| Aquinas College | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1886 |
| Type | Private |
| Endowment | $20.2 million[1] |
| Students | 2,159 Undergraduate: 1,604 full-time 32 part-time Post-graduate: 268 full-time 255 part-time[2] |
| Location | Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States |
| Campus | 107 acres (0.43 km2) |
| Nickname | Saints |
| Mascot | Nelson the St. Bernard |
| Affiliations | Roman Catholic |
| Website | http://www.aquinas.edu |
Aquinas College is a small Catholic college that aims to provide a liberal arts education located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Aquinas was considered one of the best liberal arts colleges in the Midwest region by U.S. News and World Report (2006).
Aquinas has more than 2,100 students and offers over 60 majors, awarding Bachelor's degrees and Master's degrees. It is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association. Many Aquinas graduates go on to graduate schools: approximately 90% of pre-med students from Aquinas are accepted into medical schools. The opportunity to study abroad is a draw for many Aquinas students, as many take a semester at an international university. A study abroad program in Rome was added in 2010.
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Founded by the Dominican Sisters of Grand Rapids in 1886, Aquinas has a Catholic heritage. Aquinas began as a novitiate normal school, for young women who had yet to take their vows to the Dominican religious order.
In 1922, the Dominican Sisters merged their newly created college for lay women with the normal school. This new college received a charter from the state of Michigan to grant degrees in 1923. In 1931, it became the first Catholic college in the US to go co-ed, and was reorganized as Catholic Junior College.
The college began to operate as a four-year institution in 1941, when it was renamed in honor of Saint Thomas Aquinas.
The school's first administrator was Monsignor Bukowski, for whom the school's chapel is named. Following Bukowski was Norbert Hruby, for which Hruby Hall, an administrative building holds his name. After Hruby came Peter O'Connor, who served from 1986 until 1990. R. Paul Nelson became the fourth President, serving until 1997, when he resigned, and was succeeded by President Harry Knopke. Knopke served from 1997 through 2006. Provost Ed Balog had served as interim president since 2006 and became the 6th President on July 1, 2007.
Notable Board of Trustees members include Chairman William Duncan Vicar General of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids. Trustees Emeritus include Sr. M. Aquinas Weber and local philanthropist Peter Wege.
In June 2008 Dr. Charles Gunnoe Jr. became Provost and Dean of Faculty for Aquinas College. He had served as head of the History Department for five years prior.
Nelson, a St. Bernard, is the mascot of the Aquinas Saints. Aquinas is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference. As Aquinas has never fielded a football team, the men's and women's soccer and basketball teams prove big draws. The Athletic Department is led by long-time men's baseball coach Terry Bocian, who retired from coaching in 2002 to focus solely on his duties as athletic director.
Aquinas College teams have been national runners-up twice. In 1963, the Aquinas men's golf team narrowly lost to host Southwest Missouri State in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II tournament. The '63 squad was inducted into the Aquinas College Athletic Hall of Fame on September 26, 2003. In 2004, the men's cross country team finished second to Virginia Intermont College at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) national meet in Louisville, Kentucky. Five Aquinas athletes have won seven individual national titles in golf and indoor and outdoor track and field.
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