Gonzaga University

Gonzaga University is a private Roman Catholic university located in Spokane, Washington, United States. Founded in 1887 by the Society of Jesus, it is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities and is named after the young Jesuit saint Aloysius Gonzaga. The campus houses 105 buildings across 131 acres (437,000 m²) of grassland along the Spokane River, in a residential setting half a mile (800 m) from downtown Spokane. The university was founded by Father Joseph Cataldo, SJ, an Italian-born priest and missionary who wished to create a Catholic school in the Pacific Northwest for local Native Americans.

Campus
Foley Center Library is the main graduate and undergraduate library for Gonzaga University. Chastek Law Library primarily serves Gonzaga University School of Law.

Gonzaga is host to many unique historical pieces of artwork. For example, a wide range of statues located around campus gives visitors and students alike a taste of the Gonzaga culture. Statues of St. Ignatius, St. Joseph, and St. Aloysius are among the most notable religious landmarks on campus, and there is also a statue of Bing Crosby.

Organization and administration
The 2009–10 operating budget is $206.6 million, with an annual payroll of $71.9 million. The average class size is 23 students and there are 364 employed faculty; the student/faculty ratio is 11:1. There are 38 Jesuits on campus and 24 of them are employed by the University. There are 648 non-faculty employees. Enrollment in 2009–10 was 7,682 (4,729 undergraduate) students. The university ranks third in the U.S. News & World Report rankings for Universities-Master's in the West.

The university is divided into six colleges or schools:
 * College of Arts and Sciences
 * School of Business Administration
 * School of Education
 * School of Engineering & Applied Science
 * School of Law
 * School of Professional Studies

Academics
Gonzaga's liberal arts tradition lies in its core curriculum, which integrates philosophy, religious studies, mathematics, literature, natural and social sciences, and extensive writing in each major discipline. Gonzaga offers studies in 92 fields and 26 graduate programs. In addition, Gonzaga offers programs in preparation for professional schools in business, education, engineering, dentistry, divinity/theology, law, medicine, nursing and veterinary medicine. Gonzaga also sponsors an Army ROTC program which prepares students to become commissioned officers upon graduation. Additionally, Gonzaga University partners with Bishop White Seminary, located next to the campus, to prepare Catholic Seminarians for the priesthood. Students may study abroad at Gonzaga's campus in Florence, Italy, or at other programs in Australia, Benin, British West Indies, China, Costa Rica, England, France, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Spain and Zambia.

Gonzaga's admission standards are considered "more selective" by U.S. News & World Report. Gonzaga boasts a high average SAT score for entering students of 1202 (CR+M) and an average ACT score of 27. Moreover, Forbes ranks Gonzaga as the 182nd best private school in the country.

Athletics
Gonzaga University, whose official mascot is the Bulldog and whose players are nicknamed the Zags, is part of the NCAA Division I West Coast Conference. Gonzaga became a household name with their "Cinderella" run in the NCAA tournament in 1999, which saw Gonzaga make it to the "Elite Eight." Gonzaga continued to build on that success, and now has one of the highest regarded basketball programs in the country. Since that historic run in 1999, Gonzaga has experienced notable success in the West Coast Conference as well as in the NCAA tournament, for which they have played in 15 consecutive years. Gonzaga's basketball feats include 15 WCC regular titles, 5 "Sweet 16's," produced 15 All Americans, a national player of the year in Adam Morrison, and 4 NBA first round picks as of 2012. Additionally, in 2013, Canadian center Kelly Olynyk, a national Player of the Year finalist, was selected as a first team All American. In 2012-2013 Gonzaga was ranked #1 by the AP for the first time in school history. Its highest ranking before reaching the pinnacle of college hoops came in 2004, when the Bulldogs were ranked #2.

Basketball games are held in the McCarthey Athletic Center. The university's men's basketball team, which did not make its first appearance in the NCAA tournament until 1995 (more than a decade after NBA Hall of Fame player and Gonzaga alum John Stockton graduated), has made the regional finals of the NCAA tournament ("Elite Eight") in 1999, re-appearing in the tournament every year since. The Ladies basketball made it to the sweet sixteen in 2010.

Three of Gonzaga's most recent notable athletes are basketball players—former center Ronny Turiaf (now playing for the Los Angeles Clippers);Robert Sacre 2012 NBA Draft (selected by the Los Angeles Lakers third overall 2006 NBA Draft pick and Red Star Belgrade Adam Morrison (who was selected by the Charlotte Bobcats), regarded for his likeness to Hall of Famer Larry Bird; and Courtney Vandersloot, 2011 winner of the Nancy Lieberman Award as the leading Division I women's point guard and women's Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award as the top Division I player no taller than 5'8" (1.73 m), selected third overall by the Chicago Sky in the 2011 WNBA Draft. Men's head coach Mark Few was the West Coast Conference coach of the year from 2001 to 2006, and again in 2008. Women's head coach Kelly Graves, a six-time WCC coach of the year, has led the Zags to seven consecutive WCC regular-season titles and four WCC tournament titles. The 2010–11 women's team, a #11 seed in that year's NCAA Tournament, became the lowest seed ever to advance to a regional final in the history of the women's tournament.

Like some other smaller colleges, Gonzaga's football program ended in the Fall of 1941, just before the U.S. entry into World War II, but not before producing two Pro Football Hall of Famers: Tony Canadeo '41 of the Green Bay Packers, and Ray Flaherty '26, head coach of the Washington Redskins. In addition, Flaherty recruited former Bulldog football stars, Ed Justice, George "Automatic" Karamatic and Max Krause to play in the Redskin backfield. Gonzaga football ended due to declining enrollment of young male athletes. Efforts to restart the program in 1946 were unsuccessful, and the football stadium was razed in 1949.

Intramurals and extracurricular
Gonzaga University offers a multitude of intramural and club sports for each season, open to all students, and over 72% of the student population participates. Through intramural sports, students compete against fellow students. Gonzaga offers various levels ranging from A to D, with D being the lowest level. In the fall Gonzaga offers golf, soccer, flag football, volleyball, dodge ball, 3-on-3 basketball, badminton and various tournaments. In the winter soccer, frisbee, volleyball, pickle ball, bench press competition, and handball tournaments are offered. During the spring softball, spring triathlon, and home run derbies are offered. For a complete list of sports and times visit the official Gonzaga University website.

Gonzaga also has an Army ROTC Ranger Challenge team, which has won 15 championships in the last 16 years, and is a multiple winner of the Douglas MacArthur Award, given annually to the best Army ROTC program in the Western United States.

Student life
Gonzaga Student Body Association ("GSBA"), is in charge of the clubs and activities on campus. Elections for offices such as President, Vice President, and Senator take place annually during the fall.

In addition, the university requires all Freshman and Sophomore students reside on campus.

The Knights and Setons are Gonzaga’s sophomore service clubs that are made up of 60 sophomores (30 men make up the Knights, and 30 women make up the Setons). Every year, the Knights and Setons raise money for a charity of their choice, their most successful fund raiser being the charity ball held every fall. They do charity work all over the university and are involved in events such as New Student Orientation and Graduation.

Knights of Columbus
Gonzaga has denied permission for the formation of a Knights of Columbus council on its campus on the ground that the Knights of Columbus limits its membership to male Catholics and is therefore discriminatory. As noted above, Gonzaga is controlled by the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits, an organization which limits its membership to male Catholics.

Student publications
The Gonzaga Bulletin is the official, weekly student newspaper of Gonzaga University. The newspaper is staffed largely by students of the journalism and broadcasting department of the university's communication arts department and managed by a faculty adviser and an advisory board which reports to the university president. During the 1990s, the paper was recognized for its independence and excellence by the Society of Professional Journalists, winning Best Paper in the Inland Northwest Awards twice. The Gonzaga Bulletin is designed on the 4th floor of Gonzaga's College Hall. It is printed off-site in Spokane and transported to campus for distribution.

Spires is Gonzaga's official yearbook. It details the academic year through pictures and articles. The yearbook is distributed at the beginning of each year and is free to all students. To ensure you are featured in the yearbook, get your picture taken during opening weekend or Fall Family weekend.

Alumni

 * Joe Albi – attorney and civic leader in Spokane
 * Sherman Alexie – writer
 * Barats and Bereta – comedy team composed of Luke Barats and Joe Bereta. Bareta currently hosts SourceFed, a news show on YouTube.
 * Jason Bay – baseball player, American League All-Star - Seattle Mariners
 * Greg Boyle - Jesuit priest, Founder of Homeboy Industries, author of "Tattoos of the Heart"
 * Franklin D. Burgess – All American basketball player. U.S. district judge; graduate of both the undergraduate college and law school
 * Tony Canadeo – NFL Football Player, Green Bay Packers ; 1974 List of Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
 * Chad Mitchell Trio – folk group famous in the 1960s, met at Gonzaga
 * Brian Ching – soccer player, Houston Dynamo
 * Bing Crosby – singer, actor
 * Dan Cummins – Stand-up comic
 * Tom Foley – former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
 * Richie Frahm – basketball player, Seattle SuperSonics and Portland Trail Blazers
 * Christine Gregoire – Washington governor and the state's first female state attorney general
 * Nuh Ha Mim Keller - specialist in Islamic Law and Sufism
 * Gregg Hersholt - Morning News Host, KOMO-AM/FM, Seattle
 * Max Krause – football player, New York Giants and Washington Redskins
 * Chad Little – NASCAR driver
 * Frank McCool – hockey player, NHL Rookie of the Year
 * John Navone – Noted Jesuit author and theologian
 * Carl Pohlad - Owner of the Minnesota Twins
 * Gary Polonsky – founding President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology
 * Robert Sacre - basketball player, Los Angeles Lakers
 * Robert Spitzer, SJ – Jesuit priest, philosopher, educator and author
 * John Stockton – Hall of Fame basketball player, Utah Jazz
 * Ronny Turiaf – basketball player, Los Angeles Clippers
 * Courtney Vandersloot – Basketball player with the WNBA's Chicago Sky; first Division I player (male or female) with 2,000 points and 1,000 assists in a career
 * Kevin Waters – Jesuit priest, composer, educator
 * Ben Ysursa – Idaho, Secretary of State
 * BG (P) (Dr.) Joseph Caravalho, Jr. USAMRMC (at Ft. Detrick, MD) Commanding General