Seton Hill University

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Seton Hill University
Motto Hazard Yet Forward
Established 1883
Type Private
Debt $12 million (2004)
President JoAnne Boyle
Location Greensburg, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, USA
Campus Suburban
Colors Crimson and gold
Mascot Griffin
Website www.setonhill.edu

Seton Hill University is a small Catholic liberal arts university in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. Formerly a women's college, it became a coeducational university in 2002.

The school was founded in 1883 by the Sisters of Charity. It is named for Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774–1821), who founded the Sisters of Charity, and who would later become first native-born American saint. (Seton Hall University in New Jersey is also named after Elizabeth Ann Seton.)

During the 1980s, men were regularly admitted to many programs at Seton Hill College, including music and theater. After president JoAnne Boyle formalized the school's new status as a university, the school's nickname was changed from "Spirits" to "Griffins," and several men's athletics teams were added, including American football. In 2006, Seton Hill announced a change to NCAA Division II and plans to join the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC). They had belonged to the NAIA.

The addition of programs and facilities designed to attract male athletes, and the presence of so many men on campus (in 2005, 60% of the entering class was male) created some initial tension, as well as a great deal of positive publicity for the school.

In addition, a major expansion to the performing arts program will involve the construction of a new complex located in downtown Greensburg.

The school is home to the National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education, E-Magnify (formerly The National Education Center for Women in Business), and a graduate program in Writing Popular Fiction.

Among the school clubs active on campus are the Gay-Straight Alliance, the College Republicans, and the Respect Life Club. The 2006 convocation speaker was John Murtha, a moderate Democrat who has spoken out against the Bush administration's military operations in Iraq.

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Universities and Colleges in the Pittsburgh Metro Area
Universities Carnegie Mellon | Duquesne | University of Pittsburgh | Penn State Beaver | Penn State McKeesport | Penn State New Kensington | Slippery Rock | Pittsburgh-Bradford | Pittsburgh-Greensburg
Colleges Art Institute of Pittsburgh | Carlow | Chatham | Community College of Allegheny County | Geneva | La Roche | Saint Vincent College | Seton Hill | Pittsburgh Theological | Point Park | Robert Morris | Trinity Episcopal | Westminster College