Holy Family 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 recorded ...

Catholic university in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1954 and has four schools: Arts & Sciences, Business & Technology, Education, and Nursing & Health Sciences. Its main campus in Philadelphia is in the northeastern section of the city and it has a satellite location in Newtown, Bucks County. Holy Family enrolls 3,600 students at the undergraduate and graduate levels. It is also a sponsored ministry of the

Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth The Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth (Latin: ''Congregatio Sororum Sacrae Familiae de Nazareth'') are a Catholic Church, Catholic religious institute founded in Rome in 1875 by Mother Franciszka Siedliska. They use the po ...

History

Holy Family University was founded in 1954 by the

as Holy Family Teacher Training School. During the early years, the college functioned as an affiliate of the Catholic University of America. The graduate programs in education were approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Education in March 1990, followed by the Nursing and Counseling Psychology programs in 1997, and the Accelerated Business Administration program in 2003. The graduate program in Criminal Justice was approved in 2007. The graduate program in TESOL and Literacy was approved in 2008. The doctoral program in Educational Leadership and Professional Studies was approved in 2010. Holy Family is the youngest of the four Catholic universities in the city of Philadelphia; the others are Saint Joseph's, La Salle, and Chestnut Hill College.

Presidents

# Neomisia Rutkowska (1954–1959) # Aloysius Sabacinska (1959–1971) # Lillian Budny (1971–1981) # Francesca Onley (1981–2014) # Maureen McGarrity (2014–2021) # Anne M. Prisco (2021–present)

Academics

Holy Family University is divided into four schools: *Arts & Sciences *Business & Technology *Education *Nursing & Health Sciences In January 2011, a doctoral program was introduced for those pursuing a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership and Professional Studies. This was followed by a Doctor of Nursing Practice in 2017, and a Doctor of Psychology was introduced in 2019.

Athletics

Holy Family University has 18 varsity sports teams; 10 women's, seven men's and one coed (

Esports Esports (), short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, played individually or as teams. ...

). Its nickname is the Tigers and their colors are blue and white. HFU is a member of

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the 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 environment ...

and the

Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (or CACC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Its twelve member institutions are located in the northeastern U ...

(CACC), which is composed of 13 colleges and universities located in

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. The women's

flag football Flag football is a variant of gridiron football (American football or Canadian football depending on location) where, instead of Tackle (football move)#Gridiron football, tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or ...

team plays in the

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is the lowest division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that do not offer athletic scholarships to student- ...

Atlantic East Conference The Atlantic East Conference is an intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III and is located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. History Beginning play ...

. Holy Family's women's teams are

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 (appro ...

cross-country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open cou ...

, flag football,

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact 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 w ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

, indoor and outdoor

track & field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and ...

and

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 ...

. The HFU women have won a total of 22 CACC Championships, with women's basketball winning eight and women's soccer winning seven. Women's lacrosse (three) and volleyball (two) have also captured multiple championships. Holy Family's men's teams consist of

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

, basketball, cross country, lacrosse, soccer, and indoor and outdoor track & field. The men's basketball team won the CACC Championship in 2015–16.

Notable alumni

Gene DiGirolamo Gene D. DiGirolamo (born March 28, 1950) served as a Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 18th District from 1995 to 2020. He serves as the Bucks County Commissioner after being sworn in on January 6, 2020. A ...

(born 1950), Republican member of the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

* Ryan Lancaster (born 1985), basketball player * Erick Stakelbeck (born 1976), author and television host

References

External links

*
Official athletics website
{{authority control Universities and colleges in Philadelphia Universities and colleges established in 1954 Catholic universities and colleges in Pennsylvania 1954 establishments in Pennsylvania Former women's universities and colleges in the United States Northeast Philadelphia Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities