Anna Maria College is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

college in

Paxton, Massachusetts Paxton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,004 at the 2020 census. History Paxton was first settled by Europeans in 1749 and was officially incorporated in 1765. It was previously occupied by the Ni ...

. It was founded in 1946 as a

women's college Women's colleges in higher education are undergraduate, bachelor's degree-granting institutions, often liberal arts colleges, whose student populations are composed exclusively or almost exclusively of women. Some women's colleges admit male stud ...

, but has been

coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

since 1973. The school offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees.

History

Anna Maria College was founded in 1946 as a

by the

Sisters of Saint Anne The Sisters of St. Anne (S.S.A.) is a Roman Catholic religious institute, founded in 1850 in Vaudreuil, Quebec, Canada, by the Blessed Marie Anne Blondin, S.S.A., to promote the education of the rural children of the Province of Canada. Their vi ...

, after receiving formal approval from

Richard Cushing Richard James Cushing (August 24, 1895 – November 2, 1970) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Boston from 1944 to 1970 and was made a cardinal in 1958. Cushing's main role was as fundraiser and builder ...

, the

Archbishop of Boston The Archdiocese of Boston ( la, Archidiœcesis Bostoniensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in the New England region of the United States. Its territorial remit encompasses the whole of ...

. The original campus was in

Marlborough Marlborough may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Marlborough, Wiltshire, England ** Marlborough College, public school * Marlborough School, Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England * The Marlborough Science Academy in Hertfordshire, England Austral ...

, Massachusetts. In 1951, the college moved to its present location in Paxton. Four years later, accreditation by the

New England Association of Schools and Colleges The New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. (NEASC) is a United States' regional accreditation association providing educational accreditation. NEASC serves over 1500 public, independent schools, and technical/career institution ...

was issued. In 1973, Anna Maria College became

, and a year later, began graduate degree programs. On April 3, 1980, the Sisters of Saint Anne parted ways from running the school, and a Board of Trustees was established. In 2004, the College established the

Molly Bish Molly, Mollie or mollies may refer to: Animals * ''Poecilia'', a genus of fishes ** ''Poecilia sphenops'', a fish species * A female mule (horse–donkey hybrid) People * Molly (name) or Mollie, a female given name, including a list of persons ...

Center for the Protection of Children and the Elderly.

Academics

Anna Maria College has an average annual enrollment of around 1,500 students, which consist of mostly undergraduate and graduate students, as well as some continuing education learners Rooted in the traditions of Catholic education, the college combines liberal arts and sciences education with career preparation. The College is divided among six academic schools: the School of Business; the School of Education; the School of Justice and Social Sciences; the School of Fire and Health Sciences; the School of Visual and Performing Arts; and the School of Humanities.

Athletics

Anna Maria College has thirteen

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

athletic teams, known as the AMCATS, in the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(NCAA), including men's baseball, basketball, ice hockey, cross country, football, lacrosse, and soccer; and women's basketball, cross country, field hockey, soccer, softball, tennis, and volleyball. The school is a member of the

Great Northeast Athletic Conference The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III. History Chronological timeline * 1995 - In 1995, the Great Northeast Athletic ...

(GNAC). Football is played in the

Eastern Collegiate Football Conference The Eastern Collegiate Football Conference is a football-only intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Founded in 2009, it combines six schools spread across the states of Massachusetts, Vermont, and New York ...

(ECFC). Anna Maria was also a charter member of the

Commonwealth Coast Conference The Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA’s Division III. Member institutions are located in New England in the states of Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, with a Connectic ...

(CCC), which it competed in from 1984 to 2011 before joining the GNAC.

Notable faculty

Craig Blais Craig Blais (born 1978) is an American poet and academic. He is an associate professor of English at Anna Maria College. Early life and education Blais was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. He earned an Associate of Arts in liberal arts from ...

(English) *

Mark Eshbaugh Mark Eshbaugh (born 1974) is an American artist, author, educator, and musician. He has specialized in alternative photography processes and is considered a master in platinum/palladium and chrysotype printing, and excels in gum bichromate, cyan ...

(art) * Thomas Lewis (art) * Brian Mitchell (history)

Notable alumni

Geraldo Alicea Geraldo Alicea (born September 27, 1963 in Southbridge, Massachusetts) is an American politician who represented the 6th Worcester District in the Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower h ...

, member of the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

Catherine Cool Rumsey Catherine Cool Rumsey is an American politician and was a Democratic member of the Rhode Island Senate representing District 34 from 2013 to 2014. Education Cool Rumsey earned her BS in sociology from Nazareth College and her MS in quality ...

, member of the

Rhode Island Senate The Rhode Island Senate is the upper house of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, the lower house being the Rhode Island House of Representatives. It is composed of 38 Senators, each of w ...

* James M. Cummings, sheriff of

Barnstable County Barnstable County is a county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. At the 2020 census, the population was 228,996. Its shire town is Barnstable. The county consists of Cape Cod and associated islands (some adjacent islands are in Duk ...

* Ed Davis, Police Commissioner of the

Boston Police Department The Boston Police Department (BPD), dating back to 1854, holds the primary responsibility for law enforcement and investigation within the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest municipal police department in the United States. The ...

Brendan Doherty Brendan Doherty (born March 14, 1959) is a former Rhode Island State Police Superintendent and the 2012 Republican nominee for Rhode Island's 1st congressional district. Doherty was employed at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island as the Direc ...

, Superintendent of the

Rhode Island State Police The Rhode Island State Police (RISP) is an agency of the US state of Rhode Island responsible for statewide law enforcement and regulation, especially in areas underserved by local police agencies and on the state's limited-access highways. Its h ...

Shawn Dooley Shawn C. Dooley is an American politician from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He is a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives in the 9th Norfolk district, succeeding Dan Winslow. The 9th Norfolk District constitutes all or pa ...

, member of the

* James J. Dwyer, member of the

William B. Evans William B. Evans (born February 23, 1958) is currently serving as the executive director of public safety and chief of police of Boston College. Previously, Evans was the commissioner of the Boston Police Department from January 2014 until August ...

, Police Commissioner of the Boston Police Department *

Raymond Hull Raymond Hull (1919–1985) was a Canadian playwright, television screenwriter, and lecturer. He also wrote many non-fiction books, numerous magazine articles, short stories, and poetry. He is best known as the co-author of the book ''The Peter Pri ...

, member of the

Rhode Island House of Representatives The Rhode Island House of Representatives is the lower house of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, the upper house being the Rhode Island Senate. It is composed of 75 members, elected t ...

Brian Patrick Kennedy Brian Patrick Kennedy (born January 3, 1961, in Westerly, Rhode Island) is an American politician and a Democratic member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives representing District 38 since January 2003. Kennedy served consecutively fro ...

, member of the

Lise Thibault Lise Thibault DStJ (; born 2 April 1939) is a Canadian politician who served as the 27th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec from 1997 to 2007. She later spent six months in jail for misuse of public funds, which she was ordered to repay the governme ...

(honorary), Lieutenant Governor of

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

* Frederica Williams, President of the Whittier Street Health Center * Steven Xiarhos, member of the

References

External links

* {{authority control Anna Maria College Educational institutions established in 1946 Former women's universities and colleges in the United States Universities and colleges in Worcester County, Massachusetts Catholic universities and colleges in Massachusetts Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities