Rockhurst University is a private, coeducational Jesuit university located in Kansas City, Missouri, founded in 1910 as Rockhurst College. The school adheres to the
motto etched into the stone of the campus bell
tower: "Learning, Leadership, and Service in the Jesuit Tradition."
It is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of
Jesuit Colleges and Universities.
Rockhurst University is accredited by North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, and the Helzberg
School of Management recently gained accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).
Rockhurst was recently ranked as number 14 in the 2007 U.S. News & World
Report rankings of the Best Universities - Masters Midwest category, and Rockhurst has consistently appeared in the
top fifteen universities in this category. [1],[2]
One in ten Rockhurst graduates are presidents, CEOs, or owners of their own business.[3]
History
In 1909, Reverend Michael Dowling, S.J., the founder of Rockhurst, 25 acres of land at 53rd
Street and Troost Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri for $50,000.
Rockhurst was chartered by the state as Rockhurst College in August 1910. It included the
Academy of Rockhurst College, an institution of secondary education which became
Rockhurst High School in 1923, though the two
remained under a single corporate umbrella until the high school moved onto its own campus
in 1962.
Sedgwick Hall was constructed in 1914, allowing the opening of high school classes, and college classes began in 1917, all
held within the same building. The first Rockhurst University students were all taught by the Rev. Alphonse Schwitalla, S.J. The
first class graduated in 1921.
In 1939, Rockhurst was granted accreditation by the
North Central Association. In 1969 all divisions of Rockhurst became coeducational.
In 1999, Rockhurst College officially changed its name to Rockhurst University.
In October of 2006, Rockhurst officially installed its fourteenth president, Rev. Thomas
Curran, O.S.F.S, a Catholic priest in the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales and the school's first non-Jesuit president.
Service education
Rockhurst University adheres to a traditional Ignatian philosophy of educating
students not only in academics, but in leadership and service as well. The university stresses a values and ethics based
education with an emphasis on lifelong learning.
Graduates from Rockhurst University receive two transcripts: one for academics and another for community service.
Rockhurst prides itself in the fact that 96% of undergraduate students participate in community service. Before classes even
begin in the fall, the freshmen class joins together with upperclassmen and university Regents for the Finucane Service Project
as part of the Orientation program. Over 550 people participated in the Finucane project last fall, logging over 1,200 hours of
service in a two hour period.[4]
Campus
The Belltower and Pergola, the monumental image of Rockhurst, sits at one end of the quad in the heart of campus.
Rockhurst sits on a 55 acre campus located in Kansas City's cultural district, a short distance from the popular shopping and
dining center, Country Club Plaza.
Housing
The campus is home to three residence halls and the Townhouse Village, offering housing for interested students, as well as
university-owned houses on two streets adjacent to campus. McGee Hall houses only freshmen girls, while Corcoran Hall houses
mostly freshmen boys with one floor of girls. Xavier-Loyola Hall is a co-ed dorm for mostly
sophomore and junior students. The Townhouse Village houses upperclassmen students in apartment-style living, with a full
kitchen, dining room, living room, and either two or three bedrooms. Upperclassmen students can also apply to live in
university-owned houses on residential streets adjacent to campus, giving them the opportunity to live more independently. These
houses are deemed "on-campus" and hold groups of 3 to 6 residents.
Around the quad
The main area of campus, including all classroom buildings, surrounds the quad with the monumental Rockhurst bell tower and adjacent
pergola flanking one end. The quad has been re-named the Kinerk Commons by the University, in
honor of Fr. Edward Kinerk, the past President of the University, but the new name hasn't really impacted the vernacular of the
students. The recently-renovated Conway Hall is home to the regionally-recognized Helzberg School of Management, the university
Public Relations department and university Computer Services. Sedgwick Hall contains many of the classes and departments in the
College of Arts and Sciences, as well as the Mabee Theatre, where the University's Players put on four productions each year. The
Greenlease Library holds the school's extensive volume of reference books and periodicals. The Richardson Science Center, built
in 1996, holds the science classrooms and labs, as well as the graduate programs in Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy.
VanAckeren Hall holds the Education department, the Learning Center (open to all students for free tutoring and writing help),
and Career Services, which helps students find jobs and internships across the Midwest. Massman Hall is the center of the campus,
both physically and organizationally. The Admissions, Business, Student Development, and Administrative offices are all in
Massman, as well as the cafeteria, the student pub, a coffee shop, Mabee Chapel, a fully equipped fitness and workout facility,
and the Rock Room, which is a 24-hour recreational lounge for students.
Athletic facilities
The campus has several athletic facilities, including the soccer stadium, recently renovated with new grass-like turf, a
baseball stadium, softball field, and a tennis complex. Also, the Mason-Halpin Fieldhouse holds the basketball and volleyball
court, and the adjacent Convocation Center contains a multipurpose court, racquetball courts, and a workout facility.
Plans are in place for a new Health and Wellness Complex to be built connecting the Convocation Center and Fieldhouse to
Massman Hall.
Religious worship facilities
The Campus Ministry Center is located in a house adjacent to campus. The CMC is used by the many Campus Ministry programs for
their weekly meetings and activities, including the Christian Life
Communities (CLCs), student-led faith sharing and reflection groups.
Within Massman Hall is the Mabee Chapel, where daily mass is held each school day, and where student devotional prayer and praise-and-worship
groups meet weekly.
Across the street from campus is St. Francis Xavier Church, a Jesuit parish church, used by the university for student masses every Sunday evening.
Community Center
The Rockhurst University Community Center is located at 54th and Troost, where children's literacy programs, community
programs, and the RU College Bound high school tutoring program all are held. It serves as a physical link between Rockhurst and
the surrounding neighborhood.
Academics
Rockhurst University offers over fifty graduate and undergraduate programs serving over 3,000 students annually.
The university includes:
- College of Arts and Sciences
- Helzberg School of Management
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- School of Graduate and Professional Studies
- Research College of Nursing
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Certificates:
Bachelor Degrees:
Masters Degrees:
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- Doctoral Degrees:
- Doctor of Physical Therapy
Major Programs:
Minor and Certificate Programs:
Graduate Programs:
Campus ministry
Rockhurst University's Campus Ministry offers many opportunities for students and staff to live out the school's Catholic,
Jesuit tradition.
They offer daily mass in the Mabee Chapel every weekday at Noon, as well as a student mass every Sunday night at 6:00 at St.
Francis Xavier Parish. Campus Ministry also offers RCIA to any
interested students.
Christian Life Communities (CLC's) are
student-led faith-sharing and reflection groups that meet for an hour each week as small groups. Unity, a gay-straight alliance
that meets weekly for prayer, support and service, is open to students of all faith traditions and sexual orientations. VOICES
for JUSTICE is a student-led social justice group that explores the justice implications of Christianity and raises awareness of
social justice issues on campus and beyond. People for People is a group of students exploring issues relating to the respect for
life.
The Campus Ministry Center (CMC) is a house located just off-campus across Rockhurst Road from Conway Hall. Christian
Life Communities, VOICES for JUSTICE, Unity, People for People all hold their meetings in the CMC, and Campus Ministry offers
several social activities in the CMC during the school year.
Retreats
Campus Ministry runs several different retreat programs during the academic year.
The Frosh Getaway, offered annually on a September weekend, is an opportunity for freshmen, led by sophomore leaders, to get to
know their new classmates and to adjust to college life with a fun stress-free weekend. The Retreat on the Rock is designed as a
college adaptation of Kairos-style retreats, a great opportunity to grow closer to God and His
love. The Fifth Week Retreat is intended as a follow-up to Kairos, Search, TEC, Retreat on the Rock, or similar style retreats,
offering ample time for personal reflection and group discussion. The Busy Persons Retreat, offered annually in the spring, is an
opportunity for spiritual guidance and reflection within the context and schedule demands of daily college life. The SuperNatural
Christian's retreat is a six-day backpacking retreat in upper Michigan's Sylvania
Wilderness Tract.
Athletics
Rockhurst University is home to the Hawks, the university's athletic program. After a generation in the NAIA, Rockhurst University joined NCAA Division II in 1999, as a founder of the
Heartland Conference. It is a popular joke around campus that the Rockhurst
University football team has remained undefeated since 1949 (the year that the team was dissolved).
Rockhurst has eleven varsity athletic teams, including men's and women's basketball, soccer, golf, and tennis, men's baseball,
women's softball, and women's volleyball. The school also offers three club sports: lacrosse, rugby, and the Spirit Squad,
composed of the Dance Team and the co-ed cheerleading squad.
There is also a strong intramurals program on campus, with many students
participating in a 30-event program throughout the school year, and recently an unofficial ice hockey team was started consisting
of only Rockhurst students and competing in a local adult ice hockey league.
Student activities
Rockhurst students participate in many diverse activities throughout the school year both on campus and within the wider
community. Some general campus organizations include:
- Alpha Phi Omega (APO) service fraternity
- American Humanics Student Association (AHSA)
- Art Club
- Biology Club
- Black Student Union (BSU)
- Cheerleading/Dance Team
- Chorus
- Delta Sigma Pi (DSP) professional business fraternity
- Education Club
- English Club (Walter J. Ong Society for Literary Study)
- Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA)
- French Club
- International Students Club
- Lacrosse Club
- PEERS (Positively Educating Each Rockhurst Student)
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- People for People
- Players
- Pre-Physical Therapy/Occupational Therapy Club (Pre- PT/OT)
- Psychology Club
- RAKERS (Random Acts of Kindness Sharers)
- The Rock Yearbook
- Rockhurst Organization of Collegiate Women (ROCW)
- Rockhurst Republicans
- Running Club
- The Rockhurst Sentinel Newspaper
- Social Activities Board
- Society for the Advancement of Pre-Medical Studies
- Student Occupational Therapy Association (SOTA)
- Student Organization of Latinos (SOL)
- Student Senate
- VOICES for JUSTICE (VOICES)
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Rockhurst has several academic honorary societies (membership by invitation only):
Greek life
Rockhurst's Greek life consists of four fraternities and four
sororities (totaling over 30% of the undergraduate population):
Notable alumni
- Hector Barreto, B.S.B.A., the 21st Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration
- Tom Dempsey, a restaurateur, current Republican State Representative, and
Majority Floor Leader of the Missouri House
of Representatives
- Scott and Kathleen Hummel '86, co-founders of the non-for-profit Our Little Haven organization in St. Louis, MO, a home for children born to parents with drug addictions
- Mark Lamping, B.A., President of the
St. Louis Cardinals baseball team
- Walter Ong, S.J., B.A. '33 -- world-renowned
philosopher
- Bill Reardon, B.A. '63, former Kansas State Representative
- Joseph P. Teasdale, former Governor of Missouri
- Joseph J. Urusemal '76, sixth President of the Federated States of Micronesia
- George Wendt, B.A. -- actor best known for his portrayal of "Norm" on the sitcom Cheers
- Harry Wiggins, longest-serving Missouri State Senator
External links
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