Philadelphia University

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Philadelphia University
Motto Powered to Do What's Now, Powered to Do What's Next!™
Established 1884
Type Private
Endowment $23 million[1]
President Stephen Spinelli Jr., PhD
Admin. staff ~200+
Undergraduates 2,960
Postgraduates 486
Location Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Campus Suburban, 100 acres (0.4 km²)
Colors Maroon and Grey
Athletics PhilaU Athletics
Mascot Phil the Ram[2]
Website www.philau.edu

Philadelphia University (PhilaU), founded in 1884, is a private university in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The student body has about 3,500 students. Academic programs are divided among the College of Architecture and the Built Environment; the Kanbar College of Design, Engineering and Commerce; and the College of Science, Health and the Liberal Arts; the School of Continuing and Professional Studies; coursed are also offered via PhilaU Online. Philadelphia University awards bachelor's degrees, master's degrees and doctoral degrees.

History

At the 1876 Centennial Exposition, local textile manufacturers noticed that Philadelphia's textile industry was falling behind its rivals' capacity, technology, and ability. In 1880, they formed the Philadelphia Association of Manufacturers of Textile Fabrics, with Theodore C. Search as its president, to fight for higher tariffs on imported textiles and to educate local textile leaders. Search joined the board of directors of the Philadelphia Museum and School of Industrial Art (now the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the University of the Arts), thinking it the perfect partner for his plans for a school, and began fundraising in 1882. The first classes of the Philadelphia Textile School were taught by Search to five students in early 1884 at 1336 Spring Garden Street. The school was officially opened on November 5, 1884. The school moved to 1303-1307 Buttonwood Street in 1891 and stayed there a short time before moving again in 1893.

Enrollment had been growing steadily during the past decade and the school was yet again turning away "bright young fellows" due to lack of space. Search and the board of trustees of the school took out a mortgage on the former Philadelphia Institute of the Deaf and Dumb on the corner of Broad and Spruce Streets. The School would remain here until the late 1940s when it relocated to East Falls. The location allowed for rapid expansion of academic offerings and capacity of students. The school was granted the right to award baccalaureate degrees in 1942 and changed its name to the Philadelphia Textile Institute, or PTI for short.

By 1949, PTI, decided to dis-affiliate with the museum and moved classes to its present site in the East Falls section of Philadelphia. After a period of sustained growth, it changed its name to Philadelphia College of Textiles & Science in 1961.The university's student population doubled in size between 1954 and 1964, and had doubled again by 1978, with programs in the arts, sciences, and business administration being offered for the first time. The College purchased an adjoining property in 1972, doubling the size of its campus.As Philadelphia College of Textiles & Science, the institution offered its first graduate degree, the Master of Business Administration, in 1976. With the purchase of additional properties in East Falls in 1980 and 1988, the size of the College's campus nearly doubled again to include additional classrooms, research laboratories, student residence, and athletic facilities. In 1992, the 54,000-square-foot (5,000 m2) Paul J. Gutman Library opened.

During the 1990s, the college began to offer undergraduate majors in a wider range of fields, resulting in the College being granted university status by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1999. The Board of Trustees voted to change the College’s name to Philadelphia University, or PhilaU for short, on July 13, 1999.

Academics

Philadelphia University offers 25 undergraduate concentrations, 17 graduate concentrations, four combined B.S./M.S. concentrations, and a Ph.D. in textile engineering. Degrees are offered through three colleges as well the School of Continuing and Professional Studies and PhilaU Online. Over the past several years, the university has undertaken a comprehensive curricular review to establish an cross disciplinary program connecting all three colleges. This new curriculum is known as Philadelphia University Nexus Learning™.

College of Architecture and the Built Environment

The college offers degrees in architecture, interior design, sustainable design, construction management, and landscape architecture.

Kanbar College of Design, Engineering and Commerce

As its name suggests, degrees are clustered around design, engineering and commerce. Majors include graphic design, animation, communications, textile design, fashion design, engineering, accounting, finance, management, and fashion merchandising. The college has been recognized by Core77 and Philadelphia Business Journal (among others) for its unique pedagogic approach. The college was named after alumnus Maurice Kanbar in 2012 in appreciation of his $15m gift to the university.

College of Science, Health and the Liberal Arts

The college offers degrees in biology, chemistry, pre-medical studies, law, environmental sustainability, occupational therapy, and midwifery among others. Its physician assistant program is ranked among the top in the nation.

School of Continuing and Professional Studies

The following Bachelor of Science degrees are available and offered in an accelerated format: Behavioral and Health Services, Health Sciences, Health Services Management, Human Resource Management, Information Technology, Law Enforcement Leadership, Leadership in Homeland Security, Leadership in Emergency Services, Organizational Leadership and Pre-MBA.

Associate of Science Degrees are offered in: Occupational Therapy Assistant Studies and in Health and Human Services: Radiologic Technology

PhilaU Online

Undergraduate

  • Health Services Management
  • Human Resource Management
  • Law Enforcement Leadership
  • Organizational Leadership

Graduate

  • Disaster Medicine and Management
  • Midwifery Completion
  • Sustainable Design

Campus

The university's 100-acre (0.40 km2) wooded campus is located ten minutes northwest of Center City, Philadelphia on SEPTA's Chestnut Hill West commuter rail line. The campus consists of 52 buildings, including classrooms, laboratories, studios, the Paul J. Gutman Library, resident facilities, an exhibition gallery, and the latest additions, the 72,000-square-foot (6,700 m2) Kanbar Campus Center for students, faculty and staff; the Gallagher Athletic, Recreation and Convocation Center; the LEED Gold Center for Sustainability, Energy Efficiency and Design; the PhilaU Residences at Falls Center, and the innovative DEC Center. A subsidiary campus is located in Bucks County.[3]

In addition to its major properties, PhilaU runs the Philadelphia University Research Center, which is housed in a restored textile mill (originally opened in 1864) in the Manayunk section of Philadelphia, just south of the main campus. The research center contains both the Engineering and Design Institute and the Laboratory for Engineered Human Protection.[4]

Athletics

The Philadelphia University sports teams are known as the Rams and the Lady Rams.

The university is known for its men's basketball program, particularly coach Herb Magee, who became the most successful men's basketball coach in NCAA history on Feb 23, 2010, and was inducted into the Class of 2011 of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Now in his 46th season, Magee is celebrating 54 years at Philadelphia University as a student, player and coach, highlighted by an NCAA College Division Basketball Championship in 1970. Magee was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters by President Stephen Spinelli Jr. at Philadelphia University's 125th Commencement in 2009.

The university is also known for its women's basketball program under Athletic Director and Women's Basketball Coach Tom Shirley. Shirley, who has been the University’s director of athletics since 1992, has won 607 games, which places him sixth on the NCAA DII career wins list and 30th on the NCAA all-divisions career coaching wins list. On January 19, 2011, Shirley took his 600th win as the Lady Rams defeated Chestnut Hill College 76–60.

It is also known for its baseball program, particularly for retired coach Don Flynn.

Bob File was one of the top players in the history of PhilaU Rams men's baseball program. His achievements include:

  • Earned ABCA/Rawlings first-team All-American honors as a senior in 1998.
  • Was a three-time NYCAC All-Conference selection, earning Player of the Year honors in 1998.
  • Set several school hitting records as a senior in 1998, including a .542 batting average.
  • Also set single season records with 90 hits, 63 runs, 68 RBI, 19 home runs, and 167 total bases in 1998.
  • The PhilaU all-time leader in nearly every career hitting category including runs (181), hits (296), triples (17) and home runs (37).
  • Player for the Toronto Blue Jays, where he led the American League rookies in pitching appearances, with 60 in 2001, finishing with a 5–3 record with a 3.27 ERA.
  • Recently signed with the St. Louis Cardinals as a pitcher.

Tayron Thomas, one of the university's basketball players, was named Basketball Times National Co-Player of the Year, as well as a National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) first-team All-American. He also was tabbed the Daktronics Northeast Region Co-Player of the Year and a Daktronics first-team All-American. He earned Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Player of the Year accolades and ECAC Division II Player of the Year honors and was a seven-time CACC Player of the Week selection. Tayron earned All-Tournament honors at the 2005 Disney Tip-Off Classic, where he set two tournament records — total points (98) and points per game (32.7).

Christian Burns was named the 2007 Daktronics Division II National Player of the Year and East MVP Honors at NABC Division II All-Star Game. In the 2006–2007 season, Philadelphia University started a rowing program under head coach Chris O'Brien. In its inaugural season it won the Dad Vail Regatta in the Women's Novice Heavy Eight. The 2008–2009 season was also notable for the success of the men's and women's tennis teams, with both winning the CACC (Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference). In its inaugural season in the fall of 2012, the PhilaU Rugby Football Club (or PURFC), a Division III team, had a 1–4 record. Current presidents of the team are Dan Wallace and Mike Blimmel.

University Presidents

  • Theodore C. Search (1884–1888)
  • Edward W. France (1888–1940)
  • Bertrand W. Hayward (1954–1973)[5]
  • James Gallagher (1984–2007)
  • Stephen Spinelli, Jr. (2007–present)

Notable Alumni

References

  1. ↑ As of 2011. "U. S. News College Rankings - Top Regional Universities (North)" (web). Retrieved August 22, 2013. 
  2. ↑ Philadelphia University Unveils Ram Mascot at Commencement Eve Picnic
  3. ↑ "About PU". Retrieved September 1, 2007. 
  4. ↑ "Philadelphia University Research Center". Retrieved September 1, 2007. 
  5. ↑ History of Philadelphia University

External links

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Coordinates: 40°01′23″N 75°11′31″W / 40.023°N 75.192°W / 40.023; -75.192

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