St. John's 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 ...
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 ...
university in Queens,
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. It was founded in 1870 by the
Congregation of the Mission
, logo =
, image = Vincentians.png
, abbreviation = CM
, nickname = Vincentians, Paules, Lazarites, Lazarists, Lazarians
, established =
, founder = Vincent de Paul
, fou ...
(C.M., the Vincentian Fathers) with a mission to provide the youth of New York with a Catholic university education. Originally located in the
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
borough of New York City, the flagship campus was moved to its current location in the
Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
borough during the 1950s.
St. John's has additional New York City campuses in
Staten Island
Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...
and
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, as well as the Long Island Graduate Center in
Hauppauge Hauppauge ( ) can refer to:
*Hauppauge, New York, a hamlet on Long Island in the United States
*Hauppauge Computer Works, a computer component company located in Hauppauge, New York
**Hauppauge MediaMVP, a network media player by Hauppauge Computer ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
.
Additionally, the university has international campuses located in
Rome, Italy
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (Romulus and Remus, legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
...
,
Paris, France
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
,
and
Limerick
Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...
, Ireland. The university is under the patronage of
Saint John the Baptist
John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...
.
St. John's is organized into five undergraduate schools and six
graduate school
Postgraduate or graduate education refers to Academic degree, academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by higher education, post-secondary students who have earned an Undergraduate education, un ...
s offering more than 100 bachelor, master, and doctoral degree programs as well as professional certificates. In 2019, the university had 17,088 undergraduate and 4,633 graduate students. The student body represents 46 states, District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and 119 countries. As of 2020, St. John's alumni total more than 190,000 worldwide.
History
Foundations
![StJohn'sUgate](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/StJohn%27sUgate.jpg)
St. John's University was founded in 1870, by the
Vincentian Fathers
, logo =
, image = Vincentians.png
, abbreviation = CM
, nickname = Vincentians, Paules, Lazarites, Lazarists, Lazarians
, established =
, founder = Vincent de Paul
, fou ...
of the
Roman Catholic Church
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 ...
in response to an invitation by the first
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
of Brooklyn,
John Loughlin, to provide the youth of the city with a Catholic intellectual and moral education. Originally established as the College of St. John the Baptist, the first campus was located at 75 Lewis Avenue, in
Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Ground was broken for St. John's College Hall, the university's first building, on May 28, 1868. The cornerstone was laid on July 25, 1869. and opened for educational purposes on September 5, 1870.
Founding principles
St. John's Vincentian values stem from the ideals and works of
St Vincent de Paul
Vincent de Paul, CM (24 April 1581 – 27 September 1660), commonly known as Saint Vincent de Paul, was a Occitan French Catholic priest who dedicated himself to serving the poor.
In 1622 Vincent was appointed a chaplain to the galleys. Afte ...
(1581–1660), who is the patron saint of
Christian charity
In Christian theology, charity (Latin: ''caritas'') is considered one of the seven virtues and is understood by Thomas Aquinas as "the friendship of man for God", which "unites us to God". He holds it as "the most excellent of the virtues". F ...
. Following the Vincentian tradition, the university seeks to provide an education that encourages greater involvement in social justice, charity, and service. The Vincentian Center for Church and Society, located on the university's Queens campus serves as "a clearinghouse for and developer of Vincentian information, poverty research, social justice resources, and as an academic/cultural programming Center."
The St. John's University Seal bears one phrase in Latin and one in Greek. The Latin phrases "Sigillum Universitatis Sti Joannis Neo Eboraci" translates in English to "St. John's University, New York". The Greek phrase translates to "A lamp, burning, and shining", a reference to the way Jesus describes St. John the Baptist in John 5:35. The University Crest bears the Latin phrase "Educatio Christiana Animae Perfectio", which translates to "A Christian education perfects the soul".
![Seal of St Johns University--New York](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Seal_of_St_Johns_University--New_York.png)
As a Catholic school run by the Vincentians, clergy can be found in positions within the administration, faculty, and spiritual staff. Crosses adorn many rooms and buildings throughout the campus, and the university maintains close ties to the Catholic Church.
Growth
Beginning with the law school in 1925, St. John's began establishing other graduate and undergraduate schools, and became a university in 1933. In April 1936, St. John's bought the Hillcrest Golf Club's of land for about $500,000, with the intention of eventually moving the school to the new site.
["St. John's Buys University Site: Brooklyn Institution Acquires 100-Acre Tract in Jamaica Occupied by Golf Club". ''The New York Times''. April 10, 1936. p. 25.] Under the terms of the sale, the golf club continued to operate on the site for a few years.
[ On February 11, 1954, St. John's officially broke ground on a new campus in Hillcrest, ]Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
, on the former site of the Hillcrest Golf Club.["St. John's Campus in Queens is Begun". ''The New York Times''. February 12, 1954. p. 18.] During the official groundbreaking ceremony, the shovel used was the same shovel that had broken ground on the original campus in 1868.[ The following year, the original school of the university, St. John's College, moved from Bedford-Stuyvesant to the new campus. The high school, now St. John's Prep, took over its former buildings and later moved to its present location in the Hillcrest-Jamaica sections in Queens.
Over approximately the next two decades, the other schools of the university, which were located at a separate campus at 96 Schermerhorn Street in ]Downtown Brooklyn
Downtown Brooklyn is the third largest central business district in New York City after Midtown Manhattan and Lower Manhattan), and is located in the northwestern section of the borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is known for its office and ...
, moved out to the new campus in Queens. The last of the schools to relocate to Queens moved there in 1972, bringing an end to the Downtown Brooklyn campus of the university. In 1959, the university established a Freedom Institute to provide lectures and programs that would, in the words of university president Rev. John A. Flynn, focus "attention on the dangers of communism threatening free institutions here and abroad," with Arpad F. Kovacs of the St. John's history department as its director. (A volume of lectures given at the Freedom Institute was edited by Kovacs and published in 1961 as ''Let Freedom Ring''.) The university also hired the noted historian Paul Kwan-Tsien Sih to establish an Institute of Asian Studies in that same year, and similarly set up a Center for African Studies under the directorship of the economic geographer Hugh C. Brooks.
The university received praise from ''Time Magazine
''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Mar ...
'' in 1962 for being a Catholic university that accepted Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
s with low household income. ''Time'' also ranked St. John's as "good−small" on a list of the nation's Catholic universities in 1962.
On January 27, 1971, the New York State Board of Regents The Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York is responsible for the general supervision of all educational activities within New York State, presiding over University of the State of New York and the New York State Education Depa ...
approved the consolidation of the university with the former Notre Dame College (New York), a private 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 ...
, and the Staten Island campus of St. John's University became a reality. Classes began in the fall of 1971, combining the original Notre Dame College with the former Brooklyn campus of St. John's, offering undergraduate degrees in liberal arts, business and education.
Further expansion (1999–present)
Circa 1989, according to Steve Fishman of ''New York Magazine
''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'', ...
'', "St. John's was essentially a commuter school" but that changed after Father Donald Harrington became the president of the university that year, replacing Father Joseph Cahill. Under Harrington the school increased its infrastructure and international profile. By 1990 the tuition and fees at St. John's was less than half of that at schools like NYU and Columbia. Moreover, in 1999, the university completed the first residence halls on the main Queens campus, making it easier for out-of-state and international students to attend the flagship campus. The University is now entering a new chapter under the leadership of Father Brian Shanley. Fr. Shanley is the former president of Providence College
Providence College is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic university in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded in 1917 by the Dominican Order and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, local diocese, it offers 47 undergradua ...
and is credited in bringing much growth to the college.
Beginning in 1995, the university began a series of acquisitions lasting for the following 22 years and establishing new locations throughout New York and the world.
*''Rome Campus''. In 1995 St. John's establishes its first international campus in Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, Italy. The campus offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees.
*''Oakdale Campus''. The university acquired 175 acres in 1999 near Oakdale, NY to provide both undergraduate and graduate programs in eastern Long Island. The land was previously the home of the LaSalle Military Academy. The property was eventually sold to Amity University Amity University may refer to one of several universities in India:
* Amity University, Gurgaon, in Haryana
* Amity University, Gwalior, in Madhya Pradesh
* Amity University, Jaipur, in Rajasthan
* Amity University, Jharkhand, in Ranchi, Jharkhand
...
in 2017 when St. John's opened a second graduate center on Long Island.
*''Manhattan Campus''. St. John's acquired The College of Insurance in Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, in 2001. The school was converted to the School of Risk Management and added several programs to the St. John's academic portfolio, including Actuarial Science. The campus also included additional dormitories in downtown Manhattan.
*''Paris Location''. In 2008 the university established a location in Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, France, with residential accommodations and multiple programs. The locations purpose allowing students to complete a portion of their studies under St. John's faculty in France while being exposed to the cultural offerings of the city.
*''Long Island Graduate Center''. After selling the Oakdale campus, St. John's established the Long Island Graduate Center in 2017 in Hauppauge, NY
Hauppauge ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the towns of Islip and Smithtown in Suffolk County, New York on Long Island. The population was 20,882 at the time of the 2010 census.
Geography
Hauppauge is located at (40.818205, - ...
(Long Island). The campus offers programs at the master, advanced certificate, and doctoral levels.
Other notable events
The St. John's University strike of 1966-1967
ST, St, or St. may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Stanza, in poetry
* Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band
* Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise
* Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy ...
was a protest by faculty at the university which began on January 4, 1966, and ended in June 1967. The strike began after 31 faculty members were dismissed in the fall of 1965 without due process, dismissals which some felt were a violation of the professors' academic freedom. The strike ended without any reinstatements, but led to the widespread unionization of public college faculty in the New York City area. In 1970 arbitrators ruled that the university had not acted improperly.
In 2010 federal prosecutors arrested Dr. Cecilia Chang, dean of the school's Institute of Asian Studies, and charged her with embezzling money from the university, bribing students with scholarships in exchange for forced labor, tax evasion, and false statements to federal agents. Chang, a graduate-school alumna from Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
who naturalized in 1989, began directing the Asian Center and acted as a fundraiser in 1977.[ On Monday, November 5, 2012, she testified in her own trial and committed suicide at age 59 the next day.][ Anne Hendershot of '']Crisis Magazine
Sophia Institute Press is a non-profit publishing company based in Nashua, New Hampshire, United States.
It publishes Catholic books, the online opinion journal ''Crisis Magazine'', the traditionalist Catholic website ''OnePeterFive'', the Trid ...
'' wrote that the information revealed that described Chang giving material benefits to other members of the administration was "even more damaging to the reputation of St. John's University."
Organization and administration
St. John's University is a Roman Catholic non-profit organization controlled by privately appointed board of trustees
A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...
which is chosen by the Vincentian order. The Very Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P., is the 18th and current president of the university, and the Very Rev. Aidan R. Rooney, C.M., is the executive vice president.
Prior Presidents include:
*The Very Rev. Fr. John T. Landry, C.M. 1870 – 1875
*The Very Rev. Fr. Patrick M. O’Regan, C.M. 1875 – 1877
*The Very Rev. Fr. Aloysius J. Meyer, C.M. 1877 – 1882
*The Very Rev. Fr. Jeremiah A. Hartnett, C.M. 1882 – 1897
*The Very Rev. Fr. James J. Sullivan, C.M. 1897 – 1901
*The Very Rev. Fr. Patrick McHale, C.M. 1901 – 1906
*The Very Rev. Fr. John W. Moore, C.M. 1906 – 1925
*The Very Rev. Fr. John J. Cloonan, C.M. 1925 – 1931
*The Very Rev. Fr. Thomas F. Ryan, C.M. 1931 – 1935
*The Very Rev. Fr. Edward J. Walsh, C.M. 1935 – 1942
*The Very Rev. Fr. William J. Mahoney, C.M. 1942 – 1947
*The Very Rev. Fr. John A. Flynn, C.M. 1947 – 1961
*The Very Rev. Fr. Edward J. Burke, C.M. 1961 – 1965
*The Very Rev. Fr. Joseph T. Cahill, C.M. 1965 – 1989
*The Very Rev. Fr. Donald J. Harrington, C.M. 1989 – 2013
*The Very Rev. Fr. Joseph L. Levesque, C.M. 2013 – 2014
*Conrado Gempesaw
Conrado "Bobby" Gempesaw is an academic administrator who served as the 17th president of St. John's University in New York City. He is the first layperson to hold the position since the university's establishment in 1870, as all 16 prior preside ...
, Ph.D. 2014 – 2021
*The Very Rev. Fr. Brian J. Shanley, O.P. 2021–present
Per the university's statutes, presidents must be priests from the Congregation of the Mission
, logo =
, image = Vincentians.png
, abbreviation = CM
, nickname = Vincentians, Paules, Lazarites, Lazarists, Lazarians
, established =
, founder = Vincent de Paul
, fou ...
(Vincentians). The trustees waived this requirement due to the limited number of candidates. In 2014, Conrado Gempesaw, became the first ever lay person to be appointed President of St. John's University and in 2021, Brian Shanley became the first non-Vincentian Catholic priest appointed President. Shanley is a member of the Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...
.
Academics
St. John's is a large doctoral/research university. The school is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education
The Middle States Commission on Higher Education (abbreviated as MSCHE and legally incorporated as the Mid-Atlantic Region Commission on Higher Education) is a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit membership organization that performs peer evalua ...
and has 13 specialized accreditations.
Colleges
The university is organized into six colleges and schools:
* St. John's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
* School of Education
* Peter J. Tobin College of Business
* College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
* The Lesley H. and William L. Collins College of Professional Studies (St. Vincent's College)
* St. John's University School of Law
St. John's University School of Law is a Roman Catholic law school in Jamaica, Queens, New York, United States, affiliated with St. John's University.
The School of Law was founded in 1925, and confers Juris Doctor degrees and degrees for Maste ...
Student body
''Size'': In fall 2019, St. John's student body numbered 21,721 students (17,088 undergraduates and 4,633 graduate students). In 2019, there were 3,135 new undergraduates—the largest freshman class at any US Catholic college or university. Students came from 46 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and 119 countries. The freshman retention rate was 84 percent. In 2016, the university conferred more than 4,000 undergraduate and graduate degrees.
''Admission'': In 2019, St. John's received 27,000 applications for freshman admission, with an anticipated enrollment of more than 3,000 students. With an admission rate of 72%, St. John's is considered 'more selective' by U.S. News & World Report. Half the applicants admitted had SAT scores between 1080 and 1300.
''Diversity'': St. John's University is considered one of the most diverse colleges in the United States. 27% of the students are minorities; there is a scholarship fund promoting diversity of over $1.6 million. St. John's operates an Equity & Inclusion Council, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Academic Center for Equity and Inclusion, Inclusivity Resource Center, Academic Center for Equity and Inclusion, Respond and Partner to Engage our Community Team (RESPECT), as well as providing a resource division for LGBTQ+ students. The school actively promotes homeless student enrollment and in general has an emphasis on enrolling students from less favorable financial circumstances.[ Committed to its mission of providing affordable education, in 2019 St. John's offered 100% of incoming students scholarships averaging $23,546 per student.
]
Faculty
St. John's employs 1,471 full-time and part-time faculty members, more than 92 percent of whom possess a doctorate or other terminal degree in their field. The student-to-faculty ratio is 17:1; five University faculty members were featured in ''The Princeton Review’s'' “Best 300 Professors.” Although the majority of the faculty and staff of St. John's are non-clergy academics, the school does have a significant number of priests, religious brothers
A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...
and sisters
A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to ...
who are professors/academics in various fields. Although a Catholic institution, the university also employs a number of non-Catholic faculty.
Rankings and reputation
In the 2021 '' U.S. News & World Report'' ranking of "National Universities", St. John's undergraduate program was ranked tied for 170th overall in the nation, tied for 39th out of 389 in "Top Performers on Social Mobility", tied for 124th out of 142 in "Best Colleges for Veterans", and 142nd out of 180 in "Best Value Schools".
The School of Law was ranked tied for 74th but for 2023 is ranked 84th. The School of Education ranked tied for 105th in the U.S. by ''U.S. News & World Report'' for 2021.
''Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'' ranked St. John's 407th on its "America's Top Colleges" list in 2019 out of the 650 best private and public colleges, universities and service academies. In order to be considered for the rankings, the school had to qualify as one of the top 15% of the 4,300 degree-granting postsecondary institutions in the US.[
]
Student life
Though a Roman Catholic institution, the students are of all faiths. St. John's offers and funds, through the Student Government, more than 180 academic, professional, and recreational student organizations, as well as the St. John's Bread and Life program which is dedicated to serving the poor by providing food, services, and support resources. Mass is held on the Queens Campus three times daily and the sacrament of confession is available daily. There are many devotions held at the University as well, such as Adoration, the Rosary and Miraculous Medal Novena. The Student Government also works to host many notable guest speakers throughout the academic year.
Although no rail station directly serves the campus, numerous stations offer one-bus connections via MTA. For the subway
Subway, Subways, The Subway, or The Subways may refer to:
Transportation
* Subway, a term for underground rapid transit rail systems
* Subway (underpass), a type of walkway that passes underneath an obstacle
* Subway (George Bush Interconti ...
, these stations include Kew Gardens/Union Turnpike as well as 169th Street and Main Street Flushing. The LIRR's Jamaica station
Jamaica station is a major train station of the Long Island Rail Road located in Jamaica, Queens, New York City. With weekday ridership exceeding 200,000 passengers, it is the largest transit hub on Long Island, the fourth-busiest rail station ...
also provides direct bus service to campus. The St. John's Campus Shuttle runs non-stop from Jamaica Station to the Queens Campus, Monday through Friday.
Fraternities and sororities
St. John's doesn't allow fraternity and sorority residences like most schools, rather offering them as clubs.
Fraternities
*Alpha Phi Alpha
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate historically African American fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the 1905–1906 school year at Cornell University but later evolved int ...
*Alpha Phi Delta
Alpha Phi Delta (), commonly referred to as APD, is a Fraternities and sororities, Greek social fraternity that evolved from an exclusive Italian society, initially known as ''Il Circolo Italiano'' ("The Italian circle"), established at Syracuse U ...
*Iota Nu Delta
Iota Nu Delta (, also IND) is the first South Asian interest college fraternity. IND was founded in 1994 at the Binghamton University. It is a member of the North American Interfraternity Conference since 2007 and National APIDA Panhellenic Asso ...
*Kappa Alpha Psi
Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never restricted membership on the basis of color, creed ...
*Pi Kappa Phi
Pi Kappa Phi (), commonly known as Pi Kapp(s), is an American Greek Letter secret and social fraternity. It was founded by Andrew Alexander Kroeg Jr., Lawrence Harry Mixson, and Simon Fogarty Jr. on December 10, 1904 at the College of Charleston ...
*Pi Lambda Phi
Pi Lambda Phi (), commonly known as Pi Lam, is a social fraternity with 145 chapters (44 active chapters/colonies). The fraternity was founded in 1895 at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Pi Lambda Phi is headlined by prestigious chapte ...
*Sigma Chi Beta (local)
*Sigma Iota Epsilon
Sigma Iota Epsilon () is a National Honorary and Professional Management Fraternity.
Purpose
The stated goals of Sigma Iota Epsilon are;
*To stimulate interest and achievement in the field of management;
*To stimulate scholarship in management;
* ...
*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 internat ...
*Phi Beta Sigma
Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. It was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. on January 9, 1914, by three young African-American male students with nine other Howard students as char ...
*Phi Delta Chi
Phi Delta Chi ( or Phi Dex) is a coed. professional fraternity, founded on 2 November 1883 at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan by eleven men, under the sponsorship of Dean Albert B. Prescott. The fraternity was formed to advance ...
*Phi Delta Psi
Phi Delta Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a social fraternity. It was founded as an African American fraternity in 1977 on the campus of Western Michigan University.
History
Phi Delta Psi was founded as an African American fraternity on the predomin ...
*Phi Delta Theta
Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, along with Beta Theta Pi and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad ...
*Phi Iota Alpha
Phi Iota Alpha (), established on December 26, 1931, is the oldest Latino Fraternity in existence, and works to motivate people, develop leaders, and create innovative ways to unite the Latino community. The organization has roots that stem back ...
*Omega Psi Phi
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African-American fraternity. The fraternity was founded on November 17, 1911, by three Howard University juniors Edgar Amos Love, Oscar James Cooper and Frank Coleman, and their faculty advi ...
*Sigma Pi
Sigma Pi () is a collegiate fraternity with 233 chapters at American universities. As of 2021, the fraternity had more than 5,000 undergraduate members and over 110,000 alumni.
Sigma Pi headquarters are in Nashville, Tennessee.
The fraternity ...
* Phi Alpha Delta
Sororities
*Lambda Pi Upsilon
Lambda Pi Upsilon (), also known as Latinas Poderosas Unidas Sorority Inc. or ''Lambda Divas'' is a Latina oriented sorority founded at SUNY Geneseo by six women who believed that the problems of womanhood, particularly those of Latinas, needed t ...
, Latinas Poderosas Unidas, Inc.
*Gamma Phi Beta
Gamma Phi Beta (, also known as GPhi or Gamma Phi) is an international college sorority. It was founded in Syracuse University in 1874, and was the first of the Greek organizations to call itself a sorority. The main archive URL iThe Baird's Man ...
*Phi Sigma Sigma
Phi Sigma Sigma (), colloquially known as Phi Sig, was the first collegiate nonsectarian sorority to allow membership of women of all faiths and backgrounds.
The sorority was founded on November 26, 1913, and lists 60,000 initiated members, 115 ...
*Alpha Kappa Alpha
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. () is the first intercollegiate historically African American sorority. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at the historically black Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of sixteen stud ...
*Delta Sigma Theta
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. () is a historically African American sorority. The organization was founded by college-educated women dedicated to public service with an emphasis on programs that assist the African American community. Delta ...
*Sigma Gamma Rho
Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. () is a historically African American sorority, international collegiate, and non-profit community service organization that was founded on November 12, 1922, by seven educators on the Irvington campus (1875–1 ...
*Zeta Phi Beta
Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. () is a historically African American sorority. In 1920, five women from Howard University envisioned a sorority that would raise the consciousness of their people, encourage the highest standards of scholastic achie ...
*Kappa Beta Gamma
Kappa Beta Gamma () is a sorority founded at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1917.
History
On , twelve women of Marquette University founded the campus' first sorority, Kappa Beta Gamma. The founders, and first officers of this gr ...
*Gamma Eta
Gamma Eta () is the first social sorority to be founded in the State of Florida. Eighteen women came together to create the sorority at the University of Florida in Gainesville on October 18, 1995. Gamma Eta was chartered and incorporated on A ...
* Phi Eta Chi (local)
*Kappa Phi Lambda
Kappa Phi Lambda Sorority, Inc. ( also known as Kappas and KPL) is a nonprofit, Asian-interest sorority that was founded on March 9, 1995 at Binghamton University in Binghamton, New York. Represented at 34 schools with over 4,000 members nation ...
*Lambda Phi (local)
*Theta Phi Alpha
Theta Phi Alpha (), commonly known as Theta Phi, is a women's fraternity founded at the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor on August 30, 1912. The main archive URL iThe Baird's Manual Online Archive homepage Theta Phi Alpha is one of 26 nation ...
*Delta Phi Epsilon (social)
Delta Phi Epsilon ( or DPhiE) is an international sorority founded on March 17, 1917 at New York University Law School in Manhattan. It is one of 26 social sororities that form the National Panhellenic Conference. It has 110 active chapters, thre ...
*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 ...
There are 32 recognized fraternity and sorority chapters at St. John's.
Cathedral Seminary House of Formation
The Cathedral Seminary in Douglaston, Queens, currently serves as the Catholic minor seminary for the Archdiocese of New York
The Archdiocese of New York ( la, Archidiœcesis Neo-Eboracensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in the State of New York. It encompasses the boroug ...
, Diocese of Brooklyn
The Diocese of Brooklyn is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the U.S. state of New York. It is headquartered in Brooklyn and its territory encompasses the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. T ...
, and Diocese of Rockville Centre
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre ( la, Dioecesis Petropolitana in Insula Longa) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church that comprises the territory of Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island ...
. The seminary is partnered with St. John's University, offering an undergraduate degree in philosophy that the minor seminarians must complete before moving on to major seminary to prepare for the Priesthood. The undergraduate seminarians attend classes at St. John's and are active in student life, while living at the Cathedral Seminary. Those who enter the seminary after already having completed an undergraduate degree, study in a two-year pre-theology program that is administered at the seminary in partnership with St. John's.
In October 2022, the three dioceses announced that, starting in Fall 2023, undergraduate seminarians will attend out-of-state seminaries instead of studying at St. John's and living at Douglaston. The Cathedral House of Formation will also shut down its seminary program before Fall 2023.
Media
*'' The Torch'' is the official student-run newspaper of St. John's University. Founded in 1922, the paper has shifted in and out of the control of the university, but has been financially independent since 1980. In 1988, ''The Torch'' was inducted into the Associated Collegiate Press Hall of Fame after being awarded a number of awards from various collegiate newspaper organizations.
*''WREDtv'' is the official television station of St. John's University. Founded in 1970, the station is completely student-run and creates original programming centered on Student Life at the university; ranging from news and sports programs to various comedy and general interest shows. Shows are produced and shot in the television studio in the school's TV center, as well as productions shot around the St. John's campus and New York City.
*''Rho Chi
Rho Chi () is an international honor society for pharmaceutical sciences. It was founded on May 19, 1922, to "encourage high scholastic achievement and fellowship among students in pharmacy and to promote the pharmaceutical sciences".
History
The ...
Post'' is the official student-run newsletter of the St. John's University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. The newsletter accepts articles from students from all majors and contributors do not have to be a member of Rho Chi Society to submit their work. All articles are peer-reviewed.
*''The Storm Front'' is the official student-run newspaper of St. John's University Staten Island Campus. It was organized in 2005 and succeeded ''The Arrow'' as the campus newspaper after The Arrow was later seen as a throw-back to the university's former Redmen theme.
*''Proteus'' is the literary magazine of the Staten Island Campus. It is released as a compilation of student-submitted works through the St. John's University Creative Expression's Guild.
*WSJU Radio, which opened in 1974, is the official radio station of St. John's University; the staff and crew consists of St. John's University students. The broadcasts are played in Marillac Cafeteria and simulcast on the internet. WSJU is an official member of The National Association of College Broadcasters (NACB) and the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System (IBS).
*''Sequoya'' is an independent and student-run literary magazine at St. John's University in New York City. Its mission is to showcase talents of St. John's students in the fields of literature and arts. The magazine is published annually by a collaboration of Departments of English and Fine Arts.
Performing arts
*The St. John's University Jazz Band has been the Queen's campus' jazz ensemble since 1987. The band performs at numerous on-campus events and holds performances both as headliners and alongside the other performing arts groups. Their repertoire spans the many different incarnations of jazz music, and the group contains some of the university's most elite musicians. They are not to be confused with the pep band, which performs at the Red Storm sporting events.
*The St. John's University Mixed Chorus has been a part of the university's tradition since 1911, and is one of the two sanctioned vocal groups under performing arts. The group performs both on and off campus, as well as abroad. Their repertoire includes many classical and traditional songs, and songs with pertinence to the school's history, with recent forays into popular music.
*The Voices of Victory Gospel Choir has been the Queens campus' premier gospel music group since 1988, and is one of the two sanctioned vocal groups under performing arts. The group is known for their dramatic and impassioned performances both on and off campus, and abroad. Their repertoire contains history's many different embodiments of spiritual music in both traditional and contemporary respects.
* The Chappell Players Theater Group has been the Queen campus' dramatic arts organization since the 1930s. The group is known for their stage plays and musicals put on throughout the academic year and their hands-on approach to both on-stage performance and behind the scenes tech.
*The Chamber Music Society is a newer organization to St. John's. This group is made up of instrumentalists including violinists, violists, and cellists, singers, and composers who form small ensembles to perform at the semester concerts. CMS has performed at several events on the Queens campus such as Accepted Students Day, the investiture for Dr. Gempesaw, Women's History Month, Presidential Donor dinners, and Skull & Circle Convocation.
Art exhibitions
Founded in 1994, the Dr. M.T. Geoffrey Yeh Art Gallery is the university's art exhibition space. The Yeh Art Gallery partners with international contemporary artists to create exhibitions and learning opportunities for the university community and public. Dr. Owen Duffy is the gallery's director. Recent exhibitions include ''Fevzi Yazici: DARK WHITE'', the first art exhibition by the imprisoned Turkish journalist, which was featured in ''The Washington Post.''
Campuses
St. John's University locations:
Jamaica, Queens:
Hillcrest, Queens – The main campus of St. John's University is located in the residential Hillcrest section of the borough of Queens of New York City. This campus houses several academic buildings, 8 residence halls, athletic facilities, and the St. Augustine Library. The Queens campus features stone buildings and student residence halls. Facilities include laboratory and classroom buildings, the main collections of its 1.7 million-volume library; and athletic facilities for students and St. John's Division I athletic teams. The University Center is the 127,000 square foot, five story D'Angelo Center, which features banquet space, classrooms, club space, a food court, game rooms, lecture halls, and a first floor lounge.
Branch campuses:
*Staten Island
Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...
– Originally Notre Dame College
Notre Dame College (Notre Dame College of Ohio or NDC) is a private Roman Catholic college in South Euclid, Ohio. Established in 1922 as a women's college, it has been coeducational since January 2001. Notre Dame College offers 30 majors and ind ...
, today the Staten Island Campus has expanded to include serving over 2,000 students who are enrolled in undergraduate and graduate degree programs. The campus features lawns, apartment-style student residences, and architectural styles that range from red-brick colonial to the modern. The campus is located in the residential Grymes Hill
Grymes Hill is a tall hill formed of serpentine rock on Staten Island, New York. It is the second highest natural point on the island and in the five boroughs of New York City. The neighborhood of the same name encompasses an area of and has a ...
section of Staten Island. Due to declining enrollment, the campus is scheduled to close in Spring 2024.
* Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
– St. John's Manhattan campus houses St. John's School of Risk Management, a division of The Peter J. Tobin College of Business. It is located at 101 Astor Place in the East Village area of New York City. The campus occupies 71,000-square-feet on the first three floors of the 12-story, 400,000-square-foot building. The campus is close to other major institutions of higher education, including The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Art and Science, New York University, and The New School. The facility was dedicated and blessed on October 9, 2014, after relocating from an awarded vertical campus at 101 Murray Street on Manhattan's lower West Side.
* Rome, Italy
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (Romulus and Remus, legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
...
– St. John's University – Rome functions as a graduate degree-granting institution and supports undergraduate study-abroad programs. Study abroad programs on the Rome campus are offered on the undergraduate level for fall, winter, spring and summer terms in several academic fields. The campus also offers graduate programs leading to a Master of Arts or Master of Business Administration degree. The campus is located on a city block in the rione
A (; plural: ) is a neighbourhood in several Italian cities. A is a territorial subdivision. The larger administrative subdivisions in Rome are the , with the being used only in the historic centre. The word derives from the Latin , the 14 su ...
of Prati
Prati is the 22nd ''rione'' of Rome, identified by the initials R. XXII. It belongs to the Municipio I since 2013, while previously, along with Borgo and ''quartieri'' Trionfale and Della Vittoria, it was part of the Municipio XVII.
Its coat of ...
and houses both academic, residential and administrative space on four floors. On-campus dormitory housing is available to all accepted undergraduate and graduate students. The campus was founded with the help of the Catholic University of America and helps to keep close ties between the university and the Vatican.
*Paris, France
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
– In 2008, St. John's announced the formation of full-time and semester-abroad programs at a new academic location in Paris, France. The location is situated within the Vincentian Motherhouse in Paris.
*Hauppauge Hauppauge ( ) can refer to:
*Hauppauge, New York, a hamlet on Long Island in the United States
*Hauppauge Computer Works, a computer component company located in Hauppauge, New York
**Hauppauge MediaMVP, a network media player by Hauppauge Computer ...
– St. John's University's Long Island Graduate Center is home to graduate programs in The School of Education and St. John's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The campus is centrally located at 120 Commerce Drive.
Campus renovations
In 2008, St. John's University broke ground for the new University Center/Academic Building, one of the largest and most comprehensive construction projects in St. John's recent history. Located between Sullivan Hall and the Taffner Field House on the site that currently serves as stadium seating for lacrosse and track and field events, the 110,000 square feet (10,000 m2) complex has been designed to significantly enhance student life on campus. Now completed, the building, rises dramatically over the upper campus, contains 14 technologically sophisticated, state-of-the-art classrooms with approximately 800 seats. In addition, it includes a café, lounge, recreation and entertainment spaces, student organization offices and conference and meeting rooms devoted exclusively to student use. The building is named "The D'Angelo Center" after board of trustees member Peter D'Angelo '78 MBA, and his wife Peg D'Angelo '70 Ed.
In 2005, St. John's constructed Taffner Field house, and dramatically renovated Carnesecca Arena (formerly Alumni Hall) and the University Center. Renovations to Carnesecca Hall included a . Health Center, for use by Student Life and athletics, including weight training equipment, aerobic and dance studios, and a student lounge. The University Center renovations consisted of reconfigured office and meeting space for Student Life and academic clubs, and the addition of audio/visual rooms for all varsity athletic teams. Taffner Athletic Field House was $23 million initiative. The two-story, . structure adjacent to Carnesecca Hall includes four basketball courts, academic classrooms and locker rooms.
The 2004–2005 academic years saw $35 million in capital projects, including the completion of St. Thomas More church, the DaSilva building, Carnesecca Hall Fitness Center, and Belson Stadium. In 2005, the science labs and student life facilities were the target of an additional $60 million in capital enhancements. In regards to its expansion plans, the university has had a contentious relationship with the surrounding community in the past. In 2007, however, it was discovered that the university was planning to lease a building under construction by a separate company for an off-campus dormitory. Residents argue that such a plan goes against the school's pledge of being a "good neighbor" towards the community.The university, however, contends that it did not break the pledge for it was only leasing the structure not building it. Nevertheless, opponents, including state Senator Frank Padavan
Frank Padavan (October 31, 1934 – October 8, 2018) was an American engineer and politician. He served as a New York state senator representing District 11, located in Queens County. His district included the communities of Queens Village, ...
, argue that such an explanation is "disingenuous". St. Vincent Hall was also converted from a Vincentian and clergy residence to student dormitories. The Vincentian fathers and other clergy moved to the Father John Murray Hall built for them on campus were they now live.
The university has seen much growth on its campuses in order to attract students from outside the New York area. In 1999, the first dormitory was completed on the Queens campus. As of 2008, the campus now contains seven dorms and a townhouse complex.
In 2018 Bent Hall home of the Tobin College of Business underwent extensive renovations. Originally Bent Hall was home to Tobin College and Collins College of Professional Studies. After the renovations Collins College was relocated to the second floor of St. Augustine Hall which was also renovated for the College. In 2021 Father Shanley announced that the College of Pharmacy will be relocated to a new Health Sciences Center that is slated to be built on the location of the former St. Vincent's Hall. The new center will be named the St. Vincent Health Sciences Center.
Athletics
St. John's University fields 16 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 ...
teams in various sports, while also providing intramural and club sports. The Division 1 sports include;
*Men's Programs: Baseball, Basketball, Fencing, Golf, Lacrosse, Soccer, and Tennis
*Women's Programs: Basketball, Cross Country, Fencing, Golf, Soccer, Softball, Tennis, Track & Field, and Volleyball
St. John's sports teams are called the Red Storm. Though not official, the moniker "Johnnies" is also commonly used by fans. Prior to 1994, St. John's went by the nickname "Redmen", which referenced the red uniforms worn by the university in competition. However, the name was interpreted as a Native American reference in the 1960s, and was changed to the Red Storm after mounting pressure on colleges and universities to adopt names more sensitive to Native American culture. The Redmen name still remains popular among fans.
Conference affiliation
St. John's 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 ...
teams compete in the Big East Conference
The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and M ...
, with the exception of the fencing team, which competes in the ECAC.
From 1979 to 2013, St. John's was a charter member of the Original Big East Conference. In 2013 the Big East Conference split into two different conferences. St. John's and the other six non- FBS schools in the original Big East broke away
"Broke Away" is the second single from Scottish band Wet Wet Wet's third studio album, '' Holding Back the River''. It was released on 27 November 1989, entering the charts at number 39 the following Sunday. It peaked four weeks later at number ...
to form the current Big East, while the remaining FBS schools formed the American Athletic Conference
The American Athletic Conference (The American or AAC) is an American collegiate athletic conference, featuring 11 member universities and five affiliate member universities that compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) ...
.
Men's basketball
The men's basketball team has reached the NCAA tournament twenty-eight (28) times, boasts two John R. Wooden Award
The John R. Wooden Award is an award given annually to the most outstanding men's and women's college basketball players. The program consists of the men's and women's Player of the Year awards, the Legends of Coaching award, and recognizing the ...
winners, 11 consensus All-America
The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...
ns, 6 members of the College Basketball Hall of Fame
The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Kansas City, Missouri, is a hall of fame and museum dedicated to men's college basketball. The museum is an integral portion of the College Basketball Experience created by the National ...
, and has sent 59 players to the NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
. The school is also the 9th winningest team in all of college basketball.
Even though the program has yet to win the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as NCAA March Madness and commonly called March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 college basketball teams from ...
, the school boasts many other accolades, including the 1911 Helms Athletic Foundation National Championship and the 1943 and 1944 NIT National Championships (primary championship of the era) It also was runner-up in the 1952 National Championship game (prior to tournament structure). With its 28 NCAA tournament appearances, St. John's has made appearances in 2 Final Fours and 7 Sweet Sixteens.
The Red Storm play most of their home games at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...
, "The World's Most Famous Arena", while their early non-conference games are held at Carnesecca Arena
Carnesecca Arena (formerly Alumni Hall) is a 6,107-seat multi-purpose arena in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. It was built in 1961 and renamed in honor of Hall of Fame Coach Lou Carnesecca on November 23, 2004. It is the exclus ...
on the St. John's campus in Queens. St. John's University holds the second best winning percentage for a New York City school in the NCAA basketball tournament (second to City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...
– which won one NCAA Div 1 Championships as the CCNY Beavers men's basketball
The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, City ...
) St. John's has the most NIT appearances with 27, the most championship wins with 6, although they were stripped of one due to an NCAA infraction. In 2008, St. John's celebrated its 100th year of college basketball.
Men's soccer
The St. John's men's soccer program has appeared in 15 consecutive NCAA tournaments, advancing to the Sweet 16 in each of the last ten seasons, and the Final Four on 3 occasions. They have captured 11 Big East
The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...
Championships, including the 2006 season title as well as the 2009 season title, and in 1996, St. John's won the NCAA National Championship. Their home games are hosted at Belson Stadium, a state-of-the-art 2,300-seat stadium on the university campus. In 2006, the men's soccer team became the first American soccer team to be invited to play in Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
. The team played against several Vietnam Football Federation
The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF, vi, Liên đoàn Bóng đá Việt Nam) is the governing body of football in Vietnam. It is responsible for the all Vietnam teams of football, futsal and beach soccer as well as national competitions.
VFF ...
squads as well as participating in community service.
Men's baseball
The St. John's baseball team has been to the College World Series six times, recorded 26 NCAA appearances and 6 Big East Championships, and sent more than 70 players on to professional baseball careers, most recently 2014 World Series Champion Joe Panik
Joseph Matthew Panik (born October 30, 1990) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants, New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays, and Miami Marlins. Panik was an A ...
of the San Francisco Giants.
The 3,500-seat "Ballpark at St. John's" was renamed "Jack Kaiser Stadium
Jack Kaiser Stadium, originally known as The Ballpark at St. John’s, is a baseball stadium located on the campus of St. John's University in the neighborhood of Hillcrest near the neighborhoods of Jamaica and Fresh Meadows in New York City. Fo ...
" in 2007 after the Hall of Fame Coach and former St. John's Athletic Director. The stadium is one of the largest college baseball stadiums in the northeast, and is a featured venue on the EA Sports MVP NCAA Baseball video game. The stadium had been conceived out of a deal between the university and the Giuliani Administration, wherein the latter wanted to find a location for a single-A team that would be affiliated with the New York Mets
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...
. Expressing concern about quality of life issues and the spending of public money for a private religious institution, surrounding neighborhood civic groups and local politicians protested the plan. In order to placate their concerns, the Mets offered to open it up to the communities for local high school games and youth programs, and the stadium was built amid many large-scale protests by community residents and by State Senator Frank Padavan
Frank Padavan (October 31, 1934 – October 8, 2018) was an American engineer and politician. He served as a New York state senator representing District 11, located in Queens County. His district included the communities of Queens Village, ...
, while also using city financing. The Red Storm played the first-ever game at the Mets' new ballpark, Citi Field
Citi Field is a baseball stadium located in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in New York City, United States. It opened in 2009 and is the home field of Major League Baseball's New York Mets. The stadium was built as a replacement for the adjacent ...
, on March 29, 2009.
Fencing
The St. John's fencing program, coached for nearly three decades by Yury Gelman
Yury Gelman (born October 13, 1955) is a Ukrainian-born American five-time Olympic fencing coach for the United States (Sydney, Athens, Beijing, London, and Rio 2016), National Men's Sabre Coach, and Head Fencing Coach for 2001 NCAA champion St. ...
, has also attained national prominence including Olympians Keeth Smart
Keeth Thomas Smart
''The New York Times'', 27 May 2007. (born July 29, 1978) is a and Ivan Lee. In 2001, St. John's won the NCAA fencing championship. The men's team has ranked in the top five each of the last 10 years, and finished 2nd in the NCAA during 1995, 2000, 2002, 2007, and 2010 seasons. In addition to team accolades, St. John's has won 22 NCAA Individual National Championship titles. On April 12, 2016, St. John's alumnus Daryl Homer
Daryl Homer (born July 16, 1990) is an American right-handed saber fencer, three-time Olympian, and 2016 individual Olympic silver medalist.
Homer competed in the 2012 London Olympic Games, the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, and the 2020 ...
and alumna Dagmara Wozniak
Dagmara "Daga" Wozniak ( pl, Woźniak; born July 1, 1988) is an American Sabre (fencing), saber fencing, fencer. Wozniak was named to the U.S. Olympic team at the 2008 Summer Olympics in women's saber competition as a substitute, and as a compet ...
were both named to the 2016 U.S. Olympic fencing team, the second time that each was selected.
Women's athletics
The women's programs at St. John's University have also enjoyed a tremendous amount of success. The women's volleyball, soccer, tennis, basketball & softball teams have combined to win 9 Big East Championships and appear in 17 NCAA tournaments since the 1980s.
*
Volleyball – the women's volleyball team at St. John's have won 3 Big East regular-season championships (2006, 2007 & 2008) and won the Big East Championship in 2007 and 2019 – and appeared in the Women's Volleyball NCAA tournament in 2006, 2007 and 2019.
* Basketball – along with the St. John's fencing program, the women's basketball program at St. John's has been one of the most successful women's programs at the university. The Red Storm women's program are 4 time Big East Champions (1983, 1984, 1988 & 2016) and have appeared in 10 NCAA women's basketball tournaments, including 7 appearances since 2006. On February 18, 2012, the St. John's women's team defeated perennial national power the UConn Lady Huskies 57–56, in Connecticut, to end the Lady Huskies 99 game home court winning streak.
* Soccer – the women's soccer program at St. John's won the 1994 Big East Championship and appeared in the NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament in 2009 and 2013.
* Softball – the 2015 campaign for the St. John's softball team was a historic one for the program. The Red Storm softball team won their first ever Big East Championship in 2015 and appeared in the 2015 NCAA softball tournament for the first time in program history.
Controversies
* In the early 1960s, in one of the biggest point-shaving scandals in the school's history, three St. John's athletes were accused of having taken bribes. (See Also: )
* The 1990 St John's Lacrosse Team Rape Case
The St. John's lacrosse case was a 1990 criminal case in which some members of the St. John's University men's lacrosse team were accused of raping an African American female. The St. John's Lacrosse rape case was a sports scandal that caused ...
involved five members of the St. John's University Lacrosse team who were acquitted of charges. One student pleaded guilty to second degree sexual abuse. Another member pleaded guilty to sexual assault and a third to two counts of sexual misconduct and unlawful imprisonment.
* In 2000, St. John's was criticized by the NCAA for misrepresenting facts in an NCAA investigation.
* In 2003, it was revealed that Abe Keita, a basketball player, was given a $300 monthly allowance and free school books to be on the team, which violated NCAA standards. Expecting NCAA penalties, the university announced a self-imposed two-year ban on postseason play.
Rivalries
* Seton Hall University
Seton Hall University (SHU) is a private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesan un ...
* Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
* Fordham University
Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...
* Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
* DePaul University
DePaul University is a private university, private, Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-centu ...
Notable alumni
St. John's has over 170,000 alumni, 82% of whom reside in the Greater New York Metropolitan Area
The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban area, urban landmass, at , and one of the list of most populous metropolitan areas, most populous urban agg ...
. Some of the most-recognized alumni are New York Governors Hugh L. Carey
Hugh Leo Carey (April 11, 1919 – August 7, 2011) was an American politician and attorney. He was a seven-term U.S. representative from 1961 to 1974 and the 51st governor of New York from 1975 to 1982. He was a member of the Democratic Party. ...
and Mario M. Cuomo, California Governor George Deukmejian
Courken George Deukmejian Jr. (;
June 6, 1928 – May 8, 2018) was an American politician who served as the 35th governor of California from 1983 to 1991. Of Armenian descent, Deukmejian was a member of the Republican Party and he also serve ...
, New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly
Raymond Walter Kelly (born September 4, 1941) is the longest serving Commissioner in the history of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and the first man to hold the post for two non-consecutive tenures. According to its website, Kelly ...
, United States Commerce Secretary Ronald H. Brown
Ronald Harmon Brown (August 1, 1941 – April 3, 1996) was an American politician. He served as the United States Secretary of Commerce during the first term of President of the United States, President Bill Clinton. Prior to this he was chairm ...
, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz
Melinda R. Katz (born August 29, 1965) is an American attorney and politician from New York City, serving as District Attorney of Queens since January 1, 2020. A Democrat, she previously served as the Queens Borough President. Katz was also a N ...
, Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua
Anthony Joseph Bevilacqua (June 17, 1923 – January 31, 2012) was an American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania from 1988 to 2003. Bevilacqua previously served as ...
, and Grammy Award-winning artist and producer J. Cole
Jermaine Lamarr Cole (born January 28, 1985) is an American rapper and record producer. Born on a military base in Germany and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Cole initially gained recognition as a rapper following the release of his d ...
. Many other alumni have held notable positions in public service, business, and the Catholic Church.
File:GovernorMarioCuomo.jpg, Mario Cuomo
Mario Matthew Cuomo (, ; June 15, 1932 – January 1, 2015) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 52nd governor of New York for three terms, from 1983 to 1994. A member of the Democratic Party, Cuomo previously served as t ...
, the 52nd Governor of New York
The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has ...
from 1983 to 1994, and father of Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Mark Cuomo ( ; ; born December 6, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the same position that his father, Mario Cuo ...
, the former governor of New York.
File:Ray Kelly Shankbone 2010 NYC.jpg, Raymond Kelly
Raymond Walter Kelly (born September 4, 1941) is the longest serving Commissioner in the history of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and the first man to hold the post for two non-consecutive tenures. According to its website, Kelly ...
, former and longest serving Commissioner of the New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
(NYPD)
File:Hugh Carey - 1977 NFTA Report (cropped).jpg, Hugh Carey
Hugh Leo Carey (April 11, 1919 – August 7, 2011) was an American politician and attorney. He was a seven-term U.S. representative from 1961 to 1974 and the 51st governor of New York from 1975 to 1982. He was a member of the Democratic Party. ...
, American attorney, the 51st Governor of New York from 1975 to 1982, and a seven-term United States Representative (1961–1974).
File:William-Casey.jpg, William J. Casey
William Joseph Casey (March 13, 1913 – May 6, 1987) was the Director of Central Intelligence from 1981 to 1987. In this capacity he oversaw the entire United States Intelligence Community and personally directed the Central Intelligence Agency ...
, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
The director of the Central Intelligence Agency (D/CIA) is a statutory office () that functions as the head of the Central Intelligence Agency, which in turn is a part of the United States Intelligence Community.
Beginning February 2017, the D ...
(CIA) from 1981 to 1987
File:HLP2004.jpg, Harvey Pitt
Harvey L. Pitt (born February 28, 1945) is an American lawyer who served as the 26th chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), from 2001 to 2003.
History
Pitt graduated from Stuyvesant High School in 1961. He graduated fr ...
, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...
(SEC) from 2001 to 2003.
File:Bob Turner, official portrait, 112th Congress.jpg, Bob Turner, former United States Representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
for New York's 9th congressional district.
File:George Deukmejian Official Portrait crop.jpg, George Deukmejian
Courken George Deukmejian Jr. (;
June 6, 1928 – May 8, 2018) was an American politician who served as the 35th governor of California from 1983 to 1991. Of Armenian descent, Deukmejian was a member of the Republican Party and he also serve ...
, American politician who served as the 35th governor of California (1983–1991) and as California Attorney General (1979–1983).
File:RonBrownUS.JPG, Ron Brown
Ronald Harmon Brown (August 1, 1941 – April 3, 1996) was an American politician. He served as the United States Secretary of Commerce during the first term of President of the United States, President Bill Clinton. Prior to this he was chairm ...
, former United States Secretary of Commerce
The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary rep ...
, serving during the first term of President Bill Clinton. He was the first African American to hold this position.
File:Lou Carnesecca 081013.jpg, Lou Carnesecca
Luigi P. Carnesecca (born January 5, 1925) is an American retired college basketball coach at St. John's University. Carnesecca also coached at the professional level, leading the New York Nets of the American Basketball Association for three sea ...
, retired basketball coach at St. John's University. He coached the men's basketball program to 526 wins and 200 losses over 24 seasons (1965–70, 1973–92)
File:Chris Mullin.jpg, Chris Mullin
Christopher Paul Mullin (born July 30, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player, executive and coach. He is a two-time Olympic Gold medalist and a two-time Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee (in 2010 as a memb ...
, NBA Hall of Famer. Former St. John's men's basketball coach
File:Cole2018.jpg, J. Cole
Jermaine Lamarr Cole (born January 28, 1985) is an American rapper and record producer. Born on a military base in Germany and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Cole initially gained recognition as a rapper following the release of his d ...
, American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer
Notes
References
Further reading
* Hueppe, Frederick E., "The Radiant Light: a history of St. John's College presented in the Vincentian," 1955, (St. John's University Archives).
* Morris, Barbara L., "To Define A Catholic University: the 1965 Crisis at St. John's" (Ed. D. thesis, Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
Teachers College, 1977)
External links
*
St. John's Athletics website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint John's University, New York City
1870 establishments in New York (state)
Educational institutions established in 1870
Universities and colleges in New York City
Universities and colleges in Queens, New York
Universities and colleges in Staten Island
Catholic universities and colleges in New York (state)
Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities
Universities and colleges on Long Island
Grymes Hill, Staten Island