Xavier University (Cincinnati)

Infobox University
name = Xavier University
latin_name = Universitas Xaveriana Cincinnatensis


motto = "Vidit Mirabilia Magna"
("He has seen great wonders")
"Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam"
("For the greater glory of God")
established = 1831
type = Private Jesuit Catholic
endowment = $108 million cite web | url=http://www.nacubo.org/x2376.xml | title=NACUBO Endowment Survey - Public NEWS Tables | publisher=NACUBO | accessdate=2007-09-24]
president = Rev. Michael J. Graham, S.J.
city = Cincinnati
state = Ohio
country = United States
undergrad = 4,000
postgrad = 2,500
faculty = 294 full time
campus = 125 acres
member = Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities
free_label = Athletics
free = 15 NCAA Division I teams
mascot = D'Artagnan the captain of Musketeers of the Guard
The Blue Blob
colors = Navy Blue and White
website = http://www.xavier.edu/

Xavier University is a private, Jesuit, co-educational university in the United States located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Today, Xavier University is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. It has an undergraduate enrollment of about 4,000 students and graduate enrollment of 2,500 students. Xavier is primarily an undergraduate, liberal arts institution. Graduate programs include education, counseling, English, theology, psychology, and business. Xavier's large part-time MBA program is a nationally ranked, AACSB accredited program (recently ranked #16 by US News and World Report).

History

The first Catholic institution of higher learning in the Northwest Territory, Xavier was founded in 1831 as a men's college called the Athenaeum. Upon Bishop John Baptist Purcell's request, the Society of Jesus took control of the school in 1840, and the name was changed to Xavier, after the 16th century Spanish Jesuit Saint Francis Xavier. Xavier is the fourth oldest Jesuit University and sixth oldest Catholic university in the United States. Initially located in downtown Cincinnati, Xavier moved to a location about 5 miles from downtown in 1919. Xavier initially included both a high school and a college. Saint Xavier High School and the college separated over a period of time in the early 20th century, with final financial separation coming in 1934. Xavier first admitted women in 1969. In recent years, a number of building projects have been completed on campus, including the Cintas Center, Schiff Family Conference Center, the Gallagher Student Center, and the restoration of a number of buildings. The current University President is Fr. Michael J. Graham, S.J. who was appointed by the Board of Trustees as the 34th President of the University in January, 2001. In 2006 Xavier began its year long 175th anniversary celebration.

Core curriculum

Undergraduate students attending Xavier must complete a significant number of distribution requirements that are more commonly known as the Core Curriculum. More than half the classes a student takes at Xavier are not in their major field. There are required courses in: Theology, Philosophy, Mathematics, Fine Arts, History, Physical Science, Literature, Foreign Language, and the Social Sciences. It provides students with the foundation necessary for academic success, a lifetime of continuous learning and career advancement. The Core Curriculum is a confluence of Jesuit ideals, and Great Books rigors. All Xavier students, upon completion of a bachelor degree, have read the Republic (Plato), Discourse on Method, and selections from the Bible among other original texts.

Majors

Accountancy -Art -Athletic Training -Biology -Chemistry -Classics -Communication Arts -Computer Science -Criminal Justice -Economics -Education -English -Entrepreneurial Studies -Finance -French -German -History -Honors Bachelor of Arts -Honors Programs -Human Resources -Information Systems -International Affairs -International Business -Liberal Arts -Management -Marketing -Mathematics -Medical Technology -Montessori Education -Music -Natural Sciences -Nursing -Philosophy -Philosophy, Politics & the Public -Physics -Political Science -Pre-Law -Pre-Medical -Psychology -Radiologic Technology -Social Work -Sociology -Spanish -Special Education -Sport Management -Sport Marketing -Theology -Teaching Licensure Information -Undecided -University Scholars

Major requirements

All undergraduate students are required to complete the Core Curriculum (see above) and comply with departmental requirements. Business majors (from the Williams College of Business) are also required to complete the Business Core, which consists of courses in Accounting, Business Law, Economics, Finance, Human Resources, Information Systems, Management, Marketing, and Statistics (the Business Core occupies 35 credit hours). Business majors, therefore, are only required to take 18-21 hours in their chosen field (providing many students with an incentive to declare second major within the Williams College of Business). Students in the other colleges (the College of Social Sciences and the College of Arts and Sciences) generally have to complete at least 60 credit hours of courses within the major and electives within the College. 120 credit hours must be obtained to graduate with a B.A. or B.S. degree, and all students must achieve a 2.0 GPA minimum in their major course of study.

Certain majors; such as Politics Philosophy and the Public (PPP), Honors Arts Bachelor (HAB), and Philosophy require a written thesis and defense before a selected committee. Philosophy also requires a written comprehensive exam.

Grading scale

In 2005 Xavier switched to the plus minus grading system, after using the simpler A, B,C,D,F scale since the university's inception. However, in addition to the standard letter grades, Xavier offers professors the option to assign various non-traditional grades, such as VF (Vanished Failure) for students who do not attend class regularly. The university also offers students the option to "Audit" courses; that is, to take the class, but have any passing grade not computed into the student's Grade Point Average.

Xavier has also switched to a "Quality-Point" conversion scale to compute Grade Point Averages. The Quality Points are assigned such that each 1/3 of a grade is the equivalent to 1/3 Quality Point per credit hour. For example, a grade of B would rate 3 Quality Points per credit hour (thus, for a 3-hr course, the student would gain 9 Quality points), while a score of B+ would rate 3 and 1/3 Quality Points per credit hour (so that same 3-hr class would yield 10 Quality Points). The total number of Quality Points earned is divided by the total number of credit hours attempted (excepting those officially Withdrawn from consideration -- where a grade of W was assigned) to compute the student's Grade Point Average.

Notable faculty

*Arthur J. Dewey, New Testament scholar
*Richard Polt, Heidegger Scholar, and Manual Typewriter Enthusiast.
*Henry Heimlich, "inventor" of Heimlich Maneuver. Advanced Clinical Science Professor 1977-89

Campus

The campus covers approximately 125 acres and features both residential and academic malls. The Gallagher Student Center, a general gathering place for students and visitors, is located in the center of the main residential mall. The Cintas Center, where the Musketeers host their basketball games, and the home of the Hoff Student Dining Center, is located adjacent to that same main residential mall. Dormitories on the main residential mall include Brockman Hall (solely for freshmen), Buenger Hall (the main Honors housing), and Husman and Kuhlman Halls, which mainly house general freshmen and sophomore students. The majority of upper-class and graduate students choosing to live on-campus are housed in University-owned apartments, either adjacent to the main academic mall, or across campus on the other side of the academic mall. The Commons offers housing for 274 junior, senior, and graduate residents in three and four bedroom apartment style living. There are 62 four bedroom units and eight-three bedroom units. [ [http://www.xavier.edu/reslife/commons.cfm Office of Residence Life ] ] The Village Apartments, located at 1421 Dana Ave, was built in 1989 and houses 224 sophomore, junior, senior and graduate students. The three and four bedroom units have two full bathrooms. All bedrooms are single occupancy. [ [http://www.xavier.edu/reslife/village.cfm Office of Residence Life ] ] Most upper-class students, though, seek off-campus housing due to the uncertainty of obtaining a University-owned apartment in the housing lottery.

The Academic Mall features Hailstones Hall (which houses the Williams College of Business, along with Professor offices and classrooms for both graduate and undergraduate classes), Alter Hall (a general use building which features Kelly Auditorium, the largest instruction room on the campus; computer labs open for general student use; a language lab; classrooms; and the Offices of the Bursar, the Registrar, Student Success and Retention, and the CAPS program), the Lindner Family Physics Building (home to science labs, classrooms, and Professor Offices); Logan Hall, Hinkle Hall, Albers Hall, Schmidt Hall, and Schott Hall (the tallest building on campus), which house both Professor offices and some classrooms; Edgecliff Hall (home to the Music Department); and the McDonald Library.

Between the Academic Mall and the main Residential Mall lies Bellarmine Chapel, home to the Bellarmine (Catholic) Parish in Cincinnati. This serves as the campus chapel and holds daily masses which, though open to the public, are frequented mainly by students. While Sunday morning and early afternoon masses are attended almost exclusively non-students, the Sunday Night Mass: the 10 p.m. Mass, is heavily attended by students, and finding a non-student or faculty member in attendance is rare. The 10 p.m. Mass is a popular gathering for students, and often leads to long conversations following the mass, and late-night meals between professors, students, and Jesuits-in-Residence (including Fr. Graham, the University's current President). It is even rumored that some local eateries extend their Sunday-night hours past even their Saturday-night hours during the academic year.

On the Opposite side of Victory Parkway from both the Academic and Residential Malls is the Athletic Mall. This is where the Armory, Hayden (Baseball) Field, Corcoran (Soccer) Field, Schmidt Fieldhouse, Elet Hall, Joseph Hall and the O'Connor Sports Center are located.

Mission statement

Xavier's mission statement can be found at http://www.xu.edu/mission/. The President's Message summarizes the mission of the school by saying, "Xavier University is dedicated to engaging and forming students intellectually, morally and spiritually, with rigor and compassion, toward lives of solidarity, service, and success."

Athletics

Xavier competes at the NCAA Division I level in the Atlantic Ten Conference, and their mascot is D'Artagnan the Musketeer. Xavier sponsors eight intercollegiate sports for men, and eight sports for women. The University's graduation rate of 94% [http://web1.ncaa.org/app_data/inst2007/812.pdf] is the third highest graduation rate for athletes in the nation behind Duke University and Stanford University. Xavier sports teams have several traditional rivalries with local universities, including the University of Cincinnati.

Men's basketball

The Xavier men's basketball team is perhaps the best known of the sports sponsored at Xavier. The team has enjoyed considerable recent success, reaching the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament in 2004 and 2008. The school has graduated every men's basketball player since 1985 and is the only non-BCS school to be listed among the top 20 most valuable programs in college basketball. [ [http://www.forbes.com/sportsbusiness/2007/12/27/college-basketball-valuations-biz-sports_cz_js_0102basketball.html The Most Valuable College Basketball Teams - Forbes.com ] ] .

Radio and Television

Most Xavier games can be heard on WLW or WKRC-AM. WLW is also the flagship station of the University of Cincinnati Bearcats basketball games. When both teams play the same night, Xavier games are aired on WKRC. Joe Sunderman does the play-by-play and Byron Larkin does color commentary. Fox Sports Net Ohio holds the local television rights to the Musketeers basketball games. Brad Johansen does play-by-play and Steve Wolf is the analyst. Over the air stations, WCPO-TV and WSTR-TV, have held the rights to Xavier games in the past.

Other sports

Xavier also competes in:
* Women's Basketball
* Women's Volleyball
* Men's Baseball
* Cross Country (Men's and Women's Teams)
* Golf (Men's and Women's Teams)
* Soccer (Men's and Women's Teams)
* Swimming (Men's and Women's Teams)
* Tennis (Men's and Women's Teams)
* Track & Field, both Indoor and Outdoor (Men's and Women's Teams)

Xavier fielded an NCAA Division I football team until the 1973 season. The absence of the team led to the creation of the popular t-shirt "Xavier Football: Undefeated since 1973." However, the sport has made a comeback at the university. In 2006, a [http://xu.edu/football club football] team was formed and was an immediate success despite losing every game in its inaugural season. In 2007, Xavier also led in the creation of the Midwestern Club Football Conference, formed out of club teams at Miami (OH), Marquette University, Xavier, and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. On September 30, 2007 Xavier won their first football game in 34 years, defeating Miami's (OH) club team 13-7. On October 20, 2007, Xavier beat SIUE 13-6, winning the first Midwest Club Football Conference championship.

Notable alumni

Xavier is the alma mater to several notable politicians, public servants and corporate executives.

*Melanie Bates, Vice-President Cincinnati Board of Education, Community activist
*J. Kenneth Blackwell, former Ohio Secretary of State, 2006 GOP Ohio Gubernatorial Candidate
*John Boehner, U.S. House Of Representatives Minority Leader and former Majority Leader
*Clement L. Buenger, former CEO, Fifth Third Bancorp.
*Jim Bunning, junior U.S. Senator from Kentucky, member of Baseball Hall of Fame
*John A. Cade, former Maryland State Senator
*Paul Cashen, Co-Founder and former President of PC on Call
*Bill Cunningham, Radio talk show host for Cincinnati's 700 WLW
*John Dreyer, Vice President, Walt Disney Co.
*Janet Smith Dickerson, Vice President Princeton University
*Charles Geschke, President, and Co-Founder of Adobe Systems
*Richard Hague, American poet
*Patricia Herbold, United States Ambassador to Singapore
*Bill Kelley, Vice Chairman, Jelly Belly Candy Company
*Ken Lucas, former U.S. Congressman from Kentucky
*J. Barton Luedeke, Former President Rider University
*Michael Lundy, Executive Director for the Huntsville, Alabama Housing Authority
*Dave Milam, co-founder of iMark, Inc.
*Robert Romanus, actor best known for playing Mike Damone in Fast Times at Ridgemont High
*Kay Napier, Vice President, Procter and Gamble
*Rich Owen, Co-Founder of Redox Brands
*James Posey, forward for the New Orleans Hornets, two-time NBA champion
*George A. Shaefer Jr., CEO and President, Fifth Third Bancorp
*Joseph Viviano, Vice Chairman, Hershey Foods Corporation
*Lloyd Ward, CEO, US Olympic Committee
*David West, power forward for the New Orleans Hornets
*Todd Wichmann, Co-Founder of Redox Brands
*Duane Wolff, adventurer, social critic

ee also

*The creator of the comic A Couple of Guys got his start writing for the Xavier Newswire.
*Cintas Center

References

External links

* [http://www.xavier.edu Xavier University]
* [http://www.xavier.edu/admission Admission website]
* [http://www.xavier.edu/virtual_tour Virtual Tour]
* [http://goxavier.collegesports.com Official Athletic Site]
* [http://www.xavier.edu/newswire/ The Xavier Newswire]
* [http://www.pbase.com/cincyimages/xavier_university Cincinnati Photographs of Xavier University]