Webster University
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| Webster University | |
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| Established: | 1915 |
| Type: | Private, four-year |
| President: | Neil J. George (interim) |
| Location: | Webster Groves, Missouri, USA |
| Campus: | Suburban main campus 47 acres [1] over 100 others globally |
| Sports: | 6 Men's Sports, 7 Women's Sports |
| Colors: | Navy, gold, and white |
| Nickname: | Webster |
| Mascot: | Gorlok |
| Website: | http://www.webster.edu |
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Webster University is an American private university in Webster Groves, a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri.
Webster today operates as an independent, comprehensive, non-denominational university with campus locations around the world. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs in a wide array of disciplines, including the liberal arts, fine and performing arts, teacher education, business and management. Currently the university enrolls about 21,000 students around the globe who range from traditional college-age students to adult learners. They represent more than 150 nationalities. [1]
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[edit] The University
It was founded in 1915 by the Sisters of Loretto as Loretto College, and it was one of the first Catholic women's colleges located west of the Mississippi River.[citation needed] The first male students were admitted in 1962. The Sisters of Loretto transferred the university to a Board of Directors in 1967.
Webster featured prominently in early racial integration battles in St. Louis. During the early 1940s, many local priests, especially Jesuits, challenged the segregationist policies at the city's Catholic colleges and parochial schools. The St. Louis chapter of the Midwest Clergy Conference on Negro Welfare arranged in 1943 for Webster College to admit a black female student, which would make it the city's first Catholic college to integrate. However, in 1943 Archbishop John J. Glennon blocked that student's enrollment by speaking privately with the Kentucky-based superior of the Sisters of Loretto. The Pittsburgh Courier, an African-American newspaper with national circulation, discovered Glennon's actions and ran a front-page feature on the Webster incident. The negative publicity toward Glennon's segregationist policies led Saint Louis University to begin admitting African American students in summer 1943.[2]
Webster has many campuses nationwide, located on military bases and in many metropolitan areas. There are also international campuses in Geneva (Switzerland), Vienna (Austria), Leiden (the Netherlands), London (United Kingdom), Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu (China), and Cha-am (Thailand). In January 2006, Webster University president Richard Meyers announced the opening of a new campus in the revitalized downtown St. Louis area as their longest property lease in the history of the University.[3]
Webster University is made up of five Colleges and Schools, and has about 5,000 enrolled students at the main campus in Webster Groves and 15,000 worldwide. The University has about 130,000 alumni.[4]
The university is a center for the arts and arts education in the St. Louis region. Webster's Loretto-Hilton Theater is home to The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. It also hosts the Webster Film Series. Opera performances are accompanied by the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra.
Former U.S. Ambassador George H. Walker III has bestowed upon the school a gift of $10 million, which is the single largest in Webster’s 92-year history.[5] This gift was designated to benefit the university’s School of Business and Technology.
[edit] Colleges and Schools
Webster has five colleges and schools, including the College of Arts and Sciences, the Leigh Gerdine College of Fine Arts, the School of Business and Technology, the School of Communications, and the School of Education.
[edit] Holden Public Policy Forum (HPPF)
Former Missouri Governor Bob Holden (2001-2005) brings years of experience to a bi-partisan speakers series that invites Governors, Senators, presidential candidates and private sector public policy leaders to the St. Louis campus. [6]
[edit] List of HPPF Series
2008 America's Future
Issues for the 21st Century
Pizza and Politics
Election Night Parties
[edit] List of Past Speakers
Eric Greitens, Ph.D. - Lieutenant in US Navy SEALs, Chairman of the Center for Citizen Leadership
Governor Bob Wise, Former Governor of West Virginia (2001-2005) - Author of Raising the Grade and President of Alliance for Excellent Education
Dr. Mark Suh - Expert on Nuclear Proliferation and North Korea
Congressman Lee Hamilton, Vice Chairman of the 9/11 Commission
Congressman Russ Carnahan of Missouri
Richard Longworth, Senior Fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs
Judge Michael Calvin, Circuit Court Judge in Missouri
Congressman Ike Skelton, Chairman of the House Armed Service Committee
Dr. Karen Davis, President of the Commonwealth Fund
[edit] Student Life
[edit] Student Media
Webster University has a student newspaper called The Journal and a student radio station called The Galaxy. The Galaxy was recently re-launched and can only be heard online. Webster University also has student magazine called The Ampersand, which is published twice a year, as well as other newsletters and departmental publications.
[edit] Notable alumni
- Lloyd James Austin III — Army General
- Sheila Baxter — anti-poverty activist
- Erin Bode — jazz musician
- Ann Walsh Bradley — Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice
- William Broad — reporter, Pulitzer Prize winner
- Bryan D. Brown — Army General and commander of all U.S. Special Forces
- Norbert Leo Butz — Tony Award winning actor
- Kevin P. Byrnes — Army General
- Bruce Carlson — Air Force General
- Rocky Carroll — actor
- Eileen Collins — astronaut, Air Force Colonel (retired)
- Mary Alice Dwyer-Dobbin — television producer
- Sidney M. Gutierrez — U. S. Astronaut
- Clarence Harmon — former mayor and Chief of Police, St. Louis
- Steve Kirby — jazz educator
- Marsha Mason — actress, Academy Award nominee
- Danny McCarthy — actor
- Patricia McKissack — author of African-American children's literature
- Tamara Millay — Missouri Libertarian Party political activist.
- Jerry Mitchell — Tony Award Winner
- Keith W. Nolan - Vietnam War historian
- Tony Richardson — NFL football player
- Jeffrey D. Sams — actor
- Dana Snyder — actor
- Antonio Taguba — Army General
- James C. Yarbrough — General in the United States Army
- Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono — President of Indonesia
- John Zorn — jazz musician (attended two years)
[edit] Notable faculty and staff
- Sulak Sivaraksa — Professor (Thailand), activist, writer
- Bill Porter — sound engineer
- John H. Neal — Professor (Human Resource Management); Faculty Director (Myrtle Beach Campus)
- Bob Holden — Former Governor of the State of Missouri (2001-2005)
[edit] References
- ^ http://webster.edu/shared/shared_news/documents/factsheet.pdf
- ^ Donald J. Kemper, "Catholic Integration in St. Louis, 1935-1947," Missouri Historical Review, Oct. 1978, pp. 1-13.
- ^ http://www.ksdk.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=91033
- ^ http://webster.edu/shared/shared_news/documents/factsheet.pdf
- ^ Webster University: $10 million gift from Ambassador Walker
- ^ "About the Forum" HoldenPPF @ Webster University. Holden Public Policy Forum. 24 Apr 2008 <http://www.webster.edu/holdenppf/about.htm>.
[edit] External links
- Webster University website
- Webster University Orlando website
- Webster University in China
- Webster University in Geneva, Switzerland website
- Webster University in Vienna, Austria website
- Webster University in Leiden, Netherlands website
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