Cabrini College is a coeducational Roman Catholic residential college in the Philadelphia metropolitan area of Radnor Township, Pennsylvania

Radnor Township, Pennsylvania

Radnor Township is a township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2000 census, the township population was 30,878. Radnor Township lies along the Main Line, a collection of highly affluent Philadelphia suburbs....

, founded by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

The Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a Roman Catholic female religious congregation, founded in 1880 by Mother Francis Xavier Cabrini....

 in 1957. It was one of the first colleges in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 to make community service a graduation requirement for all undergraduates. The college has gained in its national profile in recent years. Cabrini is ranked at 132 in the Master's Universities (North) category by US News & World Report for 2012.

Pre-History

The site of Cabrini College was originally the estate of Dr. John T. Dorrance, inventor of the process for condensed soup and president of the Campbell Soup Company

Campbell Soup Company

Campbell Soup Company , also known as Campbell's, is an American producer of canned soups and related products. Campbell's products are sold in 120 countries around the world. It is headquartered in Camden, New Jersey...

. Dorrance owned a stable with many horses, had social events within the main hall of his mansion, and also had personal servants. The property was purchased by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (MSC) in 1953. It was first named "Villa Cabrini" after the organization's namesake, Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini

Mother Cabrini

Saint Francesca Xavier Cabrini, M.S.C., , also called Mother Cabrini, was the first citizen of the United States to be canonized by the Roman Catholic Church.-Early life:...

. At first, Villa Cabrini was an orphanage.

Founding and growth

In 1957, Sister Ursula Infante established a school in the villa. Upon opening, it was a female-only school of only thirty-seven students. The orphanage was still a part of the community and they shared the use of the buildings.

The first graduating class was in 1961. Also around this same time period, Cabrini was awarded full accreditation by the Middle States Association.

In the 1950s era, Cabrini was only made up of a few buildings. The mansion of the college was the central point of the college, housing the students, providing a cafeteria, their classrooms, their library and their chapel. In 1958, they converted the stable house to both classrooms and dormitories, now known as Grace Hall.

In 1960, Cabrini finished construction on the Sacred Heart Hall (now known as Founder's Hall), which was a library, cafeteria, gymnasium, and even held science laboratories. The 60s also saw the construction of a chapel in 1961 and a library in 1965.

Late 1960s and early 70s

The early seventies was a time of much change for the college. After Infante's ten-year presidency in 1967, three presidents were to follow in only three years. Sister Barbara Leonardo was president from 67-68. During her time at the college she was also a dean and taught history. In 1968, Sr. Gervase Lapadula became president, but soon had to resign due to health problems.

From 1969-1973, Sr. Regina Casey was president of Cabrini College. During her presidency, the college was starting to change from a girls-only to a co-educational establishment. Through a program with Eastern University

Eastern University

Eastern University is a private university in St. Davids, Pennsylvania, United States affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA, with an interdenominational student body...

, located next to the college, males started to attend classes at Cabrini. In turn, Cabrini students were offered more courses through both expansion and taking courses at Eastern.

Sr. Mary Louise Sullivan: 1972-1982

Even more changes took place between 1972 and 1982.
Most importantly, the school became completely coeducational.

Mission

Cabrini College's mission is to instill in students a sense of community and the common good. Cabrini's mission is also one "of the heart." Students learn about current ethical and moral issues and how they can be a positive influence in their community.

Cabrini also stresses a liberal education

Liberal education

A Liberal education is a system or course of education suitable for the cultivation of a free human being. It is based on the medieval concept of the liberal arts or, more commonly now, the liberalism of the Age of Enlightenment...

. Students are not only expected to learn subjects within their own major, but are also required to learn many other subjects throughout their college career. The school accomplishes this by requiring a core curriculum. Such required subjects include math, science, social science, foreign language, and religion.

Leadership is also part of the Cabrini mission. Students have many opportunities to develop their leadership skills through group projects, extra-curricular activities, and campus ministry.

Founder's Hall

Founder's Hall is the main building for student learning. It has three floors of classrooms, most of which have modern smart boards and internet capabilities. It also has two computer labs. One lab is for instructional use, while the other is for use of education majors.

It is also the main focal point of the college's communications department. The department consists of a radio station, news room, and the graphic design studio.

The hall is named for the founding president of the college, Sister Ursula Infante.

Widener Center

The Widener Center is made up of Jazzman's Café, the bookstore, the college's mail room, a lecture hall, the art studios, The Wolfington Center and the Office of Student Activities.

The Wolfington Center is the center of community service in the college. The center is run by campus ministry who put together student programs that are focused toward the common good. Their activities include Spring Break service trips, which are trips outside of the community in places like Ecuador and New York City. They also bus students into Philadelphia to volunteer at places such as soup kitchens.

Student Activities office is run by the college, but also provides room for activities such as SEaL (Student Engagement and Leadership) and Up 'Til Dawn.

Jazzman's Café is the students' on-site alternative to the cafeteria. They serve coffee and other café items.

The Antoinette Iadarola Center for Science, Education and Technology

Formerly the Center for Science, Education and Technology, the $18.5 million Iadarola Center is the College's state-of-the-art academic building, equipped with lecture hall, rooftop observatory, and biology, chemistry, physical science and core science laboratories.

The Dixon Center

The 64000 square feet (5,945.8 m²) Dixon Center is the center for all indoor sports and recreation such as basketball, weight training, dance and squash.

Features

• 25-yard pool
• 3 full-length courts
• Full gym
• NCAA Tournament Court
• 2 squash courts
• Jogging track
• Dance studio

Residence life

Cabrini College has several residence halls, which include traditional halls, houses, suite-style, and an apartment complex.

1. Woodcrest Hall is a residence hall that previously housed only freshman females. However, in 2009 it became a co-ed freshman building. It only holds an approximate of about one-hundred and fifty five (155) students.
2. Xavier Hall is mostly a freshman male residence hall, but it has become more co-ed in recent years. It holds approximately one-hundred and sixty (160) students and is divided into "quads," which are small clusters of rooms.
3. Maguire House, or House 1, is a mostly sophomore student residence hall that houses about twenty-two (22) students
4. Dixon House, or House 2, is also mostly Sophomore students. A larger house, it holds about eighty-three (83) students
5. Infante House, or House 3, is a female-only sophomore residence hall that houses about twenty (20).
6. McManus House, or House 4, is an upper-classmen house, females only, and houses about twenty five (25).
7. Casey House, or House 5, is almost identical in House 4 in layout. It is an upper-classmen female house housing 27 residents.
8. Lanshe House, or House 6, is a co-educational house which houses approximately 26 students.
9. Sullivan House, or House 7, houses 33 co-educational upper classmen
10. Cabrini Apartment Complex is only offered to junior and senior co-ed students and houses about 116
11. East Residence Hall, formally known as "New Residence Hall," houses mostly freshman and sophomore students and is co-educational, varying by wing. It houses 260 students.
12. West Residence Hall is Cabrini's newest residence hall, finished in 2006. It is a junior-senior residence hall that houses 138

Activities

Cabrini College has many activities, ranging from Accounting to Cheerleading to Up 'Til Dawn. http://www.cabrini.edu/default.aspx?pageid=1077.

Up 'Til Dawn

Up 'Til Dawn also brings many events to Cabrini College http://www.stjude.org/utd/. Up 'Til Dawn is a fund-raising organization that contributes to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, founded in 1962, is a leading pediatric treatment and research facility focused on children's catastrophic diseases. It is located in Memphis, Tennessee. It is a nonprofit medical corporation chartered as a 501 tax-exempt organization under IRS regulations.In...

. They organize letter-writing parties, hold dances, collect donations, and lots more to help the children of St. Jude.

Sports and Sports clubs

Cabrini College has 17 varsity teams, 1 junior varsity team and various recreational sports clubs. The teams have affiliations with NCAA Division III, ECAC and are part of the Colonial States Athletic Conference

Colonial States Athletic Conference

The Colonial States Athletic Conference is an NCAA Division III collegiate athletic conference in the Mid-Atlantic United States. There are currently twelve full member institutions as of 2008. The conference's membership, as with most Middle Atlantic conferences, has been shaken up as a result...

 (CSAC). Men's teams include basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

, cross country

Cross country running

Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...

, golf

Golf

Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

, lacrosse

Lacrosse

Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...

, soccer, swimming

Swimming (sport)

Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...

 (JV), tennis

Tennis

Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

. Their women's teams are basketball, cross country, field hockey

Field hockey

Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...

, lacrosse, soccer, softball

Softball

Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...

, swimming, tennis, and volleyball

Volleyball

Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...

.
Cabrini College recently terminated the track and field program due to insufficient funds.

Board of Trustees

Theresa A. Cavanaugh ’74 - Chair
Deb Takes - Vice Chair
Elizabeth Riley Bell ’69 - Secretary
John Bodnar
Mary Kathryn S. Burke ’69
Joan M. Buzzallino ’66
Sister Eileen Currie, MSC ’66 Angela Dowd-Burton
Frank R. Emmerich Jr. ’92
Marie Angelella George - President
Caswell F. Holloway III
Warren Kuo
Thomas P. Nerney ’77
Sister Diane Olmstead, MSC
Vince Powers
D. Jamie Miller Prince ’84
Sister Pietrina Raccuglia, MSC ’75-Provincial
David Regn ’97
John D. Schanz
Marvin L. Stewart
George B. Weathersby, Ph.D.
Stephen E. Westhead ’87
Ron Yoshida, Ph.D.
Sharon Shipley Zubricky ’76
Robert L. D'Anjolell HON ’08
Edith Robb Dixon HON ’80
Margaret Hamilton Duprey ’73 HON ’08
J. Bradley McManus HON ’99
Barbara W. Rawls HON ’08
Andy Trolio HON ’97

External links

• Cabrini College website
• Cabrini College archives