La Salle University

La Salle University
Latin: Universitas La Salliana
Motto Virtus, Scientia
Motto in English
 Virtue, Knowledge
Type Private
Established 1863
Affiliation Roman Catholic (Lasallian)
Endowment $87.487 million[1]
President Colleen N. Hanycz
Academic staff
 373[2]
Undergraduates 3,164[3]
Postgraduates 2,781[3]
Location Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
40°02′21″N 75°09′12″W / 40.03925°N 75.15325°W / 40.03925; -75.15325Coordinates: 40°02′21″N 75°09′12″W / 40.03925°N 75.15325°W / 40.03925; -75.15325
Campus Urban, 130 acres (526,091.3 m2)
Colors Blue and Gold
         
Athletics NCAA Division I – Atlantic 10
Philadelphia Big 5
Sports 23 varsity teams
Nickname Explorers
Mascot The Explorer
Affiliations IALU
ACCU
NAICU
Website www.lasalle.edu

La Salle University is a private, co-educational, Roman Catholic university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. Named for St. Jean-Baptiste de La Salle, the university was founded in 1863 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. The university offers traditional, online, and hybrid courses and programs.[4] The university is affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church through the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

History

La Salle's quad looking towards McShain Hall

La Salle College was founded in March 1863 as an all-male college by Brother Teliow and Archbishop James Wood of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. It was first located at St. Michael's Parish on N. 2nd Street in the Olde Kensington section of Philadelphia. La Salle soon moved to the building vacated by St. Joseph's College at 1234 Filbert Street in Center City, Philadelphia. In 1886, due to the development of the Center City district, La Salle moved to a third location, the former mansion of Michael Bouvier, the great-great-grandfather of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, at 1240 North Broad Street. Due to space constraints, in 1930 La Salle moved to its current campus at the intersection of 20th Street and Olney Avenue in the Logan neighborhood of the city. The new location had a suburban feel with ample land, but was linked to the city by trolleys and the newly constructed Broad Street Subway.

The 1930s proved to be a tumultuous decade for La Salle, which was nearly bankrupt after being unable to sell the 1240 North Broad Street property. The main academic building on campus, College Hall was unable to be finished due to a lack of funds, and the college nearly closed in the late 1930s. The college's closing was prevented by a 75th Anniversary Fund Drive in 1938, spearheaded by Philadelphia businessman John McCarthy. Funds raised from this drive also enabled La Salle to purchase a tract of land to the east of 19th Street, where Philadelphia had intended to build a city college.

La Salle nearly closed again due to a lack of students during World War II, and the football team was disbanded due to a lack of players, but the college experienced a period of growth in the late 1940s. Several new buildings were constructed in the 1940s and 1950s, including a new library, student union, and a science building. It was also during this time that the first student residence halls were constructed at La Salle, mostly on land purchased from the former Belfield Country Club. Additional student housing was provided by purchasing or renting local homes, such as the house known as "The Mansion", on David and Logan Blain's Belfield Estate. During the 1960s, the high school section moved out due to the lack of space after many years of sharing the same campus with the College.

La Salle admitted women to its regular classes in 1970, becoming a fully co-educational institution. A year later, La Salle opened Olney Hall,[5] its main academic building. It also continued to expand its property throughout the 1970s and 1980s, buying land along Chew Avenue in the Germantown section of the city, along with the Belfield Estate in 1984, and to the south of main-campus, the orphanage run by the Sisters of St. Basil the Great. It was also during this era, in 1984, that La Salle was granted University status. Recently, La Salle has acquired the former Germantown Hospital, now West Campus, and constructed The Shoppes at La Salle shopping center across the street in 2008.

Governance

The University is led by a Board of Trustees headed by a President and Chairman.[6] The President serves one or more 5–year terms.[7] As of 2015, there have been 29 Presidents. The current President is Colleen M. Hanycz who replaced James P. Gallagher.[8] As of 2015, the Chairman is Stephen T. Zarrilli.[7]

Academics

La Salle offers undergraduate concentrations in nearly 60 academic areas within its College of Professional and Continuing Studies and its three Schools: Arts & Sciences, Business Administration, and Nursing & Health Sciences. Communication, Nursing, and Education are the largest majors at La Salle. Courses in the programs may be offered in traditional, online, or hybrid formats.[4]

Several new and distinctive high-tech majors include Integrated Science, Business and Technology (ISBT) and Digital Arts and Multimedia Design (DArt). The College of Professional and Continuing Studies offers three accelerated cohort programs in Business Administration, Corporate Communication, and Organizational Leadership.

The university also offers master's degrees and doctorate degrees in several courses of study. Every undergraduate, regardless of school or major, must complete a strict Core curriculum in order to graduate. Offering sustained study in a broad range of disciplines, the Core curriculum provides students with an opportunity to build a strong educational foundation for the future. Guided by La Salle's heritage as a Catholic university, the core curriculum reflects La Salle's strong commitment to the interdependence of intellectual and spiritual growth. Its aim is to help students find an engaging living as part of an engaged life. As future competitors in a rapidly re-forming world, students need intellectual resources that keep pace with current innovations; as future innovators, students need spiritual resources that guide human beings towards humane reforms.

Undergraduates must complete the three facets of the Special Core Programs, as well as courses within the three Course Objectives.

Special Core Programs

The Special Core Programs consists of the Doubles Program, First Year Odyssey, and Understanding at Home and Abroad.

Course Objectives

The Course Objectives consist of the Powers, Frameworks of Scientific Understanding, and Patterns of Meaning.

Course Requirements

All courses in the core may be counted towards any minor or major barring exclusions by the academic departments sponsoring the minor or major. To complete the Core requirements, most School of Arts and Sciences majors must complete a maximum of 19 courses; School of Business Administration majors, a maximum of 16 courses; and School of Nursing and Health Sciences majors, a maximum of 15 courses.

Athletics

Main article: La Salle Explorers

See also: Men's Basketball, Football La Salle University's 20 varsity sports teams, known as the Explorers, compete in the NCAA's Division I and are a member of the Atlantic Ten Conference. The name derives from a 1931 mistake made by a sportswriter. The writer thought the university was named after the French explorer Sieur de La Salle, when in fact it is named after St. Jean-Baptiste de La Salle and was officially chosen in a student contest during the spring of 1932.

La Salle's teams have won two national championships: The 1954 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament and the 1980 Division II AIAW Field Hockey Championship. The school also won the 1952 National Invitation Tournament. La Salle's major historic rival has been the Hawks of Saint Joseph's University, especially in men's basketball. Not only are both universities situated in Philadelphia, but they are also both Catholic, private institutions.

Campus

Peale House on Belfield, the office of the President of La Salle

La Salle moved to its fourth and present location in 1931. The campus is located in part on Belfield, the estate of Charles Willson Peale, the Revolutionary War patriot and painter famous for his portraits of the founding fathers, most notably, George Washington. The first to occupy the land of the Belfield after the passing of the famously known painter, Charles Wilson Peale, was William Logan Fisher. William Logan Fisher was born to the family of Thomas Fisher and Sarah Logan, Sarah, whom inherited the northeastern portion of Stenton. William Logan Fisher occupied the land from the Peale’s in 1826 and later married and had children. Fisher's routes lay deeply in La Salle’s history as he owned the land of which is now South Campus. Many people would retreat to this land to find peace, health and serenity. In one of the last remaining portraits of William Logan Fisher, painted by Robert Street, you will see in the background what is believed to be the Belfield Farm where both Peale and Fisher's families would spend much time. Out of a window is where the farm is present. This landscape is very similar to that which Peale painted, as it includes the same trees, path, and fence. Besides this painting in the La Salle Art Museum is a portrait of Sarah Lindley Fisher, the wife of William Logan Fisher. It is as if these two painting are one in the same. If you were to remove the frame and put them side by side it is as if they would make one whole painting. They are both sitting in a study of sorts, opposite each other, just in front of the open window landscape. After living here, Fisher gave this land to his daughter Sarah Logan Fisher, who later married William Wister. The home belonged to the Wisters until 1984 when La Salle University purchased the land. What once was the home of a famous artist, and later affluent family[9][10], is the current office of the University president and is possibly the oldest building currently in use by any university in the nation.

La Salle's campus is located in the Logan-Ogontz/Belfield neighborhood of Philadelphia. In May 2007, La Salle created their West Campus after buying a portion of Germantown Hospital in the Germantown neighborhood of the city. La Salle's campus is divided into 3 parts: North, South, and west campus. Both the North and South parts of campus are located in the Logan-Belfield area of Philadelphia,and the western portion of campus (west of Wister Street) is located in the Germantown neighborhood of the city.

A satellite campus and Conference Center in Newtown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, the La Salle University Bucks County Center, offers graduate courses in various disciplines, undergraduate courses in nursing, and continuing education courses. The Conference Center comprises fifteen instructional rooms with seating capacities ranging from 20 to 40, along with four computer laboratories with 100 workstations.

La Salle also offers M.B.A. and Clinical-Counseling Psychology M.A. classes at the Plymouth Meeting Metroplex Corporate Center in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.

La Salle University Art Museum

The La Salle University Art Museum is located in the basement of Olney Hall and houses a collection of European and American art from the Renaissance to the present. The museum also owns a number of special collections including Japanese prints. The art museum is also home to the "Walking Madonna" one of four by the British artist Dame Elisabeth Frink. Frink created the sculpture in 1981, the other "Walking Madonna" sculptures remain in England, with one in Salisbury and the other in Frink’s garden at her home.

Connelly Library, Special Collections

The Department of Special Collections in the Connelly Library houses a diverse range of materials, from 15th century illuminated devotionals to subject collections treating contemporary social issues. Bodies of work include literature, music, films, art, archival material and ephemera. The discrete collections maintained by the department explore a variety of themes in aural, narrative and illustrative form. Special Collections maintains a focus on acquiring, cataloging and housing unique material that is tied to undergraduate pedagogy and is freely available to researchers. Highlights of the Collections include the largest collection of literary and creative works on the Vietnam War in the world, a one of a kind academic collection of work on Bob Dylan, hundreds of originative works on the Holocaust and psychic trauma, primary sources on local history, and rare and beautiful editions of the Holy Bible.

Food

La Salle has two dining halls, one on each end of campus. The newer Treetops Cafe is on south campus next to St. Basil Court and St. John Neumann Residence Halls and is open on weekdays. The Blue and Gold Commons, located on Olney Avenue, next to the North Residence Halls Complex, is only open seven days a week. In both of these dining halls, one may purchase food with a meal plan, Food Account Money, or cash. In the La Salle Student Union is The Union Food Court, which has several "store fronts". Each of these "store fronts" specializes in a certain type of food, including pizza, burgers, baked goods, sandwiches, salads, and international cuisine. Unlike the other two dining facilities, meal plan is not accepted.

The Point and The Explorers Den (background)

In Fall 2012, La Salle food services signed a deal with Aramark, and the Union now hosts a Subway and Starbucks, replacing the former smoothie bar and Late Night Intermissions. La Salle owns and runs The Explorers Den, a cheesesteak, pizza and burger shop located on the 2100 block of Olney Avenue.

Student Housing

St. Basil Court Residence Hall

Since 1953, La Salle has hosted resident students. There are several student housing complexes: North Residence Halls, Sts. Edward and Francis Residence Halls, St. Miguel Townhouses, St. Teresa Court Apartments, La Salle Apartments, and the South Campus Residence Halls (St. Basil Court and St. John Neumann).

Student life

The La Salle Student Union

Students at La Salle are offered many opportunities to participate at different degrees and in many different ways. There are several organizations and a student programming center whose mission is primarily to plan activities (games, movie nights, bus trips, etc.) for the students of La Salle University. The Communication Department operates La Salle 56, a cable TV Educational-access television station available to 300,000 subscribers. The university also has a student-run radio station, WEXP and a student-run weekly newspaper, The Collegian, along with over 100 other [11] intramurals, clubs, and NCAA division I sports offered.

Greek life

One of the aspects of La Salle's social scene are its fraternities and sororities. La Salle's Greek community consists of six sororities (Alpha Theta Alpha, Alpha Sigma Tau, Gamma Phi Beta, Delta Phi Epsilon,Phi Mu, and Zeta Phi Beta) and six fraternities (Sigma Phi Epsilon, Alpha Chi Rho, Alpha Phi Delta, Delta Sigma Phi, Sigma Phi Lambda, and Phi Beta Sigma). [12]

"Day ONE"

The first day of a student's time at La Salle occurs at the orientation program called Day ONE, which stands for Orienting New Explorers. The day consists of giving essential information to new students and their families, but its primary objective is to build relationships: relationships between the new students and other new students, between the new students and their upper division student hosts, between new students and administration and faculty, and between the students' families and the university.

Expansion and Master Plan

La Salle has worked with Philadelphia architecture firm H2L2 to assist in the development of a Campus Facilities Master Plan, building upon a previous plan completed by the University in 1985. Key components of the Master Plan are the following: New Science and Technology Building, New Athletic Arena, Student Recreation Center, additional student housing, Dining Hall, Chapel, Fine Arts and Theater Building, parking garage, and additional commercial activity.

Accommodating the above facilities while orchestrating seamless connections between the disparate areas of the campus is one of the Plan's greatest accomplishments. Topography, city streets, and heavy traffic, all initially appeared as impediments to the development of a true campus. Improved vehicular and pedestrian circulation patterns now yield enhanced links to memorable spaces, uniting this Campus into one whole, while satisfying all programmatic requirements.[13]

In the Fall of 2005, the $26 million first phase of this master plan was completed with the construction of Tree Tops Cafe (dining hall) and St. Basil Court (Residence Hall).[14]

St. Basil's houses approximately 430 students. Three of the building's wings feature "suites", in which four students share two bedrooms and one bathroom. The fourth wing's rooms have the traditional one-room for housing two students with communal bathrooms. The facilities have lounges, study rooms, and special purpose rooms.

A $2.5 million athletic field renovation was completed in the Fall of 2006.[15]

In May 2007, the university purchased adjacent Germantown Hospital for $10 million. The 24 acres (97,000 m2) acquired has become "West Campus", and increased the campus size by 25 percent.[16]

A $15 million shopping center and supermarket complex opened in Fall 2008.[17]

Phase two was the completion of the New Science and Technology Building. The renovated Holroyd Science Center was completed in Fall 2009.

Notable Alumni

References

  1. ↑ "U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2014 Endowment Market Value and Percentage Change in Endowment Market Value from FY 2013 to FY 2014" (PDF). nacubo.org. National Association of College and University Business Officers and Commonfund Institute. 29 January 2014. 477. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  2. ↑ Petersons.com College Overview
  3. 1 2 "lasalle.edu: Just the Facts". Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  4. 1 2 "La Salle University". Education Database Online. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  5. ↑ 1900 West Olney Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19141
  6. ↑ "2012-13 Board of Trustees". Office of the President. La Salle University. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  7. 1 2 Shelly, Jared (21 May 2013). "La Salle president stepping down". Philadelphia Business Journal. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  8. ↑ "First Female President in 152-Year History". Office of the President. La Salle University. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  9. ↑ Dillan, Michelle. "William Logan Fisher". Belfield & Wakefield:A Link to La Salle's Past. La Salle University. Retrieved 2015-09-29.
  10. ↑ Butler, James A. (Spring 1994). "The Remarkable Wisters at Belifield". Belfield & Wakefield:A Link to La Salle's Past. La Salle University. Retrieved 2015-09-29.
  11. ↑ "Student organizations". Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  12. ↑ "Greek Life". Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  13. ↑ La Salle University Master Plan
  14. ↑ "La Salle University to Hold Groundbreaking Ceremony for New $26 Million Residence Hall and Dining Facility". Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  15. ↑ Athletic Fields to Undergo $2.5 Million Facelift
  16. ↑ "La Salle University Buys Einstein’s Germantown Hospital Property". Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  17. ↑ "Supermarket, Shopping Center Plans Announced by La Salle and Partners". Retrieved 6 October 2014.

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