Quincy University (formerly known as St. Francis Solanus College, and today abbreviated as QU) 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 ...

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

university in

Quincy, Illinois Quincy ( ), known as Illinois's "Gem City", is a city in and the county seat of Adams County, Illinois, United States, located on the Mississippi River. The 2020 census counted a population of 39,463 in the city itself, down from 40,633 in 2010. ...

. It was founded in 1860 and enrolls about 1,100 students.

History

A small group of Franciscan

friars A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ...

left Germany in 1858 to serve the German-speaking population in what was then the frontier state of Illinois. On February 6, 1860, they founded the institution as St. Francis Solanus College. This school was established at the corner of 8th and Maine Street. Under the leadership of Fr. Anselm Mueller, who served as president for a total of 37 years beginning in 1863, the institution moved to its current location on what is now College Avenue. Following two other name changes during the twentieth century, the current name, Quincy University, was adopted in 1993. The university name was used in part to recognize the addition of graduate programs. From its founding, Quincy University has embraced a deep commitment to the liberal arts while recognizing the importance of professional programs. The earliest course catalogs, from the 1870s, combined a strong focus on the liberal arts with courses in accounting and other "commercial" programs. Quincy University continues to offer majors in the liberal arts and in the professions. Quincy University typically enrolled under 300 students until the 1930s. The first woman enrolled at the university in the 1920s, and women were regularly admitted beginning in 1932. From the 1870s until the 1950s, the great majority of campus courses and activities occurred in Francis Hall, a large building renowned for its beauty and strong German architectural influences. Quincy University was involved in educating Army reservists and Navy cadets during World War II, and enrollment grew after the Second World War. The university first enrolled over 1,000 students in the late 1950s. In response to this enrollment growth, several new buildings were planned and put up during the 1950s and 1960s. The Franciscan friars made up the majority of the university faculty until the late twentieth century. The distinctive Franciscan intellectual tradition remains central to the mission and values of the university. Since the founding of the institution, many Franciscan friars in the Midwest have been educated at Quincy University. Today, the university is home to people of all faiths, who are welcomed in the Franciscan tradition of hospitality. In 2016 the university announced that it was having significant financial issues. At the time of the announcement the school was running a $5 million deficit. A plan was developed to cut costs, and major donors helped get the university past the crisis. In November 2018, the university received $2.25 million from the U.S. Department of Education to expand students' access to science, technology, engineering and math. In 2020, the university initiated its distinctive Success by Design program, in which each undergraduate student completes and annually updates an individualized student success plan. The program also emphasizes high-impact learning experiences, such as undergraduate research and internships, along with multiple sources of mentoring and advising. In 2021, the Oakley family of Quincy announced a $6.5 million gift to the university which included naming of the Oakley School of Business. This gift is more than double the previous largest gift to the university.

Academics

Quincy University is organized into five schools: *School of Fine Arts & Communication *School of Humanities *School of Science and Technology *Oakley School of Business *School of Education & Human Services At the undergraduate level, QU requires completion of the Bonaventure general education program, which includes a significant service requirement for all students. Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts degrees are offered in 46 major areas of concentration. The university also supports a variety of non-degree programs and multiple degree-completion options for non-traditional students. Courses are offered in traditional, online, or hybrid formats. At the graduate level, QU offers a Master of

Business Administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

(MBA) degree, a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

in education (M.S.Ed.) degree and a (M.S. Ed) Master of Science in education in counseling degree. The MBA degree is offered entirely online. Classroom technologies and resources are tailored to the needs of specific academic programs. New or updated and renovated laboratories in computer science, cybersecurity, business analytics, biology, and chemistry are available, as is the John “Pete” Brown Mock Trial courtroom.

Accreditations

Quincy University is accredited by the

Higher Learning Commission The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an institutional accreditor in the United States. It has historically accredited post-secondary education institutions in the central United States: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa ...

. QU also has specialized accreditation from the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP).

Campus

Quincy University's compact, walkable campus is located in a residential area, a few blocks away from Quincy's Broadway Avenue shopping and business district. Historic Francis Hall is at the center of campus and was built and expanded between 1871 and 1898. The campus also features distinctive examples of Mid-Century modern architecture in its residence halls and classroom and administration buildings. Friar's Field, a large lawn that held various athletic fields during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, now creates a park-like setting for the campus. The newest additions to campus include a large health and fitness center and an apartment-style residence hall. The historic campus holds several noteworthy traditional and contemporary public art installations. The Brenner Library includes the highly regarded Gray Gallery, which features art exhibitions throughout the year. The university chapel was built in 1911 and has been renovated on several occasions. The chapel design was shortened and modified to preserve the baseball field then located just to the north of Francis Hall. A former Franciscan seminary is now part of Quincy University, just a few minutes to the north of the university's historic campus. Now called the North Campus, this extensively renovated facility houses most of the Division of Science and Technology, the Connie Niemann Center for Music, and the Quincy Media Inc. television studio. The university's soccer stadium and softball complex are located adjacent to the North Campus. The football stadium and baseball field are part of the main campus and feature distinctive limestone walls. The football and baseball facilities were built in the 1930s and have been extensively renovated. Campus life at Quincy University involves several student clubs and activities, including three Greek-letter organizations. Greek houses are located on campus. Each year, the Inaugural ceremony brings together faculty, staff, new students, and parents to celebrate the beginning of the university experience for new students. Following a procession by the faculty in academic regalia, the ceremony takes place in St. Francis Solanus Church, a Franciscan parish located across the street from Quincy University.

Students and alumni

The student body at Quincy University is about 52% men and 48% women. Most students come from Illinois and Missouri, but several other states in the Midwest and South are well represented at QU. Over 15,000 Quincy University alumni live in all 50 states and 12 foreign countries.

Athletics

Quincy University is a member of

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 ...

and has been a part of the

Great Lakes Valley Conference The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Its thirteen member institutions are located in the U.S. states of Illinois ...

(GLVC) for most sports since the 1995–96 school year. Men's volleyball competes in the

Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association The Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) is a college athletic conference whose member schools compete in men's volleyball. The conference footprint is centered in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Missouri in the ...

as a de facto member of

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

Sprint football Sprint football, formerly called lightweight football, is a varsity sport played by United States colleges and universities, under standard American football rules. As of the 2022 season, the sport is governed by the Collegiate Sprint Football ...

, a weight-restricted form of American football that is not governed by the NCAA, will become QU's newest varsity sport in fall 2022. Several teams have had significant national success, with men's soccer winning 11 NAIA national championships. Men's sports *

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

Bowling Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), thou ...

* Cross country *

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

Lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...

Soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

(starting in 2022–23) *

Swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

Tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

Track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

Wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

Women's sports *

* Cross country *

Softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

;Notes

Notable alumni

* Venerable

Augustine Tolton John Augustus Tolton (April 1, 1854 – July 9, 1897), baptized Augustine Tolton, was the first Catholic priest in the United States publicly known to be African American, Black. (The Healy family, Healy brothers, who preceded him, all Passing ( ...

(1854–1897), first openly

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

Catholic priest *

Rick Hummel Richard Lowell Hummel (born February 25, 1946) is an American author and sports columnist best known for his work for the ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch''. Hummel was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York in 2007 ...

(b. 1946), Hall of Fame baseball writer *

Josh Kinney Joshua Thomas "Josh" Kinney (born March 31, 1979) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago White Sox and Seattle Mariners. He threw a slider, four-seam fastb ...

(b. 1979), relief pitcher for the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

John Mahoney Charles John Mahoney (June 20, 1940 – February 4, 2018) was an English-born American actor. He was known for playing Martin Crane on the NBC sitcom ''Frasier'' (1993–2004), and won a Screen Actors Guild Award for the role in 2000. Mahone ...

(1940–2018), television and theatre actor * Zoe Nicholson, equality activist, speaker and writer *

James Pankow James Carter Pankow is an American trombone player, songwriter and brass instrument player, best known as a founding member of the rock band Chicago. Early life, family and education Born in St. Louis, Missouri of German and Irish descent, Pa ...

(b. 1947), trombonist for the band

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

* Michael A. Perry (b. 1954),

Minister General Minister General is the term used for the leader or Superior General of the different branches of the Order of Friars Minor. It is a term exclusive to them, and comes directly from its founder, St. Francis of Assisi. He chose this word over "Super ...

of the

Order of Friars Minor The Order of Friars Minor (also called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi. The order adheres to the teachi ...

* Josh Rabe (b. 1978), former outfielder for the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

Lindell Shumake Lindell Shumake (born December 24, 1949) is a Republican former member of the Missouri House of Representatives. Shumake first represented the 6th District, encompassing all or portions of Marion and Ralls counties in northeast Missouri. In Nove ...

(b. 1949), Republican member of the

Missouri House of Representatives The Missouri House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 163 members, representing districts with an average size of 37,000 residents. House members are elected for two-year terms during general elections ...

* Francis G. Slay (b. 1955), former mayor of

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

* Marshall Smelser (1912-1978), professor of history at Notre Dame University * Dietrich C. Smith (1840–1914), former Republican Congressman from Illinois * John M. Sullivan (b. 1959), Illinois State Senator *

Michael Swango Michael Joseph Swango (born October 21, 1954) is an American serial killer and licensed physician who is estimated to have been involved in as many as 60 fatal poisonings of patients and colleagues, although he admitted to only causing four deat ...

(b. 1954), prolific serial killer and physician * Scott L. Thoele,

U.S. Army National Guard The Army National Guard (ARNG), in conjunction with the Air National Guard, is an organized militia force and a federal military reserve force of the United States Army. They are simultaneously part of two different organizations: the Army Na ...

general *

Mary Jo White Mary Jo White (born December 27, 1947) is an American attorney who served as the 31st chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from 2013 to 2017. She was the first woman to be the United States Attorney for the Southern District o ...

(b. 1941), Pennsylvania State Senator

References

External links

*
Quincy University Athletics website
{{authority control Franciscan universities and colleges Liberal arts colleges in Illinois Education in Adams County, Illinois Tourist attractions in Quincy, Illinois Quincy–Hannibal area Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Educational institutions established in 1860 1860 establishments in Illinois Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Illinois Catholic universities and colleges in Illinois