Saint Leo University
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Saint Leo University | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Motto | You'll love the person you become here. |
| Established | 1889 |
| Type | Private, Roman Catholic coeducational liberal arts |
| Endowment | $14,762,161 |
| President | Dr. Arthur F. Kirk, Jr. |
| Location | Saint Leo, Florida, USA |
| Campus | Rural |
| Colors | Green and Gold |
| Nickname | Saint Leo Lions |
| Affiliations | Roman Catholic Church Holy Name Monastery Saint Leo Abbey |
| Website | www.saintleo.edu |
Saint Leo University is a private, non-profit, Roman Catholic university located in Saint Leo, Florida, next to San Antonio, Florida, which is 35 miles north of Tampa. Dr. Arthur F. Kirk, Jr. has been the president of the university since January 1997. It is associated with the Holy Name Monastery (Benedictine sisters; formerly known as Holy Name Priory), and Saint Leo Abbey (Benedictine monks).
Saint Leo's main campus is in a rural setting, but is not far from large cities such as Tampa, St. Petersburg and Orlando. It offers small class sizes taught by full-time faculty members: it employs no teaching assistants.
Contents |
[edit] History
Saint Leo University is a Catholic, coeducational liberal arts university offering programs leading to associate and baccalaureate degrees and the Master of Business Administration, Master of Education, Master of Science, Master of Theology, and Master of Social Work degrees. Chartered on June 4, 1889, Saint Leo originated when the Florida legislature authorized the Order of St. Benedict of Florida to "have and possess the right and power of conferring the usual academic and other degrees granted by any college in this State."
As the first Catholic college in Florida, Saint Leo opened its doors with the dedication of its main building on September 14, 1890. In this pioneer year, Saint Leo enrolled 32 students for classes. These students engaged in the study of the basic curriculum, which included a mix of liberal arts and commercial courses leading to the Master of Accounts degree. In addition to the basic curriculum, the College periodically went though a military phase, with uniforms and required drilling, to instill discipline and order. On June 20, 1893, Saint Leo conferred the Master of Accounts degree on its first graduating class of five students.
In 1920, the College was phased out as the faculty decided to focus on becoming what one longtime Benedictine called "a serious English-style prep school." A year later, in 1921, Saint Leo became accredited by the Southern Educational Association. After several name changes, the institution settled on Saint Leo College Preparatory School in 1929. It lasted until 1964.
Reaching for a larger mission, Saint Leo opened again as a college in 1959. During this time, Saint Leo received a great deal of assistance from the Benedictine sisters at Holy Name Monastery, its neighboring community. Operating first on the associate's level, the College moved quickly to a four-year program and conferred its first bachelor's degree on April 23, 1967, on 51 men and 13 women. It was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools on November 29, 1967, retroactive to include the charter bachelor of arts class.
In 1969, the College was reorganized when the Order of Saint Benedict of Florida transferred title and control to an independent board of trustees. Shortly after this reconstruction, Saint Leo began to broaden its purpose, which echoed its military history. In 1973, the College responded to requests from the armed services to offer degree programs on military bases. Now, Saint Leo University is one of the largest providers of higher education to military-related personnel in the United States.
In December 1994, the college was granted Membership at Level III to offer the Master of Business Administration. Membership was granted retroactive to January 1, 1994. On August 24, 1999, Saint Leo's growth was once again validated with its ascension to university status.
Saint Leo University now has a total enrollment of more than 14,500; 1,500 on its main campus, more than 7,600 on military bases and community colleges in five states, and more than 4,000 students in the Center for Online Learning.
[edit] Graduate School
Saint Leo University also offers a graduate school that awards Master of Business Administration, Master of Science, Master of Theology, Master of Education, Master of Social Work, and Educational Specialist degrees.
[edit] Student Involvement
Saint Leo University has a variety of campus events, student operated organizations, and leadership opportunities for students.
[edit] Campus Activities Board
- Headed by the elected Student Government Union Vice President of Activities
- Plans a calendar events focused on student entertainment and education
- Examples of past events have been Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios, on campus laser tag, an "Spring Fling" weekends featuring artists such as Lonestar and Everclear. [1]
[edit] Greek Life
There are currently 6 fraternities and 4 sororities on campus. Greek life is very active and sociable on campus. Chapters must meet requirements of a certain amount of socials, educational programs, and philanthropy/community service each year. [2]
- Fraternities
- Tau Kappa Epsilon
- Sigma Alpha Epsilon
- Alpha Phi Alpha
- Kappa Alpha Psi
- Sigma Lambda (Local)
- Kappa Theta (Local)
- Sororities
- Alpha Sigma Tau
- Theta Phi Alpha
- Sigma Sigma Sigma
- Gamma Upsilon (Local)
[edit] Notable Alumni & Attendees
Saint Leo University has produced thousands of alumni over the years. The most notable alumni of Saint Leo University are Anastasio Somoza Debayle the former President of Nicaragua, the former musician Desi Arnaz, the former General Manager of the Toronto Blue Jays J. P. Ricciardi, the actor Lee Marvin, Major League Baseball player Bob Tewksbury and Dade City City Manager William C. Poe, Jr..
[edit] Sports
The following are a list of St. Leo Baseball Alumnus who played Major League Baseball:
Name Dates Played Debut / Box
Frank Barrett 1929 - 1932 10-01-1939
Fred Cambria 1967 - 1969 08-26-1970
Frank DiPino 1975 - 1977 09-14-1981
Brian Dayett 1975 - 1978 09-11-1983
Bob Tewksbury (Rutgers) 1980 - 1981 04-11-1986
Jim Corsi 1980 - 1982 06-28-1988
[edit] Virtual Campus
The Saint Leo University Second Life Virtual Campus is a place where all students, staff, faculty, parents, and friends can come together to explore, interact and collaborate in Second Life. The island is always in a state of development, they invite all to visit daily to look for changes (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Saint%20Leo%20University/252/128/23).
Second Life® is a 'multi-user virtual environment' (MUVE) in which users of an online 3D space can interact through avatars using voice and text chat. Users called 'Residents', also can explore, meet other Residents, socialize, participate in individual and group activities, as well as create and trade virtual items and services. Second Life offers educators and students an online environment to meet face to face, dramatically changing the dynamic of online meetings and education. Since Second Life is used by people all over the world, it presents an opportunity to engage in cross-cultural networking and research within a global community. The Second Life virtual world is a dynamic 3D space and interactive learning environment that can be created and experienced by student or teacher.
The Saint Leo virtual campus on Second Life was founded July 2008 by Michael Dadez a web coordinator at the University. Since then the virtual campus has grown tremendously and has had many group followers. In the month on July 2009 they celebrated their one year Reziversary on Second Life by hosting a huge bash with big time Second Life Stars, such as Phaylen Fairchild, Pathfinder Linden, and Maximillion Kleene. Saint Leo students are provided free housing in the virtual world and are welcome to roam around the campus as in real life. The hopes of Saint Leo University is to one day be able to teach actual courses through Second Life. These efforts have even been acknowledged by Linden Labs and its employees; who currently interviewed the Saint Leo Virtual Campus creator and published an article.
[edit] References
|
|||||
