mjhjmtu

St. Bonaventure University

Former names	St. Bonaventure's College (1858-1950)
Motto	Becoming Extraordinary
Type	Private
Established	1858
Affiliation	Catholic Church (Franciscan)
Endowment	$60 million (2015)
President	Dennis R. DePerro
Administrative staff	~500
Undergraduates	~1,635
Postgraduates	~465
Location	Allegany , New York , United States
Campus	Small town/rural, 500 acres (2 km²)
Colors	Brown and white
Athletics	NCAA Division I – Atlantic 10
Nickname	Bonnies
Affiliations	ACCU AFCU NAICU CIC
Sports	14 varsity teams (7 men's & 7 women's)
Mascot	The Bona Wolf[1]
Website	www.sbu.edu

St. Bonaventure University is a private Franciscan university in Allegany, New York. It has roughly 2,300 undergraduate and graduate students.^[2] The Franciscan Brothers established the university in 1858.^[3] St. Bonaventure University is the first Franciscan university founded in the U.S.^[4]

In athletics, the St. Bonaventure Bonnies play National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I sports in the Atlantic 10 Conference.^[5] Students and alumni often refer to the university as Bona's, derived from the school's original name, St. Bonaventure's College.

History

The college was founded by Utica financier Nicholas Devereux, one of the first to gain land grants in newly surveyed Cattaraugus County from the Holland Land Company. Devereux founded the town of Allegany on the grant, hoping to build a new city. Devereux approached John Timon, the bishop of Buffalo, for assistance. The two invited the Franciscan order to Western New York, and a small group under Pamfilo da Magliano arrived in 1856. This was the first group of Franciscan brothers to settle in the United States. The school graduated its first class in 1858. St. Bonaventure's College was granted university status by New York State in 1950. The largest residence hall on campus, Devereux Hall, is named for the founder.

St. Bonaventure ran into financial difficulties in the early 1990s, and nearly declared bankruptcy in 1994. In February 1994, the arrival of the school's nineteenth president Robert J. Wickenheiser marked a beginning of changes at the university. Under the new President, the school's enrollment numbers increased significantly, and further investments were made throughout the campus. After a few years, St. Bonaventure came out of debt and saw large increases in its enrollment and endowment. Since the late 1990s, the school has been put on a more solid financial footing and has seen record growth and campus improvements in the past five years. Under the university's twentieth president, Margaret Carney, the campus has undergone millions of dollars in renovations and seen growth in the areas of the School of Business and its Franciscan Health Care Professions combined degree programs, notably the George Washington University and the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. The school continues to be a part of the Western Southern Tier Region of Western New York.

Thomas Merton, the religious writer, taught English at St. Bonaventure for a year just at the start of World War II. It was at this school that Merton finally gave into his vocation and decided to join the Trappists. He entered the monastery in Kentucky in 1941. A heart-shaped clearing on a mountain in view of campus is linked to Merton in campus myth. Some students call it "Merton's Heart" and claim that Merton visited the place often and that the trees fell when he died. In reality, the hillside had been cleared for oil drilling in the 1920s and trees have since regrown, leaving the bald patch.^[6]

On the U.S. News & World Report's 2019 list of best regional university values, St. Bonaventure University was ranked No. 1 for value in New York state and No. 2 in the North.^[7]

Campus

The campus sits on 500 acres (2.0 km²) in the town of Allegany, just over the line from the city of Olean (total pop.: 15,000), at Exit 24 of Interstate 86. The university has its own US Post Office and is listed as a separate census-designated place by the Census Bureau. The university's postal address is Saint Bonaventure, NY 14778.

Most campus buildings are designed in red brick with Italianate roofs, to reflect the architecture of St. Francis' native Italy. The campus proper has several residence halls, townhouses/apartments and academic buildings.

Starting in the mid-2000s, the campus has seen several campus improvements, including a new recreation center, a coffee café, and renovated dining hall and residence hall. The William F. Walsh Science Center (2008) and William E. and Ann L. Swan Business Center (2013) are the newest academic facilities.

About 25 miles (40 km) from the main campus, the university also offers the opportunity to experience the Franciscan eremitical tradition in the Allegheny Mountain foothills in western Clarksville, New York, at a community called Mount Irenaeus. "The Mountain", as it is referred to by students, faculty and alumni, provides a retreat for students. While not owned by the university, Mount Irenaeus has a shared mission with the university and primarily serves its population.

St. Bonaventure also has a second graduate studies center in Hamburg, a suburb of Buffalo, on the campus of Hilbert College.

The Franciscan connection

The university is named after Bonaventure (1221–1274), born John of Fidenza, who became a cardinal and Doctor of the Church. A theologian and contemporary of Thomas Aquinas at the University of Paris, he became head of the Franciscan order and did much to institutionalize that order. His most famous work is Itinerarium mentis in deum, or The Soul's Journey to God. Bonaventure was canonized in 1482 by Sixtus IV.

The Franciscan friars at the St. Bonaventure Friary belong to the Holy Name Province and are members of the Order of Friars Minor, one of the orders of Franciscans.

The Bonaventure friars are involved in a number of activities in the greater Olean community, besides ministry on campus. They administer St. Bonaventure's Parish in Allegany, called "Little Bona's". There is a Franciscan presence at Olean General Hospital, and the university operates the Warming House, an area soup kitchen. Also adjacent to campus is the Motherhouse of the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany, a group of Franciscan religious sisters.

The university is also home to the Franciscan Institute. Founded in 1939 by Thomas Plassmann, then president of St. Bonaventure's College, and led by its first Director, Philotheus Boehner.

Academics

The school's journalism programs have produced six Pulitzer Prize–winning writers.

The university has more than 50 academic programs. These include combined degree health care programs guarantee admission to medical school for more than 30 students annually, preparing students for careers in medicine, dentistry, physical therapy or pharmacy.

St. Bonaventure is accredited by the Middle States Association, National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), and the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).

The Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts hosts several art galleries and a 321-seat theater.

St. Bonaventure is home to the Jandoli School of Communication, formerly the Russell J. Jandoli School of Journalism and Mass Communication.^[8] Its campus newspaper, The Bona Venture, has been published continuously since 1926. Known on campus as The BV, the newspaper has earned The Pacemaker Award numerous times from the Associated Collegiate Press, the last time in 1994. The school's student radio station, WSBU 88.3 The Buzz, is ranked No. 1 nationally by The Princeton Review and has been ranked in the top 5—and No. 1 on more than one occasion—for more than a decade. In 2019, the Jandoli School of Communication's student-produced newscast, "SBU-TV", became available to television viewers across Western New York.^[9]

The Center for the Study of Attention, Learning & Memory, a joint initiative between the School of Education and the School of Arts and Sciences, promotes interdisciplinary research and increases awareness of the importance of attention and learning in education.^[10]

The school has many student organizations including Mountain Community Leaders, which holds retreats for students at the Franciscan Mountain Retreat Centre at Mount Irenaeus. Other on-campus organizations include BonaResponds—which sent nearly 300 people to the Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and continues to perform relief work at home and across the county—and SIFE (Students in Free Enterprise), which has established successful business and education programs in the Bahamas.

Athletics

St. Bonaventure is a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference and offers 14 varsity athletic programs. The school's programs are known as the Bonnies, and colors are brown and white. The men reached the NCAA Final Four in 1970, won the NIT in 1977, won their first Atlantic 10 title in 2012. The men's team has reached the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament a total of 7 times, most recently in the 2017–2018 season.

At St. Bonaventure, several Division I sports, as well as club sports are offered for students' participation.

Division I sports

Notable alumni

There are many notable alumni of St. Bonaventure University.

Pulitzer Prize–winning alumni

The school boasts six Pulitzer Prize winners as alumni.^[11]

• 
  Dan Barry '80, reporter for The New York Times. Won in 1994 for investigative reporting (corruption in Rhode Island court system).


• 
  Bill Briggs '85, former reporter for the Denver Post. Won in 2000 for breaking news reporting (Columbine High School massacre).^[12]


• 
  Robert A. Dubill '58, former executive editor of USA Today. Won in 1980 for public service (uncovering religious fund-raising scandals).^[13]


• 
  John Hanchette '64, former managing editor of Gannett Newspapers, retired professor of journalism at St. Bonaventure. Won in 1980 for public service (uncovering religious fund-raising scandals).^[13]


• 
  Charles J. Hanley '68, reporter for the Associated Press. Won in 2000 for investigative reporting (the massacre at No Gun Ri).


• 
  Brian Toolan '72, vice president of The Hartford Courant. Won in 1999 for breaking news reporting (shooting at the Connecticut Lottery).

Alumni who have served in the US Congress

Five Members of the United States Congress attended St. Bonaventure.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to St. Bonaventure University.

• 
  Official website


• St. Bonaventure Athletics website

Coordinates: 42°04′41″N 78°28′53″W / 42.078094°N 78.481307°W / 42.078094; -78.481307