Creighton University

Creighton University
Latin: Universitas Creightoniana
Motto Willing to Lead
Established 1878
Type Private
Research Coeducational
Affiliation Roman Catholic (Jesuit)
Endowment US $439.7 million[1]
President Daniel S. Hendrickson, S.J.
Academic staff
Total: 960
(734 full-time / 226 part-time)
Students 8,236[2]
Undergraduates 4,065
Postgraduates 4,171
Location Omaha, Nebraska,
United States

41°15′53″N 95°56′46″W / 41.26472°N 95.94611°WCoordinates: 41°15′53″N 95°56′46″W / 41.26472°N 95.94611°W
Campus Urban – 132 acres (53.4 ha)
Fight song "The White and the Blue"
Colors Blue      and      White
Athletics NCAA Division IBig East
Sports 14 varsity sports teams[3]
(6 men's and 8 women's)
Nickname Bluejays
Mascot Billy the Bluejay
Affiliations AJCU
ACCU
NAICU
Website www.creighton.edu

Creighton University is a private, coeducational, Jesuit, Roman Catholic university located in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the school is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. The university is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. Creighton is the largest private religious university in Nebraska.[4]

Sitting on a 132-acre (53 ha)[5] campus just outside Omaha's downtown business district, the university currently enrolls about 8,236 graduate and undergraduate students.

History

The university was founded as Creighton College on September 2, 1878 through a gift from Mary Lucretia Creighton, who stipulated in her will that a school be established in memory of her husband, prominent Omaha businessman Edward Creighton. Edward's brother, John A. Creighton, is credited with fostering and sustaining the university's early growth and endowment. In 1958, the college split into a prep school and the present-day Creighton University. [6]

Academics

The current schools and colleges at Creighton are:

The College of Arts & Sciences is the largest school, containing about 35% of the university's enrolled students.[7]

Creighton has an undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 11-to-1 as well as 33 endowed chairs in various disciplines.

Athletics

Main article: Creighton Bluejays
Creighton men's basketball home game, CenturyLink Center Omaha.

Creighton competes in NCAA Division I athletics, within the Big East. Nicknamed the Bluejays, Creighton fields 14 teams in eight sports. Bruce Rasmussen is the Director of Athletics.[8]

Greg McDermott is the men's basketball program's current head coach. Famous basketball alums include Paul Silas, Benoit Benjamin, Kyle Korver, and Greg's son Doug McDermott, while famous former Bluejay coaches include Eddie Sutton and Willis Reed.

In addition, the women's basketball team won the WNIT championship in 2004. They play all home games on campus at D. J. Sokol Arena.

The men's soccer team maintained 17 straight NCAA tournament appearances, between 1992 and 2008. During that time, the Bluejays made three College Cup appearances, including one championship game appearance (2000). They play all home games on campus at Morrison Stadium.

Creighton's baseball team has one appearance in the NCAA College World Series (1991). Jim Hendry, the former general manager of the Chicago Cubs, was Creighton's head coach for its 1991 CWS appearance. The program's graduates include Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson.

The women's softball team has two appearances in the Women's College World Series (1982 & 1986), and has appeared in six of the past eight NCAA Tournaments. Tara Oltman (2007–2010), the best pitcher in MVC history, was a three-time league Pitcher of the Year and finished her career with conference records for wins, innings pitched, starts, appearances, strikeouts and complete games. She remains the only student-athlete in Bluejay history to earn first-team all-conference honors in four consecutive seasons.

Demographics

Creighton's total enrollment is 7,385, of which 4,133 are undergraduates. Fifty-seven percent of the freshman class is from more than 200 miles (320 km) away from Omaha; 38 percent is from more than 400 miles (640 km) away.[9]

Student clubs and organizations

The university has more than 200 student organizations in various fields of interest:[10]

St. John's Church, on Creighton's campus.

Academic honor societies

Student government

Student Center for Service and Justice

The Creighton Center for Service and Justice (CCSJ) promotes weekly local community service projects, Fall and Spring Break service trips, student leadership development and education about contemporary justice issues. The center helped develop the Cortina Community, an intentional living sophomore community named for Jesuit priest Jon de Cortina.[14]

Performing arts

Student media

Common interest

Many organizations exist for students to share their common interests.[18] Examples include:

Notable alumni

There are more than 57,765 living alumni of Creighton University in 93 countries. Nearly 30 percent live in Nebraska. The largest number of alumni that live outside the United States reside in Canada, Japan and Malaysia.[19] Alumni include: past university president Rev. Timothy R. Lannon, SJ; the founder of TD Ameritrade and owner of the Chicago Cubs, J. Joseph Ricketts; the former president and chief operating officer of Coca Cola, Donald Keough; an astronaut killed in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, Michael P. Anderson; and several professional athletes, including Doug McDermott, Kyle Korver, and Major League Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson. Marcia Anderson, the first African-American woman to attain the rank of major general in the United States Army Reserve, is a Creighton graduate.

See also

References

  1. "College and University Endowments, 2013-2014". Retrieved 2015-01-30.
  2. "AEA Institutional Research – Factbook 2014–2015 -Common Data Set 2014–2015 B. Enrollment and persistence" (PDF). Retrieved 2015-02-07.
  3. "Creighton University Sports".
  4. Largest Colleges in Nebraska (NE). College Stats.org. Retrieved on 2011-04-23.
  5. "Public Safety – Campus Security Report Fall 2009". Creighton.edu.
  6. History of Creighton Prep
  7. Creighton News Creighton University Fact Sheet. Creighton.edu. Retrieved on 2011-04-23.
  8. "Creighton Announces Conference Change, Jays to Join Big East". Creighton University. 2013. Retrieved 2013-03-20.
  9. "Quick Facts". Creighton.edu. Archived from the original on 2011-01-30.
  10. Creighton University :: Student Activities Student Organizations. Creighton.edu. Retrieved on 2011-04-23.
  11. Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society at Creighton University
  12. Creighton University :: CSU. Creighton.edu. Retrieved on 2011-04-23.
  13. Creighton University :: Inter Residence Hall Government :: Inter Residence Hall Government. Creighton.edu. Retrieved on 2011-04-23.
  14. https://www.creighton.edu/studentlife/departmentofresidencelife/reslifeprograms/livinglearning/
  15. Fine Arts: Fine and Performing Arts. Creighton.edu. Updated on 06-08-2011.
  16. About Us – The Creightonian: Site. Creightonian.com. Retrieved on 2011-04-23.
  17. Creighton News Literary Magazine Shadows Wins Award. Creighton.edu (2007-03-29). Retrieved on 2011-04-23.
  18. Creighton University :: Student Activities Student Organizations. Creighton.edu. Retrieved on 2011-04-23.
  19. "Graduation outcomes". Creighton.edu. Archived from the original on 2011-01-30.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Creighton University.