Sacred Heart University

Sacred Heart University is a Roman Catholic university located in suburban Fairfield, Connecticut, United States. Sacred Heart was founded in 1963 by the Most Reverend Walter W. Curtis, Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Sacred Heart University was the first Catholic university in the United States to be staffed by the laity. Dr. John J. Petillo is the current President of the University.

SHU is the second largest Catholic university in New England, behind Boston College, and offers more than 40 degree programs to over 6,000 students at the bachelor's, master's and doctoral levels.

Sacred Heart is included in The Princeton Review's Best 371 Colleges 2010, the Best 301 Business Schools 2010, as well as U.S. News and World Report's Best Colleges.

History
Sacred Heart University was founded in 1963 by the Most Reverend Walter W. Curtis, Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport. It was established to provide the community with an affordable, quality education at a local Catholic university. The University was to be led and staffed by the laity independent and locally oriented, serving the needs of the diocese and of southwestern Connecticut.

Enrollment has risen from the original class of 173 to over 6,000 full and part-time undergraduate and graduate students, and the faculty has increased from 9 to 212 full-time professors and over 350 adjunct professors.

The University has enhanced the undergraduate student experience in several notable ways. In 1990, it accepted for the first time students who wanted the residential experience. The first dorms, Scholars Commons (previously known as J-Hill), were built 1991. It now has 10 residential buildings with 70% of the full-time undergraduates residing in university housing.

New degree programs and majors in relevant disciplines are regularly added to the curriculum. The University offers Division I athletics with 31 varsity teams. The $17.5 million William H. Pitt Health and Recreation Center is available to all students and to the community at large. The University campus is a wireless environment.

The University consists of five colleges: College of Arts & Sciences, John F. Welch College of Business, College of Health Professions, Isabelle Farrington College of Education and University College. The University College is committed to the adult learner, and its evening, weekend and accelerated courses earn praise for their diversity and relevance to changing lifestyles.

In the 1980s, former United States president George H.W. Bush received an honorary degree from Sacred Heart University.

On January 25, 2006, Jack Welch gave a large sum of money and his name to Sacred Heart University's College of Business, which is now known as the "John F. Welch College of Business."

On Sunday, September 27, 2009, Sacred Heart University dedicated and opened its new chapel. The worship space, following the teachings of Vatican Council II has been named the Chapel of the Holy Spirit.

In 2012, the University opened a new Student Commons building (Dedicated as the Linda E. McMahon Student Commons) after McMahon donated approximately $5 million. The new Commons includes dining facilities, lounge space, meeting rooms, and several other amenities. 

In 2012 the University approved construction of two new buildings for the John F. Welch College of Business and the Isabella Farrington School of Education. The two new buildings will be designed by the Watertown, MA firm of Sasaki & Associates (Who also designed The Chapel of the Holy Spirt and the Linda E. McMahon Student Commons). Construction and development is expected to begin in 2012 on a recently acquired parcel of land at the corner of Jefferson St and Park Ave in Fairfield. 

Campus
The main campus is located in suburban Fairfield, 50 mi north of New York City and 150 mi south of Boston.

Additional campuses

 * Cambridge Campus (Trumbull, CT)
 * Oakview Campus (Trumbull, CT)
 * Stamford Campus (Stamford, CT)
 * Griswold Campus (Griswold, CT)
 * Luxembourg Campus (Luxembourg)
 * Dingle, County Kerry Campus (Ireland)

Student body

 * Enrollment:	       4192
 * Female: 	       60%
 * Out of State:	       74%
 * International:       1%
 * White:	       84%
 * Hispanic:	       7%
 * Asian:	       5%
 * African-American:	4%


 * The top four states in which first-year undergraduate students and their families permanently reside are New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and Massachusetts.
 * 40% of the Class of 2009 had a high school GPA of 3.5 or higher.

Theatre Arts Program
The Theatre Arts Program began in 2009 with the premiere of Sacred Heart University's first musical production: Rent. Other productions include Little Shop of Horrors in spring 2011 and Spring Awakening premiering in the spring of 2012. The Theatre Arts Program also features two student-produced, student-written, and student-performed Theatre Festivals in both the fall and spring semesters and is the home of Sacred Heart's own improv team: Awkward Handshake.

The Spectrum
The Spectrum is a student-run newspaper printed and distributed to students each Wednesday and made available online.

Community service
More than 1,200 students and members of the faculty and staff volunteer in excess of 31,000 hours each year largely within the City of Bridgeport, but also regionally, nationally, and internationally. In Spring 2008, SHU finished third in the nation in the "ONE Campus Challenge", a campaign that seeks to raise public awareness about the issues of global poverty, hunger, and disease. In Fall 2007, SHU's Habitat for Humanity Campus Chapter was named one of the Top Five Campus Chapters in the nation, for their work in the Bridgeport community, and around the country with alternative spring break service trips.

Study abroad
SHU has the only American-accredited MBA program in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and a residential study-abroad program in the Irish-speaking community of Dingle, County Kerry, Ireland. International experiences are available to SHU students worldwide through study abroad programs located at the American University of Rome, in Italy, the University of Notre Dame in Fremantle, Australia, and the University of Granada, in Spain, as well as programs in Bermuda and the Bahamas.

SHU also allows students to participate in CCIS programs, programs affiliated with other schools across the U.S. These programs include, but are not limited to: France, Argentina, Germany, Belgium, and Japan.

Athletics
The Pioneers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the Northeast Conference (NEC), Atlantic Hockey, Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA), and the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA).

Nearly 800 students participate in the university's 31 athletic teams (17 female teams and 14 male teams) along with more than 500 students who participate in 23 Club Sports.

In March 2009, the Women's Basketball team won the NEC Title and earned their second trip to the NCAA Tournament in the last four years. The team faced the Ohio State Buckeyes in the first round of the tournament on March 21, 2009, and lost 77-63. The Sacred Heart Pioneers women's ice hockey program competes as an independent in NCAA Division I women's ice hockey.

The men's golf team won the NEC Title in May 2008, 2009 and 2011.

The SHU Baseball Team has appeared in the NEC Championship game the past 4 seasons (2009-2012) and won the past 2 Northeast Conference Titles. These wins have earned SHU back to back NCAA tournament bids.

On February 21st, 2013, the Sacred Heart University Athletics Department hired longtime Major League Baseball player and manager Bobby Valentine to head its athletics department.

Club sports
Currently there are twenty-six club sports active on campus.

The active clubs are:
 * Baseball
 * Men's Basketball
 * Women's Basketball
 * Men's Bowling
 * Curling
 * Dance Team
 * Field Hockey
 * Figure Skating
 * Gymnastics
 * Golf
 * Men's Ice Hockey
 * Women's Ice Hockey
 * Men's Lacrosse
 * Women's Lacrosse
 * Men's Rugby
 * Women's Rugby
 * Running
 * Men's Soccer
 * Women's Soccer
 * Softball
 * Men's Swimming
 * Tennis
 * Track and Field
 * Ultimate Frisbee
 * Women's Volleyball
 * Weightlifting

Greek life
There are 5 national sororities and 3 national fraternities. With one local fraternity and sorority. With over 650 members it is one of the fastest growing organizations on campus.

Sororities: 5 National: Kappa Delta, Phi Sigma Sigma, Zeta Tau Alpha, Theta Phi Alpha, Chi Omega and 1 Local: Kappa Phi

Fraternities: 4 National: Delta Upsilon, Delta Tau Delta, Pi Kappa Phi, Kappa Sigma and 1 Local: Omega Phi Kappa

Honors

 * “America’s Best Colleges" by U.S. News & World Report, Tier I institution
 * "The Best 371 Colleges" by Princeton Review
 * "Best Physical Therapy Program in Connecticut"
 * "Best Graduate Schools 2009,” ranked its physical therapy program 52nd nationally, placing it as one of the top 5 programs in New England
 * "Best 301 Business Schools" by Princeton Review
 * SHU named to the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll 2008-09
 * Habitat for Humanity campus chapter among the top five collegiate chapters in the nation
 * "SHU Ranked #11 in Intel's Most Unwired Campuses"
 * "Named one of Princeton Reviews and GamePro's Top 50 Game Design Program"

Notable alumni

 * Kevin Nealon - Saturday Night Live cast member
 * John Ratzenberger - Actor
 * Lydia Hearst-Shaw - American model & Actress
 * Jon Corto - Linebacker for Buffalo Bills
 * Romeo Roselli - Professional Wrestler & Actor
 * Jeff LeBlanc - Singer/Songwriter from the class of 2008

Notable members of the Board of Trustees

 * Linda McMahon
 * John Ratzenberger
 * Rosanne Badowski
 * Peter Terpeluk, Jr.