St. Francis College


St. Francis College is a private college in Brooklyn Heights, New York. It was founded in 1859 by the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn, a Franciscan order, as the St. Francis Academy and was the first private school in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn. St. Francis College began as a parochial all-boys academy in the City of Brooklyn and has become a small liberal arts college that has 19 academic departments which offer 72 majors and minors.
St. Francis College is a predominantly undergraduate institution with graduate programs in accounting, project management, psychology and creative writing. St. Francis is set in an urban environment and is considered a commuter college. As of 2019, there were 2,323 undergraduates and 90 graduates.
St. Francis College has 21 athletic teams that compete in Division I of the NCAA and are known as the Terriers. SFC's teams participate in the Northeast Conference, with the exception of the men's and women's water polo teams which compete in the CWPA and the MAAC, respectively.

History

Baltic and Butler Street Campus

In 1858 Brother John McMahon, O.S.F. and Brother Vincent Hayes, O.S.F. from the Roundstone Monastery in Ireland came to the United States to begin work on establishing an academy dedicated to educating underprivileged youth in the Brooklyn diocese. This was done at the request of the Bishop of Brooklyn, Reverend John Loughlin. In 1859 St. Francis College was founded as the St. Francis Academy, the first Catholic school in Brooklyn. St. Francis Academy started in a building on 300 Baltic Street in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, with 30 students and 6 Brothers. The first President was founder Brother John McMahon. The Academy expanded and grew to encompass six row houses, with of frontage and a former Methodist Church on Baltic Street.
In 1868, the academy was incorporated and on May 8, 1884 it was chartered: the trustees of the Academy received permission from the New York State Legislature to “establish a literary college in the City of Brooklyn under the title of St. Francis College, with the same powers to confer diplomas and literary honors possessed by the universities and colleges of New York State.” St. Francis Academy became St. Francis College, and in June 1885 bestowed its first Bachelor of Arts degree. By 1884, St. Francis College encompassed interconnected buildings that were on Baltic and Butler Streets, between Court and Smith Streets. The entrance to the College was on Baltic Street and the entrance to the monastery was on Butler Street. In June 1892, the college conferred it first Bachelor of Science degree. In 1896, St. Francis fielded the first collegiate men's basketball team in the New York City. Then in 1902 St. Francis received its charter from the State of New York in May. From this time on, the College's curriculum offered only a post-secondary course of study. By 1917, the College's enrollment dropped to half due to students enlisting in the military as the United States entered World War I. In 1926, the Franciscan Brothers opened a new facility on Butler Street after raising US$250,000 through a fundraising campaign dubbed the "Great Drive." Less than ten years later, its preparatory school moved out and eventually became a legally separate institution, St. Francis Preparatory School, and is now located in Queens.
As the U.S. moved closer to its entrance into World War II, 240 students were enrolled at St. Francis. While the student body remained mostly Irish, the changing demographics of working class Brooklyn were reflected by the growing number of Italian-American students. By the spring semester of 1944, when the war was at its peak, the number of students enrolled dropped to 45. Most of those still enrolled were members of the Franciscan order and those exempt from military service. After the War and with the passage of the G.I. Bill, which paid tuition for returning soldiers, enrollment at St. Francis increased to 878 students. In 1957, the Regents of the University of the State of New York granted an absolute Charter to the Trustees of the College making it a separate legal entity from the St. Francis Monastery. The new corporate status enabled St. Francis students to qualify for federal financial aid. Shortly after, in 1959, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education accredited St. Francis College. After these developments the College embarked on an expansion program, in 1960 it was announced that five office buildings in the Brooklyn Civic Center were purchased for $5 million from the Brooklyn Union Gas Company. In 1961, the college purchased the Herman Behr Mansion in Brooklyn Heights to serve as a residence for the Franciscan Brothers and signaled the move from Cobble Hill to Brooklyn Heights.

Remsen Street Campus

In 1963 the College relocated to Remsen Street in Brooklyn Heights, where it had purchased five office buildings from the Brooklyn Union Gas Company, allowing it to double its enrollment. One of the office buildings went on to become SFC's Administration Building, it was constructed in 1914, by Brooklyn architect Frank Freeman. In 1965 the College started the expansion of its facilities with the construction of the Science and Technology Building in 1968, the Generoso Pope Athletic Complex in 1971, and the Student Services Building which also has housing to accommodate the Franciscan Brothers and provides space for faculty. In 1969, the college became a co-educational institution and additional property was purchased on both Remsen and Joralemon Streets allowing enrollment to exceed 3,000 students.
In spring 2003, St. Francis College completed a new athletic and event facility atop the College's basketball court: the Anthony J. Genovesi Center. In fall 2005, the Frank & Mary Macchiarola Academic Center opened, which included the new St. Francis College Library, classrooms equipped with wireless internet access, smart boards and multimedia technology, a theater/lecture hall, updated facilities for the Communication Arts department, gathering spaces such as a lounge with Wi-Fi for students, and office space for several academic departments. The Frank & Mary Macchiarola Academic Center was built where the old McGarry Library once stood. The old library was housed in "a little 1857 palazzo a half block from Brooklyn's Borough Hall," and was part of the original purchase made from the Brooklyn Union Gas Company in 1960.

Campus

St. Francis College is located at 180 Remsen Street, in Brooklyn Heights and occupies half of a city block, within five interconnected buildings: the Administration Building, the Frank and Mary Macchiarola Academic Center, the Generoso Pope Athletic Complex, the Science and Technology Building, and the Student Services Building. The main entrance is through the Science and Technology Building. The campus is close to visitor attractions, such as Brooklyn Borough Hall, Brooklyn Heights Promenade, Brooklyn Bridge Park, Brooklyn Historical Society, the New York Transit Museum, Cadman Plaza, Grand Army Plaza, the Brooklyn Public Library, Prospect Park, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Montague Street, a block away, has many restaurants, boutiques and cafes. The streets around the campus are tree-lined and contain brownstone houses.
St. Francis College is set in an urban environment. It does not have a dedicated dormitory for its students, and as such it is a commuter school. However, St. Francis does offer off-site housing through a third party that is near the campus, the residence hall is in the former Hotel St. George at the Clark Street subway station on the. The campus is close to Manhattan. Many New York City Subway services serve Brooklyn Heights, including the at Jay Street – MetroTech and the at Hoyt Street and Borough Hall.

Administration Building

The Administration Building is the oldest structure on the campus and was acquired in the original purchase from Brooklyn Union Gas. Within the Administration Building is McArdle Hall and Gorman Hall, which are located on the ground level of the College, and are used by students to study, socialize, rest or eat. The Administration Building is also the location of the St. Francis College Chapel and Ministry. In the basement of the Administration Building is the St. Francis College bookstore, which is operated by Barnes & Noble.

Science and Technology Building

The Science and Technology Building was built during St. Francis College's expansion in 1968. The Science and Technology Building houses Founders Hall, which is the main auditorium for students and community events: the auditorium seats 300 people. The Science and Technology building is also the location of the Biology Departments laboratories and the Chemistry and Physics Departments laboratories. The building was erected with funds from the National Science Foundation, which were procured with the help of Dr. John M. Burke, former Chair of the Chemistry Department. In 2012, the College completed upgrades to its laboratories, which are spread on 2 floors of the Building consisting of 21,000 square feet.

Frank and Mary Macchiarola Academic Center

The Frank and Mary Macchiarola Academic Center is the latest addition to the campus. It is named after the late Dr. Frank Macchiarola and his wife, Mary. Dr. Macchiarola graduated from St. Francis in 1962 and served from 2008 until his death in 2012 as the Chancellor after having been the college's president from 1996 to 2008. The St. Francis College library is located in the Frank and Mary Macchiarola Academic Center, the library occupies the three bottom floors. There is an atrium over the main reading room, which includes the William G. and Diane Foley Parrett Academic Suite. There are also two computer labs, a classroom and several study rooms. St. Francis College is a member of the Academic Libraries of Brooklyn, a consortium of eight Brooklyn-based college libraries that participate in an "Open Access" policy since 1975. This means that students, faculty, and staff of any ALB institution are eligible to use and borrow materials of the other member libraries. The Thomas J. & Anita Volpe Lounge is located in the Frank and Mary Macchiarola Academic Center and serves as a hub for the campus. It is situated at the intersection of the College Library, Office of Career Development, Student Activities, Student Government, and Student Publications. The Maroney Forum for Arts, Culture and Education is a 90-seat theater for plays, musical performances, workshops and lectures that is also housed in the Frank and Mary Macchiarola Academic Center.

Generoso Pope Athletic Complex

The Generoso Pope Athletic Complex, also known as "The Pope". is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is located on Remsen Street, between Court and Clinton Streets, within the College and was completed in 1971. The Pope is named after Generoso Pope, an Italian immigrant who rose to prominence in New York City. It is the core of St. Francis College's athletic facilities. On the lower level is the Aquatics Center, above it is the Daniel Lynch Gymnasium and on the fourth floor is the Genovesi Center.
The Daniel Lynch Gymnasium is the centerpiece of The Pope and it hosts the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Basketball games. The Gymnasium has a capacity of 1,200 seats. The teams play on Peter Aquilone Court, which was named after Peter Aquilone, the son of former Athletic Director and St. Francis alumnus Edward Aquilone, ’60. The court was dedicated to Peter Aquilone on December 1, 2004, after he died. The Gymnasium is named after alumnus Daniel J. Lynch, who coached the Terriers for 21 years and led them to 3 Regular Season Conference Championship wins and is the All-Time Terrier Coach wins leader.
The Aquatics Center has a competition-sized pool. It is home to the nationally ranked Men’s Water Polo team, the Women’s Water Polo Team and home meets for the College’s Swimming and Diving Teams. During the off season and away games the pool is open to all students and is also used by the surrounding community.
The Genovesi Center is a recent 9,000 square-foot addition to The Pope and was built on top of the Daniel Lynch Gymnasium in 2003. The Genovesi Center was named for former state Assemblyman Anthony J. Genovesi. The Genovesi Center hosts the Terriers Women’s Volleyball games and is regularly used for intramural games.
The St. Francis College Fitness Center is located underneath The Pope and is open to all St. Francis College students.

Academics

St. Francis College confers Associate's Degrees, Bachelor's Degrees and Master's Degree. In addition to these degrees, the College grants certifications for teaching and nursing. Affiliation agreements with the Catholic Medical Center of Brooklyn and Queens, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, New York University College of Dentistry, and New York College of Podiatric Medicine enable students to pursue degrees towards becoming Physician Assistants, Radiologists, Physical and Occupational Therapists, and to acquire advanced standing in professional programs in dentistry and podiatry before the completion of the baccalaureate degree. For students that excel academically and participate in extracurricular activities that demonstrate the "Franciscan spirit", St. Francis College established the Duns Scotus Honor Society. It was founded in 1935 by Reverend Dr. James A. Sullivan and is named for John Duns Scotus, a Franciscan scholar.

Majors

There are 19 academic departments, which offer 72 majors and minors. The Accounting and Business Law department was the first department to confer a master's degree. The department has had success with its graduates, some include: Sal Ianuzzi ‘75, William G. Parrett ‘67, and Robert J. Clark ‘74. The Biology department mostly graduates students going into Dentistry, Podiatry, Radiology and Medicine. Although some basic research has been conducted in the field of microbiology, involving studying the effects of cranberry and grape juice as antivirals. There is also active research in the field of Ecology and marine microbiology by several of the professors. The Chemistry and Physics department is one of the smaller departments at St. Francis College and most of its graduates go into the Chemical or Pharmaceutical Industries. The focus of the department is mostly in inorganic and physical chemistry. A famous graduate of the department was Donald J. Metz, a long-time nuclear engineer for Brookhaven National Laboratory. The Communication Arts department has placed many graduates in broadcasting companies such as ABC, NBC, CNN and MTV. Other departments include Criminal Justice, Sociology and Social Studies; Economics, History and Political Science; Education and Physical Education; English; Foreign Languages, Fine Arts, and International Cultural Studies; Management and Information Technology; Mathematics; Nursing; Health Care Management; Health Promotion and Science; Philosophy and Religious Studies; and Psychology.

Graduate programs

St. Francis has 5 graduate programs: a five-year combined bachelor's and master's degree in accounting and in psychology, a two-year accounting master's program, a master's program in psychology, a master's program in management, and a -year low residency in a creative writing MFA. In 2007, the college has added the combined B.S./M.S. degree in accounting. The first students graduated from the program in 2008, on the college's 150th anniversary. In 2010, the college added the second graduate degree, a 2-year master's degree in Professional Accountancy. In 2012 a combined B.S./M.S. degree in Psychology was added that offers two concentrations, one in Applied Psychology and another in Psychology Research. Also in 2012, the Graduate Certificate in Project Management was launched. In 2017, the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program was launched.

Institutes and Centers

St. Francis College hosts 5 Institutes and Centers; the Center for Entrepreneurship, the Institute for International and Cross-Cultural Psychology, the Women's Studies Center, the Center of Excellence in Project Management, and the Center for Crime & Popular Culture.

Women's Studies Center

The Women's Studies Center opened in 1997. St. Francis College offers a Women's Studies Minor.

Institute for International and Cross-Cultural Psychology

The Institute for International and Cross-Cultural Psychology was founded in 1998. It has become a center for the advancement of Cross-Cultural Psychology and International Psychology and is led by Dr. Uwe P. Gielen. It is supported by an international advisory board of psychologists from six countries; members of the institute have engaged in a series of research projects, edited books, sponsored conferences, and introduced novel curriculum development. The Institute supported the writing and editing of numerous publications in international psychology including 17 books that have appeared in 5 countries.

Center of Excellence in Project Management

The Center of Excellence in Project Management opened in 2011. Its mission is to provide the platform for conversations and collaborations between businesses and academia to work together to generate a better community and a more substantial role in global projects. The Center held its first annual Practical Research Forum on June 6, 2011, a day-long event of lectures which brought together academic theory and real-world project management experiences, was produced with the support of the Project Management Institute. The Center offered a Graduate Certificate in Project Management taught at St. Francis; a four-course concentration aimed at enhancing fundamental skills as well as specific areas like risk management, finances and optimizing management teams.

Rankings

From 2008 to present, St. Francis College has been ranked annually in the Forbes Magazine Best Colleges List. Its rankings have ranged from 268th to 625th out of 650 national institutions of higher learning. Implicit on being in the list is that an institution already ranks in the top 15% as only 650 of more than 4,300 institutions are selected. The College is also ranked by Forbes regionally in the Northeast, as a Liberal Arts University, as a Best Value College and as a Private College.
St. Francis College has also been named by U.S. News & World Report as one of the top Baccalaureate Colleges in the North from 2008 to present. It is considered by U.S. News & World Report as a Tier 1 Baccalaureate College and its ranking has ranged from 9th to 29th. U.S. News & World Report in 2011 also ranked St. Francis as the 5th most diverse baccalaureate college in the north. From 2017 to present, U.S. News & World Report has added other criteria for rankings, such as Best Value Schools, Best College for Social Mobility and Best College for Veterans. St. Francis College has been highly ranked in these areas.
From 2014 to present, St. Francis College has been ranked by Money magazine in quality of education, affordability and outcomes for students. The college has been ranked between 269 and 511 out of 1,500 schools nationally.

Volpe Lecture Series

The Thomas J. Volpe Lecture Series began in 1997 and brings to St. Francis College varied guest speakers with a wealth of knowledge in different areas of expertise. The lectures are intended to bring forth pressing issues which can question the preconceptions of students and expand their knowledge. These issues range from cultural to political to economic.
Past speakers include:
The St. Francis College Literary Prize, $50,000, is awarded biannually to honor an author's fourth published book of fiction. The prize is meant to offer encouragement and significant financial support to a mid-career writer. In addition, the award is part of the College's larger mission to support writers in Brooklyn and beyond. The College brings numerous authors to campus every year through events like the Literary Prize and the Walt Whitman Writers Series. The winner is announced during the Brooklyn Book Festival and Brooklyn Borough Hall is the center of the festivities with dozens of panels and appearances by authors at St. Francis College. The first ever St. Francis College Literary Prize winner was Aleksandar Hemon, in 2009. Other winners include Jonathan Dee, David Vann and Maud Casey.

Student life

Clubs and organizations

The total enrollment at St. Francis College is 2,749, of which 44% are male and 56% are female. St. Francis College has been ranked by The New York Times as one of the more diverse colleges in the United States. 88% of students enrolled are below the age of 24 and 12% are above the age of 25. Below is the enrollment data for St. Francis College by race and ethnicity from 2015.
In 2012, St. Francis College welcomed it largest ever freshman class with 625 students.

Faculty

SFC has a 15:1 student-teacher ratio. The college has recently implemented teaching assistants in some of its departments, although most classes are taught solely by professors. 89% of professors at the school have terminal degrees in their respective fields. There are 86 full-time professors and 273 part-time professors.

Athletics

St. Francis competes in the NCAA's Northeast Conference. Their mascot is the Terrier and was officially adopted by the Athletic Association in 1933. Students participate in 19 Division I athletic teams.
Several teams play at off-campus facilities. These include: the soccer teams, which play at Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 5; the outdoor track team, which meets at Icahn Stadium; the indoor track team, which meets at the New Balance Track & Field Center; the golf team, which plays at the Dyker Beach Golf Course and the tennis team, which plays at the USTA National Tennis Center.
The St. Francis College men's basketball team, founded in 1896, is the oldest collegiate program in New York City. In the Terriers' 117-year history, they have won 6 regular season championships, have had 4 postseason NIT bids, and 1 postseason CIT bid. The Terrier's had their best season in 1955-56 under head coach Daniel Lynch, they posted a 21–4 record that ranked them 13th nationally in the AP polls and reached the NIT semi-finals. Then, during Ron Ganulin's tenure as head coach in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the team was one of the best in the NEC; from 1998 through 2004, St. Francis posted a 78-36 conference record. At the time Ganulin's assistant was Glenn Braica, who is the current head coach and has held the position since 2010. Braica was previously an assistant under Norm Roberts at St. John's University. Under Braica, the Terriers won the 2014-15 NEC Regular Season Championship and participated in the 2015 NIT and the 2019 CIT.
The women's basketball program kicked off intercollegiate athletics at St. Francis College in 1973. Since the 1988–89 season the women's basketball team has been a member of the Northeast Conference. The Terrier's had their best season in 2014-15 under John Thurston by winning the NEC Tournament Championship and receiving the programs first NCAA bid. Also under Thurston, the 2013–14 squad set the single-season program record with 19 victories. As of 2018, Linda Cimino is the head coach of the St. Francis College Terriers. Previously, Cimino was the head coach at Binghamton. In Cimino's first year at the helm, she set the Terrier record for conference wins in a season, 12.
The SFC men's soccer team was founded in 1968 and joined the Northeast Conference in 1985. In their history, the Terriers have won 5 NEC Regular Season Championships and 8 NEC Tournament Championships. Their 8 Tournament Championships are the most in the conference. The Terriers have also participated in nine NCAA tournaments, their best showing came in 1978 when they made it to the Elite Eight and were ranked 6th nationally. Since joining the NEC, the Terriers have had NCAA Tournament Play-In games on three occasions and four NCAA Tournament appearances. In the 2015 season, the Terriers were nationally ranked at 22nd in the country.
The St. Francis College men's water polo team has enjoyed much success and is one of the best teams on the east coast. In consecutive years from 2004–2008, they won the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships and the CWPA Northern Division Championships. The Terriers have finished between 1st and 4th in the Eastern Championships from 1999–2007. In 2005, they finished first and qualified for the NCAA National Championships and finished 4th at the Final Four. In 2010, the Terriers made it to the Final Four, finishing fourth and were ranked 10th in the country. In 2012, the men's water polo team won the Eastern Championship for the third time in the program's history and earned an NCAA Final Four berth. The Terriers also went on to defeat Air Force to win their first national tournament match for a third-place finish. In 2013, the Terriers won the Eastern Championship for the fourth time in the program's history and earned an NCAA Final Four berth, finishing 4th.

Notable alumni

The St. Francis College Alumni Association was founded in 1887. All former graduates of St. Francis College become members upon graduation. Some of the college's better known alumni include U.S. Representative Peter T. King, who is also chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, and Thomas J. Pickard, who was the director of the FBI. Another notable alumni is Richard Sheirer, the Director of the New York City Office of Emergency Management during the September 11, 2001 attacks. Sheirer coordinated the rescue and recovery effort at ground zero.
Many of St. Francis College's alumni have gone into business and finance. They include Michael A. MacIntyre, a senior vice president at HSBC, Louis G. Pastina, the executive vice president of operations at the NYSE, Sal Iannuzzi who is the chairman, CEO and president of Monster, Inc. and William G. Parrett who was the former CEO of Deloitte.
St. Francis College also has a rich history of sports and many of its alumni have been drafted by professional teams, the most notable of which are; John Halama, and James Luisi. After playing Professional Basketball, Luisi went on to become an Emmy Award winning actor.
Several alumni have entered academia: Donald A. McQuade was the Vice Chancellor for university relations at the University of California, Berkeley, Mary E. Hines is the President of Carlow University in Pittsburgh, Sean A. Fanelli is the President of Nassau Community College and Joseph M. Hemway is the Vice President of Information Technology and Chief Information Officer of the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn.
In popular culture and media, Pete Davidson a cast member of Saturday Night Live attended St. Francis College. Actress Feliz Ramirez of Grand Hotel is an alumnus.

Popular culture

Different locations at St. Francis College have been used for backdrops to various scenes for film and television. The Aquatic Center's pool has been used to film scenes for the movie Across the Universe and the HBO comedy series Flight of the Conchords. The Peter Aquilone Court has been used for filming by the Late Show with David Letterman and The Today Show. The Thomas J. & Anita Volpe Lounge was used by the popular TV show Gossip Girl, to film scenes for season 4 episode 10; Gaslit.