Elms College

College of Our Lady of the Elms
Seal of the College of Our Lady of the Elms
Latin: Collegium Dominae Nostrae In Ulmis
Motto	Viam Veritatis Elegi
Motto in English	“I have chosen the way of truth"
Established	1928
Type	Private
Religious affiliation	Sisters of St. Joseph
Endowment	US $12 million
President	Sister Mary Reap, ihm
Academic staff	63
Undergraduates	1,118
Location	Chicopee, Massachusetts, United States
Colors	Green, Gold, White
Athletics	NCAA Division III
Nickname	Blazers
Website	www.elms.edu

"Lady of the Elms" redirects here. For the Ohio school, see Our Lady of the Elms High School.

The College of Our Lady of the Elms, often called Elms College, is a Catholic liberal arts college located in Chicopee, Massachusetts, near Springfield.

History

Elms was founded as a girls' preparatory academy in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, the Academy of Our Lady of the Elms, in 1897. In 1899, Rev. John McCoy and Bishop Thomas Beaven of the Springfield diocese purchased property in Chicopee and it became St. Joseph's Normal College.

In 1927, the Sisters of Saint Joseph petitioned the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to charter the school as a women's liberal arts college, the charter was approved in 1928, and the name was changed to the College of Our Lady of the Elms with Rev. Thomas Mary O'Leary as the first president.

Under increasing financial and enrollment pressures, the Elms College board of trustees voted 23-5 to begin admitting men, starting with the 1998-1999 school year, on October 7, 1997. It was placed on a watchlist by the US Department of Education, due to fiscal instability.

Campus

The campus is about two miles north of Metro Center Springfield, Massachusetts. It is focused on the Keating Quadrangle, which lies at its center, and has 14 buildings.

Academics

Elms is a four-year liberal arts college. It offers thirty-three academic majors to 701 full-time students, and it employs sixty-three full-time faculty members.^{[citation needed]}

Student life

Traditions include Elms Night, an event in the beginning of the fall semester to welcome incoming first-year students. The event starts with an outdoor dinner where all Elms students and staff are invited. Freshmen are encouraged by seniors to sing a few lyrics from a song of choice during dinner. Following dinner, everyone meets in the Berchman's Hall Rotunda. Each class is assigned a pop song and sings for the other classes. At this point in the evening, seniors toss items from the second floor balcony to the freshmen on the first floor. Traditionally, the items were beanie caps. Now they vary from towels to wallets or other items. Often an Elms College student will keep this item at least until they graduate and, in many cases, long after that.^{[citation needed]}

Athletics

The Elms College Blazers got their nickname from an old tradition when sophomore students would receive 'blazers' to wear as a seniority right. Although this tradition has long since been discontinued, the team name has stuck.

The Elms College Blazers team colors are a green, gold, and white. Elms competes at the Division III level as part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association in baseball, basketball, cross-country, golf, soccer, softball, volleyball, field hockey, lacrosse, and swimming. The athletics at Elms are based out of The Maguire Center.

Notable faculty

• Thomas Michael O'Leary, co-founder and first president of Elms College
• Christopher Joseph Weldon, president of Elms College from 1958 to 1977
• Paul Jenkins, professor of poetry

Notable alumni

• Joan Hartley, state senator from Connecticut
• Tracy Butler, creator of the award-winning comic Lackadaisy

External links

• Official website