Gannon University is a private

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

university in

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 ...

. Gannon University has approximately 4,500 students and 46,000 alumni. Its

intercollegiate athletics College athletics encompasses non-professional, collegiate and university-level competitive sports and games. World University Games The first World University Games were held in 1923. There were originally called the ''Union Nationale des É ...

include 18 athletic programs for men and women competing at the

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

level.

History

Gannon University was first established in 1933 as the two-year Cathedral College by the Diocese of Erie. In 1944, the school became the four-year men's school Gannon College of Arts and Sciences, named in honor of the then-Bishop of Erie, John Mark Gannon, the driving force behind its opening and development. The college became coeducational in 1964 and gained university status in 1979. The all-girls school Villa Maria College, which was founded by the

Sisters of St. Joseph The Sisters of St. Joseph, also known as the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph, abbreviated CSJ or SSJ, is a Roman Catholic religious congregation of women founded in Le Puy-en-Velay, France, in 1650. This congregation, named for S ...

in 1925, merged with the university in 1989. Its ''Villa Maria School of Nursing'' retains the name of the original institution.

Academics

The university is organized into three main colleges: the College of Engineering and Business, which includes the Dahlkemper School of Business Administration; the College of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences; and the Morosky College of Health Professions and Sciences.

Campus

Gannon University's campus is located in downtown Erie, primarily concentrated between Peach and Myrtle Streets and 3rd and 10th Streets. In summer 2015, a doctoral branch campus opened in Ruskin, Florida focusing on healthcare majors.

Athletics

Gannon is a member of the

Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. The conference was originally formed in 1951 as the State Teachers C ...

. Gannon offers 18 Division II scholarship-granting varsity sports, that includes nine men's and women's teams. The men participate in baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, swimming, water polo, and wrestling. The women participate in basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, volleyball, water polo, wrestling, acrobatics and tumbling. In June 2007, Gannon University, along with cross-town rival

Mercyhurst College (Seize the day) , former_names = Mercyhurst College (1926–2012) , established = , type = Private university , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic (Sisters of Mercy) , endowment = $31.8 million , faculty = 136 full-time , administra ...

, was accepted into the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, where area schools Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and

Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania Slippery Rock University, formally Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania (The Rock or SRU), is a public university in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania. SRU is a member of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE). The university ...

are members. Along with Gannon and Mercyhurst as full members,

LIU Post LIU Post (formally, the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, and often referred to as C.W. Post) is a private university in Brookville, New York. It is the largest campus of the private Long Island University system. The campus is named ...

also was accepted into the conference as an affiliate member.

Greek life

Fraternities: *

Delta Kappa Epsilon Delta Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as ''DKE'' or ''Deke'', is one of the oldest fraternities in the United States, with fifty-six active chapters and five active colonies across North America. It was founded at Yale College in 1844 by fiftee ...

Delta Sigma Phi Delta Sigma Phi (), commonly known as Delta Sig or D Sig, is a fraternity established in 1899 at The City College of New York (CCNY). It was the first fraternity to be founded on the basis of religious and ethnic acceptance. It is also one of th ...

Delta Chi Delta Chi () is an international Greek letter collegiate social fraternity formed on October 13, 1890, at Cornell University, initially as a professional fraternity for law students. On April 30, 1922, Delta Chi became a general membership soc ...

Zeta Beta Tau Zeta Beta Tau () is a Greek-letter social fraternity based in North America. It was founded on December 29, 1898. Originally a Zionist youth society, its purpose changed from Zionism in the fraternity's early years when in 1954 the fraternity be ...

* Pi Kappa Alpha *

Tau Kappa Epsilon Tau Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as or Teke, is a social college fraternity founded on January 10, 1899, at Illinois Wesleyan University. The organization has chapters throughout the United States and Canada, making the Fraternity an interna ...

Sororities: *

Alpha Gamma Delta Alpha Gamma Delta (), also known as Alpha Gam, is an international women's fraternity and social organization. It was founded on May 30, 1904, by eleven female students at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York, making it the youngest member ...

Alpha Sigma Alpha Alpha Sigma Alpha () is a United States National Panhellenic sorority founded on November 15, 1901, at the Virginia State Female Normal School (later known as Longwood College and now known as Longwood University) in Farmville, Virginia. Once a sor ...

* Alpha Sigma Tau *

Sigma Sigma Sigma Sigma Sigma Sigma (), also known as Tri Sigma, is a national American women's sorority. Sigma Sigma Sigma is a member of the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC), an umbrella organization encompassing 26 national sororities or women's fraterni ...

Notable alumni

Kevin Benson Kevin Benson is an American meteorologist. He is best known for his tenure with WPXI in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is a member of the National Weather Association and the American Meteorological Society, which has given him the AMS seal of appro ...

Meteorologist A meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists in research, while t ...

for

WPXI WPXI (channel 11) is a television station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Cox Media Group. The station's offices and studios are located on Evergreen Road in the Summer Hill neighborhood of Pittsbur ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

John Brabender John Brabender is a political consultant who mostly advises Republicans but, has also advised Democratic candidates including Democrat Tom Knox, who ran for Philadelphia mayor. He earned a degree in from Gannon University and an MBA from Cleveland ...

, Republican political consultant *

Italo Cappabianca Italo S. Cappabianca was a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He graduated from Strong Vincent High School in Erie, Pennsylvania, in 1955 and earned a degree in political science from Gannon University in 1968. He ...

, former Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives *

Daniel Cudmore Daniel Cudmore (born January 20, 1981) is a Canadian actor and stuntman. He is perhaps best known for his roles as the superhero Peter Rasputin / Colossus in the ''X-Men'' film series, and as the Volturi Felix in ''The Twilight Saga'' film se ...

, Canadian actor and stuntman * Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, convicted murderer * James Dubik,

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

* Isaiah Eisendorf (born 1996), American-Israeli basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League * William Gehrlein, researcher * Matthew W. Good, former member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives * Steve Grilli, former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player * Robert J. Heibel, retired FBI Agent * John Hornaman, former member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives * Lori Jakiela, author * Andy Lorei, professional soccer player for the

Tulsa Roughnecks Tulsa Roughnecks may refer to any of four distinct professional soccer teams: *Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984), the original top-flight team that played in the North American Soccer League from 1978 to 1984. *Tulsa Roughnecks (1993–2000), the team ...

* Jabs Newby, professional basketball player * Mark L. Nelson, chemist, scientist and inventor of Omadacycline, a tetracycline antibiotic * Bill Pepicello, President of the

University of Phoenix University of Phoenix (UoPX) is a private for-profit university headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1976, the university confers certificates and degrees at the certificate, associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree level ...

* Rocco Pugliese, lobbyist in Pennsylvania * Brad Roae, Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives 2007–present *

Joe Schember Joseph Schember (born November 13, 1950) is an American banker and politician and serving as the 48th mayor of Erie, Pennsylvania. Schember previously served as a vice president of PNC Bank and as a member of the Erie City Council between 2006 a ...

, 48th Mayor of

(2018–present) * Joseph E. Sinnott, 47th Mayor of

(2006–2018) * R. Tracy Seyfert, former member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives *

John Stehr John Stehr (born August 20, 1958, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), is a former American television journalist. He is currently running for Mayor of Zionsville, Indiana, where municipal elections will be held in 2023. He retired as full-time lead ancho ...

, former CBS News Correspondent, currently main anchor at

WTHR WTHR (channel 13) is a television station in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside low-power, Class A MeTV affiliate WALV-CD (channel 46). Both stations share studios on North Meridian ...

in Indianapolis *

Thomas Joseph Tobin Thomas Joseph Tobin (born April 1, 1948) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He has been serving as the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, Diocese of Providence in Rhode Island since 2005. Tobin previously se ...

, prelate of the Roman Catholic Church *

Barbara Smith Warner Barbara Smith Warner (born 1967) is a Democratic politician from the U.S. state of Oregon. She serves in the Oregon House of Representatives representing District 45, which includes northeastern Portland, and Maywood Park. Early life and caree ...

, member of the Oregon House of Representatives, representing District 45 * James G. Zimmerly, physician and co-discoverer of a

meningococcal vaccine Meningococcal vaccine refers to any vaccine used to prevent infection by '' Neisseria meningitidis''. Different versions are effective against some or all of the following types of meningococcus: A, B, C, W-135, and Y. The vaccines are between 8 ...

References

External links

*
Gannon Athletics website
{{coord, 42.128, -80.090, region:US-PA_type:edu, display=title Catholic universities and colleges in Pennsylvania Educational institutions established in 1925 Education in Erie, Pennsylvania Universities and colleges in Erie County, Pennsylvania Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities 1925 establishments in Pennsylvania