Saint Martin'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 recorded ...

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

university in

Lacey, Washington Lacey is a city in Thurston County, Washington, United States. It is a suburb of Olympia, Washington, Olympia with a population of 53,526 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Washington, 24th mos ...

. It was founded in 1895 as a boys' boarding school run by monks of the

Benedictine Order The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly Christian mysticism, contemplative Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), order of the Catholic Church for men and f ...

. Saint Martin's began offering college-level courses in 1900 and became a degree-granting institution in 1940. The college became coeducational in 1965. In 2005, it changed its name from Saint Martin's College to Saint Martin's University. There is a Benedictine monastery on campus grounds and some members of the monastic community serve as professors.

History

Saint Martin's patron saint is

Saint Martin of Tours Martin of Tours (; 316/3368 November 397) was the third bishop of Tours. He is the patron saint of many communities and organizations across Europe, including France's Third Republic. A native of Pannonia (present-day Hungary), he converted to ...

, a fourth-century monk and missionary. The university and its founder, Saint Martin's Abbey, sit on of woodlands, trees, rocks, and meandering trails. The site was selected in 1894 by Abbot Bernard Locnikar of

Saint John's Abbey, Collegeville Saint John's Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in Collegeville Township, Minnesota, United States, affiliated with the American-Cassinese Congregation. The abbey was established following the arrival in the area of monks from Saint Vincent Arc ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, which was the mother abbey of St. Martin's Abbey. At a

public auction A government auction or a public auction is an auction held on behalf of a government in which the property to be auctioned is either property owned by the government or property which is sold under the authority of a court of law or a governmen ...

on April 21, 1894, the wooded parcel that would become the Saint Martin's campus was purchased for $6,920. Work began on Saint Martin's first building in January 1895. By late summer, a four-story structure housing both the school and a monastery was completed. The school at that time offered preparatory classes for boys, plus commercial and classical education for older boys and young men. Boarding students who came from outside of town also were housed in the campus' one large building. Today, that structure is referred to as Old Main and continues to house many of the university's classrooms and offices.

Presidents

* 1955–1959 Damian Glenn * 1959–1964 Dunstan Curtis * 1964–1971 Michael Feeney * 1971–1975 Matthew Naumes * 1975–1980 John Scott * 1980–1984 John Ishii * 1984–2005 David Spangler * 2005–2008 Douglas Astolfi * 2008–2008 David Spangler (interim) * 2009–2022 Roy F. Heynderickx * 2022–2023 Jennifer Bonds-Raacke * 2023–2024 Kilian Malvey and Roy F. Henderickx as interim co-presidents * 2024– Bill Brownsberger

Academics

The college offers 28 baccalaureate programs and fourteen graduate degree programs. The university offers programs and courses at

Joint Base Lewis-McChord A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw- ...

and Centralia College.

Colleges and schools

* College of Arts and Sciences * College of Education and Counseling * Hal and Inge Marcus School of Engineering * School of Business

Sister schools

Saint Martin's has agreements of cooperation with four Korean universities; Sogang University,

Konkuk University Konkuk University () is a private university founded in South Korea in 1931. Konkuk University is known for its veterinary and art colleges at the Seoul campus. It has two campuses: one in Seoul and one in Chungju. The Seoul campus is located n ...

, Cheongju University and

Sangmyung University Sangmyung University () is a private university in South Korea with the main campus in Jongno District, Jongno, Seoul, and an auxiliary campus in Cheonan, Chungcheongnam-do. It was established in 1937, with the Sangmyung Women's College being fo ...

. Saint Martin's also has sister universities in Japan (including Mukogawa Women's University and Reitaku University), three in China (including Shanghai Maritime University), and one in Taiwan (Chung Shan Medical University).

Student life

Sustainability and technology

In the fall semester, 2012, a new 22,000+ square foot engineering building, Cebula Hall, opened. The Learning Garden was started at SMU in 2010.

Athletics

The school's sports teams participate in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Great Northwest Athletic Conference The Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. It has historically operated in the northwestern United States, but a ...

at the Division II level. The women's basketball team qualified for the NCAA Division II tournament in 1992 and 2008. In the 1940s and 1950s, Saint Martin's had a men's college football team and a boys' high school football team, which won the Washington Class A championship. In the 1990s, the name of the mascot was almost changed to the Ravens. In 2008, the men's basketball team defeated Division I

Colorado State Rams men's basketball The Colorado State Rams men's basketball team represents Colorado State University, located in Fort Collins, in the U.S. state of Colorado, in NCAA Division I basketball competition. They play their home games at the Moby Arena and are members ...

, making it Saint Martin's first major publicized victory over a D-1 opponent. In 2009, the Men's Soccer team seized the first team title in any sport for Saint Martin's University, winning the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.SMU Saints Website
— Saint Martin's University; retrieved November 17, 2009.

Notable people

Alumni

Jill Lannan Jill Lannan is a brigadier general in the Air National Guard. Career Lannan was commissioned an officer in the United States Army in 1985. She was a Distinguished Graduate of the Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps. Afterwards, she underwent tr ...

, brigadier general * Clement Leroy "Butch" Otter, governor of Idaho *

Kyle Sokol Kyle Sokol (born October 31, 1974) is an American bassist and skateboarder. He is currently with Nasty Savage, Astronomica, Nocturnus A.D., and Apeiron Bound. Kyle has also played with Disareyen, Mercy McCoy, Trace of Day, Sectioned, Rude ...

, bass guitarist for

Rude Squad Rude Squad is an American ska punk band founded in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States, in 1997. The final and longest running band line up are: Eric Best (vocals & guitar), Lee McElhaney (sax), Rusch Young (trumpet), Kyle Sokol (bass), an ...

* Baseball players

Justin Leone Justin Paul Leone (born March 9, 1977) is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He is an alumnus of St. Martin's University. Drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 13th round of the 1999 Major League Baseball Draft, Leone made ...

and

Dick Ward Richard Ole Ward (May 21, 1909 – May 30, 1966) was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played in 1934 and 1935 with the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals. He batted and threw right-handed. In 2 seasons, he appeared in 4 games, pitching 6 ...

Mike Thibault Michael Francis Thibault (born September 28, 1950) is an American basketball head coach and basketball general manager. He is the head coach of the Belgium, Belgian women's national basketball team Belgian Cats since 2025. Before he coached the C ...

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

and WNBA coach

Faculty

* David Price, anthropologist

References

External links

*
Athletics website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Martin's University Universities and colleges established in 1895 1895 establishments in Washington (state) Lacey, Washington Universities and colleges accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities Benedictine colleges and universities Universities and colleges in Olympia, Washington Catholic universities and colleges in Washington (state) Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle