| Saint Peter's College | |
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| Motto | ad majorem Dei gloriam (Latin: "For the Greater Glory of God.") |
| Established | 1872 by Society of Jesus |
| Type | Private coeducational |
| Religious affiliation | Roman Catholic (Jesuit) |
| Endowment | $33.45 million [1] |
| President | Eugene J. Cornacchia, Ph.D. |
| Faculty | 118 |
| Undergraduates | 3,200 |
| Postgraduates | 500 |
| Location | Jersey City, NJ, USA |
| Campus | Urban, 15 acres |
| Colors | Blue and White |
| Mascot | Peacock |
| Athletics | NCAA Division I |
| Affiliations | Association of Jesuit Colleges |
| Website | http://www.spc.edu |
Saint Peter's College is a private, coeducational Roman Catholic college in the United States. Located in Jersey City, New Jersey, it was founded in 1872 by the Society of Jesus. Today, Saint Peter's College is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. Saint Peter's College offers over 33 majors to more than 3,200 undergraduate and 500 graduate students. Its college mascot is the Peacock (the women's sports teams are called the Peahens), and its sports teams play in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, of which it is a founding member.
The school is located on a 15 acre (61,000 m2) campus 2 mi (3 km) west of New York City. Evening and weekend classes are offered in Jersey City, Englewood Cliffs, and South Amboy.
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The college was chartered in 1872 and enrolled its first students in 1878 at Warren Street, in Jersey City, on the present site of the St. Peter's Preparatory School. In September 1918, the college was closed, along with several other Jesuit colleges and high schools, because of declining enrollment in the face of World War I. Although the war ended only two months after its closing, and despite clamoring from alumni, it took until 1930 to re-open the college. The college was temporarily located on Newark Avenue, before moving in 1936 to its current location on Hudson (now Kennedy) Boulevard, between Montgomery Street and Glenwood Avenue.
Civil rights have had a long tradition at the college. It was first desegregated in 1936, when the college admitted its first black student. The college granted an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree to Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1965, and the next year it became coeducational.
The college has made an effort to reach out into the New Jersey suburbs, with a satellite campus at Englewood Cliffs opened in 1975 and an extension at South Amboy's McCarrick High School opened in 2003.
Recent years have seen much construction for the college. In 1975, the college constructed the Yanitelli Recreational Life Center, a sports complex. Beginning with the 1983 acquisition of its first residence hall, the college has converted four apartment buildings to dormitory use, and constructed two brand new dormitories.
Gannon Hall, the science building and one of the first structures on campus, recently underwent an $8.2 million renovation, bringing it up to state-of-the-art standards.
In 2004, the long-awaited pedestrian bridge over Kennedy Boulevard linked the East Campus and the West Campus. As of 2006, the college is embarking on a $50 million capital campaign, designed to raise funds for a new student center.
On December 24, 2006, sitting college President James N. Lougran, S.J. was found dead in his home[2]. On May 10, 2007, the Board of Trustees appointed Eugene J. Cornacchia, Ph.D., as the 22nd President of Saint Peter's College. Dr. Cornacchia is the first layperson to serve as President of the 135 year-old Catholic, Jesuit College in Jersey City, New Jersey.
On the day after his narrow defeat in the 2008 New Hampshire Presidential primary election, Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama held a rally at the college's Yanitelli Center [3].
Saint Peter's College has numerous clubs and organizations that participate in a broad range of activities. Saint Peter's College has over 50 active student-run organizations. Ms. Jan M. Reimer, an alumna of the college, is the current Director of Student Activities.
Cultural: Asian American Student Union (AASU), Black Action Committee (BAC), Indian & Pakistani Culture Club (Indo-Pak), Irish American Club, Italian Club, Latin American Service Organization (LASO), Middle Eastern Culture Club (MECC), Multicultural Heritage Club (MHC), Students of Caribbean Ancestry (SOCA).
Performing Arts: Argus Eyes Drama Society, Dance Team, SPC McMullen Chorale, Voices of Praise Gospel Choir.
Pre-Professional/Academic: Accounting Society, Collins Chemistry Club, Computer Science Club, Criminal Justice Student Association, Delta Sigma Pi, English Club, Gannon Debate Society, John T. Coughlin History Club, Mendel Biology Society, Philosophy Club, Psychology Club, Society of Physics Students, Sociology Club, Saint Peter's Art, Culture & Entertainment (S.P.A.C.E.), Student Education Association, Theology Club.
Service-Oriented: , Project Peace, Peer Educators.
Special Interest: Alliance of EOF Students of New Jersey (AESNJ), Alpha Phi Delta, Commuter Student Association, Female Organization for Campus Unity & Solidarity (F.O.C.U.S), Protecting & Respecting Individuality Diversity & Equality (P.R.I.D.E), Students Against Violating the Earth (S.A.V.E.), Student Alumni Association (SAA), Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC), Student Entertainment Board, Student Senate.
Honor Societies: Alpha Phi Sigma (Criminal Justice), Alpha Sigma Nu (Jesuit Honor Society), Beta Beta Beta (Biology), Eta Sigma Phi (Classics), Kappa Alpha Alpha (Honors), Kappa Delta Pi (Education), Kappa Pi (Art), Order of the Cross Keys, Pi Mu Epsilon (Math), Pi Sigma Alpha (Political Science), Phi Alpha Theta (History), Psi Chi (Psychology), Sigma Tau Delta (English), Will and Ariel Durant Society, Most Noble Order of the Peacock (MNOP).
Publications and Media: Broadcast Club, Pauw Wow (Newspaper), Pavan (Literary Magazine), Peacock Pie (Yearbook).
As of September 2008, a Graduate Student Union, is being formed by current graduate student, Niamh Sarno. The purpose of the GSU is to provide money for underprivileged graduate students to travel to educational leadership conferences throughout the country, and to have speakers talk at the Saint Peter's Lecture Hall, Pope Hall.
Competing in the MAAC, the college fields 17 athletic teams. The men's teams are known as the Peacocks, and the women's teams are the Peahens; Saint Peter's is the only NCAA Division I institution with this mascot. The baseball, softball and soccer teams play at Joseph J. Jaroschak Field, in Lincoln Park. All other teams play at the The Victor R. Yanitelli, S.J. Recreational Life Center, located on campus. On June 14, 2007, it was announced that the football team would be disbanded.[4]
Basketball has long been the most popular sport at the college. Under legendary coach Don Kennedy, the men's team gained national attention by defeating heavily-favored and nationally-ranked Duke University in the 1968 NIT Tournament quarterfinals, en route a fourth place finish.
Saint Peter's has won the MAAC conference men's basketball championship and the accompanying automatic bid to the NCAA tournament twice (1991 and 1995), and has appeared in the NIT 12 times, (1957, 1958, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1987 and 1989). The women's basketball team has won seven MAAC championships and automatic bids to the NCAA tournament, (1982, 1992, 1993, 1997, 1999, 2000 and 2002); it also won the MAAC championship in 1983 and 1984, years when the MAAC champion did not receive an automatic NCAA tournament berth.
In recent years the basketball program has seen a resurgence, owing much to the success of Keydren "Kee-Kee" Clark '05. In 2004 and 2005, Clark led the nation in points scored per game, becoming just the eighth player to repeat as NCAA Division I scoring champion. On March 4, 2006, Clark became only the seventh NCAA player to score more than 3,000 points in his career; on the next day, he passed Hersey Hawkins to become the sixth-leading scorer of all time. At the time of his final game on March 6, 2006, Clark held the NCAA all-time record for 3-point shots, with 435. A second fourth-year student and a forward on the basketball team, George Jefferson, died on June 21, 2005, due to a previously undiagnosed heart condition.
John Dunne was named the 14th head coach in Saint Peter’s College men’s basketball history on May 24, 2006. On November 25, 2007, the Peacocks defeated Rutgers University 65-58 at the Jersey City Armory. This victory was Saint Peter's first win against a Big East Conference opponent since knocking off Seton Hall University at the Meadowlands in 1995.[5]
The Saint Peter's Men's Soccer Team has also enjoyed some success of late. The Peacocks were crowned the 2003 MAAC Conference Men's Soccer Champions after defeating Loyola College (Maryland) 2-1. In 2006 the Peacocks returned to the MAAC Conference Men's Soccer Championship Finals where they were outlasted by Fairfield University 1-0. The Peacocks again returned to the MAAC Conference Men's Soccer Championship Finals in 2007, where they fell to Loyola College 1-0. In 2007, the Saint Peter's Men's Soccer Program earned a place in the 2007 NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament with the first at-large nomination in school history. The Peacocks met Virginia University in the 1st Round of play at Charlottesville, Virginia. Saint Peter's College would go on to lose this match by a score of 3-1.
The Saint Peter's College Women's Bowling Team is one of the most successful programs at the school, winning its first ever championship title in 2009.[6]
The Alma Mater was composed by Frederick Joslyn, with lyrics by Richard I. Nevin.
Hail, Alma Mater, deathless Saint Peter's. Our loving hearts acclaim thy resurrected name.
Nor war nor time has power to bind thee, thine is the spirit proud and free. And as year on year comes winging, we will still be singing praises to thy fame.
Hail, Alma Mater, hallowed Saint Peter's. With each new day we see how much we owe to thee
Truth is our guide, we shall not wander, God is our strength, we shall not fail. And our love will ever bind us, so that death will find us thine eternally.
As mentioned above, Saint Peter's College is the only NCAA Division I institution whose mascot is the peacock. This choice was made for several reasons. Primarily, the land on which Saint Peter's now stands was once owned by a man named Michael Pauw, whose last name means "peacock" in Dutch. Second, a section of Jersey City (albeit not encompassing Saint Peter's) is named Pavonia, in reference to the Latinized form of Pauw's name.
In pagan mythology, the peacock is considered to be a symbol of rebirth, much like the phoenix. For Saint Peter's, it is a reference to the closing and reopening of the college in the early 20th century.
At one point in the 1960s, live peacocks roamed the campus. Many institutions within the college derive their name from the peacock:
| No. | Name | Date of ascension |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Victor Beaudevin, S. J. | April 3, 1872 |
| 2 | John McQuaid, S. J. | July 31, 1874 |
| 3 | Peter Cassidy, S. J. | July 1, 1888 |
| 4 | John Harpes, S. J. | October 22, 1891 |
| 5 | Joseph Zwinge, S. J. | August 26, 1900 |
| 6 | John W. Fox, S. J. | July 14, 1902 |
| 7 | Edward J. McGrath, S. J. | January 21, 1907 |
| 8 | Joseph A. Mulry, S. J. | October 10, 1911 |
| 9 | James F. McDermott, S. J. | April 15, 1915 |
| 10 | Thomas F. Graham, S. J. | July 7, 1921 |
| 11 | Joseph P. O'Reilly, S. J. | September 30, 1925 |
| 12 | Joseph S. Dinneen, S. J. | August 15, 1931 |
| 13 | Denis J. Comey, S. J. | June 21, 1937 |
| 14 | Vincent J. Hart, S. J. | August 15, 1943 |
| 15 | James J. Shanahan, S. J. | December 3, 1949 |
| 16 | Edward F. Clark, S. J. | June 16, 1960 |
| 17 | Leo P. McLaughlin, S. J. | June 13, 1965 |
| 18 | Victor R. Yanitelli, S. J. | September 8, 1965 |
| 19 | L. Edward Glynn, S. J. | July 1, 1978 |
| 20 | Daniel A. Degnan, S. J. | July 1, 1990 |
| 21 | James N. Loughran, S. J. | July 1, 1995 |
| 22 | Eugene J. Cornacchia, Ph.D. | May 14, 2007 |
Coordinates: 40°43′37″N 74°04′16″W / 40.727027°N 74.071045°W
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   | Official website - Saint Peter's College Home |
| | St. Peter's drops football program due to trouble competing - St. Peter's drops football program due to trouble competing - College Football - ESPN |
| | Charles Francis Xavier O'Brien - O’BRIEN, Charles Francis Xavier - Biographical Information |
| | Albio Sires - SIRES, Albio - Biographical Information |
| | Peacocks Strut Their Stuff - Story not found - NJ.com |
| | Rev. James N. Loughran, 66, College Head, Dies - The New York Times > Log In |
| | Will Durant biography - Will Durant Online: The Gentle Philosopher |
| | Obama Swipes at Clinton, but Takes Aim at Bush - The New York Times > Log In |
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