Saint Leo University

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Saint Leo University


Established:	1889
Type:	Private, Roman Catholic coeducational liberal arts
Endowment:	$10,762,161
President:	Dr. Arthur F. Kirk, Jr.
Location:	Saint Leo, Florida, USA
Campus:	Rural
Colors:	Green and Gold
Nickname:	Lions
Affiliations:	Roman Catholic Church Holy Name Monastery Saint Leo Abbey
Website:	www.saintleo.edu

Saint Leo University is a private, non-profit, Roman Catholic university located in Saint Leo, Florida, near San Antonio, Florida, which is north of Tampa. Dr. Arthur F. Kirk, Jr. has been the president of the university since January 1997. It is associated with the Holy Name Monastery (Benedictine sisters; formerly known as Holy Name Priory), and Saint Leo Abbey (Benedictine monks).

Saint Leo's main campus is in a rural setting, but is not far from large cities such as Tampa, St. Petersburg and Orlando. It offers small class sizes taught by full-time faculty members: it employs no teaching assistants.

[edit] History

Saint Leo University is a Catholic, coeducational liberal arts university offering programs leading to associate and baccalaureate degrees and the Master of Business Administration, Master of Education and Master of Criminal Justice degrees. Chartered on June 4, 1889, Saint Leo originated when the Florida legislature authorized the Order of St. Benedict of Florida to "have and possess the right and power of conferring the usual academic and other degrees granted by any college in this State."

As the first Catholic college in Florida, Saint Leo opened its doors with the dedication of its main building on September 14, 1890. In this pioneer year, Saint Leo enrolled 32 students for classes. These students engaged in the study of the basic curriculum, which included a mix of liberal arts and commercial courses leading to the Master of Accounts degree. In addition to the basic curriculum, the College periodically went though a military phase, with uniforms and required drilling, to instill discipline and order. On June 20, 1893, Saint Leo conferred the Master of Accounts degree on its first graduating class of five students.

In 1920, the College was phased out as the faculty decided to focus on becoming what one longtime Benedictine called "a serious English-style prep school." A year later, in 1921, Saint Leo became accredited by the Southern Educational Association. After several name changes, the institution settled on Saint Leo College Preparatory School in 1929. It lasted until 1964.

Reaching for a larger mission, Saint Leo opened again as a college in 1959. During this time, Saint Leo received a great deal of assistance from the Benedictine sisters at Holy Name Monastery, its neighboring community. Operating first as a on the associate's level, the College moved quickly to a four-year program and conferred its first bachelor's degree on April 23, 1967, on 51 men and 13 women. It was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools on November 29, 1967, retroactive to include the charter bachelor of arts class.

In 1969, the College was reorganized when the Order of Saint Benedict of Florida transferred title and control to an independent board of trustees. Shortly after this reconstruction, Saint Leo began to broaden its purpose, which echoed its military history. In 1973, the College responded to requests from the armed services to offer degree programs on military bases. Now, Saint Leo University is one of the largest providers of higher education to military-related personnel in the United States.

In December 1994, the college was granted Membership at Level III to offer the Master of Business Administration. Membership was granted retroactive to January 1, 1994. On August 24, 1999, Saint Leo's growth was once again validated with its ascension to university status. This university status was gained so that it would not be confused with a high school in foreign countries. This did not help the students in the United States, as Saint Leo was still confused with a high school.

Saint Leo University now has a total enrollment of more than 12,500; 2,100 on its main campus, more than 7,600 on military bases and community colleges in five states, and more than 3,300 students in the Center for Online Learning. Saint Leo is well-known for allowing almost anyone to attend the university, as long as they are financially able to do so.

Saint Leo is well known in the Sporting World for their annual beating by the Georgetown Hoyas in men's basketball. Due to the NCAA making Div 2 games not count as victories, Saint Leo is no longer able to play this annual matchup.

Saint Leo sports are also well-known for their inability to win championships. The school has one Sunshine State Conference Championship in all of their years of competition which came in 2005 when the men's soccer team won it. Even the hiring of Ted Owens (basketball coach) was unable to wake the sleeping giant that is Saint Leo.

The Saint Leo endowment is smaller than most private high schools and the Annual Funds have seen the amount given to the school increased greatly over the years. As you can see in the side graphic, the Saint Leo accounting has the amount down to the dollar.