Motto | Inspiring Minds, Unleashing Hearts |
---|---|
Type | Private university |
Established | 1963 |
Accreditation | NECHE |
Religious affiliation | Catholic Church |
Academic affiliations | |
Endowment | $189.8 million (2020) [1] |
President | John J. Petillo |
Academic staff | 802 (full-time and part-time) |
Undergraduates | 6,524 |
Postgraduates | 4,206 |
Location | , United States 41°13′17″N73°14′31″W / 41.2214°N 73.2419°W |
Campus | Suburban, over 300 acres (120 ha) |
Colors | Red and white [2] |
Nickname | Pioneers |
Sporting affiliations | |
Mascot | "Big Red" the Pioneer |
Website | sacredheart.edu |
Sacred Heart University (SHU) is a private, Roman Catholic university in Fairfield, Connecticut. It was founded in 1963 by Walter W. Curtis, Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Sacred Heart was the first Catholic university in the United States to be staffed by the laity. [3]
Sacred Heart is the second-largest Catholic university in New England, behind Boston College. [4] [5] It offers more than 80 degree programs to over 8,500 students at the bachelor's, master's and doctoral levels. [6] [7]
Sacred Heart University was founded in 1963 by Walter W. Curtis, Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport on the grounds of the former Notre Dame Catholic High School. [3] [8] The university is led and staffed by the laity independent and locally oriented. [3] The founding president was William H. Conley (1907–1974). [9] Former American ambassador and Diplomat Thomas Patrick Melady served as president of the university from 1976 to 1986. [10]
Enrollment has risen from the original class of 173 to over 10,500 full and part-time undergraduate and graduate students, [11] and the faculty has increased from 9 to 281 full-time professors and over 520 adjunct professors since 1963. [12]
In 1990, Sacred Heart built the first dorms, and began accepting residential. [12] It now has 10 residential buildings with 50 percent of the full-time undergraduates residing in university housing. [13]
The university has 32 varsity teams that compete in Division I. [5] In 1997, The William H. Pitt Health and Recreation Center was opened. [14]
In 1981, then-United States vice president George H. W. Bush received an honorary degree from Sacred Heart. [15]
In 2006, Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, made a financial gift to the university and a College of Business was named after him. [16]
In recent years, Sacred Heart University has purchased land in the surrounding Fairfield, Connecticut area, and has built new academic buildings, dormitories, and in January 2023 completed construction of the hockey rink.
On September 27, 2009, Sacred Heart University opened the Chapel of the Holy Spirit. [3] [17]
In 2010, Sacred Heart announced plans to open a new Health and Wellness Center. [18] The center was built on Park Avenue across from the main campus. [18]
In 2012, the university opened a new student commons building, named the Linda E. McMahon Student Commons, after McMahon donated $5 million to the university. [19] The new Commons includes dining facilities, lounge space, and a bookstore. [19]
In 2014, Sacred Heart broke ground for a new learning center, called the Student Success Center. The center provides educational support for students at the university and from the surrounding region. [20] In 2015, the university started construction of the Center for Healthcare Education. [21]
In 2015, the university opened the Frank and Marisa Martire Center for Business & Communications building, which houses the Jack Welch College of Business and the School of Communication & Media Arts. [22] The building was designed Sasaki Associates, who also designed the Linda E. McMahon Student Commons. [22]
In 2016, Sacred Heart opened a new residence hall, called Bergoglio Hall, named after Pope Francis, whose birth name is Jorge Bergoglio. [23]
In October 2016, Nikki Yovino reported to the police that she was raped by two black Sacred Heart University football players at an off-campus party. Yovino has admitted, months later, that the sexual assault was a lie in an attempt to gain the attention of another man. [24] However, in 2018, she pled guilty to two counts of second-degree falsely reporting an incident and one count of interfering with police and was sentenced to one year in jail and three years of probation. [24] [25] The men Yovino accused, Malik St. Hilaire and Dhameer Bradley, were forced out of Sacred Heart University after losing their scholarships amid the false accusations. [24] [26] As of August 27, 2018, both men are no longer enrolled at Sacred Heart University and with no remediation for losing their scholarships. [27]
In November 2016, Sacred Heart acquired the former GE corporate headquarters located near its main campus. [28]
In April 2017, Sacred Heart and St. Vincent's College, another Catholic college in Connecticut, agreed to merge management operations. [29] In 2018, the schools' merger was completed and St. Vincent's became known as St. Vincent's College at Sacred Heart University. [30]
In 2019, Sacred Heart was ranked on Princeton Reviews list of best schools, including tenth for "Happiest Students". [31]
Sacred Heart also announced in 2019 it would renovate and reopen the Community Theater in downtown Fairfield. [32]
In 2020, Sacred Heart announced plans to build a $60 million hockey arena. [33]
Sacred Heart took over management of the nearby Discovery Museum and Planetarium as of January 2021. [34]
Academic rankings | |
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National | |
U.S. News & World Report [35] | 209 |
The university consists of five colleges: College of Arts & Sciences, which includes the School of Communication & Media Arts and the School of Computing; [36] Jack Welch College of Business and Technology; College of Health Professions; College of Nursing and the Isabelle Farrington College of Education. [37] Sacred Heart University is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. [38]
Sacred Heart University offers more than 80 bachelor's, master's, and doctoral programs. [7] Sacred Heart also offers qualified undergraduates the opportunity to complete an undergraduate degree and a graduate degree with five to six years depending on the degree program. [7]
In 2012, the university ranked as America's least affordable university in a Newsweek ranking. [39]
The main campus is located in suburban Fairfield, Connecticut; 50 miles (80 km) northeast of New York City and 150 miles (240 km) southwest of Boston. [7] The campus area first appeared as a census-designated place (CDP) in the 2020 Census with a population of 1,446. [40]
Sacred Heart University owns and operates both WSHU-FM and WSHU-AM, [41] NPR-affiliated radio stations broadcasting out of Fairfield, Connecticut.
Race and ethnicity [42] | Total | ||
---|---|---|---|
White | 77% | ||
Hispanic | 12% | ||
Black | 4% | ||
Asian | 2% | ||
Other [a] | 2% | ||
Foreign national | 1% | ||
Economic diversity | |||
Low-income [b] | 16% | ||
Affluent [c] | 84% |
The Theatre Arts Program began in 2009, with the premiere of Sacred Heart University's first musical production: Rent. [43] Other productions have included Little Shop of Horrors in 2011, [44] The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee in 2013, [45] Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in 2015, [46] and Jesus Christ Superstar in 2017. [47]
The Sacred Heart Theatre Arts program (“TAP”) Produces 6 full scale productions a year. Two which are performed on the Edgerton main stage, and four in the black box Little Theater.
The Theatre Arts Program has a student-produced, student-written, and student-performed festival called "Theatrefest". [43] The program also has an improv team called The Pioneer Players.[ citation needed ] In 2016, the program began its own Repertory Theatre Company. Students are invited into this exclusive company beginning after their first semester. [48] In 2017, Sacred Heart expanded its Theatre Arts Program by launching its National Playwriting Competition & Intern Program. [43]
The Student Government consists of student leaders from all four class years. All full-time undergraduate students have the opportunity to be elected or appointed to a position. [49] [ non-primary source needed ]
The Spectrum is a student-run newspaper printed and distributed to students each Wednesday and made available online. [50] [ non-primary source needed ]
More than 1,200 students and members of the faculty and staff volunteer in excess of 31,000 hours each year largely within the City of Bridgeport, [51] but also regionally, nationally, [52] and internationally. [53]
Sacred Heart University has a residential study-abroad program in the Irish-speaking community of Dingle, County Kerry, Ireland. [54] [55] International experiences are available to students worldwide through programs located at The American University of Rome, in Italy, the University of Notre Dame in Fremantle, Australia, and the University of Granada, in Spain, as well as programs in Bermuda and the Bahamas. [56]
The university allows students to participate in CCIS programs, programs affiliated with other schools across the U.S. These programs include, but are not limited to: France, Argentina, Germany, Belgium, and Japan.
Sacred Heart is home to a total of more than ten fraternities and sororities.
The Pioneers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), [5] [57] Atlantic Hockey America, [58] [59] Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), [60] [61] Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA), [62] and the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA). [63] [5] [57]
Nearly 800 students participate in the university's 33 athletic teams (18 female teams and 15 male teams) along with more than 500 students who participate in 23 Club Sports. The football team plays at the Football Championship Subdivision level and claims an FCS title in 2001. Their biggest rivalry is with the oldest public university in Connecticut, Central Connecticut State University, in what has been dubbed the Constitution State Rivalry.
The men's fencing team won the Northeast Conference title five years in a row (2010–2014) and was ranked #9 in 2011. [64]
On February 21, 2013, the Sacred Heart University athletics department hired Major League Baseball player and manager Bobby Valentine as the athletic director.[ citation needed ]
The women's ice hockey program had competed as in independent from 2003 to 2019 at the National Collegiate level, with "National Collegiate" being the NCAA's official designation for championship events in sports in which members of Divisions I and II compete for a single national title. The Pioneers participate in the NEWHA, established in 2017–18 by Sacred Heart, fellow Division I member Holy Cross, and four Division II schools. Sacred Heart won the inaugural NEWHA tournament title in 2018. The NEWHA lost Holy Cross to Hockey East after that season, but returned to 6 members for 2019–20 with the arrival of LIU, a fellow NEC member that launched a new women's program. With the NEWHA soon to have the membership total required for an automatic bid to the NCAA women's tournament, the NEWHA formally organized as a conference in 2018, [65] and received official NCAA recognition effective with LIU's arrival in 2019–20. [66]
Sacred Heart has played a role in interfaith dialog and education between Christians and Jews. Interfaith centers in the U.S. began in 1953 at Seton Hall University, and have spread to 27 centers around the country, [67] : 143 including the Center for Christian–Jewish Understanding of Sacred Heart which was established in 1992 as a research and academic division of the University [67] : 149 under the direction of Anthony J. Cernera and Joseph Ehrenkranz. [68]
By this time, Holocaust studies were well developed, and the CCJU branched out, creating forums for a national and international audience. This was also the year when the new Catechism of the Catholic Church was issued by Pope John Paul II, the first in four centuries, integrating the latest teachings of the Church with respect to Judaism. [67] : 149 In the late 1990s, a strategy of using symbolic gestures was developed to further CCJU's educational goals, such as the 1996 establishment of the Nostra Aetate Awards Program, named after the 1965 Nostra aetate declaration of Vatican II which focused on the relationship that Catholics have with Jews. The award program recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to interreligous dialog and understanding. [67] : 152 The first recipients of the award were Cardinal John O’Connor of the Archdiocese of New York and Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman. [67] : 153
in 2000, the Pope made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, accompanied by leaders of the CCJU. The Vatican established diplomatic relations with Israel, and a new feeling of friendship and responsibility between Christians and Jews was in the air. [67] : 153 The Center went on to organize a series of international conferences on understanding the Other, including 2006 publication of conference papers on What Do We Want the Other to Teach About Us? with responses from Jewish, Christian, and Muslim scholars. Other programs included Holocaust teacher education, lecture series, and other publications including the semiannual CCJU Perspective with national and international influence, and programs to support young religious leaders, visits to Krakow and Rome to establish a structure for interreligious dialogue that could be modeled worldwide. [67] : 156
This article's list of alumni may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability policy.(February 2024) |
The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I. Its current 13 full members are located in five Northeastern states: Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York.
The Northeast Conference (NEC) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Teams in the NEC compete in Division I for all sports; football competes in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Participating schools are located principally in the Northeastern United States, from which the conference derives its name.
Fairfield County is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is the most populous county in the state and was also its fastest-growing from 2010 to 2020. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 957,419, representing 26.6% of Connecticut's overall population. The closest to the center of the New York metropolitan area, the county contains four of the state's top 7 largest cities—Bridgeport (1st), Stamford (2nd), Norwalk (6th), and Danbury (7th)—whose combined population of 433,368 is nearly half the county's total population.
Fairfield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It borders the city of Bridgeport and towns of Trumbull, Easton, Weston, and Westport along the Gold Coast of Connecticut. As of 2020, the town had a population of 61,512. The town is part of the Greater Bridgeport Planning Region.
The Atlantic Hockey Association (AHA) was an NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey conference which operates primarily in the northeastern United States. It participated in the NCAA's Division I as an ice hockey-only conference. Unlike several other college athletic conferences, Atlantic Hockey had no women's division, though it shared some organizational and administrative roles with the women's-only College Hockey America (CHA).
Fairfield University is a private Jesuit university in Fairfield, Connecticut. It was founded by the Jesuits in 1942. In 2023, the university had about 5,000 full-time undergraduate students and 1,200 graduate students, including full-time and part-time students. It offers bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and doctoral degrees through its five schools and colleges.
The University of Bridgeport is a private university in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The university is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. In 2021, the university was purchased by Goodwin University; it retained its own name, brand, and board of trustees.
Total Mortgage Arena is a 10,000-seat multi-purpose arena in downtown Bridgeport, Connecticut, United States. It is the home venue of the Bridgeport Islanders of the American Hockey League (AHL). Managed by the Oak View Group, the arena was built alongside the Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater and opened on October 10, 2001. Webster Bank entered into a 10-year $3.5 million agreement on January 6, 2011 with the City of Bridgeport for the arena naming rights. When this agreement ended, the City entered into a new one on March 8, 2022, that granted the naming rights to Total Mortgage of Milford, Connecticut.
Fairfield College Preparatory School is a Jesuit preparatory school located on the campus of Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut. It is an all-male school of about 800 students, founded by the Society of Jesus in 1942.
Stamford Hospital, residing on the Bennett Medical Center campus, is a 305-bed, not-for-profit hospital and the central facility for Stamford Health. The hospital is regional healthcare facility for Fairfield and Westchester counties, and is the only hospital in the city of Stamford, Connecticut.
St. Vincent's Medical Center is a 473-bed tertiary care Catholic hospital in Bridgeport, Connecticut, United States. It caters to a large population in Southern Connecticut and provides comprehensive and advanced medical services. The hospital is now controlled by Hartford HealthCare, who acquired it from Ascension in 2019.
WYBC is a radio station operating on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The station is owned by Yale Broadcasting Company, Inc.; however, it is programmed by Sacred Heart University under a time brokerage agreement. WYBC is a public radio station, airing a news/talk format.
The Sacred Heart Pioneers are the 32 sports teams representing Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut in intercollegiate athletics. The Pioneers compete in the NCAA Division I and are members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Atlantic Hockey, Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association, and New England Women's Hockey Alliance.
Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnock River on Long Island Sound, it is a port city 60 miles (97 km) from Manhattan and 40 miles (64 km) from The Bronx. It borders the towns of Trumbull to the north, Fairfield to the west, and Stratford to the east. Bridgeport and other towns in Fairfield County make up the Greater Bridgeport Planning Region, as well as the Bridgeport–Stamford–Norwalk–Danbury metropolitan statistical area, the second largest metropolitan area in Connecticut. The Bridgeport–Stamford–Norwalk–Danbury metropolis forms part of the New York metropolitan area.
The Sacred Heart Pioneers men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents Sacred Heart University. The Pioneers, members of Atlantic Hockey America, play at the Martire Family Arena in Fairfield, Connecticut. From 1993-2016, the Pioneers home arena was the Milford Ice Pavilion in Milford, Connecticut.
The following is a list of women's college ice hockey programs (teams) that participate in Division I ice hockey of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and compete for berths in the annual National Collegiate Women's Ice Hockey Championship. Programs (teams) are sorted by the conferences in which they play.
The New England Women's Hockey Alliance (NEWHA) is a women's college ice hockey conference in the United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. As of the most recent 2023–24 NCAA hockey season, the conference is made up of eight teams, with two each in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, and one each in New York and Vermont.
The LIU Sharks women's ice hockey team represents Long Island University in NCAA Division I ice hockey competition as a member of the New England Women's Hockey Alliance (NEWHA). They play their home games at Islanders Iceworks in Syosset, New York and Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow, New York.
The Martire Family Arena is a 3,600-seat ice hockey arena in Fairfield, Connecticut. It is home to the Sacred Heart Pioneers men's and women's ice hockey teams. The arena opened in January 2023.
Sacred Heart University Community Theatre (2020–present), located on Fairfield's main street, 1424 Post Road. is a university-run multi-disciplinary Theatre in Fairfield, Connecticut. It was formerly known as the Community Film Institute (2009–2011) and also as Fairfield Community Theatre Foundation (2001–2009). In 2019, Kleban Properties bought the long-vacant theater and leased the space to Sacred Heart University.