St. Gregory's University

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St. Gregory's University

Established:	1875
Type:	Private
Religious affiliation:	Roman Catholic Benedictine
Chancellor:	Rt. Rev. Lawrence Stasyszen, O.S.B.
President:	Dr. David Wagie
Students:	800 systemwide
Location:	Shawnee, Oklahoma, USA
Campus:	Rural, 75 acres
Colors:	Red, Blue and White
Mascot:	Cavaliers
Affiliations:	Sooner Athletic Conference
Website:	www.stgregorys.edu

St. Gregory's University is a private, co-educational Catholic liberal arts University. It is one of the oldest institutions of higher learing in the state of Oklahoma. It has its main campus in Shawnee, Oklahoma, and an additional campus in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

1 History
2 Enrollment
3 Campus
- 3.1 Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art
4 Athletics
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

St. Gregory's traces its roots to the Sacred Heart Mission, founded in Atoka, Oklahoma on October 12, 1875 by the Benedictine monks Father Isidore Robot, O.S.B., and Brother Dominic Lambert, O.S.B. In 1876, the mission relocated near Konawa, Oklahoma and became an abbey. Sacred Heart College was founded with the permission of the Vatican in 1877 and later gained approval from the territorial government in 1883. After a disastrous fire in 1901 that destroyed the school and the monastery, the monks accepted an offer from the town Shawnee and began construction of the Catholic University of Oklahoma in 1910. The school opened its doors in 1915, and in 1922, the name was changed to St. Gregory's College. The monks jointly operated a men's high school at the location until 1965. In 1927, the abbey itself moved from Konawa to Shawnee. The school was known as St. Gregory's College until 1997, when it changed from a junior college to a baccalaureate-conferring university. In 2005 St. Gregory's was accredited to offer a graduate program in business, and began offering classes March 2006.

Fr. Lawrence Stasyszen, O.S.B. was the president of the university from May 2000 until April 2007. He currently serves as chancellor of SGU and Abbot of St. Gregory's Abbey. In his tenure, Fr. Stasyszen worked to fully implement the principles of the Constitution for Catholic Universities, Ex Corde Ecclesiae.

Dr. David Wagie succeeded Abbot Stasyszen as president on April 2, 2007. Wagie most recently served as a consultant to the UAE minister of education. His previous experience also includes a stint as provost of the United States Air Force Academy. Wagie retired from the Air Force in July 2004 as a Brigadier General.

[edit] Enrollment

The University has approximately 800 students total, including 330 at its main campus in Shawnee and 300 at its campus in Tulsa. St. Gregory's has a student/faculty ratio of 11:1.

[edit] Campus

The 75 acre campus is surrounded by the 640 acres of St. Gregory's Abbey.

[edit] Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art

Main article: Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art

The Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art was started in 1914 by Rev. Gregory Gerrer, a monk of the Abbey, as a small art collection. In 1919, the collection was moved to St. Gregory's College. The collection contains artifacts from Ancient Egypt, Mesoamerica, Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome and China, medieval period and later religious art, and works by painters such as Jean-Léon Gérôme and Bouguereau. The current museum building opened in 1979.

[edit] Athletics

The University's sports teams are known as the Cavaliers, and compete in the Sooner Athletic Conference of the NAIA. SGU fields men's teams in baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, and track and field, and women's teams in basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, and track and field.