Rivier University 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 ...

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 ...

liberal arts university A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on undergraduate study in liberal arts and sciences. Such colleges aim to impart a broad general knowledge and develop general intellectual capac ...

Nashua, New Hampshire Nashua is a city in southern New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 91,322, the second-largest in northern New England after nearby Manchester, New Hampshire, Manchester. Along with Manc ...

. Rivier is accredited by the

New England Commission of Higher Education The New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) is a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit membership organization that performs peer evaluation and Higher education accreditation in the United States, accreditation of Public university, pub ...

and approved by the

New Hampshire Department of Education The New Hampshire Department of Education is the state education agency of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. It is headquartered in Concord. Frank Edelblut has led the department as commissioner since February 16, 2017. History New Hampshire ha ...

History

Rivier University, formerly Rivier College, was founded in 1933 by the

Sisters of the Presentation of Mary The Sisters of the Presentation of Mary are a religious congregation in the Latin Rite branch of the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1796 at Thueyts in the Ardèche department of south-central France, by Saint Anne-Marie Rivier (1768–1838); ...

Hudson, New Hampshire Hudson is a New England town, town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. It is located along the Massachusetts state line. The population was 25,394 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-largest mu ...

. The congregation named the college in honor of its founder,

Anne-Marie Rivier Anne-Marie Rivier (19 December 1768 – 3 February 1838) was a French Catholic nun and the foundress of the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary. Rivier's focus was on education and she opened a school just before the beginning of the French Revo ...

. In 1941, the college moved to its present campus location in Nashua. The university was incorporated in 1935 and granted the authority to offer both graduate and undergraduate level programs. The university is dedicated to Anne Marie Rivier's mission of Catholic social teaching and serving the economically disadvantaged. On January 15, 1960, Massachusetts Senator

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

and his wife,

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American socialite, writer, photographer, and book editor who served as first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A pop ...

, visited Rivier College shortly after leaving the City Hall Plaza in Nashua, where he held his first event for his candidacy for

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

. In 1991, the college became

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 ...

, admitting its first male undergraduate students. Rivier College was renamed Rivier University on July 1, 2012.

Campus

Rivier University's campus consists of 44 buildings spread over in Nashua. Ut has four residence halls - Trinity, Guild, Presentation, and Brassard - which accommodate 421 students. Rivier offers intercollegiate club sports and has a student activities office, a multicultural office, counseling center, career development center, and campus ministry. Rivier has a chapter of

Habitat for Humanity Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat, is a US non-governmental, and nonprofit organization which was founded in 1976 by couple Millard and Linda Fuller. Habitat for Humanity is a Ch ...

. There is a

Model United Nations Model United Nations, also known as Model UN or MUN, is an educational simulation in which students can learn about diplomacy, international relations, and the United Nations. At a MUN conference, students work as the representative of a count ...

Club, a Business Club, a Biology Club, an Alliance Club (Gay-Straight Alliance), and numerous other organizations. Club membership is open to any interested student. Student clubs and activities are student-run, some with faculty advisors. Club funding is delineated through the school's

Student Government Association A students' union, also known by many other names, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, ...

Academics

Rivier University enrolls approximately 2,500 students. It includes the School of Undergraduate Studies, which includes traditional day programs, a Professional Studies Division for undergraduate online and evening programs, and the School of Graduate Studies. Rivier is a member of the

New Hampshire College & University Council The New Hampshire College & University Council (NHCUC) is a non-profit association of public and private colleges and universities located in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. Established in 1966, the NHCUC coordinates collaborative initiatives amo ...

, a consortium of institutions of higher learning. The university offers traditional courses, online courses, and hybrid courses.

Athletics

Rivier University teams participate as a member of 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 ...

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 ...

. The Raiders are 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 Co ...

(GNAC). Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer and volleyball; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball and volleyball.

Lawsuit

In 1994, Rivier was sued in federal court by Mary Nedder, an assistant professor of religious studies at Rivier, under the Americans for Disabilities Act (ADA) after the university declined to renew her contract because of her weight. Sister Jeanne Perreault, the President of Rivier at the time, allegedly made her views about overweight faculty known and in a report circulated among the faculty stated that "fat teachers do not get much respect from students." Nedder won her lawsuit and was reinstated.

Notable alumni

Robert A. Baines Robert A. Baines (born 1946) is a former mayor of Manchester, New Hampshire. He served in that office from 2000 to 2006. A Democrat, he was first elected in November 1999, defeating incumbent Republican Raymond Wieczorek. Manchester mayoral electi ...

- former mayor of

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, NH, college professor, educator. *

Skip Cleaver Thornton John Cleaver Jr. (September 26, 1944 – December 1, 2022), better known as Skip Cleaver, was an American politician in the state of New Hampshire. Early life Cleaver was born in Clearfield, Pennsylvania, on September 26, 1944. Educa ...

- politician,

USMC The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through co ...

veteran. *

David Danielson David J. Danielson (March 17, 1947 – May 22, 2021) was an American politician. First elected in 2012, he was a Republican member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, representing the town of Bedford. In 2017, he was designated the ...

- politician, NH

Army National Guard The Army National Guard (ARNG), in conjunction with the Air National Guard, is an organized Militia (United States), militia force and a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States A ...

veteran. *

Ivan Edwards (physician) Ivan Edwards FRSA is an American doctor, of Ugandan-European heritage, a former pastor, and a US Air Force Reserve flight surgeon, currently serving at the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was involved in a community activist role in a neighborhoo ...

- ex-pastor,

USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...

flight surgeon A flight surgeon is a military medical officer practicing in the clinical field of aviation medicine. Although the term "flight surgery" is considered improper by purists, it may occasionally be encountered. Flight surgeons are physicians ( MD ...

, community activist, CEO. *

Donnalee Lozeau Donnalee Lozeau was the mayor of Nashua, New Hampshire, from 2007 to 2015. She was Nashua's first female mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, ...

- politician, former mayor of

Nashua, NH Nashua is a city in southern New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 91,322, the second-largest in northern New England after nearby Manchester. Along with Manchester, it is a seat of New Hampshire's most populous ...

; first female mayor of Nashua, NH. *

Cindy Rosenwald Lucinda "Cindy" Rosenwald (born April 23, 1954) is a Democratic state senator for the 13th district of New Hampshire, representing six of Nashua's nine wards since 2018. Rosenwald serves on the Senate Capital Budget, Executive Departments & Adm ...

- politician, educator. *

Frank Snow Francis "Frank" Snow (April 18, 1941 – May 2, 2015) was an American politician, businessman, and government official who served as a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives. Early life Snow was born on April 18, 1941, in Somervi ...

- politician, businessman,

veteran,

US Customs The United States Customs Service was the very first federal law enforcement agency of the U.S. federal government. Established on July 31, 1789, it collected import tariffs, performed other selected border security duties, as well as conducted c ...

inspector. *

John Sibley Williams John Sibley Williams (born December 7, 1978, in Melrose, Massachusetts) is an American poet, educator, and literary agent. He is the author of "As One Fire Consumes Another" (winner of the 2018 Orison Poetry Prize), "Skin Memory" (winner of the 20 ...

- poet, educator, journal editor.

References

External links

* {{authority control Education in Nashua, New Hampshire Educational institutions established in 1933 Universities and colleges in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire Buildings and structures in Nashua, New Hampshire 1933 establishments in New Hampshire Catholic universities and colleges in New Hampshire Roman Catholic Diocese of Manchester Liberal arts colleges in New Hampshire