This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
Former names | The Sisters' Normal Institute of Higher Learning (1920–1925) Assisi Junior College (1925–1930) College of St. Francis (1930–1998) |
---|---|
Motto | Primo Unctio et Postea Speculatio |
Motto in English | Holiness First and Then Learning |
Type | Private university |
Established | 1920 |
Religious affiliation | Roman Catholic Church (Congregation of the Third Order of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate) |
Endowment | $22.6 million (2020) [1] |
President | Arvid C. Johnson III |
Students | 3,297 (Fall 2022) |
Undergraduates | 1,414 (Fall 2022) |
Postgraduates | 1,883 (Fall 2022) |
Location | , , United States |
Campus | Main Campus: Suburban, 22 acres (8.9 ha) |
Colors | Brown & Gold |
Nickname | Fighting Saints |
Sporting affiliations | NAIA – CCAC |
Mascot | Bernie the St. Bernard |
Website | www |
The University of St. Francis is a private Franciscan university with its main campus in Joliet, Illinois. It enrolls more than 3,200 students at locations throughout the country with about 1,300 students at its main campus.
The University of St. Francis grew out of an earlier high school and Sisters’ Normal Institute (an institution created to train high school graduates to be teachers) by the Congregation of the Sisters of St Francis of Mary Immaculate established on August 2, 1865 by Mother Alfred Moes. By 1869, a boarding school for high school girls opened in Joliet called the St. Francis Academy. The Institute became a college: The Sisters’ Normal Institute of Higher Learning, in 1920.
The institute became Assisi Junior College, a two-year junior college, in 1925. Mother M. Thomasine Frye, OSF served as first president with an enrollment of 12 students and 8 teachers. In 1930, the school was reorganized with a full college curriculum as the College of St. Francis with bachelor's degree granting authority. In 1935, the all-female college began an affiliation with the St. Joseph Hospital School of Nursing – to create the St. Francis College of Nursing.
During the Second World War, new programs in science and Spanish were added and in 1945 a student-run radio station, WCSF, was established on campus.
In 1962 Sr. Anita Marie Jochem, OSF, was named the college's fourth president and the last congregational Sister President. The college officially incorporated as its own institution, separate from the congregation, with its own charter and by-laws. The college became coeducational in 1971 and the next year saw the beginning of athletic programs.
The school became the University of St. Francis in 1998, the same year the school began offering online courses and degree programs. In 2000, the university received doctoral degree granting authority and by 2004 was organized in five colleges; College of Arts & Sciences, College of Business & Health Administration, College of Education, College of Nursing and Health Professions, and College of Professional Studies.
In 2013 Dr. Arvid Johnson became the university's ninth president and the university's first overseas graduate program was established with Brno University of Technology in the Czech Republic. The university's St. Bonaventure Campus opened in downtown Joliet with additional classrooms, offices, and a business incubator. In 2016, Guardian Angel Hall opened to students at St. Clare Campus, located at 1550 Plainfield Road (about one mile from the main campus) as the home to the USF Leach College of Nursing.
In 2018 new construction was completed on the LaVerne & Dorothy Brown Science Hall on the main campus. The university has begun planning for centennial celebrations in 2020.
The University also offers a Physician Assistant program at a second campus site in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The university has a total enrollment of 4,166 (2018) and an undergraduate enrollment of 1,599. (Men: 34.6% Women: 65.4%)USF website Facts & Figures page
The St. Francis (USF) athletic teams are called the Fighting Saints. The university is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and is part of the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) for most of its sports since the 1973–74 academic year; while its football team competes in the Midwest League of the Mid-States Football Association (MSFA).
USF competes in 20 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, bowling, cross country, football, golf, soccer, tennis and track & field; while women's sports include basketball, bowling, cross country, dance, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field and volleyball; and co-ed sports include cheerleading.
Ottawa University (OU) is a private Baptist university with its main campus in Ottawa, Kansas. It also has a second residential campus in Surprise, Arizona, and adult campuses in the Kansas City, Phoenix and Milwaukee metropolitan areas. It was founded in 1865 and is affiliated with the Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma and the American Baptist Churches USA. The residential campus in Ottawa has a student enrollment of more than 850 students, while the OUAZ campus in Surprise boasts more than 900. In total, Ottawa University serves more than 4,000 students across all of its campuses and online.
Saint Xavier University is a private Roman Catholic university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1846 by the Sisters of Mercy, the university enrolls 3,749 students.
Madonna University is a private Roman Catholic university in Livonia, Michigan. It was founded as the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Junior College by the Felician Sisters in 1937. It became Madonna College in 1947 and Madonna University in 1991.
Carlow University is a private Catholic university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1929 by the Sisters of Mercy. Carlow's thirteen athletic teams are the Celtics, a reflection of the university's Irish heritage and roots. In 2017–2018, the student body was 84% women and 16% men.
Mount Mercy University is a private Catholic liberal arts university in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1928.
Tennessee Wesleyan University (TWU) is a private Methodist university in Athens, Tennessee. It was founded in 1857 and is affiliated with the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church. It maintains a branch campus in Knoxville, where it offers evening programs in business administration. It also conducts its nursing classes in Knoxville.
Bethel University is a private Christian university in Mishawaka, Indiana. It was established in 1947 and is affiliated with the evangelical Christian Missionary Church.
The University of Saint Francis (USF) is a private Catholic university in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The university promotes Catholic and Franciscan values. The school's 2022–23 enrollment was 1,903 undergraduate and graduate students, the majority of whom come from states in the Midwest, primarily Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, and Ohio.
Lourdes University is a private Franciscan university in Sylvania, Ohio. Established in 1958, the university is sponsored by the Sisters of St. Francis of Sylvania.
The University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis is a private university focused on the health sciences that is located in St. Louis, Missouri. It was founded in 1864 as the St. Louis College of Pharmacy. The university includes St. Louis College of Pharmacy, the third-oldest and tenth-largest college of pharmacy in the United States, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Global Population Health, the College of Graduate Studies. The university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
Kentucky Christian University (KCU) is a private Christian university in Grayson, Kentucky. It was founded on December 1, 1919, as Christian Normal Institute, by J. W. Lusby and J. O. Snodgrass. As a "normal school" its programs included a high school, a junior college, and a training program for public school teachers. During the early 1920s its emphasis shifted to educating students for the Christian ministry. Degree programs are offered in six schools within the university: the Sack School of Bible and Ministry, the School of Business, the Keeran School of Education, the School of Distance and General Education, the Yancey School of Nursing, and the School of Social Work and Human Services.
The University of Sioux Falls (USF) is a private Baptist university in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. In fall 2014, the university enrolled a total of 1,142 undergraduate students and 311 graduate students.
Webber International University is a private university in Babson Park, Florida.
Briar Cliff University is a private Franciscan university in Sioux City, Iowa.
The Cal State San Marcos Cougars are the athletic teams that represent California State University, San Marcos, located in San Marcos, California, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) since the 2015–16 academic year.
The Lourdes Gray Wolves are the athletic teams that represent Lourdes University, located in Sylvania, Ohio, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) for most of its sports since the 2011–12 academic year; while its men's wrestling team competes in the Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC). The Gray Wolves previously competed as an NAIA Independent within the Association of Independent Institutions (AII) during the 2010–11 school year.
The Lincoln Memorial Railsplitters are the athletic teams that represent Lincoln Memorial University, located in Harrogate, Tennessee, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Railsplitters compete as members of the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) for most varsity sports, although the bowling team competes in the Conference Carolinas and the men's volleyball program plays as an independent. Field hockey and men's wrestling, two of three sports to be added in 2021–22, will compete in South Atlantic Conference Carolinas, an alliance between the SAC and Conference Carolinas (CC) that operates in those two sports, with the SAC operating the field hockey championship and CC operating the men's wrestling championship. LMU will thus become a de facto CC men's wrestling affiliate at that time. The third sport to be added in 2021–22 is women's wrestling, newly added to the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program for 2020–21.
The Flagler Saints are the athletic teams that represent Flagler College, located in St. Augustine, Florida, in intercollegiate sports at the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Peach Belt Conference since the 2009–10 academic year.
The St. Thomas Bobcats are the athletic teams that represent St. Thomas University, located in Miami Gardens, Florida, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Sun Conference since the 1990–91 academic year. The Bobcats previously competed in the Sunshine State Conference (SSC) of the NCAA Division II ranks from 1975–76 to 1986–87.
The Reinhardt Eagles are the athletic teams that represent Reinhardt University, located in Waleska, Georgia, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) since the 2009–10 academic year. They were also a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA), primarily competing as an independent in the South Region of the Division I level from 1999–2000 to 2000–01. The Eagles previously competed in the Southern States Athletic Conference from 2000–01 to 2008–09. Prior joining the NAIA, Reinhardt was also a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and of the National Small College Athletic Association (NSCAA) until after the 1998–99 school year.