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Former names | Salve Regina College (1934-1991) |
|---|---|
| Motto | Maria Spes Nostra |
Motto in English | Mary, Our Hope |
| Type | Private university |
| Established | 1934; 91 years ago (1934) |
Religious affiliation | Roman Catholic (Sisters of Mercy) |
Academic affiliations | Conference for Mercy Higher Education ACCU NAICU Space-grant |
| Endowment | $77.4 million (2022)[1] |
| Chancellor | M. Therese Antone |
| President | Dr. Kelli J. Armstrong |
| Provost | Nancy G. Schreiber |
| Students | 2,600 |
| Undergraduates | 2,021 |
| Postgraduates | 626 |
| Location | , U.S. 41°28′26″N71°17′57″W / 41.47389°N 71.29917°W /41.47389; -71.29917 |
| Campus | Suburban |
| Colors | Navy, white |
| Nickname | Seahawks |
Sporting affiliations | NCAADivision III NEWMAC, NEHC,NEISA |
| Mascot | Seahawk |
| Website | salve.edu |
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Salve Regina University is aprivate coeducationalRoman Catholic university inNewport, Rhode Island, United States. It was founded in 1934 by theSisters of Mercy and is accredited by theNew England Commission of Higher Education. The university enrolls more than 2,800 undergraduate and graduate students annually.[2]
Salve's 80-acre historical coastal campus, bordering theNewport Cliff Walk in the state ofRhode Island, is set on seven contiguousGilded Age estates with 21 structures of historic significance.[3] The university is home to thePell Center for International Relations and Public Policy.[4]
Salve is a member of theNCAA Division III. In 2022 about 520 students – about 18% of the student body – participated in intercollegiate athletics.[5]
On March 6, 1934, the state of Rhode Island granted a charter to theSisters of Mercy of Providence for a corporation to be namedSalve Regina College (translated from the Latin as "Hail Queen"). The charter specified that the college would exist "to promote virtue, and piety and learning". In 1947 the corporation received the gift ofOchre Court, a 50-room Newport mansion from businessman Robert Goelet IV,[6] and admitted its first class of 58 students in the autumn of that year. The college's first president wasMary Matthew Doyle (1870–1960), who was also the first Mother Provincial of the Sisters of Mercy of Providence.[7]
During the 1950s two more buildings were added to the campus: Moore Hall, originally built in 1890, was donated to the college in 1955 by Cornelius Moore, a former Newport mayor and chairman of the original board of trustees; McAuley Hall, originally theVinland Estate, was donated to the college in 1955 by Florence Burden, daughter ofFlorence Adele Vanderbilt Twombly.
Salve Regina was originally a women's college, becoming coeducational in 1973. The college added graduate programs in 1975 and, in 1991, achieved university status, transforming intoSalve Regina University. The changes came about during the tenure of its longest-serving president, Lucille McKillop, who headed the institution from 1973 until 1994. During that time the school went from 1000 students studying nine majors to more than 2300 students studying 25 majors.[8]
By 2000, the campus had expanded to 60 acres and included 18 buildings of historical significance. The university received an Historic Preservation Award in 2000 from the Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission for its work in the preservation and "sensitive adaptation" of the buildings and the 1999 National Preservation Award from theNational Trust for Historic Preservation.[9][10][11] In 2002 the university received aGetty Grant Program award to develop a campus heritage preservation plan.[12]
In December 2015 the university received aTree Campus USA designation, a program of theArbor Day Foundation which recognizes and encourages the best practices of planting and caring for campus trees and the engagement of students in environmental stewardship. The university was accredited in 2016 by theMorton Arboretum as a Level II arboretum for its historic trees and landscapes.[13]
For its 2023 edition, thePrinceton Review selected the university as one of America’s ‘Best Colleges’.[14] In its 2024 edition, U.S news & World Report ranked the university 27th in the Regional Universities (North) Category.[15] In 2022, theTimes Higher Education World University Rankings ranked Salve in the top 401st – 500th category of U.S. colleges.[16] In 2022 bothArchitectural Digest andConde Nast Traveler ranked the university as having one of the most beautiful college campuses in America.[17] In 2018Money magazine ranked the university as being one of the Most Transformative Colleges in the United States.[18]
The university offers associate, bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in a variety of majors. The university has three PhD programs; ininternational relations, thehumanities, and behavior analysis.[19][20][21] The university also offers theDoctor of Nursing Practice (DNP). All degree programs offered by the university are accredited by theNew England Association of Schools and Colleges[22] with additional accreditation from other bodies for professional programs such as business studies, visual arts, counseling, education, nursing, and social work.
According to the university, in the three years prior to 2016, it received an average of 5,000 yearly applications, of which 3,000 students were admitted from 35 US states and 20 other countries. Salve Regina is known for its selective nursing program, but it offers more than 40 majors.[23] There are also a number of study abroad programs.[24]
Financial aid is offered through a variety of grants, scholarships, loans and part-time work-study employment. Some of the programs are funded by outside bodies and others funded by the university itself. The university also participates in the Post-9/11 GI Bill Yellow Ribbon Program to provide educational funding for veterans and their families.[25]
Named for Therese Antone, who was president from 1994 to 2009, the Antone Academic Center for Culture and the Arts houses facilities for several academic departments and programs, including art, cultural and historic preservation, English communications and media, and music, theatre and dance. It was completed in 2008 and involved combining and restoring the carriage house and stable complexes of two historic buildings — Wetmore Hall, belonging toChateau-sur-Mer, and Mercy Hall belonging toOchre Court.[26]
McAuley Hall, named afterCatherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy, was originally the main building of theVinland Estate, built in 1882 for the tobacco heiressCatharine Lorillard Wolfe. It was acquired by the university in 1955 and was at first a residence hall and library. It now houses classrooms and academic department offices.[27]
The main library is named for Lucille McKillop, who was president from 1973 to 1994. It was built in 1991 and holds approximately 150,000 volumes.[28]
Named for M. Hilda Miley, the second president, Miley Hall was built in 1964 on the former site ofMary Frick Garrett Jacobs' Whiteholme estate. It serves as a residence hall for first-year students and also houses the cafeteria, bookstore, and offices for student services.[29]
Ochre Court, built between 1890 and 1895, and once the summer residence ofOgden Goelet, is now the university's central administration building. Concerts, lectures, and special functions are held in the ballrooms on the ground floor. The Goelet family gave Ochre Court to theSisters of Mercy in 1947, enabling the establishment of the college. It was at first the only building, and housed the dormitories for the original 58 students, classrooms, a library, and the dining hall. At the time, the faculty consisted of eight Sisters of Mercy who lived in the mansion's former servant quarters.[30]
Named for Mary James O'Hare, the university's first academic dean, the O'Hare Academic Center houses classrooms, laboratories, faculty offices, the Bazarsky Lecture Hall and the Jazzman's Cafe. Designed by East Providence architectEdward P. Denning,[31] it was built in 1968, and in 2015 underwent a major renovation and expansion project in 2017.[32][33]
The chapel and interfaith prayer room are on the main floor of the building, which was completed in September 2010. It was built, in part, to house three large figurative stained glass windows and ten smaller ones byJohn La Farge. They were originally created in 1890–1891 for the private chapel of the Caldwell sisters in Newport. When the Caldwell house was demolished in 1931, the windows went to the Sisters of Mercy convent chapel in Fall River, Massachusetts, and were subsequently acquired by the university when the convent was torn down 2004. Wood salvaged from the Fall River convent has been incorporated into the altar base and celebrant's chair. The steeple contains three bells made by theMeneely Bell Foundry in 1910, which formerly hung in a church in Lawrence, Massachusetts. The Mercy Center for Spiritual Life is on the lower level of the building and provides space for student activities and offices for campus ministers.[34][35]
Named for Thomas Rodgers Jr., a trustee and benefactor of the university, the center was completed in 2000. It houses the university's athletic and recreational facilities.[36][37]
Originally known as Wakehurst, a mansion built in 1887 forJames J. Van Alen, was acquired by the university from the Van Alen family in 1972. A replica ofWakehurst Place in England, Wakehurst houses classrooms and faculty offices and serves as a hub for student recreational activities and campus events. The name was changed to Gerety Hall in May 2019 after the retirement of president Jane Gerety.[36][38]
Named for the university benefactors Anita O'Keeffe and Robert R. Young, the Young Building is the home of thePell Center for International Relations and Public Policy and is also a residence for sophomore students in the Pell Honors Program. It was originally Fairlawn, a mansion built in the 1850s for the Boston lawyer Andrew Ritchie and later owned byLevi P. Morton. It was acquired by the university in 1997.[11][39]
The university competes inDivision III of theNational Collegiate Athletic Association. It is a member of theNEWMAC and its quasi-independent football arm,Commonwealth Coast Football, and offers ten sports for women (soccer, field hockey, tennis, cross country, basketball, ice hockey, volleyball, softball, track and field, and lacrosse), eight for men (football, cross country, soccer, basketball, ice hockey, tennis, baseball, and lacrosse), and one co-ed sport (sailing).
It also has a club sports program. The men's and women's rugby clubs compete in theColonial Coast Rugby Conference.[40]
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