Saint Francis College was established in 1847 by six Franciscan teaching
Brothers from
Mountbellew, Ireland, who had been given land in Loretto by
Michael O'Connor, the first
Bishop of Pittsburgh, to establish a school.[4] 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 settlement established west of the
Allegheny Front, in what is now the United States, by
Demetrius Augustine Gallitzin in 1799.
In 2001, Saint Francis College was approved to become a university by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and renamed "Saint Francis University".
Academics
Saint Francis University enrolls approximately 1,658 undergraduate students (of whom 1,392 are traditional students and 266 are continuing education students) and 527 graduate students.[5] The university offers 25 undergraduate majors and 7 graduate fields of study (including Physical Therapy, in which the university awards a doctorate) to its students.[4] The university maintains an average graduation rate of 70.3%.[2]
Campus
The main building for the
Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, which also has a number of smaller facilities across the local region, is located on campus. Also on the campus are The DiSepio Institute for Rural Health and Wellness,[6] the Center for the Study of Occupational Regulation (CSOR),[7] Center for Watershed Research & Service,[8] and The Institute for Contemporary Franciscan Life.[9]
Immergrün Golf Course is a semi-private, nine-hole, regulation-length 3,234-yard, par-36 course on rye grass located on the campus of Saint Francis University at 105 Saint Elizabeth Street. Immergrün has not been altered since Donald Ross built it for the steel magnate
Charles M. Schwab in 1917.[10]
Saint Francis University also runs a campus at
Ambialet France in the Midi-Pyrénées.[11] All classes are in English.
Saint Francis University campus
The John F. Kennedy Center
DeGol Field
North Campus
Mt. Assisi Gardens, which are located on the former Schwab Estate.
Athletically, Saint Francis competes in the
NCAA's
Northeast Conference. Their nickname is the Red Flash. The University has a total of 22 varsity sports teams, with 9 men's teams and 13 women's programs all competing in
NCAA Division I. Men's sports include basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, tennis, and track & field, and volleyball competing in the Northeast Conference; while women's sports include basketball, bowling, cross country, field hockey, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track & field and volleyball which compete in the Northeast Conference. Saint Francis University also added Women's Water Polo in the 2016-2017 school year as its 23rd varsity sport at the Division I level. In addition to this, there are also two club sport teams, ice hockey and baseball.
Notable alumni
Jeff Bower – professional basketball manager and college basketball coach.[12][13]
Captain
Paul Boyton (1848–1924) - author, inventor, member of International Swimming Hall of Fame.[14]
^Tobin Center Staff (2010-05-01).
"Boyton (Captain Paul) Collection". St. Francis University Tobin Center Archives Collections. (Information submitted by Nagy, John A. to the archive center via email on May 1, 2010): Additional Information – via Margaret M. Tobin Center for Archives and Special Collections.