(SLU, or sometimes referred to as the '''University of St. Louis''') is a private, co-educational
Jesuit Catholic University in the
United States . Located in
St. Louis ,
Missouri , it was founded in
1818 as Saint Louis Academy and later taken over by the
Society Of Jesus making it the oldest university west of the
Mississippi River and the second oldest Jesuit college in the nation (Only
Georgetown University in
Washington, D.C. has been in existence longer than SLU). Saint Louis University is one of 28 member institutions of the
Association Of Jesuit Colleges And Universities . The first
M.D. degree awarded west of the
Mississippi was conferred by Saint Louis University in
1836 . The university was ranked 81st by
U.S. News & World Report in their
List Of The Best U.S. Colleges for 2005.
During the early
1940s , many local priests, especially the Jesuits, began to challenge the
Segregationist policies at the city's Catholic colleges and parochial schools. Saint Louis University opened its doors to
African American s in
1943 after its president, Father
Patrick Holloran , secured the approval of St. Louis Archbishop
John J. Glennon .
For over thirty years the university has maintained a campus in and the first American institution to be recognized by Spain's higher education authority as an official foreign university.
Since 1953, the university has had a distinctive research resource in the
Vatican Film Library , created through initiatives taken by Fr. Lowrie Daly, S.J. and generously supported by the
Knights Of Columbus . External scholars are able to apply for
NEH Research Fellowships to gain access to the microfilmed manuscript collections. These fellowships are administered by Saint Louis University's
Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies .
In the early 1970's, the campus was the site of an emerging new stream of Biblically-based liturgical music that has enjoyed a worldwide impact. The composers were known as ''The St. Louis Jesuits''. After a twenty-year hiatus, they released a new album in the fall of 2005.
There are several museums on campus, including the
Museum of Contemporary Religious Art , the
Saint Louis University Museum of Art , and
Cupples House .
SLU is currently building a $66 million, 10-story tall research building that will connect to its Medical Campus Building. Scientists at the research building will research health issues from cancer and liver diseases to heart diseases and infectious diseases. It is designed as a
Green Building to reduce maintenance expenditures and for environmental friendliness.
The men's
Soccer team has won 10 national titles (1959-60, 1962-63, 1965, 1967, 1969-70, 1972-73), the most in
NCAA Men's Soccer Championship history. Several players have gone on to play professional. These include
Brad Davis ,
Vedad Ibisevic ,
Brian McBride ,
Matt McKeon ,
Dipsy Selolwane ,
Jack Jewsbury ,
Tim Ward , and
Will John . The soccer team playes at
Hermann Stadium on campus.
Legion 1818 is the official supporters group for the team.
In the
1948 -
1949 the Billikens were ranked first in the first
AP basketball poll.
Ed Macauley of the
Basketball Hall Of Fame and SLU won the
NIT championship in
1948 and have played in that 18 times and the last time being
2004 .
Larry Hughes of the
Cleveland Cavaliers played one season at SLU in the 1997-1998 season, where he was selected as the consensus national Freshman of the Year. They have made the
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament in
1952 ,
1957 ,
1994 ,
1995 ,
1998 , and
2000 . The Billikens are currently coached by
Brad Soderberg . Also here is the
List Of Head Men's Basketball Coaches At Saint Louis University .
Through the years, SLU has been affiliated with the
Missouri Valley Conference (
1937 -
1974 ), the defunct
Metro Conference (
1975 -
1982 ), the
Midwestern Collegiate Conference (1982-
1991 ), and the defunct
Great Midwest Conference (1991-
1995 ). SLU has not had football since the late-
1940s , although they did field a club level football squad during the late
1960s and early
1970s . They also had a hockey program for nearly the entire decade of the 1970s, until the program ended in
1980 .
SLU currently plays their basketball games at the
Savvis Center but is currently planning a new 10,000-seat arena on-campus which will start construction in by
September 2006 and would be ready for the
2008 -
2009 season.
The widespread NCAA conference realignment affected the Billikens, as they made the move from
Conference USA (which was created by a merger between the Metro and Great Midwest Conferences) to the
Atlantic 10 on
July 1 ,
2005 . This became the sixth conference affiliation for SLU since 1937.
Saint Louis University has a large number of student organizations that cover a variety of interests: student government, club sports, organizations focused on media and publications, performing arts, religion and volunteerism and service. A current list can be found
here on the university's website. One of the many groups include The
Great Issues Committee , which brings speakers to the University's campus. Another is The
Presidential Scholars Society , which is an
Undergraduate Social Organization and
Scholastic Honor Society whose members have received the highest
Academic Award , the Presidential Scholarship.
Saint Louis has 13 Fraternities and 5 Sororities on campus.
The following Fraternities and Sororities are on campus:
- 1903 Theodore Roosevelt attends a Latin disputation at Saint Louis University. It is a "Grand Act" (a defense covering Philosophy and Theology) given by Spanish Jesuit Fr. Joachim Villalonga in celebration of the Centennial Of The Louisiana Purchase .
- 1943 Professor of Biochemistry Edward Adelbert Doisy shares (with Henrik Dam) the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on Vitamin K, which he had isolated in a pure form in 1939.
- Jesuit Priests from SLU assist a boy believed to suffer from demonic possession. The boy's experience serves as the basis of the documentary '' In The Grip Of Evil '' and was dramatized in the film The Exorcist .
- 1967 First lay incorporation of a Jesuit university in the United States. The membership of the Board of Trustees went from 13 Jesuit priests to 18 lay members and 10 Jesuits. Fr. Paul Reinert, S.J., yielded the chairmanship to Daniel L. Schlafly. (Reported in Time magazine, February 3, 1967: "A Louder Voice for Laymen.")
- James Gunn (B.A. 1992 ) - Film Director ( Slither ), Screenwriter ( Dawn Of The Dead , Scooby-Doo ), and Novelist ( The Toy Collector )
- Gene Kranz (B.S. 1954 ) - lead NASA flight director during the Apollo 11 moon landing and leader of the Apollo 13 rescue mission.
- Walter J. Ong , S.J. (M.A. 1941) - world-class thinker, lecturer, author, known today as an honorary guru among technophiles.
- Thomas J. Farrell (B.A. 1966; M.A. 1968; Ph.D. 1974) -- "Man of the Year" according to the SLU student newspaper in May 1969 is the author of ''Walter Ong's Contributions to Cultural Studies'' (2000) and senior editor (with Paul A. Soukup , S.J.; SLU B.A. 1973) of ''An Ong Reader'' (2002).
- Rose Thering , O.P. (Ph.D. 1961) - Dominican nun whose campaign against anti-Semitism in Catholic textbooks is the subject of the Oscar-nominated 39-minute documentary film directed by Oren Jacoby, ''Sister Rose's Passion''.
- Trafford P. Maher , S.J. (B.A. 1937; M.A. 1939) - with a grant from the American Jewish Committee, researched material that was used by the Second Vatican Council in documents on ecumenism and relationships with non-Christians.
- Richard Dooling (B.A. 1976; J.D. 1987) -- lawyer and author of four novels: ''Critical Care''; ''White Man's Grave''; ''Brain Storm''; ''Bet Your Life''.
- Michael J. Garanzini , S.J. (B.A. 1971) -- president of SLU student government in 1969-1970 is now president of Loyola University of Chicago (since 2001).
- Pat Leahy -- played soccer at SLU but was a Placekicker for the New York Jets from 1974 to 1990
- Freeman Bosley, Jr. (B.A. 1976; J.D. 1979) -- St. Louis, Missouri 's first African-American Mayor .
