Saint Michael's College

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For the college in Toronto, see University of St. Michael's College.
For the school in Adelaide, see St Michael's College, Adelaide.
Saint Michael's College
Saint michaels college logo.svg
Motto Quis ut Deus
Established 1904
Type Private
Religious affiliation Roman Catholic (Society of Saint Edmund)
Endowment $55.2 million[1]
President John J. Neuhauser
Academic staff 144
Undergraduates 2,000
Postgraduates 650
Location Colchester, Vermont
44°29′41″N 73°09′55″W / 44.4947°N 73.1653°W / 44.4947; -73.1653Coordinates: 44°29′41″N 73°09′55″W / 44.4947°N 73.1653°W / 44.4947; -73.1653
Campus Suburban, 440 acres (1.82 km²)
Athletics NCAA/ECAC Division II
11 men's varsity teams
12 women's [2]
Colors Purple and Gold
Mascot Purple Knights
Website www.smcvt.edu

Saint Michael's College is a private, residential liberal arts Catholic college. The 440-acre (1.8 km2) campus is located in Colchester, Vermont. It was founded in 1904 by the Society of Saint Edmund, a French order of Catholic priests.

Contents

[edit] History

Aerial view of the campus.

In 1889, priests from the Society of Saint Edmund fled to the United States after widespread anticlericism seized France. In 1904, they opened Saint Michael's Institute with an initial investment of $5,000. Thirty-four students aged 10 to 22 enrolled, with a tuition and board fee of $105. Slowly, the school discontinued its high school program. Gradually, the school transitioned from an academy with old military barracks[clarification needed] as dormitories to a traditional residential college. In 1939, graduate programs were offered for the first time.

Saint Michael’s Playhouse was opened in 1947, bringing professional summer theater to Vermont and giving students the chance to work behind the scenes.

Before the 1950s, classes at Saint Michael's were small, just a few dozen Michaelmen in any class. In the 1950s, the college expanded to hundreds of students per class. The College began a building program which established the architectural style which permeates the College today.

Saint Michael's Applied Linguistics Department was started in 1954, focusing on teaching English to students from around the world.

The Hungarian uprising of 1956, brought about 130 refugees, most already well-educated, to the college to learn English.[3]

In 2003, Harold Bloom, a leading literary scholar at Yale, announced his plans to donate his personal library to the College, and an anonymous donor granted the money to build the Dupont Library to house the collection.[4] In 2004, Saint Michael's celebrated its centenary in an 18-month-long series of events including special lectures, musical performances, and convocations. The college has been co-educational since 1970.

[edit] Tradition. Culture

In the 1950s, Freshmen were required to wear a dress shirt, coat and tie to every class and for the evening meal. All dorm students said the rosary before retiring.[3]

[edit] Campus

Students walking across the quad. Durick Library is in the background.

The college consists of two campuses, Main (also called South) and North.

The main campus is the original and largest, with most of the classrooms, administration buildings and residence halls. The Quad is anchored by Durick Library to the west and the Chapel of Saint Michael the Archangel to the east. The three academic halls, Cheray Hall, Jeanmarie Hall, and Saint Edmund's Hall, along with the McCarthy Arts Center line the Quad to the south. The Alliot Student Center and the four underclass residence halls wall the Quad on the north.

Also located on the main campus are the Doc Jacobs Athletic Fields, Ross Sports Center and Tarrant Recreation Center, Founder's Hall, which houses the administrative offices, and the Hoehl Welcome Center, which houses the Admissions office. Standing at the main gateway of the school, admission interviews with prospective students are held in Hoehl.

North Campus, one mile (1.6 km) from Main Campus, features additional residence halls, some apartments, and the Sloane Art Center, which has studio arts facilities for drawing and painting, the photography darkroom, and some classrooms. Sloane also contains the Knights of the Round Table, a dining hall.

[edit] Housing

Students at Saint Michael's College live in a variety of different housing facilities. All housing is single-sex by floor or wing.

[edit] Main Campus

  • Joyce Hall, Ryan Hall, and Lyons Hall are three of the four main quad dormitories. They consist primarily of doubles, and house the entire freshman class. Some wings are reserved for Honors Housing and GREAT Housing, the alcohol-free living option.
  • Alumni Hall is the fourth dormitory building on the main quad, and houses sophomores and juniors.
  • Cashman Hall, Pontigny Hall, and Canterbury Hall are the newest residence halls on campus. They consist of 4- and 8-person suites for sophomores, juniors, and some seniors. Many suites are reserved for Honors Housing, GREAT Housing, and Ambassador Housing.
  • Founders Hall houses students of all classes in singles on its upper floors.
  • Hodson Hall houses seniors in apartments.
  • The Townhouses, numbered in series from the 100s to the 400s, house seniors in apartment-style living. In the summer of 2008 kitchen were added to the 400s in order to accommodate the senior housing initiative.

[edit] North Campus

  • The Ethan Allen Apartments house seniors and juniors in apartments.
  • Hamel Hall, Purtill Hall, and Linnehan Hall house sophomores, juniors, and seniors in doubles and singles. Theme Housing took over Linnehan starting in the Fall 2007 semester.

[edit] Academics

Undergraduate students receiving instruction from a professor.

Classes are small and hands-on learning is emphasized, with a student to teacher ratio of 12:1[5] Saint Michael's houses the following honors: Phi Beta Kappa; Delta Epsilon Sigma, the Catholic honor society; Pi Sigma Alpha for Political Science; Omicron Delta Epsilon for Economics; Phi Alpha Theta for History; Kappa Delta Pi for Education; Psi Chi for Psychology; Sigma Xi for Science and Technology; Pi Mu Epsilon for Mathematics; Beta Beta Beta for Biology; Kappa Tau Alpha for Journalism and Mass Communication (the only KTA chapter nationwide housed at a small college); and Sigma Beta Delta for Business, Management and Administration. For four of the last seven years, a Saint Michael’s professor has been named the CASE/Carnegie Foundation Vermont Professor of the Year. Saint Michael's College is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.

[edit] Undergraduate

Undergraduate programs include 29 major fields of study and 37 minors, combined with a liberal studies curriculum.[6] Emphasis is placed on independent study, independent research, internships and foreign study. Eligible students can also participate in the College's Honors Program.

[edit] Graduate

There are five master's degree programs: Administration and Management, Clinical Psychology, Education, Teaching English as a Second/Foreign Language and Theology and Pastoral Ministry. There are three post-master's certificates and Vermont teacher licensure programs.

[edit] International Students

Special English as a Second Language programs are offered for international students through the Applied Linguistics Department, including a progam that assists international students in the transition to college-level course work.

[edit] Study Abroad

Students may participate in study abroad programs, which cost the same as a semester on campus. Students can choose a program by location or language, or can choose from a variety of special Saint Michael's programs.[7]

[edit] Demographics

Saint Michael's has 2,000 undergraduate students who come from 37 states and 13 countries. 80% of students are from outside Vermont. There are 150 faculty members, 94 percent with a Ph.D. or highest appropriate degree. The student-faculty ratio is 12:1. There are approximately 250 graduate students each term; over 90 percent are from Vermont.

[edit] Student life

Saint Michael's Fire Department conducting a training on campus.

Nearly 100% of students live on campus in residence halls and townhouses. There are over 40 student organizations. There are no fraternities or sororities. Other activities include the Student Association, Wilderness Program, Campus Ministry, the campus radio station WWPV, club sports, student musical and play productions, the Saint Michael’s Chorale, Vermont Gregorian Chant Schola,[8] open mic nights and the Wind[clarification needed] and Jazz Ensembles.[clarification needed] Christmas and spring semi-formal dances are held.

Notable artists such as O.A.R., The Roots, Jurassic 5, Carbon Leaf, Wyclef Jean, Lupe Fiasco, and Third Eye Blind,[citation needed] have performed on campus in recent years. Student publications include The Echo[9] (online magazine), The Defender[10] (weekly newspaper), and the Onion River Review a literary magazine.

Athletics facilities include a fitness room, racquetball and an indoor track and swimming pool. Trails surround the campus for cross-country running or mountain biking.

In 2009, the school was rated by a Princeton Review survey as having the second best "town-gown" relationship in the country and ninth in the nation for the "best quality of life."[11]

[edit] Cultural

Turtle Underground is a student-run program that promotes student art, music, and performance.[12] There are shows most Saturdays during the semester. These have featured a variety of acts, ranging from DJs to solo singer-song writers to jam bands.

[edit] Fire and Rescue

One of the extracurricular activities at Saint Michael's is the Fire and Rescue program, which was founded in 1969 after a student died on an athletic field. Entirely student run, the department provides fire protection and emergency medical treatment to campus and the surrounding community. The EMT program is one of seven college run EMT programs with a full service area in the country.

[edit] Athletics

There are 21 varsity sports (10 for men, 11 for women) and over 20 intramural teams. Saint Michael's varsity sports teams are called the Purple Knights. The school colors are purple and gold. Varsity teams participate in the NCAA's Division II Northeast Ten Conference. Approximately 25% of students participate in a varsity sport. For men: Basketball, baseball, cross country, golf, hockey, lacrosse, skiing (alpine, Nordic), soccer, rugby, swimming and diving, and tennis. For women: basketball, cross country, field hockey, lacrosse, skiing, soccer, rugby, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, ice hockey, and volleyball. Student-led programs include billiards, ping pong, floor hockey, volleyball and indoor soccer. Tournaments are also scheduled throughout the academic year. Yoga, jazzercise, kick boxing, cardio step and pilates courses are offered weekly. First Aid and CPR training/certification is also offered.[13]

[edit] Art and Culture

Saint Michael's Playhouse,[14] the College's professional equity summer theater, draws talent from Broadway, Off-Broadway and regional theaters performing full scale New York caliber theater to more than 15,000 audience members each season.[citation needed] The playhouse is a member of the Council of Resident Stock Theaters (CORST) of which there are only eleven remaining in the United States today.[citation needed] As a CORST theater company Saint Michael's Playhouse employs members of Actors' Equity Association, as well as directors from the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society and designers from United Scenic Artists.

The playhouse also maintains a Professional Theater Internship Program for college theater students. Acceptance into this program is competitive. Successful candidates work side by side with the professionals in areas of theater production and administration.

The College is also a sponsor of the Vermont Mozart Festival, the state's largest classical music festival.

[edit] Recognition

Saint Michael's is listed in the "Best National Liberal Arts Colleges" category of the “America’s Best Colleges: 2010 Annual Guide,” published by U.S. News and World Report.Saint Michael's has been labeled by Newsweek magazine as a “hidden treasure” that “deserves more national recognition.”[citation needed]Additionally, Saint Michael's is included in Princeton Review’s The Best 371 Colleges: 2010 Edition. In 2010 Forbes magazine ranked the school 129 in its list of top 500 in the nation.[15]

The college has also won regional Society of Professional Journalists awards for its student online magazine, The Echo. The student newspaper, The Defender, placed third during the 2009 Associated Collegiate Press competition.

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] See also

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ As of June 30, 2009. "U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2009 Endowment Market Value and Percentage Change in Endowment Market Value from FY 2008 to FY 2009" (PDF). 2009 NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments. National Association of College and University Business Officers. http://www.nacubo.org/Documents/research/2009_NCSE_Public_Tables_Endowment_Market_Values.pdf. Retrieved February 25, 2010. 
  2. ^ Saint Michael's College. Smcvt.edu. Retrieved on 2010-10-25.
  3. ^ a b Burlington Free Press, June 14, 2009, page 4C. "Reunion:Class of '50 looks back". Tim Johnson
  4. ^ New York Times, April 12, 2003, [1]. "Critic's Books Go to Small College". Dinita Smith.
  5. ^ Saint Michael's College - College Facts. Smcvt.edu. Retrieved on 2010-10-25.
  6. ^ Saint Michael's College - Academics. Smcvt.edu. Retrieved on 2010-10-25.
  7. ^ Saint Michael's College - Study Abroad. Smcvt.edu. Retrieved on 2010-10-25.
  8. ^ Hartley, Rosemary M. (8 September 2010). "Gregorian chants at St. Mary Star of the Sea church". Barton, Vermont: the Chronicle. p. 29. 
  9. ^ The Echo
  10. ^ The Defender
  11. ^ "Rankings". Burlington, Vermont: Burlington Free Press. 28 July 2009. pp. 4B. 
  12. ^ [2]
  13. ^ Saint Michael's College. Smcathletics.com. Retrieved on 2010-10-25.
  14. ^ Saint Michael's Playhouse
  15. ^ Johnson, Tim (17 August 2010). "From the blogs:Another day, another ranking". Burlington, Vermont: Burlington Free Press. pp. 1B. http://blogs.burlingtonfreepress.com/highered/. 

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