Saint Louis University
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| President | Father Lawrence Biondi, S.J. |
| School type | Private |
| Religious affiliation | Jesuit |
| Founded | 1818 |
| Location | Saint Louis, Missouri |
| Enrollment | 7,089 undergraduates |
| Faculty | 1,002 |
| Endowment | $705.8 million |
| Campus surroundings | Urban |
| Campus size | 373 acres (1.5 km²) |
| Mascot | Billiken |
Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private, co-educational Jesuit Catholic university in the United States. Located in St. Louis, Missouri, it was founded in 1818 as Saint Louis Academy by the Society of Jesus making it the oldest university west of the Mississippi river and the second oldest Jesuit college in the nation. Saint Louis University is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. The first M.D. degree awarded west of the Mississippi was conferred by Saint Louis University in 1836.
During the early 1940s, many local priests, especially the Jesuits, began to challenge the segregationist policies at the city's Catholic colleges and parochial schools. Saint Louis University opened its doors to African Americans in 1943 after its president, Father Patrick Holloran, secured the reluctant approval of St. Louis Archbishop John J. Glennon.
For over thirty years the university has maintained a campus in Madrid, Spain with a student body of around 1000. The Madrid campus was the first freestanding campus operated by an American university in Europe and the first American institution to be reconized by Spain's higher education authority as an official foreign university.
Gene Kranz is a former NASA flight director graduated in 1954
Sports
The men’s soccer team has won 10 nation titles (1959-60, 1962-63, 1965, 1967, 1969-70, 1972-73), the most in NCAA Men's Soccer Championship history. Several players have gone on to play professional. These include Brad Davis, Vedad Ibisevic, Brian McBride, Matt McKeon, Dipsy Selolwane, and Jack Jewsbury. Also, in January 2005 Tim Ward was picked 12th overall in the 2005 MLS SuperDraft by the MetroStars, and Will John was pick 18th overall by the Chicago Fire.
In the 1948-1949 the Billikens were ranked first in the first AP basketball poll. Ed Macauley of the Basketball Hall of Fame and SLU won the NIT championship in 1948. Larry Hughes of the Washington Wizards played one season at SLU in the 1997-1998 season, where he was selected as the consensus national Freshman of the Year.
SLU currently plays their basketball games at the Savvis Center, but are currently planing a new 13,000 seat arena on-campus.
With the recent conference alignment changes in the NCAA, in the fall of 2005 Saint Louis will be moving from Conference USA to the Atlantic 10.
External links
- Saint Louis University (http://www.slu.edu/)
- Saint Louis University history (http://www.slu.edu/sluhistory/)
- Saint Louis University newspaper (http://www.unewsonline.com/)
- Official SLU athletics site (http://slubillikens.collegesports.com/)