]
- 1925 – First department of geophysics in the Western Hemisphere[34]
- 1927 – First federally licensed school of aviation[34]
- 1929 – First woman Ph.D. graduate, Mother Marie Kernaghan[35]
- 1944 – First university in Missouri to establish an official policy admitting African-American students[36]
- 1949 – First co-ed classes, in the College of Arts and Sciences[34]
- 1955 – Marguerite Hall, first women's hall of residence, opens.[34]
- 1967 – First major Catholic university to give lay and clergy people combined legal responsibility for institutional policy on its board of trustees.[34]
- 1972 – First human heart transplant in the Midwest[34]
- 2013 – First Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in aviation in the world awarded[3][34]
Campus
SLU's campus in
Fr. Raymond L. Sullivant launched the campus in
Major campus construction and renovation
Jesuit Center
In 2022, Saint Louis University opened a new residence for Jesuits living and working on campus. The 25-bedroom apostolic center also has a chapel where student Masses are held and community meeting rooms. The building replaces Jesuit Hall, which had been home to Saint Louis University Jesuits since 1973. Retired Jesuits moved to a Delmar Gardens facility in north St. Louis County.[41]
Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Building
In the fall of 2020, the university opened a new, 90,000-square-foot, three-story building featuring "innovative teaching environments and flexible lab spaces."[42] The building is home to bioinformatics, biology, biomedical engineering, chemistry, neuroscience and computer science courses that support all science, engineering, nursing and health science majors at SLU.
Saint Louis University School of Law
Saint Louis University School of Law, founded in 1843, is the oldest law school west of the Mississippi River.[43] Law students attend classes in Scott Hall, which is in downtown St. Louis. Scott Hall was bought and renovated by the university between 2012 and 2013, as the law school had outgrown its former site on SLU's midtown campus. The newly renovated building opened in 2013.[44]
Edward A. Doisy Research Center
In 2007, SLU completed a 10-story research center on its Medical Campus Building, a
Chaifetz Arena
The multi-purpose Chaifetz Arena, built in 2008, is a 10,600-seat stadium located on-campus. The arena also contains training facilities, locker rooms, and a practice facility that can house 1,000 spectators. It is on the eastern end of the north campus. The arena replaced Enterprise Center as the university's primary location for large events, notably commencement celebrations and varsity sports. The arena is named for alumnus Richard Chaifetz.[47][48]
Housing
Saint Louis has residence halls and student apartment space on campus.
St. Francis Xavier College Church
Located at the corner of Grand Boulevard and Lindell Boulevard is the university's official parish,
Clock tower
Built in 1993, Saint Louis University's clock tower closed off the campus from West Pine Avenue from Spring Street to Vandeventer Avenue.[citation needed] The surrounding plaza is host to social gatherings, demonstrations, and philanthropic events.
In 2011, the clock tower and the area around it were renamed the Joseph G. Lipic Clock Tower Plaza.[52] The amphitheater adjacent to the plaza was renamed in 2021 honor of Jonathan Smith.[53]
In October 2014, the clocktower plaza became the focal point for a student-led demonstration known as OccupySLU.
Libraries and museums
Saint Louis University has three libraries in
In 1964, SLU president
The university also has three museums: the Museum of Contemporary Religious Art (MOCRA), the Saint Louis University Museum of Art (SLUMA), and the Samuel Cupples House.[61]
Administrative Offices
The Saint Louis University Office of Admissions Building was built in 1890 and had a number of different owners until it was acquired by the University in 1988.
Academics and rankings
University rankings | |
---|---|
Saint Louis University | |
Global – Overall | |
ARWU World[62] | 601-700 (2022) |
THE World[63] | 501–600 (2022) |
USNWR Global[64] | 701 (2022) |
National – Overall | |
ARWU National[62] | 147-157 (2022) |
Forbes National[65] | 203 (2022) |
THE National[63] | 113 (2022) |
USNWR National[66] | 105 (2022-2023) |
Washington Monthly National[67] | 235 (2022) |
SLU offers 94 undergraduate majors and 88 graduate disciplines.[68] The student-faculty ratio is 9:1.[69]
The university operates 12 schools and colleges:[68]
- College of Arts and Sciences
- College of Philosophy and Letters
- Doisy College of Health Sciences
- School of Medicine
- Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing
- College for Public Health and Social Justice
- School of Social Work
- Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business
- School of Education
- School of Law
- School of Science and Engineering
- School for Professional Studies
- Saint Louis University Madrid.
In addition, the university also operates a campus in Spain, Saint Louis University—Madrid, and the degree-granting Center for Advanced Dental Education.[68]
Research
Saint Louis University's long research history includes the work of Edward Adelbert Doisy who discovered the lifesaving properties of Vitamin K and is the namesake of the university's research center, as well as its college of health sciences. One of only nine Catholic universities with a “higher” or highest” research activity designation from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, SLU's current research spans science, technology, law, and the humanities and is funded by the federal government, private foundations, and partnerships.[70] In 2018 became home to the Saint Louis University Research Institute, established through a $50 million gift from Rex Sinquefield and his wife, Jeanne. The SLU Research Institute performs research on geospatial, water, health data, translational neuroscience, and global Catholicism, among other topics.[71]
Athletics
The Saint Louis Billikens are the collegiate athletic varsity teams of Saint Louis University. This NCAA Division I program fields teams in men's soccer, women's soccer, men's basketball, women's basketball, men's baseball, women's softball, women's volleyball, men's swimming and diving, women's swimming and diving, men's cross country, women's cross country, men's tennis, women's tennis, men's track and field, women's track and field, and women's field hockey.[72] The university competes in the Atlantic 10 Conference.[11] In 2023, the women's basketball team made their first trip to the NCAA Tournament.[73]
Student life
Demographics
Saint Louis University has a residency requirement, 3,895 students lived on campus in fall 2023 including 89% of first- year students. More than 60% of students at SLU in 2021 identified as female and 33% identified as Black, Hispanic, Asian, or two or more races.[74] According to the university's profile, 99% of first-time freshmen and 92% of all students receive aid with a $45,343 average aid award for freshmen in 2023–24. The university reports that 43% of students graduate without student loan debt.
Student organizations
Saint Louis University has over 215 student organizations.[75] Students at SLU ranked third among U.S. universities in community engagement in 2023.[76][77] The free speech watchdog group FIRE ranks SLU as a "warning" school due to its history of censoring both left and right wing speakers that disagree with the administration.[78] The university's Policy on Speech, Expression and Civil Discourse is based on Ignatian principles.[79]
College Republicans
Students in the Republican club scheduled the conservative political commentator Matt Walsh to speak on campus on December 1, 2021. The event, slated to take place in St. Francis Xavier College Church on campus, was canceled by university administrators in the last minute. An online petition to cancel Walsh had been circulating for days before the event. Walsh held the talk off-campus, but near SLU, amid student protests that blocked traffic in front of the site.[80]
Greek life
Saint Louis has more than 20 fraternities and sororities on campus.[81][82]
Notable alumni, faculty, and school presidents
See also
References
- ^ "ACCU Member Institutions" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
- ^ a b "About Saint Louis University". slu.edu. Saint Louis University. Archived from the original on January 8, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f "Fast Facts". www.slu.edu. Archived from the original on November 4, 2018. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
- ^ "Faculty & Staff". St. Louis University. Archived from the original on June 26, 2014. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
- ^ "Saint Louis University". U.S. News & World Report. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
- ^ "Colors and Fonts". slu.edu. Saint Louis University. Archived from the original on May 19, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
- ^ a b "University of Saint Louis". Catholic Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on September 17, 2012. Retrieved February 11, 2007 – via New Advent.
- ^ "Statement of Accreditation Status". Higher Learning Commission. 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
- ^ "Carnegie Classifications Institution Lookup". American Council on Education. 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
- ^ "Facts and Figures". Archived from the original on January 21, 2004. Retrieved January 15, 2009.
- ^ a b "A10". atlantic10.com. Atlantic 10. Archived from the original on April 1, 2022. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
- ^ William Barnaby Faherty, “Peter Verhaegen: Pioneer Missouri Educator and Church Administrator,” Missouri Historical Review (1966) 60.4 pp 407-415.
- ^ William Barnaby Faherty, "St. Louis College: First community school" Bulletin of the Missouri Historical Society 24.2 pp. 122-138.
- from the original on March 25, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
- ^ "'Their Lives Matter': Descendants Of Those Owned By Jesuits Want Their Voices Heard". STLPR. June 21, 2021. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
- ^ "What We Have Learned: Missouri". Jesuits.org. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
- ^ Catholicism and American Freedom,, John McGreevy Norton and Co., New York 2003, p. 22-23.
- ^ The University's north campus is officially named "Frost Campus" in honor of General Daniel M. Frost, commander of the Missouri Militia during the Camp Jackson Affair. After being exchanged for a captured Federal officer, later General Frost "went south" and was commissioned as a General in the Confederate Army. The University named the campus after General Frost at the request of his daughter Mrs. Harriet Frost Fordyce, who financed a major expansion of the university by donating $1,000,000 in 1962. Frost Campus Archived 2011-12-19 at the Wayback Machine Part of the Frost Campus covers the former "Camp Jackson" militia encampment site.
- ^ "Early History". sfxstl.org. Saint Louis University. Archived from the original on October 30, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
- ^ Donald J. Kemper, "Catholic Integration in St. Louis, 1935–1947", Missouri Historical Review, October 1978, pp. 1–13.
- ^ Ted LeBerthon, "Why Jim Crow Won at Webster College", Pittsburgh Courier, 5 Feb. 1944, p. 13.
- ^ "Timeline of Saint Louis University". Saint Louis University. Archived from the original on January 15, 2023. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
- ^ "Pressure Grows to Have Catholic College Doors Open to Negroes", Pittsburgh Courier, 19 Feb. 1944, p. 1; "St. Louis U. Lifts Color Bar: Accepts Five Negroes for Summer Session", Pittsburgh Courier, 6 May 1944, p. 1.
- ^ "A Louder Voice for the Laymen". Time. Time Magazine. February 3, 1967. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. Retrieved January 24, 2008.
- ^ Pamela Schaeffer (October 31, 1997). "St. Louis U. showdown could draw in Vatican – high church officials vs. university officials in the selling of Catholic teaching hospital for $3 mil to for-profit Tenet Healthcare Corp". National Catholic Reporter. Archived from the original on July 11, 2012. Retrieved January 23, 2008.
- ^ William H.T. (Bucky) Bush – bushodonnell.com – Retrieved January 28, 2008 Archived February 14, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Tim Townsend; Deirdre Shesgreen; Tom Timmermann (January 23, 2008). "Burke would deny Majerus holy Communion". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Archived from the original on January 24, 2008. Retrieved January 23, 2008.
- ^ Liss, Samantha. "St. Louis University Hospital set to begin first major construction project in decades". stltoday.com. Archived from the original on June 16, 2016. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
- ^ James Drew (May 1, 2022). "SSM Health acquiring SLUCare Physician Group this summer". St. Louis Business Journal. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
- ^ "Saint Louis University Profile" (PDF). slu.edu. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
- ^ "A Black St. Louis baseball star finally receives a headstone as descendants honor his life and legacy". STLPR. June 10, 2022. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
- ^ American, Ashley Winters | The St Louis (September 11, 2023). "SLU's Jesuit history tied to descendants of slaves". St. Louis American. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
- ^ "'We're asking for that debt to be paid': Descendants of slaves who built Saint Louis University demand recognition and compensation". ksdk.com. February 9, 2024. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Timeline of Saint Louis University". Saint Louis University. Archived from the original on July 11, 2020. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
- ^ Prince, Emma. "Mother Kernaghan's Collections". maryville.edu.
- ISBN 9780826212535. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
st. louis university, post dispatch.
- ^ a b c d e "Maps and Directions: SLU". slu.edu. Saint Louis University. Archived from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
- ^ "Our History: SLU". slu.edu. Saint Louis University. Archived from the original on March 28, 2022. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
- ^ "About SLU-Madrid". slu.edu. Saint Louis University. Archived from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
- ^ "Saint Louis University, Madrid Campus : Saint Louis University Madrid Campus : SLU". spain.slu.edu. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
- ^ Fink Meyerhoff, Therese Fink Meyerhoff. "New Jesuit Communities Underway in St. Louis". Jesuits of the Central and Southern Province. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
- ^ "Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Building". www.slu.edu. Archived from the original on December 6, 2019. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
- ^ School of Law History Archived 2014-03-18 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "History: SLU". slu.edu. Saint Louis University. Archived from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
- ^ a b "Edward A. Doisy Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology". slu.edu. Saint Louis University. Archived from the original on January 24, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
- ^ "Edward A. Doisy Research Center at Saint Louis University". claycorp.com. Clayco. Archived from the original on May 25, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
- ^ "SLU Arena Named for Alumnus Richard Chaifetz". Archived from the original on July 14, 2007. Retrieved October 23, 2007.
- ^ "SLU Arena Named for Alumnus Richard Chaifetz". Archived from the original on March 21, 2008. Retrieved October 23, 2007.
- ^ "Housing and Residential Life : SLU". www.slu.edu. Archived from the original on May 30, 2016. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
- ^ "Housing Selection". slu.edu. Saint Louis University. Archived from the original on March 25, 2022. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
- ^ a b c "About College Church". slu.edu. Saint Louis University. Archived from the original on March 28, 2022. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
- ^ Hasamear, J. (2011, June 9). Clock Tower Plaza Named for Prominent SLU Alumnus. Retrieved November 17, 2014, from "Clock Tower Plaza Named for Prominent SLU Alumnus : Saint Louis University : SLU". Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 17, 2014.
- ^ "Remembering Dr. Jonathan Smith". slu.edu. Saint Louis University. Archived from the original on January 20, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Clock Tower Accords". slu.edu. Saint Louis University. Archived from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
- ^ Wicentowski, Danny. "Here's the Agreement that Ended the Occupation of Saint Louis University". riverfronttimes.com. The Riverfront Times. Archived from the original on January 15, 2023. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
- ^ "Library: SLU - Madrid". slu.edu. Saint Louis University. Archived from the original on March 31, 2022. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
- ^ a b "About Pius XII Library". slu.edu. Saint Louis University. Archived from the original on March 31, 2022. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
- ^ "Knights of Columbus Vatican Film Library". slu.edu. Saint Louis University. Archived from the original on March 25, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
- ^ a b "Saint Louis University Library Associates". slu.edu. Saint Louis University. Archived from the original on March 31, 2022. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
- ^ "St. Louis Literary Award". slu.edu. Saint Louis University. Archived from the original on April 30, 2020. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
- ^ "The Arts at Saint Louis University". www.slu.edu. Archived from the original on December 6, 2019. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
- ^ a b "2022 Academic Ranking of World Universities". shanghairanking.com. Shanghai Ranking. Archived from the original on August 15, 2022. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
- ^ a b "Saint Louis University". timeshighereducation.com. Times Higher Education. February 19, 2022. Archived from the original on March 8, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
- ^ "Saint Louis University". usnews.com. U.S. News & World Report. Archived from the original on April 6, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
- ^ "#203 Saint Louis University". Forbes. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
- ^ "Saint Louis University". U.S. News & World Report. Archived from the original on April 6, 2022. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
- ^ "2022 National University Rankings". washingtonmonthly.com. Washington Monthly. Archived from the original on September 17, 2022. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
- ^ a b c "Academics : SLU". slu.edu. Saint Louis University. Archived from the original on April 6, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
- ^ "Saint Louis University Academics". usnews.com. U.S. News & World Report. Archived from the original on March 28, 2022. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
- ^ "Research Impact". www.slu.edu. Archived from the original on May 14, 2023. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
- ^ "Research Institute". www.slu.edu. Archived from the original on May 9, 2023. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
- ^ "Saint Louis Billikens". slubillikens.com. Saint Louis University. Archived from the original on April 1, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
- ^ "Women's Basketball Makes SLU History with First Conference Championship, NCAA Tourney Bid". slu.edu. March 15, 2023. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
- ^ "Saint Louis University". Best Colleges. US News and World Report. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
- ^ "SLU Groups – Organizations". Groups.sluconnection.com. November 12, 1932. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
- ^ "Rankings and Honors". www.slu.edu. Archived from the original on April 24, 2023. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
- ^ "SLU Community Partners Database". slu.edu. Saint Louis University. Archived from the original on March 31, 2022. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
- ^ "Saint Louis University | The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression". www.thefire.org. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
- ^ "Policy on Speech, Expression and Civil Discourse". www.slu.edu. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
- ^ Sabes, Adam (December 1, 2021). "Watch: Protesters block street outside of Matt Walsh's speech in near Saint Louis University". Fox News.
- ^ "Interfraternity Council Fraternities". slu.edu. Saint Louis University. Archived from the original on March 28, 2022. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
- ^ "Panhellenic Council Sororities". slu.edu. Saint Louis University. Archived from the original on March 28, 2022. Retrieved March 28, 2022.