Gonzaga University
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| Gonzaga University | |
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| Motto: | Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (For the greater glory of God) |
| Established: | 1887 |
| Type: | Private |
| Religious affiliation: | Roman Catholic (Jesuit) |
| President: | Fr. Robert J. Spitzer, SJ |
| Faculty: | 348 |
| Undergraduates: | 4,278 |
| Postgraduates: | 2,225 |
| Location: | Spokane, Washington, United States |
| Conference: | West Coast Conference |
| Nickname: | Bulldogs (official), Zags (sports)  |
| Mascot: | Spike the Bulldog |
| Website: | www.gonzaga.edu |
Gonzaga University is a private Catholic university located in Spokane, Washington. Founded in 1887 by the Society of Jesus, it is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities and is named after the young Jesuit saint, St. Aloysius Gonzaga. The campus has 94 buildings across 131 acres (437,000 m²) of grassland along the Spokane River, in a residential setting half a mile (800 m) from downtown Spokane. The university was founded by Father Joseph Cataldo, SJ, an Italian-born priest and missionary who wished to create a Catholic school in the Pacific Northwest for local Native Americans[1].
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[edit] Curriculum
Gonzaga's liberal arts tradition lies in its core curriculum, which integrates philosophy, religious studies, mathematics, literature, natural and social sciences, and extensive writing in each major discipline. Gonzaga offers 92 undergraduate and 21 graduate programs. In addition, Gonzaga offers programs in preparation for professional schools in business, education, engineering, dentistry, divinity/theology, law, medicine, nursing and veterinary medicine. Gonzaga also sponsors an Army ROTC program which prepares students to become commissioned officers upon graduation. Additionally, Gonzaga University partners with Bishop White Seminary, located next to the campus, where Catholic Seminarians live and prepare for the priesthood.[2]. Students may study abroad at Gonzaga's campus in Florence, Italy, or at other programs in Australia, British West Indies, China, Costa Rica, England, France, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Spain and South Africa[3].
[edit] Law school
Gonzaga's Law School is one of three law schools in Washington state, the other two being the University of Washington School of Law and Seattle University School of Law. U.S. News & World Report, currently ranks Gonzaga's law school in the third tier.
[edit] Statistics
The annual 2007-08 budget is listed on the university's website as being $128.21 million, with an annual payroll of $63.36 million. Average class size is 22, and there are 348 employed faculty. There are 42 Jesuits on campus, 24 employed by the University. There are 648 non-faculty employees. Enrollment in totality is estimated to be about 6,736 (approximately 4,278 being undergraduate) students [4]. The university ranks third in the U.S. News & World Report rankings for Universities-Master's in the West [5]. In 2006, Gonzaga University was ranked the 25th most fit school in the nation by Men's Fitness Magazine [6].
[edit] Sports
Gonzaga University, whose players are officially nicknamed the Bulldogs but often called the Zags, is part of the NCAA Division I West Coast Conference. Its men's basketball team, which did not make its first appearance in the NCAA tournament until 1995 (more than a decade after NBA player and Gonzaga alum John Stockton graduated), has become nationally prominent since making the regional finals of the NCAA tournament ("Elite Eight") in 1999.
Gonzaga University basketball games are held in the McCarthey Athletic Center, in which the men's basketball team has won over 90 percent of their games. The men's team often plays high-profile non-conference games at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena near downtown Spokane, in addition to the annual Comcast Battle in Seattle game held at KeyArena in Seattle.
Two of Gonzaga's most recent notable athletes are basketball players; former center J.P. Batista (now playing in Lithuania) and Player of the Year candidate and third overall 2006 NBA Draft pick forward Adam Morrison (who was selected by the Charlotte Bobcats), regarded for his likeness to Hall of Famer Larry Bird and his infamous moustache. Head coach Mark Few was the West Coast Conference coach of the year every year from 2001 to 2006[www.wccsports.com]. Few became the head coach in the summer of 1999, following the departure of Dan Monson to Minnesota.
Like some other smaller colleges, Gonzaga's football program ended in the Fall of 1941, just before the U.S. entry into World War II, but not before producing two Pro Football Hall of Famers: Tony Canadeo '41 of the Green Bay Packers, and Ray Flaherty '26, head coach of the Washington Redskins. In addition, Flaherty recruited former Bulldog football stars, Ed Justice, George "Automatic" Karamatic and Max Krause to play in the Redskin backfield. The final season of Gonzaga football was 1941, due to declining enrollment by young male athletes.[citation needed]. Efforts to restart the program in 1946 were unsuccessful, and the football stadium was slowly torn down in 1949.
Gonzaga University also has an Army ROTC Ranger Challenge team which has won 15 championships in the last 16 years (breaking a 14 year streak in 2005, but again winning in 2006 and 2007) and is a multiple winner of the Douglas MacArthur Award; an award going to the best Army ROTC program in the Western United States [7].
[edit] Student newspaper: Gonzaga Bulletin
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The Gonzaga Bulletin is the official, weekly student newspaper of Gonzaga University. The newspaper is staffed by students of the journalism and broadcasting department of the university's communication arts department and managed by a faculty adviser and an advisory board which reports to the president of the university.
During the 1990s, the paper was recognized for its independence and excellence by the Society of Professional Journalists, winning Best Paper in the Inland Northwest Awards twice during the mid 1990s[citation needed].
Its current editorial staff (fall 2007), not including staff writers, is 14 students. [1]
The Bulletin is laid out electronically in the 4th floor of Gonzaga's College Hall. It is printed off-site in Spokane and transported to campus for distribution.
[edit] Notable alumni
Singer Bing Crosby, former Speaker of the House Tom Foley, and writer Sherman Alexie attended Gonzaga. Current Washington governor and the state's first female state attorney general Christine Gregoire, former Representative and 2004 Republican candidate for US Senate George Nethercutt, and Barbara Madsen and Mary Fairhurst of the Washington State Supreme Court are alumni of Gonzaga Law School. In a recent election cycle in Washington state there was at least one Gonzaga graduate in almost every race[citation needed]. Along with various other well known political figures (ranging from senators to representatives to mayors to governors) Gonzaga also has many graduates who serve as judges - including state supreme court judges [8] - along with a long line of distinguished individuals within the legal profession.
The Chad Mitchell Trio, a folk group famous in the 1960s, met at Gonzaga [9].
Among sports figures, football players, Tony Canadeo and Max Krause; John Stockton of NBA's Utah Jazz fame; the Los Angeles Clippers' Dan Dickau; the Houston Rockets' Richie Frahm; Los Angeles Lakers' Ronny Turiaf; Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder and 2004 National League Rookie of the Year Jason Bay; MLS and U.S. international soccer player Brian Ching are all undergrad graduates. Ching now plays forward for the Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer. NASCAR driver Chad Little is a graduate of the law school. Adam Morrison of the Charlotte Bobcats left for the NBA after his junior year.
Gary Polonsky, later founding President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, earned his M.A. degree at Gonzaga.
Barats and Bereta, a comedy team made up of Luke Barats (class of 2006) and Joe Bereta (class of 2005), formed at Gonzaga while performing with the university's improv troupe, and have enjoyed success online with their viral comedy videos posted on YouTube. They signed an NBC contract in 2006 to produce comedy material for the network [2] and currently are looking to do a full-length feature film.[3]
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ The Bulletin
- ^ Thuy Nguyen, Gonzaga Bulletin, http://media.www.gonzagabulletin.com/media/storage/paper375/news/2006/10/13/News/Hitting.It.Big.Graduates.Luke.Barats.And.Joe.Bereta.Sign.OneYear.Contract.With.N-2348473.shtml
- ^ Baratsandbereta.com
[edit] External links
- Official school site
- Official law school site
- Official athletics site
- US News Gonzaga Profile - Gonzaga at a glance
- The Gonzaga Bulletin, official campus paper
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